How invoices work
A pro-forma quote first, a tax invoice once the order is paid, and why an issued invoice never changes.
Every order has one live invoice at a time. It starts as a Pro-forma (a quote) and becomes an Issued tax invoice when the order is paid. An issued invoice never changes. If it must be corrected, a new one replaces it and both are kept.
Who can do this:
| Task | Permission | Built-in roles that have it |
|---|---|---|
| See and print invoices | View invoices | Admin, Store Admin, Cashier |
| Generate and regenerate invoices, reissue | Generate invoices | Admin, Store Admin, Cashier |
| Send invoice links | Send invoices | Admin, Store Admin, Cashier |
| Record payments | Record payments | Admin, Store Admin, Cashier |
| Change the invoice template | Design invoice template | Admin, Store Admin |
How it works#
| Document status | What it is |
|---|---|
| Pro-forma | A quote, numbered PRO-…. It prints as PRO-FORMA INVOICE. It is not a tax document, and it follows the order: edit the order and the quote updates. |
| Issued | The tax invoice, numbered INV-…. It prints as TAX INVOICE. It is created once, when the order is paid, and never changes. |
| Superseded | An issued invoice that a reissue replaced. It stays on record. |
| Void | The quote of an order that was cancelled before it was paid. It is final. |
Beside the document status, each invoice shows how much of it is paid: Paid, Partially paid or Unpaid. The document status describes the paper. The payment status describes the money.
An issued invoice copies what the order actually charged: line prices, discounts, tax and charges. A later price change in the catalogue cannot change a past sale.
Steps#
Create an order's invoice#
- Open the order. Find the Invoice information section.
- If it says "No invoice has been generated for this order yet.", press Generate invoice. (The orders list row menu also offers Generate invoice.)
A store can create invoices on its own: in the Invoice designer, switch on Auto-generate invoice when order status is marked Completed.
Find and print invoices#
- Open Orders → Invoices. The tabs are All invoices, Paid, Partially paid and Unpaid.
- Open a row's menu and choose View / print invoice. The invoice document page opens.
- Press Print invoice.
A superseded invoice sits folded under the invoice that replaced it.
Record a payment from the invoice list#
Open the row menu of an invoice with a balance and choose Record payment. Enter the Amount received, the Payment method and an optional Payment reference (optional). The payment is recorded on the order too, so both always agree. Most of the time it is easier to record payments on the order; see Recording payments & deposits.
Change how invoices look#
Open Orders → Invoices, open the menu at the top of the page, and choose Invoice designer. You can set the business details and logo, the layout and accent colour, the print size (from A4 to 58mm till roll), which details to show, the barcode or QR code, and the header and footer notes. Press Save template design. The design applies to every invoice of the store.
Behind the scenes#
- The tax invoice is created when a payment settles the order, wherever that payment was recorded. Its fiscal number is taken in the same step, so a failed attempt uses no number and two invoices can never share one.
- Numbers look like
INV-007-260807-0001: the kind, the store's number, the date in the store's time zone, and a counter.PRO-andINV-numbers are counted separately. - A pro-forma prints what is due now when the order asks for a deposit. If the deposit was set by hand, it prints that figure. A deposit set to zero prints no due-now line.
- Nothing in the invoice history is ever deleted.
Troubleshooting#
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "an issued invoice cannot be edited" | Issued invoices are final. | Reissue it instead. |
| "an invoice is issued when its order is paid, not on request" | You tried to issue it by hand. | Record the payment. The invoice is issued when the order is paid. |
| "payment exceeds the outstanding balance" | The amount is more than the invoice still owes. | Record only the balance. Paying it off exactly is fine. |
| "confirm the order before recording payment" | The order is still a draft. | Confirm the order first. |
| There is no way to create an invoice without an order. | Invoices come from orders. | Create an order, then generate its invoice. |
Related pages#
Correcting an issued invoice · Sharing invoices & payment links · Payment status