It's important for your clients to be able to view their invoices, both to pay outstanding balances and to look back at their previous payments. There are two main ways that clients can view their invoices in BusyPaws: by receiving them via email and by finding them in the Client Portal. In this guide we will take explore how clients access the invoices that are generated for them, and what information is available when they do.
If you have Stripe set up on your account, clients can pay for any outstanding invoice online. If you do not have Stripe configured, clients will only be able to view their invoices, and all payments will need to be processed manually by you and your team.
When Sent Directly
Invoices are sent to clients automatically in a few different cases.
When payment settings have been set to "Optional" on the service for which they have self-registered and they choose not to pay during self-booking.
If their invoice is set up with payment terms requiring payment at a later date, whether through the "Deposit" service payment setting or payment terms set on a manual invoice (Solo and higher level plans only).
When users select the "Invoice Now" option when scheduling an individual service booking.
In addition, users may choose to manually send (or resend) any invoice to its associated customer. This is done by selecting "Email" (for full payment) or "Request Payment" (for partial payment) in the "Actions" button menu at the top of the invoice's information page.
The way this email appears to the client depends on the invoice's status and whether or not you have configured Stripe on your account. Without Stripe, clients will only be able to view their invoices online, regardless of the invoice's status. The invoice email they receive will include a PDF copy of their invoice in its current state, as well as a "View Invoice" button.
When the customer clicks the "View Invoice" button their invoice will open in a new tab. The invoice will be shown with the invoice status and a "Print Invoice" button at the top-right of the page.
If you have Stripe set up, clients will be able to view and pay their invoices online. When unpaid or partially paid invoices are sent to clients, the invoice email they receive will still include a PDF copy of their invoice in its current state, but will have a "Pay Now" button instead.
The "Pay Now" button will likewise open their invoice in a new tab. With Stripe enabled, a payment section will also be listed on this page. Clients can enter their payment information along with any discount code they might have, then click the "Pay" button to submit payment.
If the client is logged into their Private Client Portal account when looking at their invoice, and they have one or more stored cards saved on their account, they will have the option of paying their invoice with their stored card. They simply need to select the desired card and enter its CVC/CVV.
Any time a paid invoice is sent to a client (whether triggered automatically or manually), they will receive it as a payment receipt, with a PDF copy of their receipt for the paid invoice. These messages do not include any link to view the invoice online.
For more information on locating and editing your invoice and payment receipt message templates, check out our guide on Customizable Automated Messaging. Note that you both invoices and receipts may also be configured to go out as SMS messages. This functionality is applicable only to those invoice/payment messages triggered automatically, and cannot currently be triggered manually. Invoice messages sent out via text will have no PDF attachment, only a link to view the invoice.
Through the Client Portal
Clients are also able to access all of their invoices by logging into their Client Portal account. This includes all of their paid, partially paid, refunded, unpaid, and no charge invoices. Note that clients cannot view any invoices in this way while they are saved with draft status. When a customer logs into their portal account, they will be taken to their My Bookings page. To locate their invoice list, they can click/hover their mouse over their profile photo icon at the bottom-left corner of the page, then select "Invoices" from the menu.
That opens the client's Invoices page. This page includes all invoices associated with the client's profile, with the exception of any invoices currently saved with draft or preview status. Each invoice is listed with its invoice number, issue date, booking information, invoice total, and status. Selecting any invoice on the list opens that invoice's information page so the client can see it in more detail.
Much like when clients access invoices via email/text, each invoice viewed in the Client Portal will have a "Print Invoice" button. If you have Stripe configured on your account, all invoices with an outstanding balance on them will also have a "Pay by Credit Card" field that the customer can use to pay the invoice total. If the customer has a stored card saved to their profile they will be able to easily use it to pay their invoice.
Invoice "Client View" Option
When viewing invoices on your account, you can use the "Client View" option to see any invoice as the client would. From any invoice's page, select "Client View" in the "Actions" button menu at the top of the page.
This will open the invoice as a client would see it. That includes the same "Print Invoice" and payment options as would be accessible to the client if they received the invoice link in a message or through the client portal.
Using this page's URL is the only way that a client can view a draft invoice. Also note that, should you choose to send the URL for a draft invoice to a client, they will not have the option of submitting payment, even if you have Stripe configured on your account.
It is important for both you and your clients that invoices and any associated payments are easy to reference whenever needed. For this reason, BusyPaws makes it easy for your customers to locate and view all of their previous and outstanding invoices. For more information on invoices and payments, check out our other help guides: