A bill is a written statement of how much money one owes for goods and services, especially in a business context. Bills and invoices are important business documents used to request payment, record financial transactions, and help build trusting client and customer relationships. They also serve a number of other functions, including helping with expense and revenue tracking and reporting.
The term Bill is also used in a parliamentary context to refer to a proposed new law that goes through a process of discussion, debate and voting before it becomes an Act of Parliament (known as Royal Assent). In nations with civil laws bills are called laws projects or, in the Netherlands, wetsontwerp and wetsvoorstel. During the legislative process, bills may be amended. The final version of a bill is then sent to the head of state where they can be assented to, withheld assent or vetoed. In the United States, if a president vetoes a bill it is usually returned to the legislature for reconsideration.
When a bill passes all stages it is then known as an Act of Parliament and it can be applied to specific situations. In the UK there are three different kinds of Bill: Public, Private and Hybrid Bills. Each has a different legislative process and they are numbered in the order of their introduction. During the process, when a Bill is sent to the other house of parliament it can be given a different number by the house. When a Bill has passed both houses of parliament it is presented to the reigning monarch for approval, or Royal Assent.