Recurring Invoices

Using recurring invoices streamlines the billing process, reduces the need to manually create them each time, and eliminates errors.

A recurring invoice is a template that automatically generates invoices and sends them to a customer on a regular schedule set by you. A list of all recurring invoices is displayed on the Recurring tab of the Invoices page.

Table of Contents

• How to Create a Recurring Invoice

• How to Send a Reccurring Invoice Automatically

• Recurring Invoice List

• How to Edit or Delete a Recurring Invoice

How to Create a Recurring Invoice

You can set up a recurring invoice to automatically generate invoices every month or year on a date you choose. You can then send the generated invoices to your client.

To create a recurring invoice

1. Go to the Invoices page and open the Recurring tab.

2. Click + Recurring Invoice to create a new recurring invoice.

3. Select the invoice type from the two options:

• Create a recurring invoice for tracked time and expenses (by default)

• Create a free-form recurring invoice

4. Select a client, then choose the project to invoice for.

5. In the Invoice Action section, Create a draft invoice for me to send manually is selected by default. You can select the Automatically send this invoice option to have the invoice sent automatically. 

6. Set the First issue date by selecting it from the drop-down calendar.

7. In the Repeats field, select how often the invoice is automatically created and sent:

• Yearly on - the date is determined by the First issue date selected in the drop-down calendar.

• Monthly on day - the day is determined by the First issue date selected in the drop-down calendar and is set by default. 

• Custom - allows you to set a custom recurring interval.

8. In the Duration drop-down list, select how long the invoice should keep repeating:

• Keep issuing invoices until deleted (by default)

• Limit invoice generations - set the number of times a recurring invoice will be created.

9. In the Time & Expenses Settings section, select whether to include time entries or expenses in the invoice and how to group them. Select the Include expense report option to attach a PDF report to the invoice. 

Note: This section appears when the invoice type Create a recurring invoice for tracked time and expenses is selected and at least one project is chosen.

10. In the Invoice Settings section, configure the main invoice details as needed, then click Save.

How to Send a Recurring Invoice Automatically

To send a generated invoice to your client automatically, select the Automatically send this invoice option in the Invoice Action section of the recurring invoice. You can enable this option when creating a new recurring invoice or editing an existing one.

When Automatically send this invoice is selected, you can configure the email to be sent with the invoice on the predefined schedule in the Send Invoices section. The invoice will be sent each time it is created, based on the First issue date, Repeats, and Duration settings.

Recurring Invoice List

The recurring invoice appears in the list on the Recurring tab. Recurring invoices are displayed in a table with the following columns:

• Client - the name of the client the invoice is billed to. Below the client name, the number of projects added to the invoice is displayed.

• Type - the type of recurring invoice selected during creation: Free Form, Time, Expenses, Time & Expenses.

• Invoice Subject - displays what the invoice is about. 

• Recurrence - the recurrence period selected when creating a recurring invoice: Yearly, Monthly, or every specified interval.

• Next Invoice - the date of the next invoice generation.

• Initial Amount - the total of all line items in the recurring invoice, rounded to two decimal places.

If you need to find a recurring invoice quickly, you can use the Search option on the Recurring tab of the Invoices page.

You can also filter invoices by Client and Type. Click the required filter next to the + Recurring Invoice button and select the option you need.

• Client filter: All or a specific client from the list.

• Type filter:

  • Time – when only time is selected during invoice creation

  • Expenses – when only expenses are selected during invoice creation

  • Free Form – when neither time nor expenses is selected during invoice creation

  • Time & Expenses – when both time and expenses are selected during invoice creation

When you open each recurring invoice, you will see the following information:

• The main invoice fields: Client, Type, Repeats, Projects Included, Next Invoice, Time Included, Expenses Included, Auto-send.

• The Status filter: All, Draft, Sent, Paid.

• The Generated Invoices section, where you can view the invoices generated from the recurring invoice you opened. The overflow menu for each generated invoice contains options to change the invoice status, duplicate it, and delete it.

How to Edit or Delete a Recurring Invoice

Once a recurring invoice is created, you may need to modify its details, such as the type, issue date, recurrence, and other fields.

To edit a recurring invoice

1. On the Recurring tab of the Invoices page, open the invoice you want to edit.

2. When the invoice opens, click the Edit button at the top right.

3. Make the necessary changes to the fields and click Save.

Note: The Client field cannot be changed.

If you no longer need the recurring invoice, you can delete it by clicking the Delete button in the top right, next to the Edit button. All invoices that have already been generated from this recurring invoice will remain unchanged.