Invoices

• Introduction
• Create Invoice
  • Invoice fields
  • Adding items
  • Calculating totals
• Invoice Actions
  • Mark as Paid
  • Send Unpaid Email
  • Cancel
  • Delete
• Email variables and shortcodes
  • Available variables
  • Available shortcodes

Introduction

Invoices let you bill customers and track payments against those bills. An invoice contains one or more items, optional discounts and taxes, and a status that reflects whether it is paid, unpaid, refunded, or canceled.

Invoices link to customers, payments, and gateways. You can create invoices manually, send reminders, and record payments. Each invoice generates a unique payment URL that customers can use to complete payment through your configured gateways.

Create Invoice

To create a new invoice:

1. Click New invoice from the Invoices page.
2. Choose a Customer (or create a new one if needed).
3. Set the invoice details:
   • Currency
   • Due Date
   • Status (usually Unpaid)
4. Add invoice Items (see below).
5. Configure additional charges:
   • Shipping (optional)
   • Discount (optional, fixed or percentage)
   • VAT/Tax (optional)
6. Add Notes for internal reference or customer information.
7. Click Save.

After saving, the invoice appears in the list and can be viewed, edited, sent to the customer, or linked to payments.

Invoice fields

Field	Description	Required
Customer	The customer being billed	Yes
Currency	Currency for all amounts on the invoice	Yes
Due Date	Payment deadline	Yes
Status	Current state (Unpaid, Paid, Pending, Canceled, Refunded)	Yes
Shipping	Additional shipping or delivery charges	No
Discount	Fixed amount or percentage discount	No
VAT/Tax	Tax rate or amount	No
Notes	Internal notes or customer instructions	No

Adding items

Each invoice must contain at least one line item. For each item, specify:

Field	Description	Required
Description	Clear description of the product or service	Yes
Quantity	Number of units	Yes
Amount	Price per unit	Yes
Discount	Item-level discount (fixed or percentage)	No
VAT	Item-level tax rate	No

TIP

Use specific, descriptive item names. Instead of "Service Fee," use "Website Development - Homepage Redesign" so customers understand exactly what they're paying for.

Calculating totals

The invoice automatically calculates:

1. Subtotal = Sum of (Quantity × Amount) for all items, minus item-level discounts
2. After discount = Subtotal minus invoice-level discount
3. Shipping = Added to subtotal
4. VAT/Tax = Applied to subtotal (after discount and shipping, depending on configuration)
5. Total = Final amount due

WARNING

Ensure your discount and tax calculations match your business requirements and local regulations. Test with sample invoices before sending to customers.

Invoice Actions

Invoices support several actions from the list or detail page.

Mark as Paid

Record a payment against the invoice manually when payment is received outside the system or through a non-integrated gateway.

Steps:

1. Select the invoice from the list.
2. Click Mark as Paid.
3. Select the Gateway through which payment was received.
4. Enter the Transaction ID from the gateway.
5. Click Save.

This creates a payment record linked to the invoice and updates the invoice status to Paid.

TIP

Always include the gateway transaction ID when marking as paid. This maintains an audit trail and helps with reconciliation.

Send Unpaid Email

Send a payment reminder to the customer. The email editor supports Markdown formatting and dynamic variables/shortcodes.

Steps:

1. Select the invoice from the list.
2. Click Send Unpaid Email.
3. Customize the email template (optional).
4. Click Send.

The customer receives an email with invoice details and a payment link.

TIP

Schedule regular reminders for unpaid invoices. Consider sending reminders at strategic intervals to encourage timely payment.

Cancel

Marks the invoice as Canceled. Use this when a bill should no longer be payable but must remain in history.

When to cancel:

• Order was canceled by customer
• Service was not delivered
• Invoice was created in error but needs to remain for audit purposes
• Replaced by a corrected invoice

Steps:

1. Select the invoice from the list.
2. Click Cancel or change status to Canceled.
3. Confirm the action.

WARNING

Canceled invoices cannot be paid. If you need to reactivate an invoice, you'll need to create a new one.

Delete

Permanently removes the invoice from the system.

Steps:

1. Select the invoice from the list.
2. Click Delete.
3. Confirm the action.

WARNING

Use Delete only when absolutely necessary. Prefer Cancel to preserve history and maintain accurate reports. Deleted invoices cannot be recovered.

Email variables and shortcodes

When sending unpaid email reminders, you can use dynamic variables and shortcodes to personalize the message.

Available variables

Variables are replaced with actual invoice data when the email is sent:

Variable	Description	Example Output
{name}	Customer name	John Smith
{invoice_id}	Invoice reference number	INV-2024-001
{amount}	Total amount due	$150.00
{due_date}	Payment deadline	October 15, 2024
{days_overdue}	Days past due date	5
{payment_url}	Direct link to payment page	https://pay.example.com/inv/...
{status}	Current invoice status	Unpaid
{brand_name}	Your business name	Acme Corporation

Example usage:

Dear {name},

This is a reminder that invoice {invoice_id} for {amount} is due on {due_date}.

Please complete payment at your earliest convenience: {payment_url}

Thank you,
{brand_name}

Available shortcodes

Shortcodes insert pre-formatted HTML components:

Shortcode	Description
{payment_button}	Styled button linking to payment page
{divider}	Horizontal line separator
{signature}	Email signature with brand name and contact info

Example with shortcodes:

Dear {name},

Your invoice {invoice_id} for {amount} is now due.

{payment_button}

{divider}

If you have any questions, please contact us.

{signature}

TIP

{signature} uses your brand name and contact details automatically. Include {payment_button} for a prominent one-click payment link that improves conversion rates.