Creating and sending an invoice

You create every invoice as a draft, which only people in your workspace can see. When you send it, Billow gives it a number, creates a link for your client, and locks it against edits.

Create an invoice

1. Go to Invoices and click Create Invoice.

2. Choose the Account you are billing.

3. Optionally choose a Project and a Person of Contact.

4. Set the invoice date under Issued on, and choose when it is Due.

5. Choose a Payment Method. For Bank Transfer, also choose a Bank Account.

6. Check the Currency and tax.

7. Add your line items under Deliverables.

8. Click Create Invoice at the bottom of the form.

Billow confirms with “Invoice draft created.” and opens the invoice page. The draft has no number and no public link yet.

Send an invoice by email

1. Open the draft.

2. Click Send Invoice at the top of the page. Draft rows in the invoice list have the same button.

3. If your client’s address or your company address is missing, add it and click Save & Continue. See Missing addresses below.

4. Read the warning and click Continue.

5. Enter your client’s email address under Send via email.

6. Click Send to Client.

Billow confirms with “Invoice sent successfully”. The warning in step 4 reads:

Send Invoice This will mark the invoice as pending and you will no longer be able to edit it.

If the invoice has a contact with an email address, that address appears under the email field. Click it to fill it in.

Share the link instead

You can send the invoice link through your own channels instead of an email from Billow. Copying the link of a draft sends it, the same as emailing it: the invoice gets its number, moves to Pending and is locked.

1. Open the draft.

2. Click Copy Public Link at the top of the page, or choose it from the invoice’s … menu in the invoice list.

3. If an address is missing, add it and click Save & Continue.

4. Click Continue in the Share Invoice dialog.

Billow copies the link to your clipboard and confirms with “Public link copied to clipboard”. On an invoice you have already sent, Copy Public Link copies the existing link straight away. See What your client sees when you send an invoice.

Missing addresses

An invoice can only go out once both your client’s account and your workspace have an address. Billow checks this when you send, and asks for whatever is missing in one dialog.

If your company address is missing and you are not an owner or admin, you cannot continue, even if you add your client’s address. When only your company address is missing, the dialog tells you:

Workspace address required A workspace admin needs to add your company’s address before sending this invoice.

When both addresses are missing, the dialog is titled Add details to send. Ask an owner or admin to add the address under Settings → General, then send the invoice again.

When sending is blocked

In two situations, Send Invoice and Copy Public Link are disabled on the invoice page. Hover over either button to see the reason.

A draft without a payment method also shows “This invoice needs a payment method before it can be sent.” with an Add Payment Method button that opens the form.

If your subscription has lapsed, Send Invoice is disabled until the owner resubscribes. See Failed payments, cancelling and read-only access.

What sending does

• Assigns the invoice number, for example INV-2026-0001.

• Creates the public link.

• Moves the invoice to Pending and locks it.

• Keeps your client’s details, your company details and the bank account as they were when you sent it. Changing them later doesn’t change a sent invoice.

• Shows your current logo, even if you change it after sending.

• For emails, sends your client a message with the invoice number and the link.

The email goes out under your workspace’s legal name, whoever on your team sends it.

After sending

A sent invoice cannot be edited or put back to draft. You can still mark it paid, resend it, send a reminder and refund it. See Getting paid and Refunding an invoice.

Correct a sent invoice

To correct a sent invoice, you replace it with a corrected copy and delete the original. Only owners and admins can delete the original. An invoice paid through Stripe cannot be deleted, so it stays in your list next to its replacement.

A deposit invoice cannot be duplicated, so this doesn’t work for one. For an invoice on a completed project, reopen the project first.

1. Open the sent invoice.

2. Open the … menu at the top right of the page and choose Duplicate.

3. In the new draft, open the … menu and choose Edit.

4. Fix the details and click Save Changes.

5. Send the new draft.

6. Delete the original invoice.

Let your client know that the original invoice is void. Its number stays reserved and is never reused.

Edit a draft

1. Open the draft.

2. Open the … menu at the top right of the page and choose Edit.

3. Make your changes and click Save Changes.

You can only edit drafts. Once an invoice is sent, it is locked.

Where you can start an invoice

Create Invoice opens the same form from several places. Depending on where you start, some fields are already filled in.

Invoice form fields

You can create a new account or contact without leaving the form. Open the Account or Person of Contact field and choose Create new account or Create new contact at the bottom of the list.

Line items

Each deliverable has a title, an optional description and a price. The price works in one of two modes:

• Fixed: one price for the whole line.

• Quantity: a rate multiplied by a number of units.

Add a line with the plus button below the list, and drag lines to reorder them.

Hide deliverable prices from your client

Your client sees the price of each line on the invoice page and in the PDF. If you turn on Hide deliverable prices, they see the lines without their prices, and only the subtotal, taxes and total carry amounts.

1. Click the settings button next to the Deliverables heading.

2. Turn on Hide deliverable prices.

3. Click Done.

The setting is saved with the invoice and changes no amounts. The PDF leaves out its Qty, Rate and Amount columns, and a card payment through Stripe shows one line for the amount due instead of one per deliverable. The invoice form and the invoice page in Billow keep showing every price, with “Deliverable prices are hidden from the client. They see the totals only.” below the totals.

A new invoice for a project with an offer starts with the offer’s setting. Any other new invoice starts with Hide deliverable prices in Settings → Accounting. Once the invoice is sent, the setting can’t change.

Payment method

Each invoice carries one payment method.

• Bank Transfer needs a bank account in your workspace. Choose one under Bank Account, or click Add new to create one. If you have none yet, click Set up now in the alert to add one in Settings → Accounting.

• Card Payment (Stripe) needs a connected and verified Stripe account. Stripe charges its own fees for card payments.

If you choose a method your workspace hasn’t set up, a red alert appears with a Set up now link. If the bank account is held in a different currency from the invoice, Billow warns you that your bank may charge conversion fees. It does not stop you from saving.

Defaults from your settings

The form fills in your default currency, tax rate and primary bank account from Settings → Accounting. Changing them on an invoice affects that invoice only.

Payment Method defaults to Bank Transfer when your workspace has a bank account. Without one, it defaults to Card Payment (Stripe) if Stripe is connected.

With advanced tax mode on, the form shows Tax Label, Tax Rate (%), Second Tax Label and Second Tax Rate (%) in place of Value Added Tax, filled in the same way.

Invoices on a project

The Project field only lists the account’s active projects. Any other project, including a completed one, is rejected with “Only active projects can be invoiced. Reopen a completed project to invoice it again.”

Locked fields show the hint “Locked while an offer-backed project is attached”.

If the project’s offer has been accepted with a deposit, and the project has no deposit invoice other than a refunded one, the form shows Invoice Type with Regular Invoice and Deposit Invoice. Regular Invoice is selected by default. See Deposits and automatic invoices.