# Create an invoice and get paid

> Create invoices from finished jobs (or several at once), bill deposits, progress payments and retainage, send them by email, text or link, record payments, refund card payments, charge saved cards, and let past-due reminders go out by themselves.

This page covers billing your clients: turning finished work into invoices (bills), sending them, recording what comes in, and following up on what's late. Owners, admins and office staff can do all of it. Estimators and crews don't see **Invoices**, and a custom role can have **Invoices and payments** switched off (see [What each role can see and do](https://crewtavo.com/docs/team/roles-and-permissions/)).

## Find your invoices

Open **Invoices** in the sidebar. Across the top:

- **Awaiting payment**, **Past due** and **Collected** (the past 30 days), each with how many invoices or payments it covers and a chip with the change: from 30 days ago for the first two, and from the 30 days before for **Collected**. Click one to see those invoices.
- The tabs: **Awaiting payment** (sent and not paid yet, past due ones included), **Past due**, **Draft**, **Paid**, **Written off** and **Void**. Each shows how many it holds.
- **Search by client, subject or #number**. Type a number on its own to find that invoice number.

The bottom of the list adds up what's billed and what's still owed on the tab you're on. **⋯** at the top right has **Stripe deposits** (see [Deposits from Stripe](#deposits-from-stripe)), **Download as spreadsheet**, which saves the invoices on that tab as a CSV file, and, once you take autopay, **Charge cards** (see [Invoices charged automatically](#invoices-charged-automatically-autopay)).

With autopay on, the top of **Invoices** also says when automatic charges failed ("2 autopay charges failed: …", each name opening its invoice) or are waiting for you ("1 charge needs your OK." with **Review**).

## Invoice the jobs that are ready, all at once (batch invoicing)

When work is done, someone chooses **Mark work complete** on the job (a button at the top of a one-off job, in the **⋯** menu of a recurring one), and the job shows "Ready to invoice." Jobs billed after each visit are ready once a visit is completed. All of these collect at the top of **Invoices** as "3 jobs are ready to invoice." Jobs that [autopay](https://crewtavo.com/docs/billing/autopay/) is about to bill and charge aren't on the list. To invoice them in one go:

1. Choose **Invoice them**.
2. Untick any job you don't want to invoice yet. Each job gets its own invoice, less any deposits or progress payments already billed on it.
3. To send them straight away, turn on **Email each client their invoice now**. (It's only there once [email is connected](https://crewtavo.com/docs/connections/email/).)
4. Choose **Create 3 invoices** (or **Create and send 3 invoices**).

Without the switch, the new invoices are drafts until you send them. With it, any client without an email address on file gets theirs as a draft, and Crewtavo says how many weren't emailed.

## Create an invoice for a job

Open the job and choose **Create invoice**. Pick what you're billing:

| Choice | What it bills |
| --- | --- |
| **Final invoice** | All the job's line items, less what was already billed as deposits or progress payments. A job has one final invoice; to bill it again, void that one first. |
| **Completed visits** | Each completed visit that isn't invoiced yet, with the job's line items once per visit. Offered on recurring jobs, and on any job with completed visits not yet invoiced. |
| **Deposit** | An amount up front. If the quote asked for a deposit, that amount is filled in. Deposits aren't taxed. |
| **Progress payment** | Part of the contract now, by **Percent** of the contract or an **Amount**. Each one is numbered as a pay application ("Pay application 2"). It isn't offered once the final invoice is made. |
| **Retainage** | What was held back on earlier invoices (see below). Only offered when something is held. |

Choose **Create invoice**, and the draft opens for you to check and send. A deposit or progress payment can't add up to more than the job's contract: Crewtavo says "That's more than the $… left to bill".

Making the **Final invoice** or **Completed visits** invoice for a job marked work complete closes the job.

### Deposits and progress payments come off the final invoice

The final invoice lists the job's line items, then a line for each deposit and progress payment already billed, such as "Less deposit (invoice #1012)" and "Less progress billing (invoice #1015)". The client only pays what's left. Voided deposits and progress invoices don't count.

