Invoices allow you to collect and track customer payments. They may be generated automatically or by you and your team, associated with specific bookings or composed independently. BusyPaws makes it easy to automate your invoicing and payment processes while maintaining your ability to generate manual invoices as needed. In this guide we will take a general look at invoices, from what different statuses mean to where your full invoice list can be located.
More information about invoices can also be found in our guides on Invoicing From Customer Profiles, Booking Invoices, and How Clients View Invoices. Further details on processing payments are available in our guides on Stripe Payments, Manual Payment Processing, and Processing Refunds.
Invoice Statuses
There are a variety of possible statuses for invoices: Draft, Unpaid, Paid, Partially Paid, Refunded, Uncollectable, Pending, Cancelled, Preview, and No Charge. The status of an invoice is determined by a variety of factors. Lets take a closer look at what each status means.
Draft | Draft invoices are those that have been saved but not yet sent to the customer, and have no payments yet made on them. Invoices in this state can be found on the profile of the assigned client but are not visible to the customer from their Client Portal account. These invoices may be edited to adjust credit quantities, pricing, included line items, notes, and discounts. |
Unpaid | Unpaid invoices are those that have been sent to the customer but have had no payments yet applied towards them. Invoices in this state are visible to the assigned customer from their Client Portal account. These invoices may be edited or voided. |
Paid | Paid invoices are those that have one or more payments applied that cover the full total of the invoice. This also includes invoices to which a 100% discount has been applied, either by the customer or by a user. Invoices in this state are visible to the assigned customer from their Client Portal account. These invoices cannot be edited or voided.
If the payment was processed manually (i.e. not through Stripe), the payment may be undone, switching the invoice to unpaid status, from which it can be voided. |
Partially Paid | Partially paid invoices are those that have one or more payments applied that cover only part of the invoice total. Invoices in this state are visible to the assigned customer from their Client Portal account. These invoices cannot be edited or voided. Discount codes cannot be used towards the remaining total on invoices of this type. |
Preview | Preview invoices are generated automatically when automated billing is enabled on your account. Previews are not visible to clients and cannot be edited, though they may be manually deleted or converted to a draft. They are updated once daily to include any additional past/future bookings, depending on your chosen automated billing settings.They are sent to clients automatically on the chosen invoice date.
This functionality is available only for Team and Business level plans. For more information, see our help guide on Scheduled Billing. |
No Charge | No charge invoices are those that have been generated for bookings to which existing service/add-on credits have been applied, bringing their total to $0.00. These invoices may also result when an invoice is generated for a $0.00 service. When saved, no charge invoices are automatically treated as a paid invoice, meaning that they cannot be edited or voided. Invoices in this state are visible to the assigned customer from their Client Portal account. |
Refunded | Refunded invoices are those that have one or more refunds processed on them. This includes invoices that have partial refunds as well as those that have been fully refunded. Invoices in this state are visible to the assigned customer from their Client Portal account. These invoices cannot be edited or voided. |
Uncollectable | Uncollectable invoices are those that are associated with client payments that cannot or will not be collected. This status is applied manually to invoices and is intended for any invoice on which a partial Stripe payment has been processed but no further payment will be made.
i.e. When a customer pays a deposit on services then later chooses not to proceed with their booking.
It is also applied automatically to pending invoices if no payment is submitted on them within 2 weeks. |
Pending | Pending invoices are generated automatically and are linked to membership subscriptions. There are two main paths for pending invoice creation:
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Canceled | Canceled invoices are those generated through the membership sign-up process on which payment was never processed.
i.e. If a client enters their name and email into the membership portal, but never proceeds with payment. |
Note that invoices are generally associated with the creation of service, add-on, and/or gift card credits. The status of the invoice will in turn impact the status of its associated credits. Draft, unpaid, and partially paid invoices are associated with pending credits. When the invoice is marked as paid those credits move either to available or reserved, depending on whether or not the invoice is associated with a specific booking.
Important: Credits associated with invoices that are refunded or marked uncollectable will not automatically be removed. If your business' policy requires that the credits from that invoice be made unavailable, they will need to be removed manually from the customer's profile.
