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Invoices

Invoices group transactions together into a single bill for a customer. The platform creates invoices automatically during billing runs, or you can create them manually at any time.

Every customer has a special Unsent invoice. New charges accumulate on this invoice until they are moved onto a real invoice, either during a billing run or when you create an invoice manually.

The invoice page has two sections:

  • Left (or top): Invoice details and customer link, plus a link to raise a new invoice
  • Right (or bottom): List of transactions on this invoice, with buttons to modify the invoice or its transactions

In enhanced mode, tabs show the customer’s details and a summary of all their invoices. Further tabs cover the calls billed to the invoice, its Rating Evidence where you hold data-protection access, and its History, which holds the earlier versions of the bill.

Each invoice has a unique number. By default this combines the customer account number and an invoice reference, separated by a forward slash (e.g. DEMO1234/4). This lets you immediately identify the customer and how many invoices they have had. The reference starts at one and increases by one for each new invoice.

The Unsent invoice has no reference and no bill PDF.

Customer Reference and Purchase Order Number

Section titled “Customer Reference and Purchase Order Number”

You can record the customer’s own reference or purchase order number against an invoice. These appear on the bill when set.

The date shown on the bill. This defaults to the date the invoice is created, but you can override it.

The cut-off date controls which transactions from the Unsent invoice are included when you create a new invoice. Call charges with a start date before this date are included. Non-call charges whose bill date (or transaction date, if no bill date) falls before this date are also included.

The bill date lets you shift when a charge appears relative to the cutoff. Setting a bill date before the transaction date bills in advance; setting it after bills in arrears.

Leaving the cut-off date empty means no transactions are automatically included. You then pick exactly which ones to include.

Changing the cut-off date on an existing invoice has no effect. It only matters when the invoice is first created.

If the cut-off date is in the future, the platform generates recurring and fixed charges ahead of time based on their bill dates, so those charges exist and are ready to bill.

The transaction cut-off date is an optional second cutoff for non-call charges. When set, non-call charges are included when their transaction date is on or before this date. The bill date advance/arrears mechanism no longer applies to non-call charges, and inclusion is based only on the transaction date.

This is useful for manual or ad-hoc transactions. For example, setting a transaction cutoff date of today captures all charges entered this month, without needing to adjust bill dates to fit a first-of-month cutoff.

If the transaction cutoff date is in the future, the platform generates recurring and fixed charges ahead of time so those charges exist and are ready to bill. Normally, recurring charges are created as they become due. A future transaction cutoff date causes them to be generated early. For example, if you request bills on 28 March with a transaction cutoff date of 30 April, the platform creates April’s recurring charges so they appear on the invoice.

Most businesses only need the standard cut-off date. Use the transaction cut-off date only if you have more complex billing arrangements.

If the bill shows a “Period Ended” date, this is the later of:

  • the day before the cut-off date, or
  • the transaction cut-off date itself (when set)

If neither cutoff date is set, the day before the invoice date is used instead.

The due date can be calculated automatically from the invoice date and the payment terms on the payment method or customer. You can also set it manually.

You can specify a payment method for the invoice. If you leave this blank, the invoice follows the customer’s payment method, and keeps following it if the customer’s method changes later.

Setting a method here overrides the customer for this invoice only, and it stays set even if the customer’s method changes afterwards. See Changing the Payment Method on an Invoice.

These are kept up to date automatically as transactions are added, removed or edited. Small rounding errors can occur when many changes are made (as happens on the Unsent invoice throughout a month). The figures are corrected once the invoice is actually produced.

If you track payments in the platform, the paid amount updates automatically as payments are added to the customer’s account.

You can set up different invoice messages (such as a welcome message, a standard message and a final bill message) and have one display on the bill. A message is applied automatically, but you can choose a different one.

You can choose which bill format (long, short or full) the customer receives through the portal, by email, or in the print bill bundle. If you don’t specify, the defaults are taken from the customer’s settings.

The invoice page shows a list of transactions on this invoice. Each transaction has a tick-box you can use to select it for bulk operations like moving, deleting or refunding.

