A remittance advice is a document that is sent along with payment to a supplier.
Often shortened to remittance.
Unlike many of the other financial documents this one is optional.
The remittance will often state the invoice number or numbers, so the payment can be easily tracked and allocated.
It can be sent in paper format or electronically, usually mimicking the payment method.
It is up to owners what they do with them once we have matched the payment to the correct invoices.
They are not required to be kept but they might come in handy.
Although remittances are helpful, they should not be fully relied upon.
Sometimes errors are made or sometimes a remittance is received but payment does not follow.
The remittance advice should be checked, the payment allocated and the document saved to file.
Bookkeeping Terms A to Z 