The purpose, interpretation and completion of business documents - 3

Question 1

3.1 Transaction Documents

Answer 1

A transaction document records a transaction between two parties such as a supplier and customer. it can be printed or electronic. It may contain; COD, E&OE, T&Cs, terms

Question 2

3.1 COD (Cash on delivery)

Answer 2

Pay for goods on delivery rather then before or after

Question 3

3.1 E&OE (errors and omissions expected)

Answer 3

A disclaimer or invoice showing that the supplier is attempting to reduce any legal liability due to administrative errors or inaccuracies.

Question 4

3.1 T&C (terms and conditions)

Answer 4

restrictions or statements relating to delivery charges, delivery arrangements or payment terms.

Question 5

3.1 Terms (e.g. terms 30 days)

Answer 5

The time by which payment is expected

Question 6

3.1 Purchase order

Answer 6

legally binding document between supplier and customer/buyer. It lists the items that the buyer has ordered and an agreed price.

Question 7

3.1 Invoice

Answer 7

This is a document issued by the business to customers requesting payment for goods and services.

Question 8

3.1 Credit note

Answer 8

This is sent by the seller/supplier to the customer e.g. if the goods have been damaged in transport or an error has been made on the invoice such as an incorrect discount being applied. the credit note can be offset against future purchases or a refund can be given.

Question 9

3.1 Statement of account

Answer 9

This is issues by a supplier to a customer, usually at the end of each month. This states all transactions over the last period including details of invoices issued, payments received and credits applied. The final amount shows the total owed by the customer at that date.

Question 10

3.1 Travel expense claim forms

Answer 10

When an employee travels as part of their role, they can claim on things including; petrol costs, train fares, taxi fares, parking and sometimes refreshments. if the employee uses their own car they must record journey mileage as petrol costs are usually reimbursed at ‘x’ pence per mile. They need to be singed by the line manager to confirm that the journey was necessary and that only necessary claims are being made.

Question 11

3.1 Petty cash voucher

Answer 11

A form that records the amount removed from petty cash. Usually the employee will need to provide which will be attached to the petty cash voucher as proof of purchase.

Question 12

3.1 Stock requisition form

Answer 12

This is done when goods need to be ordered for relevant use e.g. printing paper or filing cabinet. The completed form is sent to the purchasing department. then if the purchase is necessary they order it on behalf of the employee/department.

Question 13

3.1 IT requisition form

Answer 13

A request for IT equipment to be ordered such as laptops, printers and portable hard drives. Similar to the stock requisition form, it is completed by the employee or manager requesting the equipment then forwarded to the purchasing department once authorised by a senior member of staff.

Question 14

3.1 Reprographics requisition form

Answer 14

Completed by an employee requiring either photocopying to be done or other reprographic services e.g. booklets being produced or signs being laminated.

Question 15

3.2 Bank statement

Answer 15

Summary of transactions in and out of a bank account over a period of time, usually a month. The account will be monitored by checking the inflows and outflows recorded on the bank statement against the business’s own financial records. the bank statement also indicated the funds available for making purchases or paying bills.

Question 16

3.2 Budget variance report

Answer 16

The difference between budget income and expenditure and the actual income and expenditure figures. The budget variance report summarises these differences and helps make decisions such as; Do costs need reducing? Why is revenue falling?

Question 17

3.2 Delivery note

Answer 17

A document that accompanies a shipment of goods. Details he produces and the qualities delivered. the customer will sign this and confirm that the correct items/ number of items were delivered. Any issues such as missing or imaged items will be highlighted. the supplier then refers to this delivery note when issuing the invoice for this delivery.

Question 18

3.2 Goods received note

Answer 18

A document used by the customer for checking items received to make sure they match the purchase order. Once checked a copy will be returned to accounts staff, who check the goods received note against the invoice to to ensure the payment is made for the correct number of items.

Question 19

3.2 Payslip

Answer 19

An employees record of the pay they have received.

Question 20

3.2 Receipt

Answer 20

This is evidence that goods and services have been purchased and how much was payed for them. likely to detail the date, business that the goods or services has been supplied by and the payment method.

Question 21

3.2 Remittance advice

Answer 21

Notification sent by a customer to a supplier informing them that their invoice has been paid.

Question 22

3.2 Request for repair form

Answer 22

This can be an internal document e.g. if the projector breaks a request for repair form can be sent to the maintenance team. it can also be external and sent to an external repair company e.g. if a business leases a photocopier and the contract includes maintenance then a request for repair form can be sent to the leaser detailing the issue. external will require additional information such as company name and address.

Question 23

3.3 Cheque

Answer 23

a document requesting that a specified sum of money be paid form one persons/businesses bank account into another persons/businesses bank account.
AD - can be sent by post, large amounts of cash don’t need to be handled, the drawer has a record of the payment being made.
DIS - cheques for business accounts usually need to be singed by 2 people which can be time consuming, they can take a while to go through, they can bounce

Question 24

3.3 Credit card

Answer 24

Enables a person or business to make payments for goods and services, this money is essentially borrowed and needs to be payed back to the bank, if it is payed back no interest will be added.
AD - Payments can be made even if they don’t have the money at the time, protection from fraud, can be used online.
DIS - interest will be charged if the fuel amount isn’t repaid to the credit card company when requested, some businesses charge the payer a fee when paying my credit card, payees must pay a processing fee which reduces the amount of money received.

Question 25

3.3 Debit card

Answer 25

a card allowing the holder to transfer money electronically from their bank account when making a purchase.
AD - large amounts of cash don’t need to be handled, can be used for online payments
DIS - Some businesses pay an additional fee when paying with debit card, more susceptible to fraud, if the money is not in the account then the payment will not go through,.

Question 26

3.4 Notice of meeting

Answer 26

Can be formal or informal depending on purpose of meeting and who’s attending. if a formal meeting then this will likely be sent via letter, however if its informal this will be sent by informal methods such as email. Notice should include; date, time, location and purpose of meeting, if any information needs to be brought before hand or read before the meeting this should also be included.

Question 27

3.4 Agenda

Answer 27

This lists, in order, items for discussion in a meeting or activities to be undertaken. it will also reconfirm the date, time and location of the meeting. everyone involved in the meeting should be provided with a copy of the agenda.

Question 28

3.4 Minutes

Answer 28

These are a summary of what was discussed during the meeting. they begin with a date, time and location of the meeting and the names of the people who attended and those who couldn’t. after the meeting a copy of the minutes will be distributed to all attendees.

Question 29

3.4 Conferences

Answer 29

A conference is a large meeting that can be used to provide information to a large group of people. The attendees at a conference are known as delegates.

Question 30

3.4 Documentation for delegates

Answer 30

Tf its internal to a business then details may be emailed to delegates, however if it is not then the event will need to be publicised e.g. via brochures or leaflets.
Invitations give the impression that it is an honour to attend and make an invitation more desirable.

Question 31

3.4 Documentation for staff

Answer 31

Staff facilitating the conference will need appropriate documentation e.g. a register people should sig on arrival

Question 32

3.4 Documentation for presenters

Answer 32

Require documentation for use during the presentation e.g. copies of presentation slides and prompt notes.
important that any documentation produced for conferences is checked for errors as any inaccuracies will make it appear unprofessional.