From the invoice page you can:

  • Move transactions between invoices, including to or from the Unsent invoice
  • Delete transactions individually or in bulk, with optional date range filtering
  • Refund transactions to create refund entries on the Unsent invoice (see also Applying Credits and Adjustments for goodwill credits and manual adjustments)
  • Re-rate usage fees to recalculate usage charges
  • Add a new transaction via the Add menu (standalone, not linked to a feature)
  • Recreate the bill PDF to reflect any changes you have made
  • Download the bill in long, short or full format
  • Re-apply discount plans to recalculate discount allowances after invoice changes
  • Approve an invoice to lock it for delivery
  • Unapprove an invoice to unlock it for amendments
  • Collect Payment to create a payment and submit it to the payment provider immediately (Expert Mode). See Collect Payment below.

If you have changed the value of the invoice (for example, added or removed a transaction), a red Recreate button is shown. This means the bill needs recreating before you can view or email it.


The fields below make up an invoice record. The platform keeps the amounts, paid figures and status fields up to date for you as transactions and payments change.

This section contains the basic invoice identification details such as invoice number and billing run reference. These details uniquely identify the invoice within the system.

FieldDescription
Invoice NumberThe unique invoice number displayed on the invoice document
Billing RunThe billing run that generated this invoice

This section includes dates relevant to the invoice, including invoice date, call cut-off date, optional non-call transaction cut-off date, due date for payment, and payment completion date. These dates determine billing periods and payment timelines.

FieldDescription
Invoice DateThe date when the invoice was created
Cut-off DateThe call cut-off date for charges included in this invoice
Transaction Cut-off DateOptional non-call cutoff date for charges included in this invoice by transaction date
Due DateThe date by which payment for this invoice is due
Paid DateDate when the invoice was fully paid

This section defines how the invoice should be paid, including payment method and related payment information, which affects how funds are collected from the customer.

FieldDescription
Payment MethodThe method of payment for this invoice (defaults to customer method if not specified)

This section contains the financial amounts for the invoice, including net amount, VAT, total amount, paid amount, and outstanding balance. These figures determine what the customer is charged and owes.

FieldDescription
Invoice AmountThe net amount of the invoice before VAT
VAT AmountThe VAT amount applied to this invoice
Reverse VAT AmountThe reverse charge VAT amount for this invoice
TotalThe total amount of the invoice including VAT
Paid AmountThe amount that has been paid against this invoice
OutstandingAmount still to be paid on this invoice
CallsNumber of calls billed on this invoice (from transaction summaries)
MinutesTotal minutes (rounded to whole minutes) billed on this invoice (from transaction summaries)
One-Off ChargesTotal one-off charges billed on this invoice
Recurring ChargesTotal recurring charges billed on this invoice
Call ChargesTotal call charges billed on this invoice
RefundsTotal refunds billed on this invoice
Late FeesTotal late fees billed on this invoice
InterestTotal interest charges billed on this invoice
Carrier Provided ChargesTotal carrier provided charges billed on this invoice
Manual Billing FeesTotal manual billing fees billed on this invoice
Low Usage FeesTotal low usage fees billed on this invoice
Manual ChargesTotal manual charges billed on this invoice
Non-Call ChargesTotal non-call charges billed on this invoice

This section shows the current status of the invoice, including approval status and other state flags that indicate where the invoice is in its lifecycle.

FieldDescription
Status FlagsCurrent status of this invoice

This section controls how the invoice is presented to the customer, including bill style, messages, bill types for different delivery methods, and customer references that appear on the invoice document.

FieldDescription
Bill StyleThe style template used for rendering this invoice
Invoice MessageMessage to display on the invoice
Bespoke Invoice MessageA one-off HTML message shown on this invoice only (Flow design), positioned via the bill layout configuration.
Invoice Usage ReportProfile controlling how usage details are reported alongside the invoice
Customer ReferenceCustomer-provided reference to appear on the invoice
Purchase Order NumberCustomer purchase order number to appear on the invoice
Online BillType of bill to generate for online viewing
Email BillType of bill to generate for email delivery
Post BillType of bill to generate for postal delivery
Fax BillType of bill to generate for fax delivery

This section contains system metadata about the invoice, including timestamps for various activities and modification tracking for auditing purposes.

