Create, issue and send an invoice

Start from the booking whenever there is one

Open the booking, go to the Commercial tab and select Generate Invoice. The lines and the total follow the booking price, extra charges come in as their own lines, and a booking with several jobs gets one line per job when the job prices add up to the booking total. Selecting it again on a booking that already has a draft refreshes the draft instead of making a second invoice.

Create an invoice by hand in Accounting > Invoices only for work that has no booking, such as a one-off charge. A manual invoice is not tied to a booking total, so nothing checks it against the job for you.

A draft is your safety net

Both routes give you a draft. It carries a temporary number, it can be edited, and deleting it costs nothing because the real number is not given yet. Read the draft as the client will: the billing name and email, the lines, the tax and the due date. Correct it here, because after issuing you cannot.

What issuing does

Issuing gives the invoice its real number, dates it today and moves the due date with it, keeping the same length of terms. From then on the lines, totals and client details are fixed. Only the delivery email and the Internal notes can still change, and the invoice can never go back to draft.

You have two ways to issue. Send invoice issues and emails the invoice with its PDF in one step, which is what you want for almost every invoice. More then Issue invoice issues without emailing, for the rare case where you deliver it some other way.

An invoice that was issued but never emailed also reads Sent, even though the client has seen nothing, and automatic reminders skip it. If you use Issue invoice, make a habit of sending it the same day.

Who can do what

By default managers can create a draft but cannot issue or send it; owners and admins can. That split works well in a small office: the person who prepares invoices drafts them, and someone who signs off on money issues them. Check the roles in your team match how you want to work.

When the client needs more time

Do not reissue an invoice just to move its date. Use More then Extend due date. The invoice keeps its printed due date, the extension is recorded beside it, and overdue status, aging and reminders follow the new date.