Invoicing

Books provides full accounts receivable invoicing — from manual invoice creation to automatic generation from PSA billable time. Invoices automatically post GL entries when sent and update when payments are recorded.

Invoice Statuses

Status	Description
Draft	Not yet finalized. Can be freely edited. No GL impact.
Sent	Emailed to the client. GL entry posted (DR Accounts Receivable, CR Revenue).
Viewed	Client has opened the invoice (tracked via Portal).
Partial	Some payment received but balance remains.
Paid	Fully paid. Balance is zero.
Overdue	Past the due date with an outstanding balance.
Void	Cancelled. Reversing GL entry posted automatically.
Written Off	Deemed uncollectible. Bad debt expense recorded.

Creating a Manual Invoice

1. Navigate to Accounts Receivable > Invoices
2. Click New Invoice
3. Select a customer (or create one inline)
4. Set the invoice date and due date (based on payment terms)
5. Add line items (see below)
6. Review subtotal, tax, and total
7. Click Save as Draft or Send

Line Item Types

Each line item on an invoice includes:

Field	Description
Description	What the line item is for
Product	Optional — select from your product catalog
GL Account	Revenue account to credit (auto-populated from product if selected)
Quantity	Number of units
Unit Price	Price per unit (in cents internally, displayed as dollars)
Discount %	Optional line-level discount
Tax Rate	Applicable tax rate (auto-populated from customer settings)
Amount	Calculated: quantity x unit price - discount + tax

Auto-Generating Invoices from PSA

When PSA integration is enabled, billable time entries sync to Books automatically. To generate an invoice from synced time:

1. Navigate to Accounts Receivable > Invoices
2. Click New Invoice from PSA Time
3. Select the customer and date range
4. Books pulls all uninvoiced billable time entries
5. Each time entry becomes a line item with hours, rate, and description
6. Review and adjust as needed
7. Send the invoice

💡You can combine PSA time entries with manual line items on the same invoice — useful for adding product charges or fixed-fee items alongside hourly billing.

See PSA Integration for setup details.

Tax on Invoices

Tax is calculated per line item based on:

1. The tax rate assigned to the line item
2. The customer's tax-exempt flag (if enabled, no tax applied)
3. The tax jurisdiction settings

Tax amounts appear as a separate total on the invoice. See Tax Settings for configuration.

Discounts

Books supports line-level discounts:

• Set a discount percentage on any line item
• The discount reduces the line item amount before tax
• Discount details appear on the invoice

Invoice Branding

Customize how invoices look under Settings:

• Company logo
• Company name and address
• Invoice footer text (terms, bank details, etc.)
• Color scheme

Sending Invoices

When you click Send, Books:

1. Posts the GL entry (DR Accounts Receivable, CR Revenue for each line)
2. Sends the invoice email via Relay
3. Includes a link to pay via the Portal (if Stripe is connected)
4. Sets the status to Sent

ℹ️Make sure Relay is configured to ensure reliable invoice delivery. Check the Relay integration if clients report not receiving invoices.

Recurring Invoices

For clients on fixed monthly contracts:

1. Create a recurring invoice template
2. Set the frequency (monthly, quarterly, annual)
3. Set the start date and optional end date
4. Books auto-generates and optionally auto-sends invoices on schedule

Recurring invoices appear in the invoice list with a recurring icon.

Estimates

Before creating an invoice, you can send an estimate:

1. Navigate to Accounts Receivable > Estimates
2. Create an estimate with line items (same format as invoices)
3. Send it to the client
4. When accepted, convert it to an invoice with one click

Estimate statuses: Draft, Sent, Accepted, Declined, Expired, Converted.

Voiding an Invoice

To void a sent invoice:

1. Open the invoice
2. Click Void
3. Books posts a reversing GL entry automatically
4. The invoice status changes to Void

⚠️Voiding an invoice with partial payments applied will also reverse the payment applications. Make sure to communicate with the client before voiding.

Writing Off Bad Debt

For invoices deemed uncollectible:

1. Open the overdue invoice
2. Click Write Off
3. Books posts a GL entry (DR Bad Debt Expense, CR Accounts Receivable)
4. The invoice status changes to Written Off

Next Steps

• Payment Recording — Record payments against invoices
• PSA Integration — Auto-generate invoices from billable time
• Financial Reports — AR aging reports