FieldDescription
VAT Amount (Sage)
Absolute AmountAbsolute value of the invoice amount
Absolute VAT AmountAbsolute value of the VAT amount
Type (Sage)
Last ModifiedTimestamp of the most recent modification to this invoice
CreatedTimestamp when this invoice was created
ApprovedTimestamp when this invoice was most recently approved
UnapprovedTimestamp when this invoice was most recently unapproved

Approving an invoice locks it so it can be emailed, downloaded, or exported. The lock covers the whole invoice. Once approved, you cannot move, delete, or edit its transactions, and you cannot edit the invoice’s own details (such as the dates or the payment method) without unapproving it first.

Steps:

  1. View the invoice
  2. Click Actions menu > Approve

Invoices are also approved automatically when sent via the Email Bills billing run step.

Approval can be capped by value, so that staff are able to approve routine documents while larger ones go to someone more senior. Invoices, credit notes and debit notes each have their own limit, and limits can apply to an individual user, to a staff group, or to a department.

Where a user is over their limit, the Approve action is simply not offered on that invoice.

The same mechanism can hold back large invoices produced by automated billing. An invoice above the system limit waits for someone to approve it by hand, raises an approval TODO so it is not forgotten, and cannot be delivered to the customer or exported to Xero until that happens.

Limits are set through platform parameters, which are covered separately. If you need one configured or changed, speak to your platform administrator.

Unapprove an invoice when you need to correct something on it after approval.

Steps:

  1. View the invoice
  2. Click Actions menu > Unapprove

Important: If the invoice has already been delivered (emailed, downloaded, or printed), unapproving requires the Standard expert level.

Once unapproved, the invoice is unlocked. You can move, delete, or edit its transactions, and edit the invoice’s own details. When you have finished making changes, recreate the bill and approve the invoice again.

Important: unapproving an invoice changes nothing on its own. If you unapprove an invoice and then approve it again without editing anything, the invoice is exactly as it was.

The platform treats approved invoices as finalised. When you make changes to a customer or their features, the system handles approved and unapproved invoices differently:

  • Unapproved invoices: transactions are updated or removed in-place
  • Approved invoices: the original transactions stay untouched. Corrections appear as refund or adjustment transactions on the customer’s Unsent invoice instead.

This means:

  • Changing a customer’s VAT rate updates transactions on Unsent and unapproved invoices only. Approved invoices keep their original VAT.
  • Repricing a feature (via Change Recurring Charge, Recalculate, or Refund and Rebill) creates refund transactions on the Unsent invoice for any charges on approved invoices, rather than modifying them.

If you want changes to appear on the original invoice rather than as adjustments on the next one, unapprove the invoice first, then make your changes.


If a customer’s VAT status changes and you need to correct invoices that have already been approved:

  1. Unapprove each affected invoice (Actions menu > Unapprove)
  2. Edit the customer’s VAT rate (the change now cascades to the unapproved invoices’ transactions)
  3. Recreate the bill on each invoice (Actions menu > Recreate)
  4. Approve each invoice again (Actions menu > Approve)

Important: If you change the VAT rate before unapproving, the approved invoices are not updated. You would need to change the rate back, unapprove, then change it again.


An invoice with no payment method of its own follows the customer’s. It keeps following it, so if you change the customer’s payment method, those invoices change with it straight away, whether they are approved or not.

Because of that, most payment method changes need no work on the invoices at all. Change it on the customer and the invoices follow.

Set a payment method on an individual invoice only when you want it to differ from the customer’s, or when you want it to stay put if the customer’s changes back later.

Steps:

  1. View the invoice
  2. Click Actions menu > Unapprove, if it has been approved
  3. Click Edit, set the Payment Method, then click Save
  4. Click Actions menu > Recreate to rebuild the bill PDF
  5. Click Actions menu > Approve
  6. Resend the invoice if the customer already has the old version

Important: this is a per-invoice change. Repeat the steps for every invoice you want to switch. An invoice you unapprove and reapprove without editing is unchanged, which is the easiest mistake to make when working through several at once.

