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Overview

Invoice Automations (Recurring Invoices) automatically generate and send invoices on a schedule. Perfect for clients you bill regularly - monthly retainers, quarterly services, annual subscriptions, or any recurring billing need.
Save Time: Set up once, automate forever. Ideal for recurring clients and predictable billing cycles.

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What Are Invoice Automations?

Automations generate invoices automatically based on your schedule: Key Features:
  • Flexible Schedules: Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly
  • Customizable Line Items: Services, products, standard pricing
  • Action Options: Create as draft or send immediately
  • Testing System: Safe test mode before going live
  • Execution History: Complete audit trail of all generated invoices
  • Template Inheritance: Uses your organization branding
Common Use Cases:
  • Monthly retainer clients
  • Quarterly maintenance contracts
  • Annual subscription renewals
  • Weekly service billing
  • Recurring project work

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Creating Automations

Required to Create an Automation:
  • Client (select from existing clients)
  • Schedule (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly)
  • Start Date (when automation begins)
  • At least one line item (services/products to invoice)
  • Action (Create as Draft or Send Immediately)
Strongly Recommended: Always test automations in Test Mode before going live.

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Quick Start

Go to Automations → Create Automation → Configure these key fields:
  1. Client: Select who to invoice
  2. Schedule: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly
  3. Start Date: When automation begins
  4. Line Items: Add services/products (use offerings for consistency)
  5. Action: Create as Draft (review first) or Send Immediately (auto-send)
  6. End Date (optional): When automation stops
  7. Save
Start with “Create as Draft” until you’re confident the automation is correct!
Ask Every Agent: To create a new recurring invoice automation:
  • “Set up a monthly recurring invoice for ACME Corp for $3,000 starting on the 1st of next month”
  • “Create a quarterly automation to bill XYZ Company $12,000 for consulting services”
  • “Set up automatic weekly invoicing for Design Co at $500 per week”
  • “Create a yearly subscription invoice for Tech Startup at $10,000 annually”
  • “Set up monthly retainer billing for all my active clients at their standard rates”

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Schedule Types

ScheduleFrequencyCommon UseExample
DailyEvery dayEquipment rentalRuns every calendar day
WeeklyOnce per weekService billingEvery Monday
MonthlyOnce per monthRetainers1st of each month
QuarterlyEvery 3 monthsConsulting contractsJan 1, Apr 1, Jul 1, Oct 1
YearlyOnce per yearAnnual subscriptionsJanuary 1 every year
Monthly on the 1st is most common for retainer clients.
Ask Every Agent: To configure specific schedules:
  • “Change the ACME Corp automation to bill on the 15th of each month instead”
  • “Update the XYZ Company automation to quarterly billing starting in Q2”
  • “Set up weekly invoicing for Consulting Inc every Friday”
  • “Create a monthly automation that runs on the last day of each month”

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Adding Line Items

Line items work like regular invoices - add from Offerings (recommended for consistency) or enter manually with description, quantity, rate, and tax.
Ask Every Agent: To add or modify line items in automations:
  • “Add my ‘Marketing Strategy’ offering to the ACME Corp automation”
  • “Update the Tech Co automation to include two line items: design services at 2,000andconsultingat2,000 and consulting at 1,500”
  • “Change the monthly automation for XYZ to bill 3,500insteadof3,500 instead of 3,000”
  • “Add a 10% discount to the retainer automation for VIP Client”
  • “Remove the consulting line item from the Startup Co automation”

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Action on Generation

ActionBehaviorBest For
Create as DraftInvoice generated but not sent; review manually before sendingTesting, variable amounts, new automations
Send ImmediatelyInvoice auto-generated and emailed to clientEstablished automations, fixed amounts, hands-off billing
Only use “Send Immediately” for well-tested automations with established clients!
Ask Every Agent: To configure invoice generation behavior:
  • “Set the ACME Corp automation to create invoices as drafts first”
  • “Change the XYZ automation to send invoices immediately instead of drafts”
  • “Update all my automations to generate drafts for review”
  • “Make the Tech Co automation send invoices automatically”

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Testing Automations

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Test Mode

Enable Test Mode to generate test invoices before going live:
  1. Edit automation → Enable Test Mode
  2. Test invoices are prefixed “TEST-” and sent to your email (not client)
  3. Review invoice for accuracy (amounts, line items, formatting, branding)
  4. Disable test mode → Activate automation
Always test automations before going live, especially “Send Immediately” automations!
Ask Every Agent: To test an automation:
  • “Run a test of the ACME Corp automation and show me what invoice it would generate”
  • “Enable test mode for the XYZ Company automation”
  • “Generate a test invoice for the monthly retainer automation”
  • “Test all my new automations before I activate them”
  • “Show me the test invoice that would be created for Tech Startup”

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Managing Automations

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Activating/Deactivating

Set automation status to Active to start generating invoices automatically. Set to Inactive to pause (useful for contract ends, temporary pauses, or updates).
Ask Every Agent: To manage automation status:
  • “Activate the ACME Corp monthly automation”
  • “Pause the XYZ automation for the next 3 months”
  • “Deactivate all automations for inactive clients”
  • “Turn on the recurring invoice for Tech Startup”

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Next Run Date

The system automatically calculates when each automation runs next based on schedule type and last execution (shown on automation detail page).
Ask Every Agent: To check automation schedules:
  • “When will the ACME Corp automation run next?”
  • “Show me all automations running this week”
  • “Which automations are scheduled for the 1st of next month?”
  • “List all upcoming automation runs for the next 30 days”

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Execution History

View complete record of every invoice generated by opening the automation and checking Execution History. Includes execution date/time, invoice link, success/failure status, and error messages.
Ask Every Agent: To review automation execution history:
  • “Show me all invoices generated by the ACME Corp automation”
  • “Did any automations fail in the last month?”
  • “List all invoices created automatically this quarter”
  • “Check the execution history for the XYZ Company automation”
  • “Show me which automations ran successfully last week”
  • “What went wrong with the Tech Startup automation on January 15th?”

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Automation Features

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Date Range Control

Set Start Date (when automation begins) and optional End Date (when it stops) - useful for fixed-term contracts. Leave end date blank for ongoing automations.
Ask Every Agent: To manage automation date ranges:
  • “Set the ACME Corp automation to end on December 31, 2025”
  • “Update the start date for XYZ automation to the 1st of next month”
  • “Create a 6-month automation for Tech Co starting in Q2”
  • “Remove the end date from the Design Co automation so it runs indefinitely”
  • “Show me all automations that are ending this quarter”

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Error Handling

Automations fail safely - errors are logged in execution history, notifications sent to owner, but no incorrect invoices are generated. Fix the underlying issue (e.g., restore client, complete settings) and the automation will retry on next scheduled run.

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Template and Branding

Automated invoices inherit all organization settings: logo, colors, template, currency, due days, and address.
Ask Every Agent: To manage automation branding and settings:
  • “Update all my automations to use the new company logo”
  • “Change the payment terms for the ACME Corp automation to net 15”
  • “Add custom notes to the monthly retainer automation”
  • “Apply my professional template to all recurring invoices”

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Best Practices

Ask Every Agent: To manage all automations:
  • “Show me all my active automations”
  • “List all recurring invoices set to send automatically”
  • “Which automations need to be reviewed or tested?”
  • “Show me automations by client”
  • “What’s the total monthly recurring revenue from all my automations?”
  • “List all automations that will run this month”
  • “Export a report of all my recurring billing”
Key practices:
  • Test before activating (use test mode)
  • Use offerings for consistency
  • Start with “Create as Draft” until confident
  • Set end dates for fixed contracts
  • Review execution history regularly
  • Use clear naming: “ACME Corp - Monthly Retainer”

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Common Workflows

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Monthly Retainer

Create automation → Select client → Monthly schedule (1st) → Add retainer line item → Create as Draft → Test → Activate → Switch to Send Immediately after first success
Ask Every Agent: For monthly retainer setup:
  • “Set up monthly retainer billing for ACME Corp at $5,000, starting on the 1st of next month”
  • “Create recurring monthly invoices for all my retainer clients”

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Quarterly Contracts

Create automation → Select client → Quarterly schedule → Set start/end dates → Add line items → Test → Activate
Ask Every Agent: For quarterly billing:
  • “Create a quarterly automation for Tech Co billing $12,000 starting in Q2”
  • “Set up quarterly invoicing for ACME Corp at $15,000 per quarter for the next year”

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Annual Subscriptions

Create automation → Select client → Yearly schedule → Set anniversary date → Add subscription line item → Test → Activate with Send Immediately
Ask Every Agent: For annual billing:
  • “Create a yearly automation for Software Co at $10,000 renewing on January 1st”
  • “Set up annual membership billing for all my subscription clients”

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Troubleshooting

IssueCheckSolution
Automation not runningStatus is Active, next run date, start/end dates, client existsActivate if inactive, verify dates and client status, review execution history
Test invoice not generatedTest mode enabled, automation saved, organization email configuredRe-enable test mode, save, check drafts and spam folder
Wrong amountLine item amounts, tax settings, discounts, offering ratesEdit automation, update amounts, verify offerings, re-test
Wrong clientNot possible - each automation tied to specific clientIf seeing this, check which automation generated which invoice
Ask Every Agent: To troubleshoot:
  • “Why didn’t the ACME Corp automation run on the 1st?”
  • “Check if any of my automations failed last month”
  • “Diagnose why the XYZ Company automation isn’t generating invoices”
  • “List all automations that have errors in their execution history”

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Advanced Tips

Multiple Automations Per Client: Create multiple automations for the same client (e.g., monthly retainer + quarterly audit). They run independently.
Ask Every Agent:
  • “Show me all automations for ACME Corp”
  • “Create two automations for Tech Co: one monthly retainer at 3,000andonequarterlyauditat3,000 and one quarterly audit at 5,000”
Manual Invoices: Automations don’t prevent manual invoicing - both appear in client history with no conflicts.
Ask Every Agent:
  • “Create a one-time invoice for ACME Corp for extra project work, separate from their monthly retainer”
  • “Show me all invoices for XYZ Company, both automated and manual”
Seasonal Billing: Use end dates for seasonal contracts or deactivate/reactivate automations to preserve configuration.
Ask Every Agent:
  • “Set up a summer automation for Landscaping Co from June through September”
  • “Pause all my seasonal automations until next spring”

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Next Steps

Create Invoices

Learn about manual invoice creation

Use Offerings

Set up service templates for automation line items

Manage Clients

Add clients for recurring billing

Track Execution

Monitor automation performance
Need help? Contact support at [email protected]