Invoices

When setting up your Invoice Maker account, you have the ability to customize the look of your invoices. You can select your default currency, date format, and invoice color scheme.

From your dashboard:

• Click on Settings
• Click on Document Defaults
• Choose your Invoice Color
• Set your Default Invoice/Estimate Terms
  • Next Day
  • 7 Days
  • 14 Days
  • 30 Days
  • 60 Days
  • 90 Days
  • 180 Days
  • 365 Days
• Set your Default Invoice/Estimate/Receipt Notes
  • These notes will appear on every invoice/estimate/receipt you create.
• Invoice Maker Branding Toggle (ON/OFF)
• PDF Status Stamps Toggle (ON/OFF)

Click Save Changes to save any updates made to the customization settings.

**These settings can be updated at any time, but any changes made will appear only on invoices made after the settings have been saved. No previous invoices will reflect the changes made to the updated customization settings.

From your Invoice Maker account dashboard, you are able to make personalized and customized invoices with ease. Once you create your account, you can create your first invoice upon login.

To make an invoice, simply follow the prompts:

1. Click on Create
2. Select Invoice
3. Add all Pertinent Data pertaining to the invoice 
4. Select a client from the Bill To dropdown menu
5. Enter the Item, Price, and Quantity of the products or services being invoiced
6. To add multiple items, click Add Item

You are able to add an Item Description, set the Tax, and allocate a Discount per item (if applicable).

Once you add the pertinent data to an invoice (client, product, taxes, discounts), that data will automatically save in your Invoice Maker dashboard for future use. You can find the saved data in the menu bar on the left-hand side of your dashboard.

Once your invoice is complete, you can add notes through Options. You can also Save, Preview, Download, Share the Link, or Send your invoice.

*Please note that you will not be able to edit your invoice after downloading or sending it per "good accounting practices." You always have the ability to edit an invoice in its DRAFT state.

When creating a new invoice, or editing an invoice still in its “DRAFT” state, you have the ability to add a customizable Invoice Number.

You will find this customizable field on the top left corner of the “Create Invoice” screen. If you elect to personalize your invoice number, it will be in effect for that particular invoice only. 

If you choose not to customize your invoice number, it will default to the next available automated invoice number based on the number of invoices in your account (ex: INV001, INV002, etc.)

Please note:

• Your customizable Invoice Number can be a maximum of 10 digits.
  • It can include a dash (-), but no other special characters.
• You do not have to add a personalized invoice number to every (or any) invoice.
• If you download or send your invoice, you will not be able to update your customized invoice number.

From your Invoice Maker account dashboard, you are able to add a discount to your invoice. Once you create a discount, you have the option to apply it to the current invoice only or add it to your Discounts to make the discount available to any future invoices created.

To create a discount directly from your dashboard, simply follow the prompts:

1. Log in to your Invoice Maker account
2. Click on Create
3. Click on the Discount tab from the drop-down menu
4. Add your Discount Name and Discount Rate. You can save it as a flat rate or a percentage.
5. Click Save

To add a discount to an invoice, simply follow the prompts:

1. Click on Make Invoice
2. Add a Product to your invoice
3. Click on the + Discount dropdown button next to the Product Description
   • From here, you can search and select a previously created discount, or create a new one (for the current invoice only)
4.  

You have the ability to edit or delete your discounts at any time under the Items > Discounts tab in your Invoice Maker dashboard. You are able to add multiple discounts to the same product, if applicable. Updates to discounts will only reflect on invoices made after the edits have been completed and saved. Changes to discount parameters will not update previous invoices that include that discount.

Once you have created your invoice by adding all the necessary information, you can update it in various ways. By utilizing the “Invoices” button on the left-hand side of the application dashboard, you can view a complete list of your invoices. For each individual invoice, you can:

• View 
• Send 
• Download
• Edit (if in the "Draft" state)
• Duplicate 

**You only have the ability to edit an invoice while it is in its "Draft" state to maintain good accounting practices. You will not be able to edit an invoice after it has been sent or downloaded. 

Auto Saving

Saving an invoice without sending it to a client will save the invoice as a draft.

Sending an invoice will automatically save the invoice as unpaid. Downloading an invoice will automatically save the invoice as unpaid.

Status Dropdown

Until a user saves their invoice, the status dropdown is hidden. Once saved, the status appears above the “Save” button.

Send/Download Autosave Alert (can no longer edit)

If you attempt to download or send an invoice, the invoice will be “auto-saved”. If you utilize the auto-save feature, you will no longer be able to edit this particular invoice. You have the ability to set your preferences to “not show this alert again.”

