Invoices

Invoices in ServiceCortex represent a request for payment from a client. You can create invoices manually, generate them from jobs or appointments, or set up recurring invoices that are created automatically on a schedule.

Creating an invoice manually

Navigate to Billing > Invoices and click New Invoice. Provide the following:

1. Client -- select the client you are billing.
2. Property (optional) -- associate the invoice with a specific service address.
3. Due date -- when payment is expected. If left blank, the invoice has no due date.
4. Notes -- optional notes that appear on the invoice document.
5. Line items -- add at least one line item with a name, quantity, and unit price. Each line item can have a tax rate and discount applied.

The invoice is created in Draft status with a sequential invoice number (for example, #INV-0001). The subtotal, tax total, and grand total are calculated automatically from your line items.

Creating an invoice from a job

The most common way to create an invoice is directly from a completed job. From the job detail view, click Create Invoice. ServiceCortex will:

• Pre-fill the client and property from the job
• Copy the job's line items to the invoice
• Validate that the quantities being invoiced do not exceed what has been completed
• Track how much of each line item has been invoiced with a running quantityInvoiced tally

You can choose to invoice all line items or select specific ones. If a job has multiple phases of work, you can create partial invoices by selecting only the completed line items each time.

Creating an invoice from an appointment

You can also create invoices from individual appointments. This is useful when each visit should be billed separately. From the appointment view, click Create Invoice to pull in the appointment's line items.

Invoice statuses

Invoices move through the following statuses:

Draft invoices can be deleted entirely. Invoices in any other status are voided rather than deleted to preserve the audit trail.

Sending invoices

Click Send on an invoice to email it to the client. The send modal lets you:

• Choose the recipient from the client's contacts
• Customize the subject and message (pre-filled from your invoice email template)
• Add CC recipients
• Attach the invoice PDF (attached by default)
• Include additional file attachments from the project
• Send a copy to yourself

The invoice includes a link to the client portal where the client can view the invoice and, if online payments are enabled, pay directly with a credit card.

After sending, the invoice status changes from Draft to Sent.

Credit notes

If you need to issue a refund or correct an invoice, create a credit note rather than modifying the original invoice.

1. Navigate to Billing > Credit Notes and click New Credit Note, or click Create Credit Note from an existing invoice.
2. Select the client and optionally link it to a related invoice.
3. Add line items representing the credit (amounts are treated as reductions).
4. Issue the credit note to make it active.

Once issued, you can apply the credit note to one or more outstanding invoices. The credit is allocated starting with the oldest invoices first, and each invoice's balance and status are updated automatically. Credit notes can also be voided if they were issued in error, which reverses any allocations.

Recurring invoices

For clients you bill on a regular schedule, set up a recurring invoice template:

1. Go to Billing > Recurring Invoices and click New Recurring Invoice.
2. Select the client and optionally link to a job.
3. Define the line items and payment terms (number of days until due).
4. Set the frequency: Weekly, Biweekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Annually.
5. Choose the start date and optionally set a max occurrences to limit how many invoices are generated.
6. Enable Auto-send if you want each generated invoice to be sent to the client automatically.

ServiceCortex generates invoices from the template on schedule. You can pause, resume, or cancel a recurring invoice at any time. When the maximum number of occurrences is reached, the template is automatically marked as completed.

Payment schedules

For large projects, you can set up a payment schedule with deposits and installments:

• Deposit -- collect an upfront percentage or fixed amount before work begins.
• Installments -- split the remaining balance into equal payments on a cadence you define (monthly, quarterly, etc.).

Each schedule item generates its own invoice when triggered. As invoices are paid, the schedule tracks progress and automatically completes when all items are settled.

What to do next

• Record payments against your invoices.
• Set up Stripe for online payment processing.