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Invoices

How invoices, payments, instalments, refunds and write-offs fit together, and which statuses are worked out for you and which you can set by hand.

Invoices, payments, instalments, refunds and write-offs live here. Every amount received against an invoice is a row in that invoice's payment ledger.

Status: some of it is worked out, some is yours

These statuses are set by the system whenever a payment, refund or write-off changes:

  • some money received → partially paid
  • everything received → paid
  • everything collected was refunded → refunded
  • the rest was written off → written off
  • all payments removed again → back to sent

The Status dropdown on the invoice page also lets you set draft, sent, paid, overdue, partially paid or cancelled by hand. Be careful with paid: choosing it records no payment, so the amount received stays zero and the books do not move. To record real money, add a payment.

You cannot choose written off or refunded by hand; they appear when you record a write-off or a refund. While a write-off stands or the invoice is refunded, the dropdown is locked until you void it.

If a status surprises you, check the invoice's payment list first, then whether someone changed it by hand.

Payments

  • A payment can only be added to an invoice that is sent, overdue or partially paid, never to a draft. Send the invoice first.
  • A down payment is just the first payment; what makes it one is the title you give it.
  • The amount cannot be zero or more than the balance. Deleting a payment is allowed unless a refund was made against it; void the refund first. There is no confirmation, so check the row before you press the trash icon.
  • Once any payment exists you cannot move the invoice back to draft, and you cannot cancel it. Record a refund instead.

Instalments are a plan, not a payment

An instalment table says how the total is divided. The amounts must add up to the invoice total exactly or the plan will not save. You can change the plan at any status until a payment is allocated to one of its instalments, after which it is locked. A saved plan cannot be emptied, only changed. Paid and remaining amounts are worked out when shown.

Customers paying online

From the customer portal a customer can pay a sent, overdue or partly paid invoice through an enabled gateway (Stripe for USD, ZarinPal or Saman for IRR) or submit a bank transfer. The gateway always charges the whole remaining balance as one payment titled "Online payment", never a single instalment. A bank-transfer submission changes nothing until you press Confirm bank transfer payment on the invoice.

You can also copy a gateway payment link for a customer from the invoice's More actions menu. Sending the invoice by email attaches the PDF but does not include a pay link.

Refunds

Recording a refund does not move money. You pay the customer yourself, or use the Stripe or Saman (SEP) button in the same dialog, then record it.

  • Allowed on any invoice with money collected that is not draft or cancelled; partial refunds are fine, up to what remains.
  • You can name the invoice lines it is for, or record it against the invoice as a whole.
  • Refunding in full also updates the sale it came from: a store order becomes refunded, a subscription is cancelled, a course or membership access is removed, an upcoming booking is cancelled. A partial refund leaves the customer with access. If that update fails the refund stays recorded and a Try again button appears.
  • The customer gets a refund email, and an SMS if you turned on Refund SMS in settings.
  • A refund recorded by mistake can be voided with a reason; its journal entry is reversed but the sale is not restored.

Write-offs

A write-off clears a balance you will not collect as bad debt. It needs a reason, can be any amount up to the balance, and is only possible on sent, overdue or partly paid invoices. It is not a payment and it does not reverse VAT already booked. Invoices created automatically from a store order, booking, course or subscription cannot be written off. Voiding the write-off makes the balance owed again.

Overdue

An hourly check flips invoices whose status is exactly sent to overdue once the due date has passed. A partly paid invoice stays "partially paid" past its due date, though the dashboard's overdue total includes its balance. Nothing is emailed to the customer when an invoice goes overdue; to remind customers, switch on the "Invoice overdue" email workflow in Automations.

Notes are printed

The Notes field is printed on the PDF and shown to the customer in their portal.

Numbers

Numbers run in sequence from a counter, in the format set in Invoice settings (by default INV-2026-0001, restarting each year). A number is never reused, even when the invoice is cancelled or deleted. You can also define named series with their own run.

Amounts on Toman sites

On a site whose currency is Rial and whose display unit is Toman, amount fields take Toman and store Rial (×10). The field's label shows which unit it accepts. An amount larger than the balance is refused, so a slip is usually caught.

Invoices made for you

Paid invoices are created automatically for store orders, course enrolments and bundles, bookings, subscription payments and memberships. Accepted estimates convert into draft invoices, and Automations can create one. Customer data is anonymised, not deleted, when a customer is erased.

How do I…

How do I create an invoice?Start a draft invoice for a customer, choosing the number series and using your default tax and due date.How do I add line items and send the invoice?Fill a draft with items, then email the PDF to the customer, which also marks it sent.How do I record a payment, including a down payment?Add a payment to a sent invoice; the status follows by itself, and a down payment is just the first payment.How do I split an invoice into instalments?Create a payment schedule whose amounts add up exactly to the invoice total.How do I confirm a customer's bank-transfer payment?Review the tracking code and receipt the customer submitted, then record the full balance as paid.How do I copy a payment link for a customer?Create a gateway checkout link for an unpaid invoice and send it to the customer yourself.How do I refund a customer?Record a full or partial refund, optionally sending it through Stripe or Saman, and see what it does to the sale.How do I write off a balance I cannot collect?Close an uncollectable balance as bad debt with a reason, and reverse it later if needed.How do I set up my invoice number format and series?Choose the number pattern and restart rule, and add named series such as WD-0001 for a line of business.How do I find and restore a deleted invoice?Open the Trash tab, restore the invoice, and know which invoices can be deleted at all.