Issuing Invoices

In ActiveCollab, sending invoices to clients is quick and easy. You can create them manually or based on tracked time and expenses.
Only Owner users and Members with access to invoices and estimates can create and issue invoices.

Use invoicing in ActiveCollab when you need to:

Bill clients for tracked time and expenses
Send invoices for flat-fee projects
Keep financial records in sync with your projects

How to create invoices

STEP 1: Open Invoices,
STEP 2: Click +New Invoice,
STEP 3: Select a client company or enter a new one,
STEP 4: Enter the address and choose a currency and a language in which you wish to issue the invoice.
STEP 5: Enter the invoice ID, which will be generated automatically for all subsequent invoices (see below),
STEP 6: Set the issue date and the due date,
STEP 7: Choose how you wish to add invoice items:

Free-form invoice - add items, costs, and quantity manually.

Invoice based on tracked time and expenses in projects - select projects, the time period, and how to group invoice items,
Invoice for Fixed-price budgets,

STEP 8:

Add items manually or from a template,
Add a tax where applicable. Change the tax rate on all the items at once by clicking the Tax column and choosing a tax rate from the list.
Add a discount (optional),

STEP 9:

Add a Note for the client or a private comment/reference (optional),
Add QR code (optional)

STEP 10:

Click Create Invoice.
After creating an invoice, you’ll be able to preview and edit the draft.

Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129171896

How to generate an invoice ID

ActiveCollab can create invoice IDs automatically, based on the invoice number you set for the first invoice. Here are a few examples:
0001, 0002, 0003, ...
1/2016, 2/2016, 3/2016, ...
1-2016, 2-2016,3-2016, ...
2016/12-1, 2016/12-2, 2016/12-3, ...
INV-2016-01, INV-2016-02, INV-2016-03, …

Note: Only dash (-) and slash (/) are recognized as separators, but not dot (.)

How to send invoices

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Invoices
STEP 2: Open an unsent invoice and click on the three dots (...)
STEP 3: Click Send by Email
STEP 4: Enter one or more recipients
STEP 5: Enter the email message
STEP 6: Click Send Invoice
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129172434

Note: When you send the invoice, your client will receive an email with the invoice PDF as an attachment.

How to mark an invoice as sent

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Invoices
STEP 2: Open an unsent invoice and click on the three dots (...)
STEP 3: Click Mark as sent
STEP 4: Confirm your choice
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129172841

Note: The client will not be notified about this change.

How to mark payments

If you enabled online payments, you’ll be notified when the client makes the payment. You can also manually mark an invoice as paid:

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Invoices
STEP 2: Open an invoice and click on the three dots (...)
STEP 3: Click Mark payment
STEP 4: Enter the amount and payment date
STEP 5: Click Save Payment.
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129173342

The invoice will then appear under Paid or Partially paid, depending on whether a full or partial payment has been made.

Note: When the invoice is partially paid, you can choose the option:
Notify the client about this payment.

How to disable reminders

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Invoices
STEP 2: Open an invoice and click on the three dots (...)
STEP 3: Click on Disable reminders
STEP 4: Confirm on Disable
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129173741

Note: Reminders won’t be sent to the client when this invoice is overdue.

How to access logs

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Invoices
STEP 2: Open an invoice and click on the three dots (...)
STEP 3: Click on Access logs
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129174200

How to edit an invoice

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Invoices
STEP 2: Open an invoice and click on the three dots (...)
STEP 3: Click on Edit
STEP 4: Enter the changes and click Save
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129175952

How to duplicate an invoice

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Invoices
STEP 2: Open an invoice and click on the three dots (...)
STEP 3: Click on Duplicate
STEP 4: Enter the changes and click Save
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129176423

How to cancel an invoice

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Invoices
STEP 2: Open an invoice and click on the three dots (...)
STEP 3: Click on Cancel
STEP 4: Confirm Yes to cancel the invoice.
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129178487

Note: Canceling will archive the invoice.

How to completely Delete an Invoice?

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Invoices
STEP 2: Click on the three dots (...) next to the Invoice you wish to delete.
STEP 3: Click on Cancel
STEP 4: Confirm on Yes to cancel invoice
STEP 5: Scroll to the bottom of the Invoice tab and find the canceled invoice.

Hint: You can use the Filter and filter by Status - Canceled.

STEP 6: Click on the three dots (...) next to the invoice you’ve just canceled.
STEP 7: Click on the Trash icon
STEP 8: Click on Delete.
STEP 9: Click on the Trash tab on the left side, in the Navigational menu.
STEP 10: Find the invoice you’ve just deleted.
STEP 11: Click on the Trash icon next to it.
STEP 12: Click on “Delete” to confirm the deletion. This will also free up the Invoice number for future use.
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129177637

How to download the PDF to preview the invoice

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Invoices
STEP 2: Open an invoice and click on the three dots (...)
STEP 3: Click on Download PDF
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129177016

How to filter invoices

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Invoices
STEP 2: Click on the Filter button next to the Sort button
STEP 3: Proceed to filter by:

- Status
- Client
- Due date
- Currency

STEP 4: Select the desired filter.
STEP 5 (optional): you can remove the filter by clicking on the "x" next to the "Filter"
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129178948

How to sort invoices

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Invoices
STEP 2: Click on the Sort button next to the Filter button
STEP 3: Proceed to filter by:

Issued on
Due on
Activity
Amount

STEP 4: Select the desired sorting parameter.
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129179445

How to use QR CODE

You can include a QR code in your invoices.
Set it up to be the payment link or a custom note of your choice.
Once scanned, it will take the user directly to the payment page. If you pick the custom note, you can enter any link you'd like the QR code to lead to.

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Invoices
STEP 2: Create a new invoice or edit an existing one
STEP 3: Scroll down at the bottom of the invoice to Add QR Code
STEP 4: Click Save
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129179921

E-Invoice

Electronic invoicing or e-invoicing, is the process of sending and receiving
electronic invoices between a buyer and seller in a special, structured data format.

Accepted e-invoicing formats may differ from region to region however, the most common ones globally include:
XML-based formats
PEPPOL
JSON

Note: All e-invoices can be processed automatically.

How to turn on e-invoice

STEP 1: Click on your My Profile picture in the upper right corner.
STEP 2: Click on System settings
STEP 3: Access Invoice and Estimates settings
STEP 4: Click Turn on E-invoices
STEP 5: Click Save
Step 6 (optional): Send E-invoice to Clients - When enabled, eInvoice will be included in email notifications that are sent to clients.
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129180634

How to download e-invoice

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Invoices
STEP 2: Click the 3 dots in the upper right corner of an invoice
STEP 3: Click Download Invoice
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129181111

How to create an invoice from an estimate

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates
STEP 2: Select a desired estimate from the List/Grid view and click on the three dots in the upper right corner
STEP 3: Click Create Invoice.
STEP 4: Fill in the required invoice information.
STEP 5: Click on "Create Invoice"
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129492996

How to customize the appearance of an Invoice

STEP 1: Log in to your ActiveCollab account.
STEP 2: In the upper right corner, next to the Search button, click on the My Profile button
STEP 3: Select System settings from the dropdown menu
STEP 4: From the dropdown menu, select Invoice and Estimate
STEP 5: From the dropdown menu, select Invoice Designer
STEP 6: You will be able to adjust the following:

Items
invoice label
Paper size (A4 / Letter)

Company details
Company logo ( JPGs or PNGs - up to 3MB. Dimensions 80x80px)
Company name
Company address and details ( Note- Address format is defined in General Settings )

Header
Show border between header and body of the invoice
Logo Position ( left/right aligned)
Client Details Position ( left/right aligned)
Footer
Print Footer
Show border between footer and body
Footer Item Position ( paper number on the left/ invoice number on the left)

Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129493447

How to Use the Invoices Tab within the Client Company section in ActiveCollab?

How to View Invoices?

In this tab, you'll see a list of all invoices tied to the client. For each invoice, you'll see:

Invoice number
Issue date
Due date
Status (draft, sent, paid, overdue, etc.)
Total amount

How to Create a New Invoice from the Client Company section?

Step 1: Click the + New Invoice button.
Step 2: Add line items: tasks, services, or custom entries with rates, quantities, and taxes.
Step 3: Define the due date, payment terms, and currency.
Step 4: Set the invoice status (e.g. draft or sent).
Step 5: Save or preview the invoice.
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129493795

How to Send an Invoice from the the Client Company section?

Step 1: Click Send to email the invoice directly to the client.
Step 2: Customize the subject and message if needed before sending.
A PDF version of the invoice will be attached to the email.
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129494215

How to Edit or Manage an Invoice from the the Client Company section?

Step 1: Click the three-dot menu (⋮) next to an invoice in the list for quick actions:

Send by Email
Mark as sent
Mark Payment
Disable reminders
Access logs
Download PDF – Download a copy of the invoice.
Print – Open a print-friendly version of the invoice.
Duplicate – Create a new invoice using the same content.
Delete – Permanently remove the invoice.
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129494645

How to Record Payments from the Client Company section?

Step 1: Open the invoice and click Add Payment to log a manual payment.
Step 2: Enter payment amount, method, and date.
Step 3: Once the full amount is paid, the invoice status will automatically change to Paid.
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129495104

How to send overdue Invoices from the the Client Company section?

Step 1: Locate the “Overdue” summary box
Step 2: At the top of the page, you’ll see four financial summary boxes: Draft, Sent, Paid, and Overdue. Look for the Overdue box.
Step3 : Click the bell icon in the Overdue box

If there are any overdue invoices, you’ll see a bell icon inside the Overdue box.

Step 4: Click the bell icon to send reminders for all overdue invoices for that client.
Step 5: A confirmation message will appear in the top-right corner, letting you know the reminders were successfully sent. This method sends reminders for all overdue invoices related to that client in one click.
Video tutorial: https://vimeo.com/1129495775