What changes straight away:

  • Collection runs, reports and credit control all read the invoice’s current payment method, so the invoice moves in or out of the direct debit or card run as soon as you save
  • Any new email or PDF you produce from then on uses the new method

What does not change:

  • The existing bill PDF, until you recreate it. Payment instructions on the bill, such as bank details for BACS or the “no action required” wording for direct debit, follow the payment method, so they only appear once the bill has been recreated.
  • The due date. It is worked out when the invoice is created, from the customer’s payment terms, and is not recalculated afterwards. Edit the due date yourself if the new payment method should change when the invoice falls due.

Backing out means taking an invoice apart and removing it. Before you start, check whether you should.

SituationWhat to do
The invoice has not gone to the customerBack it out, using the steps below
The invoice has gone to the customerLeave it in place. Refund the transactions so the credit lands on the next bill, or raise a credit note

Backing out an invoice the customer has already received is possible, but it is not a good idea. The customer holds a document that no longer matches your records, and you lose the audit trail explaining why. Credit notes exist for exactly this, and they keep your VAT records straight. See Applying Credits and Refunds for the options.

You cannot delete an invoice that still has transactions on it, so the work is in clearing it first.

Steps:

  1. View the invoice and click Actions menu > Unapprove, if it has been approved
  2. Deal with the transactions on it, using one of these:
  3. Check nothing is left. Use View > Empty Transactions to find and clear any transactions with no value, as these still count.
  4. Click Actions menu > Delete

The Unsent invoice itself cannot be deleted. It is a permanent holding place on every customer account, so emptying it is all you need to do.

Important: prefer moving to deleting. A moved transaction can still be billed, while a deleted one is gone. Deleting a usage charge also resets its billed usage, so the calls may reappear on the customer’s Unsent invoice and be billed again later.

If a payment has already been allocated to the invoice, sort that out first. See Payment Allocation.


Use this action when discount plan allowances on an invoice need recalculating. Common situations include:

  • You moved transactions onto an invoice after it was created
  • You backdated a feature with a discount plan and moved the charges onto an existing invoice
  • You unapproved an invoice and edited transactions that affect discount usage

Steps:

  1. View the invoice
  2. Click Actions menu > Re-apply Discount Plans
  3. Fill in the action form (all fields are optional):

Optional:

  • Discounts Applied on Behalf Of: The user requesting the recalculation
  • Reason for Reapplying Discounts: Why allowances need recalculating
  • Action Details: Any extra context
  1. Click Re-apply Discount Plans

What happens:

  • The platform recalculates the discount allowance pools for this invoice
  • Transactions are re-evaluated against the updated allowances
  • Transaction amounts are updated where the discount changes
  • Only the selected invoice is affected

Important: After reapplying, recreate the bill PDF if the invoice has already been produced.


An invoice carries its payment state as a badge - Paid, Part paid, Unpaid or Overpaid - alongside the existing Overdue badge. They appear on the invoice list, the customer’s Invoices tab and the invoice record itself, so the state can be read at a glance rather than worked out from the Paid and Outstanding figures.

The badges follow the Outstanding field’s own visibility, so an operator who is not shown outstanding balances does not see them either.

The CRM invoice list shows the same badges, alongside working views for Unsent, Undelivered, Delivery failures, Unpaid, Overdue and Credit notes.

You can view any invoice by clicking a link to it. These links appear on the customer page, on transaction pages, and in reports. In enhanced mode, hover over any invoice link to see a summary tooltip.

When you first create an invoice, the platform produces a bill as a PDF. As you make changes to the customer’s account or transactions, the PDF may become out of date.

In some cases (such as deleting a transaction), the platform detects the change and marks the invoice as invalid. In other cases (such as changing the customer’s address, or changing the payment method), the platform cannot tell whether the bill needs updating. You decide whether to recreate it.

If an invoice is marked as invalid, nobody can download or email the PDF. The platform recreates any invalid bills automatically during daily processing each morning. You can also recreate it yourself at any time.

