Invoices & Payments
The Invoices module handles the full financial lifecycle of a job — from the first estimate through final payment. Estimates, invoices, change orders, contracts, and payment records all live here and link back to the originating project and contact.
Financial Summary Strip
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Outstanding | $24,800 |
| Overdue (30+ days) | $8,200 |
| Collected This Month | $48,240 |
| Avg Days to Pay | 11 |
| Collection Rate | 97.3% |
Feature Overview
Six core capabilities in the Invoices module:
- Estimate → Invoice Conversion — One-click conversion from approved estimate to invoice
- Change Orders — Formal scope additions with customer signature and numbered CO tracking
- Online Payments — Card on file, Pay Now link, or cash/check logging
- Partial Payments — Accept deposits and progress payments against a single invoice
- E-Sign Contracts — Send contracts for digital signature linked to the project
- Export — CSV and PDF export of any invoice or transaction history
Invoice Numbering
Invoices use a prefix-based numbering system:
- No prefix — Standard invoice (e.g., Invoice #1042)
- E- prefix — Estimate (e.g., E-089)
- CO- prefix — Change order (e.g., CO-001)
Invoice Line Items
Sample invoice for a deck project:
| Line Item | Qty | Rate | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | 28 hrs | $150/hr | $4,200 |
| Composite decking | 320 sqft | $12.50/sqft | $4,000 |
| Framing lumber | 1 lot | $680 | $680 |
| Permit fee | 1 | $320 | $320 |
| Cleanup / haul-off | 1 | $200 | $200 |
| Subtotal | $9,400 | ||
| Tax (8%) | $752 | ||
| Discount (Referral) | -$1,752 | ||
| Total | $8,400 |
Estimate → Invoice Lifecycle
6-step flow from estimate to collected payment:
- Estimate Created — Line items, labor, materials entered. Estimate sent to customer via email or SMS.
- Customer Reviews — Customer opens the estimate in their portal or via a direct link.
- Customer Approves — Customer taps "Approve" (digital signature optional). Estimate status changes to Approved.
- Convert to Invoice — One-click conversion. All line items carry over. Invoice number assigned.
- Invoice Sent — Customer receives invoice via email and SMS with a Pay Now link.
- Payment Collected — Customer pays online, or cash/check is manually logged. Invoice status changes to Paid.
Payment Collection
Three payment methods supported:
Card on File
Customer's credit card is stored (tokenized via Stripe) after their first payment. Subsequent invoices can be charged with one tap from the CRM — no customer action required. Customer receives a receipt automatically.
Pay Now Link
Each invoice includes a unique Pay Now link. Customer clicks the link and pays via a hosted Stripe checkout page. Supports credit card, debit card, and ACH. Payment is reflected in the CRM in real time.
Cash / Check
Office staff manually marks an invoice as paid and records the payment method, amount, and check number (if applicable). A receipt is generated and sent to the customer.
Partial Payments
Invoices support partial payment collection for deposits and progress billing:
- Set a deposit percentage on an invoice (e.g., 30% due at signing)
- Customer pays the deposit; invoice shows the remaining balance
- Additional payments can be collected at any milestone
- Final payment closes the invoice
Payment Processing Fees
Stripe processing fees apply to card and ACH payments:
- Credit/Debit card: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
- ACH bank transfer: 0.8% (capped at $5.00)
Fees are passed to the customer or absorbed by the business — configurable per invoice.
Change Orders
When scope expands beyond the original estimate, a change order documents the addition formally.
Change order flow:
- Team member creates a CO from the project record
- CO is numbered sequentially (CO-001, CO-002, etc.)
- CO line items are added — labor, materials, additional scope
- CO sent to customer for approval
- Customer approves (digital signature if CO exceeds 10% of original contract value)
- CO amount is added to the project contract total
- Final invoice includes original scope + all approved COs
Signature threshold: Any change order that adds more than 10% to the original contract value requires a customer signature before work proceeds.
Contracts & E-Sign
The CRM supports sending contracts for digital signature linked to projects and estimates.
Contract lifecycle:
- Draft — Contract created from a template or custom content
- Sent — Delivered to customer via email
- Opened — System logs when customer opens the document
- Signed — Customer applies digital signature — timestamped and IP-logged
- Countersigned — Business owner or manager countersigns (optional)
Contract status table:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Created but not yet sent |
| Sent | Delivered to customer, awaiting signature |
| Opened | Customer viewed the document |
| Signed | Customer has signed |
| Void | Contract cancelled — no longer valid |
Transaction History
Every payment, refund, and adjustment is logged to the transaction history for the project and the contact. Export to CSV includes:
- Transaction date
- Invoice number
- Contact name
- Payment method
- Amount
- Processing fee
- Net amount
- Status
Access Control (RBAC)
| Permission | Owner | Manager | Dispatcher | Bookkeeper | Technician |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View invoices | ✓ | ✓ | Own projects | ✓ | ✗ |
| Create invoice | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Send invoice | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Record payment | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Issue refund | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |