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Issuing Invoices

In ActiveCollab, sending invoices to clients is quick and easy. You can create them manually or based on tracked time and expenses (learn more).

Only Owner users and Members with access to invoices and estimates can create and issue invoices (learn more).

Creating Invoices

  • Open Invoices,
  • Click +New Invoice,
  • Select a client company or enter a new one,
  • Enter the address and choose a currency and a language in which you wish to issue the invoice,
  • Enter the invoice ID, which will be generated automatically for all subsequent invoices (see below),
  • Set the issue date and the due date,
  • Choose how you wish to add invoice items:
  • Free-form invoice - add items, costs, and quantity manually. 
  • Change the tax rate on all the items at once by clicking the Tax column and choosing a tax rate from the list. (See here how to add tax rates).




  • Add items manually or from a template,
  • Add a tax where applicable (learn more),
  • Add a discount (optional),
  • Add a note for the client or a private comment (optional),
  • Click Create Invoice.

After creating an invoice, you’ll be able to preview and edit the draft:

  • Click Edit Invoice Design to customize the appearance (learn more),
  • Click Edit Invoice to update the details,
  • Click ... and then Cancel Invoice to discard it,
  • Click Download PDF to preview the invoice,

Note: If you decide to decrease the amount of certain item, this amount will be available when creating the next invoice from that Project.

Setting the 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 that only dash (-) and slash (/) are recognized as separators, but not dot (.)

Sending Invoices

  • Open Invoices,
  • Open an unsent invoice,
  • Click Send by Email,
  • Enter one or more recipients,
  • Enter the email message,
  • Choose whether to allow online payments: full, partial or not at all,
  • Click Send Invoice,

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

Making 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:

  • Go to Invoices,
  • Select an invoice,
  • Click Mark Payment,
  • Enter the amount and the date,
  • Click Save Payment.

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

QR Code

You can now 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.


This feature is also available for recurring invoices. 

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