Steps:

  1. View the invoice

  2. Click Recreate in the Actions menu

  3. Fill in the recreation form (all fields are optional):

    • Recreation Reason: Choose why you are recreating this invoice
    • Recreated on Behalf Of: Select the user who requested the recreation
    • Additional Details: Add any extra context
  4. Click Recreate

What happens:

  • The bill PDF is rebuilt using the current transaction values and customer contact details
  • The PDF also reflects any payments made against the invoice
  • The payment instructions on the bill are rebuilt from the invoice’s current payment method, so wording such as BACS bank details or the direct debit “no action required” note appears or disappears to match
  • Each recreation increases the invoice’s revision number, giving you an audit trail of how many times it has been regenerated
  • If the invoice was marked as invalid, a Recreate button is shown in red

Common scenario: customer changes name or address

Section titled “Common scenario: customer changes name or address”

If a customer updates their company name or address and needs their invoice to reflect the change:

  1. Edit the customer record with the new details
  2. View the invoice that needs updating
  3. Recreate the bill PDF using the steps above
  4. Resend the invoice if the customer has already received the old version

If the payment instructions on the bill need to change, the invoice’s payment method has to be right before you recreate it. See Changing the Payment Method on an Invoice for the full sequence.

A view link usually appears alongside invoice summaries on the customer page and in reports. View links are not shown for the Unsent invoice. If a link is missing for another invoice, the PDF may be out of date and need recreating.

The standard view link downloads the full bill. You can also download the long or short format from the invoice page.

Steps:

  1. View the invoice
  2. Select the format (long, short or full) from the drop-down next to Download
  3. Click Download

When a customer asks for a copy of a bill as it stood before the invoice was recreated, the Invoice Files subtab on the invoice History tab holds it, so there is no need to retrieve a Disaster Recovery File.

The subtab lists every generated file still held for that invoice, newest revision first, with one row per revision and per bill length (Full, Short, Long and Anonymised). Each row shows:

  • the revision number, with a Current marker against the version in use
  • the bill length
  • the date the file was generated
  • the invoice amount as it stood at the time
  • the filename and delivery status
  • a download link

The invoice amount column is what makes the list useful in a billing query: it shows what the customer was told at each point, so you can see which version they are holding.

Access: the subtab, its CSV download, and downloading any superseded bill need the same data-protection access that allows Disaster Recovery File downloads, together with two-factor verification. Each superseded download is recorded against the invoice and appears in its History. Downloading the current bill needs only the ordinary invoice file access described above.

Data retention eventually removes generated files for old billed invoices. Once that has happened the subtab has nothing left to offer for that invoice.

You can email a bill directly from the platform, rather than downloading and attaching it yourself. The platform must be configured for emailing. For general information about email delivery and tracking, see Emailing Customers.

The bill PDF must be up to date before you can email it. If the invoice is marked as invalid, recreate the bill first.

If the customer cannot be emailed, the invoice page tells you which of the two reasons applies:

  • “Customer is not configured to receive bills by email.” Nobody on the account, customer record or contacts, is set to receive bills by email. Set the email bill type on the customer or on a contact.
  • “Customer has no valid email address for emailing bills.” Someone is set to receive bills by email, but there is no usable address, or the account’s status blocks correspondence. Check the email addresses held on the record.

Click the Email button on the invoice page to send immediately. The platform emails the bill to the customer’s default email addresses using the default bill format and message template. No form appears and no confirmation is needed.

For more control, use Actions menu > Email Invoice. This opens a form where you can:

  1. Choose your recipients
  2. Select a bill format and message template
  3. Add extra attachments
  4. Record audit trail details
  5. Click Email Invoice to send

The email form offers several recipient options:

  • Customer Email Addresses: email addresses on the customer record
  • Contact Email Addresses: emails for contacts linked to this customer
  • Internal Team Emails: send a copy to yourself, the account manager, or commission holders
  • Previous Recipients: addresses used for previous emails to this customer
  • Other Email Address: enter any address manually (expert mode)

Leave the customer email field blank to send to all customer email addresses.

If the default format (shown in the invoice details) is not what you want, select a different one from the format selector in the email form. Choose from short, long, or full format.

