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Finance

Invoices

Intermediate15 min read

Create, send, and track invoices for your clients. Record payments, split billing with sub-invoices, and generate PDFs in multiple languages.

Key concepts

  • Invoice: A bill sent to a client for products or services. Contains line items, tax, discount, shipping, and payment tracking.
  • Invoice Number: Auto-generated identifier (e.g., INV-001), editable before saving.
  • Status Workflow: Draft -> Sent -> Partially Paid -> Paid. Invoices can also become Overdue (past due date with unpaid balance) or Cancelled.
  • Line Item: A single billable row with description, quantity, rate, an optional per-item discount, and a per-item tax rate (from Settings). A line can be marked Tax Exempt to exclude it from the tax total.
  • Discount: Flat amount or percentage, available at both the line-item level and the overall invoice level. The invoice-level discount is applied before tax.
  • Tax: There is no invoice-level tax. Tax is set per line item using a tax rate from Settings > Tax. The invoice tax total is the sum of each non-exempt line's tax amount. Two invoice-wide tax modes are also supported:
    • Tax Inclusive: line prices already contain tax, so tax is shown for information only and is not added to the total again.
    • Reverse Charge: VAT is accounted for by the buyer (EU cross-border B2B); tax is informational and not added to the total.
  • Shipping: An optional flat charge added to the total, untaxed.
  • Payment Terms: Predefined options like "Due on receipt", "Net 15", "Net 30", "Net 45", "Net 60", or custom terms.
  • Sub-Invoice: A portion of the parent invoice that can be billed separately -- useful for milestone-based or split billing.
  • Template: Saved company branding (name, address, logo) applied to the invoice header and PDF.
  • Multi-currency: Create invoices in any supported currency with automatic exchange-rate conversion to your base currency.
How to

Step-by-step

Creating an Invoice Manually

  1. Navigate to Finance > Invoices.

  2. Click New Invoice.

  3. Fill in the form:

    Header section:

    • Invoice Number -- pre-filled, editable
    • Template -- select saved branding or use default company info
    • Bill To -- type or select the customer name
    • Ship To -- optional
    • Invoice Date and Due Date
    • Payment Terms -- select from dropdown (Due on receipt, Net 15, Net 30, Net 45, Net 60, Custom)
    • PO Number -- optional
    • Currency -- defaults to base currency

    Line items section: 4. Click Add Line Item. 5. Enter Description, Quantity, and Rate. 6. Optionally add a per-line Discount and select a Tax Rate from the dropdown (rates come from Settings > Tax). 7. Mark a line Tax Exempt to exclude it from the tax total. 8. Add more line items as needed.

    Tax options: 9. Toggle Tax Inclusive if your line prices already include tax (common for EU/UK retail). Tax is then shown for information only and not added again. 10. Toggle Reverse Charge for EU cross-border B2B sales where the buyer accounts for VAT; tax becomes informational.

    Totals section: 11. Review Subtotal. 12. Add Invoice Discount (flat or percentage) if applicable -- it is applied before tax. 13. Review the Tax Total (the sum of each non-exempt line's tax). 14. Set Shipping if applicable. 15. Review the Total.

  4. Click Save to create the invoice as a Draft.

Creating an Invoice from an Estimate

  1. Go to Finance > Estimates.

  2. Find an estimate with status Accepted or Sent.

  3. Click the More actions menu and choose Convert to Invoice.

  4. The invoice form opens pre-filled with the estimate's data.

  5. Review, adjust if needed, and save.

Creating an Invoice from Time Entries (Tempo)

  1. Navigate to Finance > Invoices.

  2. Click the dropdown arrow next to New Invoice and select Create from Report.

  3. In the modal:

    • Select a Project
    • Set the Date Range (start and end dates)
    • Enter the Billing Rate (pre-filled from project settings if configured)
    • Enter the Bill To name
    • Choose the Currency and Payment Terms

  4. The system previews matching time entries with tasks and hours.

  5. Click Create Invoice to generate it.

Viewing and Managing Invoices

  1. Navigate to Finance > Invoices to see the full list.

  2. The Stats Strip shows key figures: Total Invoiced, Paid, Outstanding, Overdue, and Draft amounts.

  3. Use filter tabs to view by status: All, Draft, Sent, Paid, Overdue, Partially Paid. (There is no Cancelled pill -- Cancelled is still a valid invoice status, it just isn't a filter tab.)

  4. Use the search bar, currency filter, and date range to narrow results.

  5. Click any row to open the invoice detail.

Updating Invoice Status

  1. Open an invoice detail.

  2. Use the action buttons:

    • Mark as Sent -- changes Draft to Sent
    • Record Payment -- opens a payment modal (see below)
    • Mark as Paid -- sets the invoice to fully paid
    • Cancel Invoice -- opens a modal to enter a cancellation reason

  3. Each change is logged in the invoice history.

Recording Payments

  1. On the invoice detail page, click Record Payment.

  2. Enter the Amount received.

  3. Optionally select the Payment Method (e.g., Bank Transfer, Cash, Check).

  4. Add a Payment Note if needed.

  5. Click Save.

  6. If the paid amount equals the total, the invoice status changes to Paid automatically. Otherwise, it moves to Partially Paid.