No charge invoices behave slightly differently. These invoices arise when a customer is booking a $0 service or when an available credit is applied to a booking. In both cases the no charge invoice does not generate any additional credits. When a service has no cost associated with it, no credits are impacted. Likewise, when an available credit is applied to a booking, no new credit is generated by the associated invoice; instead the existing credit is simply marked as reserved.
You will also notice that each invoice has an additional status associated with it: "Sent" and "Unsent". This tag indicates whether or not the invoice has been emailed to the customer. While draft invoices can only be marked as unsent (since sending them to the customer will switch them to unpaid status), all other invoice types may be unsent or sent.
Invoices with one or more products included on them will remove the associated stock from your inventory as soon as the invoice has a non-draft status.
A Closer Look at Invoices
Now that we know the various statuses that invoices can have, lets take a look at what information is available when dealing with existing invoices. This section is intended as a general overview of invoices. For more information on how to locate (or create) specific invoices, check out the sections below on the invoices index and searching for invoices, or see our guides on Invoicing From Customer Profiles and Booking Invoices.
The top of an invoice's information page will include one or more buttons for various invoice actions. While most invoices have an "Actions" button, the other available options will vary depending on the invoice's status, as will the options within the "Actions" button menu.
Draft invoices have a "Process Payment" button as well as the "Actions" button options "Client View", "Email", "Request Payment", "Print", "Edit Invoice" and "Void".
Unpaid invoices have a "Process Payment" button as well as the "Actions" button options "Client View", "Email", "Request Payment", "Print", "Edit Invoice", "Uncollectable", and "Void".
Partially paid invoices have "Process Payment" and "Refund" buttons as well as the "Actions" button options "Client View", "Show Payments", "Email", "Request Payment", "Print", and "Uncollectable".
Paid invoices have a "Refund" button as well as the "Actions" button options "Client View", "Show Payments", "Email", and "Print".
Uncollectable invoices have a "Collectable" button as well as the "Actions" button options "Client View", "Email", and "Print".
If an invoice was automatically marked Uncollectable (i.e. from a failed membership payment) it will not have a "Collectable" button.
No Charge invoices have no additional buttons, only the "Actions" button options "Client View", "Email", and "Print".
Preview invoices are the only invoice type without an "Actions" button. Instead, they have "Convert to Draft" and "Delete Preview" buttons.
But what do all of the "Actions" menu options mean? Let's break down each of the available invoice actions.
Client View | Opens a new tab with the invoice as the assigned customer would see it. Copy the URL of this window to manually send the invoice link to a customer. Anyone with that link can view the invoice and pay any remaining total on it.
Note that sending the URL for a draft invoice will allow the client to view it but will not allow them to make any payments. |
Emails the invoice to the client for payment in full. The invoice will be received attached to your Invoice message. Sending a draft invoice will automatically change its status to unpaid. Selecting this option will open a small pop-up asking you to confirm whether you want to send a copy of the invoice to the customer's email.
Note that, when sending a paid invoice, the client will instead receive it as a receipt attached to your Payment Receipt message. | |
Request Payment | Emails the invoice to the client for payment and allows users to set the amount to be paid (i.e. either full payment or partial). The invoice will be received attached to your Invoice message. Sending a draft invoice will automatically change its status to unpaid. Selecting this option will open a pop-up asking you to set the payment amount. |
Allows you to print the invoice. Selecting this option opens a print preview from which you can select the print options. The printed invoice will include all of the information visible from the invoice's information page. | |
Edit Invoice | Opens the Edit Invoice page, allowing you to make any needed changes to the line items, remove or add items, remove or add notes, or add a discount. When your edits are completed, select the "Save" button to save your changes and return to the invoice's info page.
Note that this option is available only for draft and unpaid invoices. |
Void | Deletes the invoice, removing it from the assigned customer's profile page and any associated bookings. Removes any credits generated by the invoice from the associated customer's profile. The action of voiding an invoice cannot be undone.
Note that this option is not available for no charge invoices or those with any payment history. |
Show Payments | Opens a pop-up with information on any payments that have been applied to the invoice. Each payment will be listed with the date and time at which it was processed, the type of payment, and the payment amount. Each payment will also have options to view, send, or print the payment receipt. Additionally, any manually processed payments will have a trash can icon that can be used to delete them. Payments successfully processed through Stripe will have a green checkmark in the "Stripe" column.