You can attach additional documents configured for invoice emails. Select them from the Extra Attachments list on the email form.

The email form records:

  • Emailed on Behalf Of: the user the email was sent on behalf of
  • Email Reason: why the invoice was emailed
  • Email Details: any additional notes about the email

You cannot edit an approved invoice. Unapprove it first, make your changes, then approve it again.

Steps:

  1. View the invoice
  2. Click Edit
  3. Make the necessary changes
  4. Click Save

Optional:

  • Load default values using Default Values > Load in the menu bar

Important: If you changed the dates or payment method and want the bill PDF to reflect those changes, click Recreate in the Actions menu after saving. For payment methods specifically, see Changing the Payment Method on an Invoice.

The platform creates invoices automatically during billing runs. You can also create one manually at any time.

Use this when you want to raise a new invoice and choose which transactions to include using a cut-off date.

Steps:

  1. View the customer
  2. Click Add menu > Invoice
  3. Fill in the invoice details:

Optional:

  • Invoice Reference: Part of the invoice number. If you leave this blank, one is assigned automatically.
  • Invoice Date: The date shown on the bill (defaults to today)
  • Cut-off Date: Transactions with a bill date before this date are included from the Unsent invoice. Typically the first of the current month. Leave blank if you want to pick transactions manually later.
  • Transaction Cut-off Date: Optional. When set, non-call charges are included by transaction date instead of bill date. See Transaction Cut-off Date for details.
  • Payment Method: If not specified, the customer’s default is used
  • Payment Date: If not specified, calculated from the customer’s payment terms
  • Invoice Message / Bill Types: If not specified, taken from the customer’s settings
  • Load default values using Default Values > Load in the menu bar
  1. Click Save

What happens:

  • A new invoice is created. If a cut-off date was set, matching transactions are moved from the Unsent invoice.
  • You are shown the invoice details page to confirm everything is correct
  • You can then download or email the bill
  • If on-delivery collection is enabled and you email the bill, payment collection starts automatically. See Collection on Bill Delivery for details.

Use this when you want to pick specific transactions from one invoice (such as the Unsent invoice) and move them onto a new one.

Steps:

  1. View the invoice that contains the transactions you want to bill
  2. Tick the Update boxes next to the transactions to include
  3. Click Add to Invoice, making sure the drop-down shows New Invoice (the default)
  4. Fill in the invoice details as above
  5. Click Save

Important: To include transactions from multiple invoices, create the new invoice from one of them, then move the other transactions onto it afterwards.

Use Collect Payment to create a payment and submit it to the payment provider straight away. This is the quickest way to collect a specific invoice without waiting for automated collection.

Steps:

  1. View the invoice
  2. Select Collect Payment from the Expert menu
  3. Choose which direct debit account or payment card to use. If the customer has only one payment method, it is selected automatically.
  4. Click Collect Payment

What happens:

  • The system creates a payment record for the invoice balance
  • The payment is submitted to the payment provider immediately
  • The payment moves through the standard status stages: Pending, Processing, Collected or Failed

Important: This action requires Expert Mode. Direct debit payments take 3-5 working days to clear through Bacs after submission. Card payments are typically faster. For the quickest direct debit settlement, consider Instant Bank Pay. For full details on collection methods and processing timelines, see Direct Debit Accounts.


You can delete an invoice only when it is unapproved and contains no transactions. For the full process, including what to do with the transactions, see Backing Out an Invoice.

Steps:

  1. View the invoice
  2. Unapprove it if it is approved (Actions menu > Unapprove)
  3. Make sure it has no transactions. You may need to use View > Empty Transactions to delete any that remain.
  4. Click Actions menu > Delete

What happens:

  • The invoice is deleted and you are taken to the customer page

If the Delete option is not visible, one of these is blocking it:

  • The invoice still has transactions on it
  • Calls are still billed to the invoice, even though the transactions have gone
  • The invoice is approved, and you do not have permission to edit approved invoices
  • The invoice is approved and has already been delivered, in which case unapproving it needs the Standard expert level
  • You do not have delete permission
  • It is the Unsent invoice, which cannot be deleted