Invoices and payments

An invoice starts as a draft. When you issue it, it gets a number such as INV-0001, becomes sent, and the VAT figures are fixed as they were when it was issued. It becomes paid once payments cover the total, or void if cancelled.

You can download an invoice as a PDF with your logo and letterhead, or email it. Emails go through your own email server, which you set up in Settings, so they come from your own address. On the Growth and Scale plans, the email form has Draft with AI: pick a tone, add anything you want mentioned, and it writes a first subject and message for you to read, change and send. It is sent only the amounts, dates and work on the document, never email addresses or notes, and it never sends anything itself. The same button is on the form for emailing a quote.

Part payments: record several payments on one invoice, by card, Direct Debit, bank transfer, cash, cheque, PayPal or other. Card and Direct Debit payments are recorded automatically; you record the rest by hand on the invoice page. Refunds: only owners can refund a payment, and can choose to send the money back through Stripe when it was paid by card.

Card payments: if you connect your own Stripe account in Settings, clients can pay what they owe online from the portal, and the money goes straight to you. Direct Debit: if you connect your own GoCardless account in Settings, clients can set up a Direct Debit from their portal and pay invoices from their bank account. It takes a few working days to arrive, so the invoice shows "on its way" and is marked paid when GoCardless confirms the money has been taken. If the bank takes it back or it fails, the invoice owes it again. You can collect an invoice yourself from its page, or switch on automatic collection so invoices are collected on the day they are due. Reminders: you can have overdue invoices chased by email automatically.