### Hold back retainage

On commercial work, the client may hold back part of each bill until the job is accepted. To set this up, open the job, choose **⋯ → Edit details and schedule**, open **PO, permit, retainage and warranty** and fill in **Retainage %**.

Progress and final invoices then show "Retainage held (10%)" under the total, and the balance due leaves it out. Set it before you create the job's first invoice: each invoice keeps the percentage the job had when it was made. When the work is accepted, choose **Create invoice → Retainage** to bill everything held back. Deposits, completed-visits invoices and the retainage invoice itself don't hold anything back.

## Make an invoice that isn't for a job

For a product sale or a one-time charge, choose **New invoice** on **Invoices** (or **Invoice** in the **Create** menu). Pick the **Client**, add a **Subject** if you like, and choose **Create invoice**. Then add its line items.

## Check and edit a draft

While an invoice is a draft you can change everything on it:

- **Line items**: **Add from price list**, or **Custom item** for anything else. Click a line to change it, and untick **Taxable** for anything that isn't taxed. The **⋯** on a line moves, duplicates or removes it.
- **Subject**, shown at the top of the invoice, and **Note to client**, for a thank-you or payment instructions.
- **Discount**, an amount off, and **Add promo code** for one of your [promo codes](https://crewtavo.com/docs/clients/marketing/).
- **Tax**: the rate the client approved on the quote, or your default sales tax from **Settings → Company**. Change it here for this invoice. A client marked tax exempt (see [Edit a client](https://crewtavo.com/docs/clients/clients-and-properties/#edit-a-client)) gets no tax: their invoices show **Tax exempt**, with their exemption number if you added one.
- **Issued** and **Due** dates. **On receipt**, **Net 15**, **Net 30** and **Net 45** set the due date from the issue date. New invoices are due after the number of days in **Invoice due after (days)** in **Settings → Company**, or the client's own **Due after (days)** if they have one.

**As it prints** shows the invoice the way your client sees it, on your [estimate template](https://crewtavo.com/docs/sales/estimate-templates/) with its terms.

## Send the invoice

1. Choose **Send invoice**. It's greyed out until the invoice has a line item.
2. Pick how:
   - **Email**: check **To** and **Subject**.
   - **Text**: check the **Mobile number**. This needs [texting set up](https://crewtavo.com/docs/connections/texting-with-twilio/).
   - **Copy link**: copies the link for you to paste into any message, and marks the invoice as sent.
3. Add a **Message** if you like. The link is added by itself. Without one, the client reads "Here's your invoice for $…. You can view and pay it online:".
4. Choose **Send email**, **Send text** or **Copy link**.

The link opens the invoice in the [Client Hub (your clients' portal)](https://crewtavo.com/docs/clients/client-hub/), where they can pay it if you [take payments with Stripe](https://crewtavo.com/docs/connections/stripe/). Emails and texts you send show in the client's conversation in [Messages](https://crewtavo.com/docs/clients/messages/).

Also in the invoice's **⋯** menu:

- **Preview as client** opens the client's view in a new tab, even for a draft.
- **Print or save PDF** opens it ready to print.
- **Mark as sent** for a bill you handed over in person, without emailing or texting it.

To send it again later, choose **Resend**.

### Change an invoice after it's sent

A sent invoice's lines, discount, tax and dates are locked. To change them, choose **⋯ → Move back to draft**, make the change and send it again. That's only possible before any payment is recorded on it. You can still change the **Note to client**, and add or remove a promo code until a payment is recorded.

## Record a payment

When a check, cash or a payment outside Crewtavo comes in:

1. Open the invoice and choose **Record payment**.
2. Check the **Amount**. It starts at the balance due and can't be more than that.
3. Add a **Tip** if the client added one. It's recorded with the payment and doesn't count toward the balance.
4. Pick the **Method** (**Check**, **Cash**, **Card**, **Bank transfer** or **Other**), the date it was **Received**, and a **Reference** such as the check number.
5. Choose **Record $…**.

Once nothing's left, the invoice is **Paid**. A partial payment leaves it **Partly paid** with the rest still owed. If the client paid a draft on the spot, choose **⋯ → Record payment** on the draft: it's marked sent and paid together.

Payments made online through Stripe are recorded by themselves.

:::caution
If a bank payment through Stripe is still clearing, the invoice says so, and Crewtavo asks before you record another payment ("A bank payment is still clearing"). Recording one anyway can mean the client pays twice.
:::

## Refunds and mistakes

Each payment you recorded has a **⋯** menu:

- **Record a refund** is for money you gave back. Enter the **Amount** (up to what's left of that payment), the date it was **Refunded on** and a **Note**, then choose **Record $… refund**. The balance goes back up by that much.
- **Remove payment** is for fixing a mistake, like a payment on the wrong invoice. It goes at once ("Payment removed"), with **Undo** on the message, and the balance goes back up.

### Refund a card or bank payment made through Stripe

A payment the client made through Stripe has its own **⋯** menu with **Refund**, which sends the money back through Stripe:

1. Choose **⋯ → Refund** on the payment.
2. In **Refund payment** ("The money goes back to their card. Stripe keeps its fee."), check the **Amount**. It starts at what's left to refund.
3. Leave **Take it off the invoice too** ticked so the client isn't asked to pay the refunded amount again: what the refund puts back on the invoice is written off. Untick it to have the balance go back up and the client asked for it.
4. Choose **Refund $…**. You'll see "Refund sent to Stripe".

A refund comes off the invoice's part of the payment first, then any tip. If other money is still owed on the invoice, nothing is written off: Crewtavo says "Refunded. The balance wasn't written off" and how much is still owed, and you can write it off from the invoice's **⋯** menu.

**Refund** needs a Stripe key that can make refunds. With an older key it's greyed out under "Needs a new Stripe key": see [Update your key for autopay and refunds](https://crewtavo.com/docs/connections/stripe/#update-your-key-for-autopay-and-refunds). You can still refund in your Stripe dashboard instead. Either way, the refund shows up on the invoice by itself, as a payment marked "Refunded in Stripe".

If a client ends up paying more than they owed, the invoice says "The client paid $… more than they owed. Record a refund, or keep it as a credit for their next invoice." Crewtavo doesn't carry a credit over by itself, so if you keep it, take it off their next invoice, for example as a **Discount**.

## Payment reminders

Reminders go out by themselves. The automation **Remind clients when an invoice is past due** is on for every new business: the day after an invoice's due date passes, it moves to the **Past due** tab and the client gets one email with the balance and their link to pay. To change the wording, send it later, or add a second reminder, see [Automate reminders and follow-ups](https://crewtavo.com/docs/clients/automations/).

To nudge someone yourself:

- **Send a reminder** on a past-due invoice (next to "12 days past due.") opens the same send options as **Send invoice**. Write your own **Message**: left empty, the client gets the usual "Here's your invoice for $…" wording, which doesn't say it's late.
- **Remind all**, on the **Past due** tab once email is connected, emails every client on that tab at once, after you confirm with **Send reminders**. Each gets a friendly note with their link.

**Remind all** skips an invoice with a bank payment on its way, and nothing reminds a client about an invoice you've written off. The past-due automation doesn't check for a bank payment, though: if one is still clearing when the due date passes, the reminder email still goes out.

The friendly reminder that **Remind all** sends, or that an [AI assistant](https://crewtavo.com/docs/connections/claude-and-chatgpt/) sends when you ask it to, says when the invoice is due. Before the due date has passed where your business is, it reads "…still owed on invoice #2051, which is due November 30." After that, it reads "which was due November 30".

## Late fees

Late fees are off to start. To charge one:

1. Open **Settings → Company** and find the **Defaults** card.
2. Under **Late fee**, pick **A flat amount** or **A percent of what's owed**.
3. Fill in the **Late fee amount** (or **Late fee (%)**) and the **Days after the due date** to wait. It starts at 7.
4. Choose **Save company settings**.

Once an invoice is still unpaid that many days after it's due, a **Late fee** line goes on it ("The invoice was due November 30, 2026"). Each invoice gets one, once. A percent is of what's owed at the time, and late fees aren't taxed. Until then, a past-due invoice says when its fee goes on: "A $25.00 late fee goes on Dec 8, 2026."

A late fee never goes on a draft, a paid, void or written-off invoice, a deposit, or an invoice made in Stripe. It waits while autopay is charging the invoice or a bank payment for it is on its way.

## Invoices charged automatically (autopay)

With [autopay](https://crewtavo.com/docs/billing/autopay/), a client's saved card is charged for each finished visit, or a one-off job's finished work, without you sending anything. Crewtavo makes the invoice the same way **Create invoice** would, marks it sent without emailing it, and charges the card. On the invoice:

- **While it waits**: "Charged automatically to Visa ending 4242 tonight." (or the day it goes).
- **While it's charging**: "Charging Visa ending 4242 now." **Send invoice** and **Record payment** wait until it's done.
- **Once it's paid**: "Paid automatically with Visa ending 4242 on Nov 3, 2026." The **Stripe** card says **Charged**: **Automatically**.
- **When it waits for your OK** (over your limit, work an AI assistant marked done, or visits autopay didn't queue): the invoice stays a draft, with why, and **Approve charge** or **Send it the usual way**.
- **When it failed**: "Autopay failed: … Jane Smith was sent the Pay link and a way to update their card." with the day it's tried again, or what the client needs to do, and **Send a reminder**.

### Charge a saved card from an invoice

For a client who saved a card and agreed to autopay, **Charge card** at the top of any unpaid invoice charges what's owed to that card now, after you confirm ("Charge $450.00 to Visa ending 4242?"). A draft is marked sent, without an email. To charge several at once, choose **⋯ → Charge cards** on **Invoices**. See [Charge a saved card now](https://crewtavo.com/docs/billing/autopay/#charge-a-saved-card-now).

## Referral credits on an invoice

When a client has earned a [referral credit](https://crewtavo.com/docs/clients/marketing/), it goes on their next invoice by itself, as a **Referral credit** line in the totals. While the invoice is unpaid, **Remove** takes it off ("Credit taken off this invoice. It goes on their next one."), and **Apply referral credit** puts an earned credit on. An invoice the credit covers in full says "Covered by a referral credit."

Credits can't go on or come off once a payment is recorded, while a bank payment is on its way, while autopay is charging the invoice, or on an invoice made in Stripe. Deposits and retainage invoices don't take one.

## Void, delete or write off

| Choose | When | What happens |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Delete draft** | A draft you don't need, with no payments | It's gone for good. |
| **Void invoice** | A bill that shouldn't have gone out: a mistake or a duplicate | It stays on record as **Void** and isn't owed. Visits it covered can be invoiced again, and a job can get a new final invoice. It can't be undone. |
| **Write off** | A real bill the client won't pay | What's left stops counting as owed and the reminders stop. You can undo it. See [Write off an invoice that won't be paid](https://crewtavo.com/docs/billing/write-off-an-invoice/). |

All three are in the invoice's **⋯** menu. An invoice with payments on it can't be voided or deleted: refund or remove the payments first.

## If you take payments with Stripe

With [Stripe connected](https://crewtavo.com/docs/connections/stripe/), each sent invoice has a **Stripe** card on the right with its status there, **Open in Stripe**, and **Copy payment link** while it's waiting on payment, for sending Stripe's payment page on its own. If you turned on **Let clients add a tip when they pay online** in **Settings → Company**, clients can add a tip as they pay, and from the receipt after an automatic charge.

### Deposits from Stripe

Choose **⋯ → Stripe deposits** on **Invoices** to open **Deposits**: the money Stripe sent to your bank, what it kept in fees, and the payments in each deposit, so your bank statement matches your invoices. It shows:

- **Deposited, last 30 days**, **Stripe fees, last 30 days**, and **On the way**, with the date of the next deposit.
- Each deposit's date, status (**Deposited**, **On the way**, **Pending**, **Failed** or **Canceled**), the payments in it, the fees and what reached your bank. Click a deposit to see each payment, with its client, invoice and fee.

**⋯ → Download as spreadsheet** saves the list of deposits. Only owners, admins and office staff with **Invoices and payments** can open it. For totals over time, see [See your money and how the business is doing](https://crewtavo.com/docs/billing/finance-and-metrics/).

Source: https://crewtavo.com/docs/billing/invoices/ (last updated 2026-11-04)