Invoices do not always need to be generated through bookings. There are many cases where it is useful to generate in invoice from a customer's profile instead. Whether you prefer to invoice manually, take payment for your services before scheduling any bookings, or process a transaction for a non-service item, custom invoices provide a variety of options. In addition, each client will have their entire invoicing history stored on their customer profile. This allows you to easily track outstanding payments and go over previous invoices whenever you need to. In this guide we will take a look at the specifics of invoices with respect to Customer Profiles.
For more general information about invoices, check out our help article on Invoice Basics. For information about invoices related to specific bookings, take a look at our guide on Booking Invoices. Curious about what invoices look like to your clients? Check out our article on How Clients View Invoices.
It is strongly recommended to configure automatic invoicing and payments on your services and/or use automated scheduled billing. These options can significantly reduce the administrative load for you and your team. For more in-depth information on those processes, check out our guides on Stripe Payments and Scheduled Billing.
Generating Invoices
To manually generate an invoice, start by opening the customer profile you want to create the invoice for, click the "Actions" button at the top of the page, then select "Invoice" from the drop-down menu.
That will open the New Invoice page. Manually generated invoices can be used to purchase service credits, service collection credits, add-on credits, cash credits, and products. They can also be used to pay for past or upcoming bookings that have not yet been invoiced, using the "Past Bookings" and/or "Future Bookings" buttons.
Selecting the "Past Bookings" button will cause all of the customer's un-invoiced bookings from past dates to populate on the invoice. Likewise, selecting the "Future Bookings" button populates all upcoming un-invoiced bookings.
These buttons will only appear if the client has relevant bookings that can be added to the invoice. If the client has no previous bookings that require invoicing, the "Past Bookings" button will not be present. Similarly, if the client has no upcoming bookings requiring invoicing, the "Future Bookings" button will not be available.
The invoice's payment terms are listed just beneath your business' address. If you are subscribed to a Solo, Team, or Business level plan these terms may be customized by clicking the pencil icon.
Starter plans may use only the default "Due on receipt" and are not be able to set custom values for payment terms.
To manually add items to the invoice, start by clicking the "Add Line Item" button or clicking the pencil icon next to the default custom line item.
This will open a pop-up menu with all of your available services, series, add-ons, packages, products, and gift cards, as well as options to add a custom line item or a cash credit.
Using a Custom line item will not create credits of any kind. Select this option only if selling something that has no associated booking time, such as travel cost or some other kind of service fee.
Scroll through the list or use the search bar to locate the item you wish to add.
Use the filter options to the right side of the search bar to narrow the displayed results by category.
Once you've found the item you wish to add, click its "Add to Invoice" button to add it as a new line item.
If the chosen item is a product with variants and/or you have multiple facilities from which inventory may be pulled, use the drop-down menu to select the relevant variant/facility before clicking "Add to Invoice".
If a service or series is chosen, the "Description" field will auto-populate the name of the chosen service and some basic information about it (i.e. price, duration, etc. - depending on the type of service chosen). The "Quantity" will default to 1 and the service's default price will display for the "Unit Cost".
If a service collection is chosen, the "Description" field will auto-populate the name of the chosen service and its description. The "Quantity" field will default to 1 and the collection's default price will display for the "Unit Cost".
If a package or add-on is chosen, the "Description" field will auto-populate the name of the chosen package/add-on, the "Quantity" will default to 1, and the package or add-on's default price will display for the "Unit Cost".
If a product is chosen, the "Description" field will auto-populate the name of the product along with its variant traits (if any), the "Quantity" will default to 1, and the product's default price will display for the "Unit Cost". The selected product's stock value will be indicated by an icon next to the edit line item icon. Out of stock items display with a yellow out of stock icon, while in stock items display with a green in stock icon. Hover your mouse over the icon to get more detailed information.
If a gift card is chosen, the "Description" field will auto-populate the name of the chosen gift card, the "Quantity" will default to 1, and the gift card's default amount will display for the "Unit Cost".
If Cash Credit or Custom is chosen, the "Description" and "Unit Cost" fields will remain clear, and the "Quantity" will default to 1.
Regardless of kind of line item is chosen, the Description, Quantity, and Unit Cost listed on the invoice can be edited to suit your needs.
Description | The item line description that will display on the invoice. Use this field to describe the charge for your client.
Note that this will be the only line item description. If the service/series/(etc.) name is removed from this field, it will not be included elsewhere on the invoice. |
Quantity | The number of units of the selected item. This value will be multiplied by the Unit Cost to get the Amount for that line of the invoice. Edit this field by typing numbers directly into it or using the up/down arrows to adjust by 1.
For series/services, packages, and add-ons, this value determines the number of credits that will be assigned to the client's account. For products, this value determines the amount of stock that will be removed from inventory. |
Unit Cost | The price you would like to charge per unit. This value will be multiplied by the Quantity to get the Amount for that line of the invoice. You can use this section to provide a client with a special price on the service they are purchasing. Edit this field by typing numbers directly into it or using the up/down arrows to adjust by 0.01.
For cash credits, this value sets the amount that will be credited to the client's account (multiplied by the Quantity). |
Changes to the unit cost for a gift card will also change its value. The cash credit added to a customer's profile when a gift card is redeemed will always match the amount paid for that gift card.
After you have adjusted each field, you can add another item to the invoice by selecting the "+ Add Line Item" button. Repeat this process as many times as needed.
Click the trash can icon for any line item to remove it from the invoice.
You may also add a message to the "Note" section and/or a discount (by percentage, dollar-value, or discount code) if desired. Cash credits and gift cards will not be subject to any discount or taxes applied.
Once you have put the invoice together, select the "Save and Send" button to finalize the invoice and email it to the client for payment. You can also use the "Save Draft" button at the bottom of the form to save a Draft copy at any time. Draft invoices will not be available for clients to pay until you choose to send them.
As soon as the new invoice is created, Pending credits will be added to the client's account. Those credits will remain under Pending until the invoice is paid, at which point they will be marked as Available and can be used to book services with you.
Viewing Existing Invoices
Your customers' invoicing histories are available from their profiles. To find invoices associated with a specific customer, start by navigating to their Customer Profile page. From there, open their "Invoices" tab.
This tab includes every invoice that has been associated to the customer's profile in BusyPaws. Use the buttons at the top of the tab to switch between the two invoice lists. Selecting "All" displays all the invoices with a total greater than zero (i.e. with Draft, Unpaid, Paid, Partially Paid, or Refunded status), while selecting "No Charge" displays all the invoices with a total of zero. Note that invoices with a 100% discount applied count as having a nonzero total and will therefore be marked as Paid and be listed under "All".
Invoices found under "All" will be listed with their invoice number, date of generation, invoice total, date of payment (if any), and status.
Invoices found under "No Charge" will be listed with only the invoice number, date of generation, and status, as these invoices have no total or payments associated with them.
Click on any invoice listed to open that invoice's information page. From there you can make edits, process payments, or send the invoice to the customer. For more detailed information about invoice actions, check out the Closer Look at Invoices section of our Invoice Basics help guide.
Looking for more information on invoicing and payments? Check out some of our other help guides on this topic:
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.