Send invoices, schedule payments, and track the balance

Before you start

• Set business details and invoice defaults, including numbering, tax, due dates, and business number where applicable.
• Online payment requires a connected Stripe account. Direct email sending must be configured before you rely on email delivery.

Step-by-step

1. 01

   Create directly or start from an accepted quote

   Use New Invoice for agreed work that did not need a quote. For accepted quoted work, use its converted invoice instead of creating another document for the same charge. The shared document number is retained with the invoice prefix.

2. 02

   Finish the draft

   Review line items and any team costs, the recipient, invoice number, due date, and optional notes. Business details populate the From area; available contact or business details populate To. Edit the draft before it is sent. Enable tips only on invoices where you want that option.

3. 03

   Set a deposit or payment plan

   Add the schedule in the creation builder or invoice details. Give each instalment a meaningful label, amount or percentage, and due date. A single invoice keeps the total, payment history, and remaining balance together.

4. 04

   Send and record the actual money

   Send the invoice email when configured, or share its client view. Leave Stripe enabled for online payment, or turn it off for e-transfer and other methods. Record manual payments from the invoice, using an amount or percentage; edit or delete mistaken manual entries rather than recording another offset by accident.

5. 05

   Review the balance and follow up

   Successful Stripe payments update paid and remaining amounts and trigger the configured receipt flow. Manual status changes do not substitute for payment records. Review due and overdue amounts, and use the payment reminder action to send a due-date or overdue reminder when appropriate.

6. 06

   Handle changes without losing payment history

   Use Revise invoice when the order changes, including after a deposit or full payment. The previous version is kept, recorded payments stay attached, and additional items increase the remaining balance. The original number, currency and issue date stay the same. Open Revision history on the invoice to see saved items, pricing, due dates, notes and payment plans, who revised it and when, and compare with the current version. Print or save an older version as PDF; it is marked Superseded and cannot be paid. History does not reconstruct past payment balances. Saving does not charge or email the client; resend the invoice when ready. Duplicate draft creates a separate document. Draft means not sent, not unpaid. Paid invoices cannot be voided or deleted; archive them instead. Use the payment's refund action if funds need to be returned.

A payment schedule is not several copies of the invoice

Use one invoice for the agreed total and a schedule for when portions are due. Payments reduce the same outstanding balance. Previous deposits that are correctly linked to the invoice also count toward its instalments; an unlinked project payment should be assigned to the right document rather than recorded a second time.

Status, payments, and expenses do different jobs

Invoice status tracks the document's lifecycle. Payments record money received and drive the paid amount and balance. Expenses record costs of delivering the project; they do not count as a client's payment or automatically reduce the price they owe.

• Marking a workflow payment task complete is not recording a payment.
• Editing or deleting a manual record corrects your ledger; it does not transfer money through Stripe.
• A Stripe refund is a real financial action. Review payment, amount, and recipient before confirming.
• Your Flovuni subscription payment is separate from a client's payment to your business.

See the pieces together

Deposit received, final payment still due

A fictional invoice has a $2,000 total and a 25% deposit.

1. 1
   Draft

   Review the price, due dates, and two-part schedule.

2. 2
   Deposit

   Record the received $500 once against this invoice.

3. 3
   Balance

   The invoice shows $1,500 outstanding and the next due date.

4. 4
   Final payment

   Receive and record the balance; the fully paid client view shows Paid.

Do not test a live payment or refund with real client funds. A visible success screen alone is not a substitute for checking the saved payment record.

How it connects to the rest of your workspace

The same booking context carries through these tools. Follow a guide to see the next part of the process.

Common questions