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Cameroon GCE O-Level Commerce study materials
Cameroon GCE O-Level Commerce study resources

Cameroon GCE O-Level Commerce: Business Documentation

Cameroon GCE O-Level Commerce · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Business Documentation

Business documents record and prove each step of a transaction. Examiners like the sequence of documents in a trade, the credit-note/debit-note distinction, and standard export papers.

The home-trade sequence

  1. Enquiry - buyer asks about goods and terms.
  2. Quotation or price list - seller states prices, discounts and delivery terms.
  3. Order - buyer's formal request to supply.
  4. Acknowledgement - seller confirms acceptance.
  5. Pro-forma invoice - a quotation in invoice form; it is not a demand for payment.
  6. Delivery note - accompanies goods and is signed by the buyer to prove delivery, not payment.
  7. Invoice - goods, quantity, unit price, trade discount, VAT at 19.25%, net amount due.
  8. Statement of account - summary of transactions and balance due over a period.
  9. Receipt - proof of payment.
  10. Credit note (returned goods or overcharge) and debit note (undercharge or extra charge).

Foreign-trade documents

Indent (an order from abroad), letter of credit (bank guarantee of payment), bill of lading (sea transport and document of title), air waybill, certificate of origin (customs and CEMAC preference), insurance certificate, consular invoice and packing list.

Instruments of payment

A cheque is drawn by a customer on a bank. A bill of exchange is drawn by one trader on another, ordering payment at sight or at a future date. A promissory note is the debtor's written promise to pay.

Worked example

A Douala shop orders 50 cartons of soap at 12,000 FCFA each; ten cartons arrive damaged and are returned. Invoice: 50 × 12,000 = 600,000 FCFA; VAT 19.25% = 115,500; total 715,500 FCFA. Credit note: 10 × 12,000 = 120,000 + VAT 23,100 = 143,100 FCFA. Net payment = 715,500 − 143,100 = 572,400 FCFA. Reasoning: a credit note, not a fresh invoice, corrects the customer's account.

Traps

  • Treating the pro-forma invoice as evidence of a completed sale.
  • Sending a debit note for returned goods; that requires a credit note.
  • Forgetting the facture normalisée and taxpayer number (NIU) required in Cameroon for VAT deduction.
  • Confusing a delivery note with an invoice.