Getting paid

Every invoice has one payment method, either bank transfer or card. You choose it on the draft, and it decides how your client pays and how the invoice becomes Paid.

Payment methods

Choose a payment method

1. Open the draft invoice.

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

3. Under Payment Method, choose Card Payment (Stripe) or Bank Transfer.

4. If you chose Bank Transfer, pick the account under Bank Account. Add new opens a form to add another account.

5. Click Save Changes.

You can also set the payment method on the Create Invoice form when you create the invoice. Until an invoice has one, its page shows a warning with an Add Payment Method button, and you cannot send it. See When sending is blocked.

If you choose Bank Transfer before adding any bank account, the form shows “You first need to add a bank account to use Bank Transfer” with a Set up now button. If you choose Card Payment (Stripe) without an active Stripe connection, it shows “You first need to connect Stripe to Billow to use Card Payments”. In both cases, saving is refused until the method is set up.

Bank transfers

Your account details appear on the invoice, with a copy button next to each field, so your client can paste them into their banking app. Billow is not notified when the money arrives, so you mark the invoice as paid yourself.

Mark an invoice as paid

1. Open the invoice.

2. Open the … menu at the top right of the page.

3. Choose Mark as paid.

4. In the Mark Invoice as Paid dialog, pick the date the payment arrived. It defaults to today.

5. Click Mark as Paid.

The invoice changes to Paid, and the date you picked becomes its paid date. Future dates cannot be picked. Any team member can mark an invoice as paid.

Mark as paid is only available on sent invoices. On a draft it is disabled with “Draft invoices must be sent first”.

Card payments

Your client pays on Stripe’s checkout page. When Stripe confirms the payment, the invoice changes to Paid without any action from you. See What your client sees when you send an invoice for the payment flow on their side.

Resend an invoice

1. Open the sent invoice.

2. Click Resend Invoice.

3. Enter your client’s email address under Send via email. If the invoice has a contact, the hint below the field shows their address, and clicking it fills it in.

4. Click Send to Client.

Billow emails the same link again. You can resend as often as you need.

Send a reminder

You can send a reminder once an invoice is overdue, or straight away if it’s due upon receipt. Billow never sends reminders on its own. The Reminder button sits on the invoice’s status badge, which reads “Due upon receipt” or shows the days overdue.

The reminder goes to the email address of the invoice’s contact. If the contact has no email address, Send Email stays disabled and the invoice list shows no Reminder button, so add one to the contact first.

1. Open the invoice, or find it in the invoice list.

2. Click Reminder on its status badge.

3. Check the recipient.

4. Click the subject to change it.

5. Edit the message.

6. Click Send Email.

The default subject is “Open Invoice”, and the default message reminds your client that the invoice was due and links to it. To add invoice details, type { in the subject or message and pick a variable. Billow fills it in when the email is sent.

Emails Billow sends you

Billow emails the team member who created an invoice when:

• the invoice becomes overdue

• the invoice is paid

Who the email comes from

Invoice emails, including reminders, go out under your workspace’s legal name. The default reminder message is signed with your first name.

After payment

Billow does not send your client a payment confirmation. For card payments, Stripe may send its own receipt. For bank transfers, your client receives nothing.

To reverse a payment, see Refunding an invoice.