Once you have created your invoice, you are able to process it in various ways. By utilizing the options on the bottom of the invoice screen, you can:

• Send  your invoice directly to a client
• Copy a link of your invoice
• Download your invoice
• Preview your invoice
• Save the invoice 
• Delete your invoice (if in draft mode)

Invoices can also be sent from the Invoices tab if you’ve previously saved it as a draft but decided to send it later.

To send from the Invoices Tab on the left-hand side of your dashboard:

• First, select the invoice you’d like to send
• Click the Arrow under the action options to send

Would you like to share a direct link to your invoice with your customers? From your Invoice Maker account dashboard, you are able to “Create a Link” for each invoice you create, and you can send it directly to a customer for them to open at their leisure. 

Once you create your invoice, follow the directions below to copy your link.

1. Log in to your Invoice Maker account
2. Click on the Invoices Tab and find the invoice you wish to create a payment link for
3. Click on the Invoice
4. Click on the Preview and Send button from the action options
5. Click Generate Shareable Link button under "More Options"
6. Copy the payment link and share.

Email your link directly to your customer or share however you would like (SMS, text, etc.).

Make note that once you create a shareable link, you will no longer be able to edit your invoice. 

Sometimes you may want to send your customers a PDF version of their invoice. From your Invoice Maker account dashboard, you are able to download an invoice to your desktop as a PDF  file, and you can email it directly to a customer. 

Once you create your invoice, follow the directions below to send it as a PDF.

1. Log in to your Invoice Maker account
2. Click on the Invoices Tab and find the invoice you wish to send as a PDF
3. Click on the Download button from the action options
4. Find your downloaded PDF on your desktop
5. Email your PDF file directly to your customer

You can also download the invoice directly from the Make Invoice screen.

1. From the Make Invoice screen, click on the Download button to save the PDF version of your invoice to your desktop.

2. Find your downloaded PDF on your desktop

3. Email your PDF file directly to your customer

Please note that once you download your invoice, you will not be able to make any edits to the invoice in the future. 

Under Invoice Maker's Pro Plan, you can schedule automatic payment reminders for your customers. You can select up to three (3) reminders per invoice, and they can be dedicated as reminders for an upcoming payment or a past due payment. 

To set up automatic reminders:

• When drafting your invoice, click on "Add/Edit Reminders." 
• Choose up to three (3) reminders for that invoice.
• Click Save.

Once saved, you can view your invoice's reminders on the View Invoice page, below the invoice preview itself.

Scheduling Invoice Maker's automated reminders will trigger an email to your customer based on the reminder sequence you select. 

If you do not have a Pro Plan Subscription, you always have the ability to upgrade via your "Subscriptions" tab. 

New Invoices

No status is applied when a user makes a new invoice. If a user applies any status to an invoice before saving it, that will automatically trigger a save.

Draft: If you save an invoice but it has not been sent to anyone. Invoice status moves to unpaid once the invoice is sent to someone.

Unpaid: Once you send an invoice to someone, it is automatically categorized as unpaid. Changing an invoice status from unpaid to paid will be done manually unless you are processing payments through one of Invoice Maker’s 3rd party Payment Processors, then it will categorize automatically as unpaid until payment is made in full.

Paid: You will mark the invoice as paid in the status dropdown menu manually if collecting payment directly. If you are processing payments through one of Invoice Maker’s 3rd Party Payment Processors, this status will categorize automatically as paid once payment is made in full, and the invoice reflects a $0.00 balance due.

Refunded: If you refund a customer, you must manually update the status to refunded. Draft invoices cannot be refunded because they have not been sent. If you are processing payments through one of Invoice Maker’s 3rd Party Payment Processors, this status will update manually if you refund the payment through the Payment Processor.

Void: An invoice that has already been sent to someone that needs to be canceled. You cannot delete an invoice that has already been sent to someone, so void would be your only option to keep the invoice in your records. Draft invoices cannot be voided, only deleted.

Deleted: When you delete a draft invoice, the status is also deleted.

Example Scenarios:

Scenario 1:

Joel creates an invoice to bill Invoice Maker for website design and immediately clicks on "send" to send the invoice. This invoice is automatically classified as unpaid until Ryan changes it.

Scenario 2:

Invoice Maker reached out to Joel because the invoice they received was short by 5 hours. Joel goes to his invoices page, clicks on the invoice, and marks it as void. Joel then creates a new invoice for the additional 5 hours, but this time he downloads the invoice instead of sending it so he can just email Invoice Maker the PDF. This new invoice is automatically marked as unpaid since the platform assumes that the download action is the same as sending an invoice.

Scenario 3:

Joel received payment from Invoice Maker for the new invoice he sent. Joel likes to keep track of his accounting, so he goes into the invoice and marks it as paid.

