Invoice Details

Invoices can sometimes be tricky to interpret — especially when discounts and VAT are involved. Here’s a simple breakdown of the different elements, using a real-life invoice (with anonymized data) from a booking made through GetYourGuide (GYG).

The Basic Elements

These are the basic elements of each invoice line:

• Pax: Number of guests on the ticket.

  • Note: This may differ from quantity on certain ticket types, such as family tickets.

• Quantity: Number of tickets.

• Price: Price per ticket (1 quantity).

• Discount: A percentage discount applied to all lines.

  • Discount can also mean commission to OTAs

• Total: The total amount after the discount is applied.

💡 Example calculation: 2,270 × 2 × 0.75 (25% discount) = 3,405 NOK

Bilde av invoice

VAT Breakdown

The VAT section on the invoice may be hard to interpret at a glance. Here’s a clearer overview:

What the Columns Mean

▸ Excl. VAT

This is the price before VAT is added, after any discounts have been applied.

💡 Example: Original price after discount: 2292/1,12 = 2046 excl. VAT

You see “2,292” in the invoice (the amount the customer pays, including VAT).

To find the price before VAT, we divide by 1.12 (because the VAT is 12%).

2,292 ÷ 1.12 = 2,046 → That’s the price before VAT.

▸ VAT

The VAT calculated based on the discounted price.

💡 Example: 12% VAT on 2,046 = 246.

▸ Discount

The amount deducted from the original gross price.

💡 Example: 792 (gross) − 594 (after discount) = 198 discount

Formula: Original gross price − Excl. VAT = Discount

▸ Incl. VAT

The final amount the customer pays after VAT is added. This is the price the customer pays.

💡 Example: 2,046 (Excl.) + 246 (VAT) = 2,292.

📊 Full Summary Example

While not shown this way on the invoice itself, the full calculation per VAT line can be summarized like this:

Other Examples of VAT Calculations

Understanding VAT can be easier when we look at real scenarios. Here are a few examples that highlight how VAT behaves depending on the type of discount used. 

Example 1: No Discount

In this case, the invoice has no discount. You can clearly see how the excl. VAT is calculated directly from the incl. VAT:

💡 In this example, the total ticket price is 3,000 NOK, evenly split across three VAT lines.

If two tickets are purchased, the same rules apply — each VAT line is simply doubled.

📌 Example 2: Percentage-Based Discount

This is the type of discount used by most OTAs and when applying a % discount to the entire invoice.

In this example, a 10% discount is applied to each VAT line.

📘 Reference:

• 720 NOK → See Excl. VAT rule

• 180 NOK → See VAT rule

• 100 NOK → See Discount rule

📌 Example 3: Fixed Amount Discount

Bilberry also allows setting a fixed discount amount on an invoice.

🧾 Example: A fixed 1,000 NOK discount is applied to a ticket totaling 3,000 NOK, with the total split across three VAT rates (1,000 NOK each).

If the original VAT split is uneven, the discount will follow the base price structure.

Example with Uneven VAT Rates (3000 NOK tour with 1500 NOK discount):

✅ The discount is applied proportionally to the original base price in Bilberry.