Creating and sending an invoice
Entry points, the invoice form field by field, defaults, and what sending does.
An invoice is created as a draft, visible only inside your workspace. Sending assigns the number, creates the client link, and locks the invoice against edits.
Entry points
Create Invoice opens the same form from several places, with different fields prefilled:
Invoices list, quick-create menu, command menu: nothing prefilled
Account page: the account
Contact page: the contact and its account
Project page, above the invoice table or in the banner shown while an active project has no invoices: the project, its account, and the project’s main contact
Project locks
The Project field lists Active and Completed projects only. Any other project is rejected with “Only active or completed projects can be invoiced.”
Project on the invoice | Currency and tax |
|---|---|
None, a standalone invoice | Set on the invoice |
A simple project, which has no offer | Set on the invoice |
An offer-backed project | Locked, taken from the offer |
Locked fields carry the hint “Locked while an offer-backed project is attached”.
When the project has an accepted offer and no live deposit invoice, an Invoice Type control appears with Regular Invoice and Deposit Invoice, defaulting to Regular. See Deposits and automatic invoices.
Fields
Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Account | Yes | |
Project | No | Active and Completed projects only |
Title | No | Heads the client’s invoice. Left empty it reads “Invoice” |
Person of Contact | No | Filtered to the selected account |
Issued on | Yes | Defaults to today |
Due | Yes | Immediately, 15 days, or 30 days from the issue date. Defaults to 30 days. Immediately means due on receipt |
Payment Method | Yes | One method per invoice |
Bank Account | For bank transfer | Defaults to your primary account. Submitting without one returns “Select a bank account for bank transfer payments.” |
Currency | Yes | Set per invoice unless an offer-backed project is attached |
Value Added Tax | No | Set per invoice unless an offer-backed project is attached |
Second Tax Rate (%) | No | Advanced tax mode only. A rate requires a label: “The secondary tax needs a label.” |
Deliverables | Yes | At least one line, totalling more than zero. Otherwise “The total invoice amount must be greater than zero.” |
Optional Note | No | Up to 5000 characters. Sits at the bottom of the client’s invoice |
Accounts and contacts can be created from inside the form.
Payment method
An invoice carries exactly one payment method.
Bank Transfer requires a bank account on the workspace. Select one under Bank Account, or add one with Add new.
Card Payment (Stripe) requires a connected and verified Stripe account.
Selecting a method the workspace has not set up shows a red alert with a Set up now link. Billow also warns when the selected bank account is held in a currency other than the invoice currency.
Line items
Each deliverable has a title, an optional description, and a price in one of two modes:
Fixed: one price for the line
Quantity: a rate times a number of units
Add lines with the plus button and drag them to reorder.
Defaults from settings
Currency, tax rate, and your primary bank account are prefilled from Settings → Accounting.
Payment Method defaults to Bank Transfer when the workspace has a bank account, and to Card Payment when it has none and Stripe is connected.
With advanced tax mode on, the form shows Tax Label, Tax Rate (%), Second Tax Label and Second Tax Rate (%), prefilled the same way.
Changing any of these on an invoice affects that invoice alone.
Creating the draft
Create Invoice at the bottom of the form saves the invoice as a draft. Billow confirms with “Invoice draft created.” and opens the invoice page.
A draft has no number and no public link. Edit reopens the same form.
Sending
Send Invoice sits at the top of the invoice page. The first dialog states the consequence: “This will mark the invoice as pending and you will no longer be able to edit it.” Continue moves to the email field.
Enter the recipient address. Where the invoice has a contact with an email, that address appears under the field and clicking it fills it in. Send to Client sends the email.
Public Link produces the same link and copies it to your clipboard without sending an email, after the same warning. See What your client sees when you send an invoice.
What sending does
Assigns the invoice number, e.g. INV-2026-0001, counting up per year
Creates the share link
Moves the invoice to Pending
Emails the address you entered, with the invoice number and the link
The email is sent under your workspace’s legal name, whoever on your team sends it.
Send requirements
Sending is blocked when:
The invoice has no payment method. Send Invoice and Public Link are disabled, with the reason on the button
The project’s deposit invoice is unpaid. Both buttons are disabled the same way
The account has no address. Billow opens a Client address required dialog, saves the address onto the account, then continues with Save & Send
Getting paid has the exact wording of all three messages.
After sending
A sent invoice cannot be edited and cannot return to draft. The remaining actions are marking it paid, refunding it, resending the link, and sending a reminder.
Invoices and their statuses has the full rules, including how to correct an invoice that has already been sent.
