# Invoices

> Create, approve, send, and track sales invoices — the money your customers owe you.

Source: https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/invoices/

Invoices track money your customers owe you. AccountFUN handles the full lifecycle from draft through approval to paid, posts the accounting entries automatically, and feeds straight into [reconciliation](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/bank-reconciliation/).

## Create an invoice

1. Go to **Invoices → New Invoice**.
2. In **Invoice Details**, set the **Customer**, **Currency**, **Issue Date**, and **Due Date** (defaults to 30 days from issue).
3. Add **Line Items**: pick a product/service (auto-fills the description, price, account, and tax), or type each line manually — **Description, Qty, Price, Discount, Account, and Tax**.
4. Set the **Tax Mode** — **No Tax**, **Tax Exclusive** (tax added on top), or **Tax Inclusive** (tax backed out of the price).
5. Save as a **draft** (`Create Draft Invoice`), or use `Create & Approve` if your role has **Approve Documents** (Admin, Accountant and Standard by default).

Each invoice gets a sequential number with your org’s prefix (default `INV-0001`), previewed while you type and editable. Numbers are unique and never reused.

Discounts

The **Disc** column accepts a flat amount (`10`) or a percentage (`10%`).

The line items work like a spreadsheet grid: paste amounts with thousands separators (they’re cleaned up for you), and the **Total** column stays in view when the grid scrolls sideways. A number field only accepts characters that make a valid number, and a discount over 100% is flagged. The same grid is used on bills, quotes, purchase orders, credit notes and recurring templates.

**… → Copy to New** starts a new invoice with the same lines, tax mode and tracking. To bill one sale in several instalments, use a [payment schedule](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/payment-schedules/) instead.

## The approval workflow

Invoices move through five statuses. Approval is the step that **posts to your ledger** — until then, a draft changes nothing.

```text
DRAFT ──Submit──▶ SUBMITTED ──Approve──▶ APPROVED ──paid in full──▶ PAID
  │                  │                       │
  └──────Approve (skip) ─────────────────────┘   also: VOIDED
```

| Status                            | Meaning                                             | In your books?                 |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| **Draft**                         | Saved, not yet sent for review                      | No                             |
| **Submitted** (Awaiting Approval) | Waiting for someone with Approve Documents          | No                             |
| **Approved** (Awaiting Payment)   | Posted — customer owes you                          | Yes (Dr AR / Cr Revenue + Tax) |
| **Paid**                          | Fully paid or credited                              | Yes                            |
| **Voided**                        | Cancelled; reversal entry posted if it was approved | Reversed                       |

**Roles:** creating requires **Create Drafts** and **Sales Documents**; submitting also requires **Submit For Approval**. Roles with **Approve Documents** (Admin, Accountant and Standard by default) can **Approve** and revert. This gate is what keeps unreviewed invoices off your books. See [Roles & permissions](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/roles/).

### Reverting and voiding

* **Revert to Submitted / Revert to Draft** — undoes approval with a reversal journal entry (requires **Approve Documents**).
* **Void** — cancels the invoice entirely. If it was approved, a reversal entry is posted.

Negative-total invoices can’t be approved

If an invoice totals below zero (e.g. a discount larger than the line), AccountFUN blocks approval and tells you to raise a **receivable credit note** instead. Credit notes are the correct tool for reducing what a customer owes.

## Getting paid

When an invoice is **Approved** and has a balance due, a **Record Payment** button appears. Enter the payment date, the bank account it landed in, the amount, and (for cross-currency) the exchange rate. The invoice moves to **Paid** when its balance hits zero.

Payments can also arrive through [reconciliation](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/bank-reconciliation/) — when an imported bank deposit matches an approved invoice, AccountFUN suggests the match and creates the payment for you. Bulk-settling several invoices with one deposit is done via [batch deposits](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/payments/).

Still waiting on payment? Set up [invoice reminders](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/invoice-reminders/) to email customers automatically before and after the due date, or send a one-off reminder from the invoice itself. On an unpaid invoice, the **More invoice actions** menu (⋯) carries two handy switches — **Auto reminders** on/off for this particular invoice, and **Accept online payment** on/off for its Pay Now button — each showing its current state right in the menu.

You can also let customers **pay online via Stripe** — connect once under **Settings → Online Payments** and approved invoices show a **Pay Now** button customers can click to pay by card. The payment is recorded against the invoice automatically. See [Online invoice payments](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/online-payments/) for the full setup and the per-org / per-template / per-invoice enablement cascade.

## Sending and printing

On **Free**, share the invoice’s public link or use **Print / PDF** to print or download it. Sending invoices and manual reminders from AccountFUN requires **Standard** or **Plus**.

You can **email an invoice directly** from its page — AccountFUN attaches the PDF and applies your [email template](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/business-email/). Use the **Email** action to compose, preview, and send to the customer, or keep using **Print / PDF** to download a copy — from a standard wording template or a design you made yourself in the [invoice designer](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/invoice-designer/) — and deliver it yourself. The **“Unsent Only”** search filter helps you find invoices that are still draft or submitted.

When you email an invoice you can also pick the **PDF template** the attachment uses, right in the send dialog.

### Settling in another currency

If a customer pays you in a different currency from the one you invoice in, set the invoice’s **Settles in** currency (it can default from the customer). The PDF, email, online view, reminders, online payments and statements then use **only** the settlement currency and amount — no exchange rate, no original currency; your books stay in the invoice currency. The invoice page’s **Settlement** line shows what applies, with a **Change** link. See [Settlement currency](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/settlement-currency/).

When you email an invoice, the CC/BCC fields pre-fill with your **org-wide** plus that customer’s **contact-wide** defaults, and you can edit that list — add or remove recipients — and your edited list is what gets sent. See [Business email → Three levels of CC/BCC](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/business-email/).

See [Business email](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/business-email/) to set up your sender identity, customize templates, and understand quotas and unsubscribe behavior.

## Credit notes, quotes, and recurring

Related sales features that build on invoices:

* **[Quotes](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/quotes/)** — convert an accepted quote into an invoice, partially or in full.
* **[Credit notes](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/credit-notes/)** — refund or correct an approved invoice without deleting it.
* **[Recurring templates](https://www.accountfun.com/docs/guides/recurring-templates/)** — auto-generate the same invoice on a schedule (retainers, subscriptions).

## Worked example: your first invoice

You run a design studio and complete a logo job for a new client.

1. **Invoices → New Invoice**, customer “Acme Co”, due in 14 days.
2. Line 1: *Logo design*, Qty 1, Price $1,500, account **Sales Revenue**, Tax **Tax on Sales (10%)**.
3. Line 2: *Source files*, Qty 1, Price $250, same account and tax.
4. Tax Mode **Tax Exclusive**. Subtotal $1,750, Tax $175, **Total $1,925**.
5. `Create & Approve`. Invoice **INV-0001** is now posted — your revenue goes up by $1,750, sales-tax payable by $175, and Acme Co owes you $1,925.

Two weeks later Acme pays. Open INV-0001 → **Record Payment** → bank account **Business Checking**, $1,925. Status flips to **Paid**, and the payment will match its bank line next time you reconcile.