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Process Payment | Opens a pop-up with options for processing a manual payment on the invoice. |
Refund | Allows you to refund payment on the invoice. Opens a pop-up with a field to select the amount to refund. Invoices with payment(s) processed through Stripe will automatically send the selected amount back to the customer. Invoices with manually processed non-Stripe payments (i.e. cash, cheque, etc.) will remove the amount from the invoice but will require the returned funds to be processed manually.
Note that refunding an invoice has no affect on its associated credits. |
Undo Payment | Allows you to remove a payment from an invoice. This option will display only on those invoices to which manual (non-Stripe) payments have been applied. |
Uncollectable | Allows you to mark an invoice's total or remaining total as uncollectable, indicating that no further payments will be taken. Intended for use when a client has paid a deposit but no longer wishes to proceed with services, or if you wish to keep an invoice in your records while indicating that no payment will be taken.
Note that this action has no impact on the credits associated with the invoice. |
Collectable | Allows you to change an uncollectable invoice back to its previous status (whether unpaid or partially paid). |
The invoice itself will be displayed beneath the top menu bar. Regardless of the status, the invoice will always include your business's logo (or your business' name, if you have yet to upload a logo) at the top left and the invoice's status tags at the top right. Beneath that you'll see some general information about the invoice, including the invoice number, payment terms, and issue date. If the invoice has been paid, the date and time of the payment and the payment type will follow.
If the invoice includes one or more service bookings to which credits have been applied, there will be an additional "Credit Used" tag to the right of the payment status.
Beneath that, the invoice will list the "To" and "From" information. The "To" section will include the customer's name and email followed by the address they have listed on their profile (if any). Those customers that have no address will have only their name and email listed. Clicking the customer's name opens their customer profile page. The "From" section will include the name and address of your business. If you have more than one facility on your BusyPaws account, invoices will include the address of your first facility. If you have no address listed for your facility, this section will list only your business' name.
Finally, the invoice's line items are listed, followed by the invoice's subtotal and total. Each line item is listed with its description, quantity, price per item, and resulting total amount (the "Each" value multiplied by the "Quantity"). Line items related to a specific booking will have a description that includes the date and time of the booking, the type of service, the duration of the booking, and the pets included. Selecting the line item for a specific booking will take you to that booking's information page.
Line items that have been added manually will include whichever description was chosen by the user at the time the item was added. The same is true for any memberships or packages that were purchased through the Membership or Package portals.
At the end of the list, the invoice will have the subtotal, any included taxes or discounts, the total, and the processing fee for the transaction (if Stripe is enabled). At the very bottom of the invoice you'll find the default invoice note, which can be set from your Invoice Payment Settings page.
Should you choose to add a custom note to the invoice, it will display below the final line item but above the subtotal. Notes like this are intended to add information specific to the customer receiving the invoice.
The way the total is listed may vary slightly depending both on the status of the invoice and the global settings you have chosen. Should you choose not to add your payment processing fees to your invoices, the "Processing Fee" line will not display. Additionally, any discounts applied to the invoice (whether by a user or by a customer using a discount code) will display below the Subtotal. If you have included any tax rates on your account, those will display just above the invoice Total.
Finally, if a credit has been applied to a booking with which the invoice is associated, the credit value will be listed as having been subtracted from the total. Note that this line will only appear after the invoice has been saved, and will not display while it is initially being composed.
Invoice History
Each invoice's information page will also include a history section listing the dates and times of any actions made with regards to the invoice. This list includes some basic information about the action taken, such as the invoice having been generated, updated, changed status, paid, or refunded. Each entry in the history will indicate the type of action, the name of the user (for any manual actions), and the date time.
Your Invoices Index
All of the invoices on your account, regardless of their status, associated bookings, or assigned customer will be listed in your Invoices Index. To get to your index, click the "Invoices" icon in the menu bar at the left-hand side of the page.
You can also get to your Invoices Index by clicking the "Customers" icon.
Then selecting "Invoices" in the submenu.
This page lists all of your invoices. Use the tabs at the top of the page to easily view invoices of a specific payment status.
The first tab allows you to access a variety of invoice types. Click the tab to open a drop-down menu with a list of invoice statuses. Select any option from the drop-down to see a list of invoices with that status.
The second tab includes a list of preview invoices generated through automated billing. Preview invoices remain on this tab until they are sent to customers on the set billing date.
Automated scheduled billing is available only through Team and Business level plans. It is not available for Starter or Solo level plans. For more information, see our guide on Scheduled Billing.
Each invoice list includes slightly different information about their included invoices. By default, all lists are sorted by the invoice number (high to low). Click any of the blue column headers to adjust the sorting criteria. When default sorting is in place all headers will display normally. If a specific header has been selected to sort the list, the chosen header will have a small arrow icon next to it. Select the same header again to change the order from descending to ascending (or vice versa).
Use the tabs in your Invoices Index to quickly reference basic invoice information or click on any listed invoice to open its information page to view more detailed information.
Searching For Invoices
While invoices can be found both on customer profile pages, on booking pages, and in your Invoice Index, you can also quickly locate any invoice using the search function located at the top of any page in BusyPaws. Enter an invoice number or customer name into the search bar then hit enter/return or click the magnifying glass icon.
Depending on what you searched (client name, invoice number, etc.), the invoice you are looking for may display in the general search results, under "All". You can also click the "Invoices" tab to filter out any non-invoice search results.
When looking at the invoice search results, each invoice will be listed with the invoice number, client name, issue date, associated bookings (if any), invoice total, paid tip amount, and status (sent and payment). Select any invoice in the list to open its information page.
Configuring Invoicing for Self-Booking
Automatic invoicing and payments are one of the best ways to save you and your team a lot of time and effort. Instead of needing to manually create, manage, and process payments on invoices, you can have the system handle these processes automatically when clients self-book with you. The first step in configuring automatic invoicing is to set Stripe up on your account. Once that is done, you'll notice Payment Settings appear on the Settings page for each of your services and series. These settings are chosen for each service/series separately, allowing you to control the payment process for each of your service offerings individually.
Required | If selected, your clients will need to pay for the Service within the booking portal before their booking is confirmed. |
Require package/credit | If selected, your clients will either need existing service credits on their account or will need to purchase a package to add credits and confirm their booking. |
Require card on file | If selected, your clients will need to enter their card information to confirm their booking, however their card will not be charged right away. It is instead saved to their profile as a stored card. The system will also automatically generate a draft invoice for their registration, to be paid at a later date. |
Optional | If selected, your clients will be registered and an invoice will be automatically generated at the end of the self-booking process. They then have the option to pay their invoice right away or at a later date. |
Deposit (Solo, Team, or Business plans only) | Similar to the Required payment option, this selection requires clients to pay before they can complete registration. This option allows you to set the percentage of the invoice that you require to be paid before the booking is confirmed, and set the number of days before/after the scheduled booking date that the remaining balance is due.
If selected, your clients will need to enter their card information to confirm their booking. They will be charged the deposit amount and their payment information will be saved to their profile as a stored card. If the second payment is set to charge automatically, it will be processed on the stored card on the scheduled due date.
This functionality is not available for Starter level plans. |
Turning any of the Payment Settings toggles ON (purple) will result in the automatic creation of an invoice whenever a client self-books that service. Depending on the payment setting chosen, clients may also be required to provide payment to confirm their registration. When all of the Payment Settings toggles are turned OFF (grey), or when Stripe is not yet configured on your account, no invoice will be generated. That means clients will be able to self-book without payment and their invoice will need to be generated manually by a user.
For more information about setting up the self-booking process for your clients, check out our guide on Customer Self-Serve Bookings.
If you don't want to invoice at the time of booking, you may instead wish to use automated scheduled billing. This functionality is available for Team and Business level plans, and allows you to generate invoices automatically for your bookings on a set schedule. For more information, check out our Scheduled Billing help guide.
Now that you've explored some of the basic information about invoices, check out these other guides for more information about how invoices are used and how you can begin processing payments:
If you are on a team or business level plan, you may also be interested in taking a look at our guide on Scheduled Billing. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, send our team a note!