Working with Sub-Invoices

  1. On the invoice detail page, click Create Sub-Invoice.

  2. Enter the Amount (flat or percentage of the parent total).

  3. Set the Due Date, Payment Terms, and other details.

  4. Save the sub-invoice.

  5. Sub-invoices appear as expandable rows under the parent invoice in the list.

  6. You can mark each sub-invoice as Sent or Paid independently.

Editing an Invoice

  1. Open the invoice detail.

  2. Click Edit to switch to edit mode.

  3. You can modify: line items (including each line's tax rate and tax-exempt flag), discount, the Tax Inclusive / Reverse Charge toggles, shipping, company branding, bill-to, dates, and notes.

  4. Click Save to apply changes.

Exporting as PDF

  1. Open the invoice detail.

  2. Click Download PDF or Print.

  3. Select the PDF Language and Template before generating.

  4. The PDF includes your company branding, all line items, totals, and payment history.

Exporting for Accounting / E-Invoicing

  1. From the invoices list, open the Export menu.

  2. Choose a format:

    • Spreadsheet (xlsx / csv) -- export to Xero or QuickBooks import templates, or a custom column set.
    • XML e-invoice -- generate standards-compliant XML: UBL 2.1 (PEPPOL BIS 3.0 for EU cross-border), CII for ZUGFeRD / XRechnung (Germany), or Vietnam TT32 e-invoices.

  3. The export carries the EU/VAT fields when present: seller and customer VAT number, customer registration number, reverse charge flag, and VAT exemption reason / note, along with bank and payment details and per-line tax-exempt flags.

  4. Download the generated file and import it into your accounting software or send it to your e-invoicing provider.

Importing Invoices

  1. Navigate to /app/invoices/import (the Import action on the invoices list).

  2. Upload an Excel file of invoices.

  3. Map the columns, review the preview, and confirm to create the invoices in QONE.

Managing Templates

  1. From the invoices list, click Templates in the top-right.

  2. Create templates with your company name, address, email, phone, website, and logo.

  3. Apply templates when creating or editing invoices.

Calculation Logic

  1. Line item amount = quantity x rate
  2. Line item discount = flat amount, or (line amount x discount%)
  3. Line item tax = (amount - discount) x line tax rate (skipped if the line is Tax Exempt)
  4. Subtotal = sum of all line item amounts
  5. Invoice discount = flat amount, or (subtotal x discount%)
  6. Subtotal after discount = subtotal - invoice discount
  7. Tax total = sum of every non-exempt line's tax. Because the discount is applied before tax, the tax total is reduced proportionally by the discount ratio: adjusted tax = line tax total x (subtotal after discount / subtotal).
  8. Total (tax-exclusive, the default) = (subtotal - discount) + adjusted tax + shipping
  9. Total (tax-inclusive or reverse-charge) = (subtotal - discount) + shipping. Tax is shown for information only and is not added again.
  10. Balance Due = total - amount paid

Recurring Invoices

Auto-generate invoices on a schedule for retainer clients, subscriptions, or any repeating billing.

Key Concepts

  • Recurring Invoice: A template that auto-creates real invoices on a set schedule (weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly).
  • Next Run Date: The date when the next invoice will be auto-generated. Advances automatically after each generation.
  • Auto-send: When enabled, generated invoices are immediately marked as Sent and the notification is triggered. When disabled, they are created as Drafts for review.
  • Status: Active (generating), Paused (temporarily stopped), Cancelled, or Completed (end date reached).

Setting Up a Recurring Invoice

  1. Navigate to Finance > Invoices.
  2. Click Recurring in the top-right to open the recurring invoices list.
  3. Click New Recurring Invoice.
  4. Fill in the form:

Client Information:

  • Select a Customer from the dropdown (optional but recommended)
  • Enter the Bill To name

Schedule:

  • Frequency -- Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly
  • Start Date -- when the first invoice should be generated
  • End Date -- optional; leave blank for indefinite recurring
  • Payment Terms and Due Days After Invoice -- how many days the client has to pay
  • Auto-send -- toggle on to skip manual review

Line Items:

  • Add one or more line items with description, quantity, rate, and a per-line tax rate (from Settings)
  • These will be copied exactly to each generated invoice

Adjustments:

  • Invoice discount, the Tax Inclusive toggle, and Shipping if applicable (tax itself is set per line item, not at the document level)
  1. Click Create Recurring Invoice.

[Screenshot: the new recurring invoice form with schedule, line items, and auto-send toggle]

Managing Recurring Invoices

  1. Go to Finance > Invoices > Recurring to see all recurring invoices.
  2. Each card shows: customer, frequency, amount, next run date, and how many invoices have been generated.
  3. Use the action buttons:
    • Pause -- temporarily stop generating (can resume later)
    • Resume -- restart a paused recurring invoice
    • Cancel -- stop the recurring invoice for good (sets it to Cancelled; no further invoices are generated)
    • Delete -- permanently remove
  4. Click a recurring invoice to see its details and the history of all invoices it has generated.

