---
title: "Document types"
slug: "document-types"
updated: 2025-12-10T10:48:21Z
published: 2025-12-10T10:48:21Z
canonical: "help.elorus.com/document-types"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.elorus.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Document types

The documents you create and manage in Elorus can be divided into five categories, based on their *function* and how they affect your income and expenses.

- **Invoices**. They produce **income** for your business and clients are being charged for products delivered or services rendered.
- **Credit notes**. They produce **income** for your business, but the amount is **negative**. Clients are being credited for returning products or as a discount for future purchases.
- **Bills**. They comprise **expenses** and your business is being charged for acquiring products or consuming services offered by suppliers.
- **Supplier credits**. They comprise business **expenses**, but the amount is **negative**. You are being credited for returning products to suppliers or as a discount for future purchases.
- **Estimates**. These are quotes or other documents, typically outlining products or services that a client can potentially purchase. Estimates **do not produce income, neither comprise expenses**.

## About Document types

Each of the above categories can be further divided into several **Document types**. For example, *Sales Invoices*, *VAT Invoices* and *Service Invoices*, all are different types of **Invoices**; depending on the country you operate in, different rules apply as to when such an invoice should be created.

The concept of *Document types* enables you to maintain multiple kinds of documents, each having the following properties:

### Unique title

The *Document type* **title** will be clearly marked on the generated PDF files, as shown below:

![Document types - Example PDF](https://cdn.document360.io/9493d4a2-f3a8-4344-ad47-a4f5aeb61ce6/Images/Documentation/document-type-printable-int.png)

Each *Document type* may also be translated into several languages, so that the correct term is used when invoicing in foreign languages.

### Unique numbering

Each *Document type* defines a **distinct, unique numbering** and may also have multiple [Numbering sequences](/docs/numbering-sequences) (numbering prefixes). To better understand how this all comes together, consider the following examples:

| Document | Category | Document type | Sequence | Number |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Invoice #1** | Invoice | Invoice | *[Not set]* | 1 |
| **Invoice #2** | Invoice | Invoice | *[Not set]* | 2 |
| **Service invoice #1** | Invoice | Service invoice | *[Not set]* | 1 |
| **Service invoice #SI-1** | Invoice | Service invoice | SI | 1 |
| **Service invoice #SI-2** | Invoice | Service invoice | SI | 2 |
| **Estimate #EST-1** | Estimate | Estimate | EST | 1 |
| **Pro-forma invoice #1** | Estimate | Pro-forma invoice | *[Not set]* | 1 |
| **Credit note** | Invoices | Credit note | *[Not set]* |  |
| **Proof of expenditure** | Bills | Self-billed invoice | *[Not set]* |  |
| **Supplier credit note A-1** | Invoice | Supplier credit | A | 1 |

## Pre-installed document types

By default, each Organization comes with a set of pre-installed *Document types*. There is a matching *Document type* for every document category except for Bills and Supplier credits, where you should set up your own document types, primarily to create [self-billed invoices](/docs/add-self-billed-invoices).

### Invoices and Delivery notes

You can add new document types that act as both invoices and delivery notes simultaneously, just by checking the option **Includes transport information**. This applies to *Invoices, Credit notes, Bills, and Supplier credits*.

![Add new document type - Includes transport information option](https://cdn.document360.io/9493d4a2-f3a8-4344-ad47-a4f5aeb61ce6/Images/Documentation/Add%20new%20document%20type-Includes%20transport%20information%20option.png)

## Related

- [How can I create a Proforma Invoice?](/create-proforma-invoice.md)
- [How can I manually insert an invoice number?](/manually-insert-invoice-number.md)