Invoices

How do I change the starting invoice number?

This is probably easier than you think. The next time you create an invoice, just edit the invoice number there to anything you want. All subsequent invoice numbers will increment by 1. For example, if you changed your invoice number to 45, then your next invoice number will be 46, then 47 and so on.

To do this:

1. Log in to your account.
2. Click on the Invoices tab at the top of the screen.
3. Click on New Invoice button near the top.
4. At the top on the right of the screen is a field called Invoice Number. This is where you would enter 45 in to have your system generate the next invoice as 46.
5. If your not ready to send an invoice you can simply save this as a draft and the system will being the count from that number. Remember you must set a client to save an invoice.

The next invoice you create or that is created by an recurring profile will have the invoice number 46.

One thing to note is that the “last invoice number” is system wide. So if you were to go ahead and create another invoice with the number 20 then the next invoice would be 21. It won’t repeat invoice numbers though!

Next time you create an invoice, just simply change your invoice number on the top right of the invoice and all future invoices will be an increment of the number that you input.

How can I create recurring invoices but not send them automatically?

You can setup your recurring invoices to be created without notifying your clients on either individual recurring invoices or on all recurring invoices.

Please keep in mind that your client’s credit card will still be charged for auto-bill recurring invoices.

Your client will not receive an Invoice Notification from FreshBooks. However, Payment Notifications may still be sent from your payment gateway or from FreshBooks.
To setup your system so that all recurring invoices are not automatically sent:

1. Click on your white Settings link on the top right corner.
2. Click on your Misc link on the right hand side.
3. Under your Invoice & Estimates subsection, ensure that the checkbox to the left of Send Automatically is unchecked.
4. Click on your Save button below.

To setup your system so that a specific recurring invoice is not automatically sent.

1. Click on your Invoices tab above.
2. Click on your Recurring sub-tab.
3. Click on your blue edit link to the right of the recurring invoice you wish to modify.
4. On the top left side, ensure that both options to send by Email and Snail Mail are unchecked.
5. Click on your Save button below.

Can I attach a file to an invoice email?

The short answer is, “no”. :(

However, there are a couple things that you can do instead to share files with your clients:

• Upload the file to your Documents tab* (make sure you allow that client to view the file) and then in the Notes or Terms section of your invoice, you can direct them to their Documents tab for a copy of the file.
• Download the PDF of the invoice and send both the invoice and file attachment from your own email client.

* If you don’t have your ‘Documents’ tab enabled, you can enable it for yourself and your clients by updating your permissions.

Check out this handy page to find out how to do exactly that

How do I send late invoice notifications?

Even the most reliable clients can sometimes forget about the occasional invoice. Setting up late invoice reminders in your FreshBooks system lets you gently (or harshly!) remind them about unpaid invoices without lifting a finger.

1. In your FreshBooks account, click on your Settings link at the top-right of the screen.
2. In the sub-navigation, click on the Emails link.
3. Click on the Late payment reminders edit link.
4. You can configure up to three different late notices at intervals of your choosing. Be sure to put a check in the checkbox to turn it on, and set how many days following the invoice date you would like the notification to go out.
5. Don’t forget to click Save when you’re done.
6. Do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight.

How can I send late invoice notifications immediately?

Sadly, this feature is not available in FreshBooks. However, you can send a note to your client by selecting your client and clicking the Email button above the list of clients on your Clients tab

How can I change late invoice notifications per invoice/client?

Unfortunately, this feature is also not available in FreshBooks. All clients that have invoices that have not been fully paid will get the late invoice notification on the day that the invoice is late (depending on your intervals you set up).

How do I enter payment for an invoice?

You have sent an invoice to your client and now you’re holding the wad of cash that you’ve received as payment. You look at the wad of cash. Then at your monitor. Back at your wad. Then back at your monitor. You scratch your head.

“How do I enter this payment in FreshBooks?”

Here’s how:

1. Click on your Invoices tab.
2. Check on the check box(es) to the left of the invoice number(s) you want to enter a payment for.
3. Click on the Enter Payment button above the List of Invoices.You will be taken to the Enter Payments page seen here:
4. Once you are at the Enter Payments page, just choose the method used (cash, check, bank transfer, PayPal, etc.), enter the payment date, amount and any notes about the payment.
5. Remember to click Save when you’re done. 
6. Now if you look at that invoice from your invoice list, the status should be marked as paid.  Woot!

Partial Payments

If you are manually entering payments in your FreshBooks account (i.e. you didn’t receive payment through one of our integrated payment gateways), you are able to enter a payment for less than the total of the invoice.  You can do this in the same manner above.  When you enter a partial payment, the status of the invoice becomes partial on your invoice list.  Also, when you hover over the status with your mouse, the amount paid and outstanding appears.

Overpayments

If you enter a payment for more than the invoice total, the remaining portion of the payment will be added as credit for your client and you’ll see this fancy message on the next screen above your list of invoices:

You can check your client’s credit at anytime from your client’s information page.

Can I customize my invoices?

Yes! You can customize your invoices - more specifically, you can upload your own logos, change the colours of your account and more!  Please keep in mind that to apply any of the the following changes, you must be logged into your account as the Administrator.

Uploading your Logo

How else are you clients supposed to know who your invoice is from? Well, yes, they could look at the name and address of your company… and the from the subject title and body of your emails, but wouldn’t you rather have your beautiful logo right on the page? Of course you would. Here’s a quick step-by-step on how to achieve this:

1. Click on Settings on the top-right of your screen.
2. In the sub-navigation menu, click on the Colors & Logos.  The second box on this page represents the logo that will appear on your invoices.
3. Click the Browse… button and choose your file.
4. Click Save at the bottom of the page.

Terms

On the creation or edit screen of every invoice/estimate, there’s a Terms section.  Anything you write here will appear on the bottom of your invoice.  You can also set up your Default Terms from the edit or creation screen of an invoice so that all future invoices will include those terms.  Here’s what the bottom of an invoice with Terms looks like:

What Cannot be Customized on your Invoices

• The placement of objects on an invoice/estimate (addresses, invoice number, logo, etc.)
• Field titles on the invoice/estimate