[Screenshot: the recurring invoices list showing active and paused items with generation counts]

How Auto-Generation Works

  • A background job runs daily at 2 AM UTC.
  • It checks all Active recurring invoices where nextRunDate <= today.
  • For each due template, it creates a real Invoice with:
    • Today as the invoice date
    • Due date = today + due days
    • All line items copied from the template
    • Status = Sent (if auto-send) or Draft (if not)
  • The next run date advances by the frequency interval (7d / 1m / 3m / 1y).
  • If an end date is set and the next run would exceed it, the recurring invoice is marked as Completed.

Invoice Reminders

Automatically send notifications when invoices are approaching their due date or overdue.

Key Concepts

  • Reminder Rule: A tenant-level rule that defines when to send a reminder (e.g., "3 days before due" or "7 days after due").
  • Before Due: Sends a reminder X days before the invoice due date -- a friendly heads-up.
  • After Due: Sends a reminder X days after the invoice due date -- an overdue follow-up.
  • One-shot per rule: Each rule fires only once per invoice to avoid spamming. Different rules (e.g., 3 days before AND 7 days after) fire independently.
  • Delivery channels: Reminders use the notification system -- they deliver via In-App, Email, and Slack based on each user's notification preferences.

Configuring Reminder Rules

  1. Navigate to Settings > Invoicing.
  2. Scroll to the Invoice Reminders section.
  3. To add a rule:
    • Select Before due date or After due date
    • Enter the number of Days
    • Click Add Rule
  4. Rules appear in a list with toggle and delete controls.
  5. Toggle a rule off to temporarily disable it without deleting.

Recommended starter rules:

  • 3 days before due (friendly reminder)
  • 1 day before due (last-minute nudge)
  • 7 days after due (overdue follow-up)
  • 30 days after due (escalation)

[Screenshot: the invoice reminders section in invoicing settings showing 4 configured rules]

How Reminders Work

  • A background job runs daily at 8 AM UTC.
  • For each tenant with active rules, it checks all unpaid invoices (Sent, Partially Paid, or Overdue).
  • For each invoice + rule pair:
    • Before Due: fires if due date - rule days == today
    • After Due: fires if today - due date >= rule days
  • If the rule already fired for that invoice (logged), it skips.
  • Otherwise, it creates a reminder log and emits an Invoice Reminder notification.
  • Recipients: all users with invoice view permissions in the tenant.

Aging Report

See at a glance how old your unpaid invoices are, grouped by customer and age bucket.

Viewing the Aging Report

  1. Navigate to Finance > Invoices.
  2. Click Aging Report in the top-right.
  3. The report shows all unpaid invoices (Sent, Partially Paid, Overdue) grouped into age buckets:
    • Current (0-30 days) -- not yet overdue or recently due
    • 31-60 days -- moderately overdue
    • 61-90 days -- significantly overdue
    • 90+ days -- severely overdue, high risk
  4. Each row is a customer with amounts per bucket and a total.
  5. A totals row at the bottom sums all customers.
  6. A mini bar chart per row shows the proportion in each bucket.

[Screenshot: the aging report table with customer rows, colored amount columns, and bar indicators]

Summary Cards

At the top of the report, five summary cards show:

  • Current (0-30 days) total
  • 31-60 days total
  • 61-90 days total
  • 90+ days total
  • Total Outstanding across all buckets

Exporting

  1. Click Export CSV in the top-right.
  2. A CSV file downloads with all customer rows and totals.
  3. Use this for accounting software import or stakeholder reporting.

Tips

  • Check this report weekly to catch invoices sliding into older buckets.
  • Follow up on anything in the 90+ days column immediately -- these are at highest risk of becoming bad debt.
  • Combine with Invoice Reminders to automate follow-up before invoices age.

Tips & best practices

  • Set up your Invoice Settings (under Settings > Invoicing) to configure default payment terms, due-date offset, PDF template, and PDF language before you start invoicing.
  • Use Payment Terms consistently -- "Net 30" automatically sets the due date to 30 days from the invoice date.
  • The Overdue status is calculated automatically: if the due date has passed and the invoice is sent but not fully paid, it shows as overdue.
  • When you create an invoice from time entries, the billing rate multiplied by tracked hours becomes each line item's amount.
  • Sub-invoices are great for milestone billing -- split a large project invoice into smaller payments with different due dates.
  • Multi-currency invoices show both the original amount and the base-currency equivalent on the list page.
  • Use Recurring Invoices instead of duplicating invoices manually for retainer clients -- it auto-generates on schedule.
  • Set up Invoice Reminders in Settings to automatically notify your team about upcoming and overdue invoices.
  • Review the Aging Report weekly to identify at-risk receivables before they become bad debt.
  • Tax rates are managed in Settings > Tax -- set up your rates there first, then select them per line item.

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