Scenario 4:

Joel creates a new invoice for a new client that contains 15 hours of design work. Joel is not ready to send the new client their invoice for another 5 days, so he just saves the invoice. This invoice becomes a draft. In 5 days, Joel realizes he needs to add 5 hours to this invoice. Joel navigates to his invoices page, finds the draft, clicks on "edit invoice", adds 5 hours, and sends the invoice. This invoice becomes unpaid.

From your Invoice Maker account dashboard, you can make personalized and customized estimates with ease. Once you create your account, you can create your first estimate upon login.

To make an estimate, simply follow the prompts:

1. Click on Create
2. Select Estimate
3. Add all Pertinent Data pertaining to the invoice 
4. Select a client from the Bill To dropdown menu
5. Enter the Item, Price, and Quantity of the products or services being invoiced
6. To add multiple items, click Add Item

You are able to add an Item Description, set the Tax, and allocate a Discount per item (if applicable).

Once you add the pertinent data to an estimate (client, product, taxes, discounts), that data will automatically save in your Invoice Maker dashboard. You can use this saved data to create the supplemental invoice after the estimate has been approved. You can find the saved data in the menu bar on the left-hand side of your dashboard.

Once your estimate is complete, you can Save, Preview, Download, or Send it.

Once sent to your customer, they will have the opportunity to review and Approve or Deny the estimate. They also have the ability to download the estimate for their records.

If they Approve, they will have the option to electronically sign, or type their signature for approval. 

Once approved, the estimate status will update from Unapproved to Approved in your Invoice Maker dashboard automatically.

You also have the ability to manually update the approval status of each invoice through your dashboard.  

Once an estimate is marked as "Approved" you are able to convert that estimate directly into an invoice manually. 

To convert an estimate directly into an invoice, simply follow the prompts:

1. Click on the Approved Estimate
2. Select Copy to Invoice
3. Confirm that you do want to copy the estimate to an invoice on the pop-up
4. The new Invoice will be created with all information from the approved estimate

Once your estimate has been copied to an invoice, you can Save, Preview, Download, Share the Link, or Send it.

*Please note that you will not be able to edit your invoice after downloading or sending it per "good accounting practices." You always have the ability to edit an invoice in its DRAFT state.

You are able to customize your invoice payment terms based on your agreement with your customers. We offer some standardized timeframes, as well as, a custom field for you to specify any terms you like. 

Available Invoice Terms:

• None
• Custom
• Next Day
• 7 days
• 14 days
• 30 days
• 60 days
• 90 days
• 180 days
• 365 days

If you preset your payment terms for all of your invoices through your Settings Tab, the invoice due date will populate automatically based upon your selected terms.

If you select custom in the terms dropdown, nothing changes. The due date stays whatever the last selection was and you can manually edit the due date. You can always do this anyway, even if you have selected predetermined terms through your Settings.

If you select none in the terms dropdown, the due date input should be hidden.

With Invoice Maker, you are able to view all of your invoices in one convenient place. By reviewing your Invoice History, you are able to easily check the status of, as well as complete a number of actions for each invoice saved to your dashboard. 

From the Invoices tab, you can perform the following actions for each invoice:

• View your invoice history
• Check invoice Status 
• Review your Invoice Totals
• View
• Send
• Download 
• Duplicate

By having all of your invoices in one place, you can get a quick overview of each and perform all the necessary functions to facilitate your transactions.

You can find an invoice easily by using our Search Bar, and you can sort your invoices by any metric listed:

• Invoice #
• Client
• Date
• Status
• Total

The Invoice Timeline is the static list of events that occur from any invoice. Within your dashboard, you will have the ability to view a basic log of events relating to a particular invoice that you created. 

This list is the sequence of events from start to finish based on the Invoice Timeline.

• Invoice Created
• Invoice Saved
• Invoice Voided (if applicable)
• Email Sent
• Email Opened
• Invoice Viewed
• Invoice Downloaded
• Payment Failed (if applicable)
• Payment Refunded (if applicable)
• Payment Successful

We at Invoice Maker strive to make sending invoices and collecting payments as easy and user-friendly as possible through our platform. We offer various tool tips for commonly used actions throughout our system to give you a brief indication of what that tool, action, or line item means and how to use it. 

You have the ability to leave the tool tips visible throughout our system, or you can toggle them to be hidden through your account settings.

To toggle your tool tips between VISIBLE/HIDDEN, follow the prompts:

1. Click on Settings on the left-hand side of your screen
2. Under Account, toggle the Tool Tips between ON/OFF 
3. Click Save Changes