WAEC Commerce: Business Documents Made Simple (Invoice, Delivery Note and More)

Business documents come up in almost every WAEC Commerce paper. The questions are short, but the options are designed to look alike: invoice, delivery note, advice note and consignment note all "go with the goods" in some sense. The way to score these marks every time is to know who sends each document, when, and why.

The documents in the order a sale happens

Think of a simple trade: a retailer in Makurdi buys 50 cartons of soap from a wholesaler in Lagos.

1. Letter of enquiry: the buyer asks about prices, terms and availability.
2. Quotation, price list or catalogue: the seller replies with prices and terms of sale.
3. Order: the buyer formally asks for the goods. It states quantities, prices and delivery terms.
4. Pro-forma invoice (only sometimes): an invoice sent before the goods. It's used when the buyer must pay in advance, or when a document is needed to arrange an import licence.
5. Advice note: tells the buyer the goods have been dispatched and when to expect them. It travels separately, ahead of the goods.
6. Delivery note: travels with the goods. The person receiving them (the consignee) checks the goods and signs a copy, which the carrier takes back. That signed copy is proof that the goods were received.
7. Consignment note: used when an independent carrier (rail, road haulier) moves the goods. It's a contract between the sender and the carrier, and is also signed on delivery.
8. Invoice: the bill. It tells the buyer how much is owed and on what terms (for example, "5% cash discount if paid within 30 days").
9. Debit note: increases the amount the buyer owes, for example when the invoice undercharged.
10. Credit note: reduces the amount owed, for example when goods are returned or the buyer was overcharged. It is usually printed in red.
11. Statement of account: a monthly summary of invoices, credit notes and payments, ending with the balance owed.
12. Receipt: the buyer's proof that a payment was made.

A WAEC-style question

Which of the following accompanies goods supplied and serves as a receipt when signed by the consignee?

A. Invoice B. Order C. Delivery note D. Requisition note

Answer: C, delivery note.

• The delivery note is the only one of the four that physically travels with the goods, and signing it is how the consignee acknowledges receiving them.
• A (invoice) is the commonest wrong answer. An invoice asks for payment; it doesn't prove delivery. It is often posted separately, after the goods.
• B (order) comes from the buyer before anything is sent.
• D (requisition note) is an internal request from one department to another, for example from a store to the purchasing department.

How to tell the confusing pairs apart

• Advice note vs delivery note. The advice note says the goods are coming. The delivery note arrives with them.
• Invoice vs pro-forma invoice. The pro-forma comes before the sale is completed, as a quotation in invoice form or a request for advance payment. The ordinary invoice comes after the goods are supplied.
• Credit note vs debit note. A credit note reduces what the buyer owes; a debit note increases it. Remember: "credit the customer = owe less".
• Statement of account vs invoice. The invoice covers one sale; the statement summarises many over a period.
• Delivery note vs consignment note. Both are signed on delivery. The consignment note is used when a separate carrier moves the goods.

Three quick checks before you choose

1. Who sends it? The buyer sends enquiries and orders; the seller sends quotations, invoices, advice notes, delivery notes, credit and debit notes, and statements.
2. When is it sent? Before the goods, with the goods, or after the goods?
3. What does it do? Request, inform, prove delivery, ask for payment, correct an amount, or summarise?

Ask those three questions and almost every business-documents question answers itself.

Practise it

Try ten Commerce questions now and check every explanation: practise free on AceWAEC. For a full timed run, try a mock paper.