# Invoicing
Professional billing and payment tracking for your solar projects. Create invoices, generate PDFs, track payments, and manage your accounts receivable—all integrated with your project workflow.
## Overview
Powerlily invoicing allows you to:
- Create professional invoices
- Generate from quotes automatically
- Track line items with quantities
- Handle tax calculations
- Mark paid/unpaid status
- Track partial payments
- Email invoices to customers
- Generate PDF invoices
- Search and filter invoices
- View payment analytics
## Key Features
### Professional PDF Generation
- Branded invoice PDFs
- Company logo and details
- Itemized line items
- Tax calculations
- Payment status
- Due dates
- Download or email
### Quote Integration
- Generate invoices from quotes
- Auto-populate equipment
- Transfer pricing
- Save time on data entry
- Maintain consistency
### Payment Tracking
- Paid/unpaid status
- Partial payment support
- Payment history
- Outstanding balances
- Analytics dashboard
### Customer Communication
- Email invoices directly
- Custom email message
- Professional presentation
- Delivery confirmation
## Creating Invoices
### Navigation
**From Project:**
1. Open project
2. Go to **Invoices** tab
3. Click **"New Invoice"**
4. Enter details
5. Save
**From Invoice Index:**
1. Navigate to **Invoicing**
2. Click **"New Invoice"**
3. Select project
4. Enter details
5. Save
### Invoice Information
#### Invoice Number
**Unique identifier**
- Must be unique
- Used for tracking
- Customer reference
- Accounting system
**Format Examples:**
- INV-001
- 2024-001
- SOLAR-2024-001
- Auto-incrementing
**Best Practices:**
- Consistent format
- Sequential numbering
- Include year
- Easy to reference
#### Date
**Invoice date**
- Date invoice created
- Used for due date calculation
- Accounting period
- Customer records
**Due Date:**
- Automatically set to 30 days
- Shown on invoice
- Payment deadline
- Can be customized
#### Project
**Associated project/customer**
- Links to project
- Customer information
- Billing address
- Contact details
**Benefits:**
- Organized by project
- Customer history
- Easy lookup
- Project tracking
#### Tax Toggle
**Apply sales tax**
**Enabled:**
- Tax calculated on subtotal
- Company tax rate applied
- Shown separately
- Added to total
**Disabled:**
- No tax calculated
- Subtotal = total
- Tax-exempt customers
- Out-of-state
**Tax Rate:**
- Set in company settings
- Applied automatically
- State/local rates
- Customizable
#### Note
**Optional message**
- Payment instructions
- Terms and conditions
- Thank you message
- Special notes
**Examples:**
- "Payment due within 30 days"
- "Thank you for your business!"
- "Wire transfer details: ..."
- "Net 30 terms"
## Line Items
### Adding Line Items
**Manual Entry:**
1. Click **"Add Item"**
2. Enter name
3. Set price
4. Set quantity
5. Calculate total
**From Quote:**
- Auto-generates all items
- Panels, inverters, equipment
- Installation costs
- Properly formatted
### Item Fields
#### Name
**Item description**
- Product name
- Service description
- Clear identification
- Customer-facing
**Examples:**
- "REC Alpha Pure 405W Solar Panel"
- "Enphase IQ8+ Microinverter"
- "Installation Labor"
- "Electrical Permit"
#### Price
**Per-unit cost**
- Dollar amount
- Unit price
- Before quantity
- Taxable amount
**Format:**
- Enter as decimal
- Example: 250.00
- Calculated automatically from equipment
#### Quantity
**Number of units**
- Integer or decimal
- Multiplies price
- Total = price × quantity
**Examples:**
- 24 (panels)
- 1 (installation)
- 12 (microinverters)
#### Total
**Line item total**
- Automatically calculated
- Price × Quantity
- Pre-tax amount
- Shown to customer
#### Order Number
**Display sequence**
- Controls display order
- Auto-assigned
- Can reorder
- Professional presentation
### Item Management
**Reordering:**
- Change order numbers
- Reorganize presentation
- Logical grouping
- Save changes
**Editing:**
- Modify any field
- Recalculates total
- Updates invoice total
- Real-time updates
**Deleting:**
- Remove individual items
- Adjusts totals
- Can clear all items
- Cannot undo
## Generating from Quotes
### Auto-Generate Feature
**Benefits:**
- Saves massive time
- Accurate pricing
- Consistent formatting
- No manual entry
### How It Works
**From Quote Button:**
1. Open invoice
2. Click **"Generate from Quote"**
3. System creates line items
4. Pulls from quote:
- All panels
- All inverters
- All equipment
- Installation cost
5. Automatically calculates
### What Gets Included
**Equipment:**
- Panels (model, wattage, quantity)
- Inverters (model, quantity)
- Additional equipment (batteries, etc.)
- Adjusted pricing (BOM calculation)
**Services:**
- Installation cost (if set in quote)
- Additional line items
- Labor costs
**Additional Items:**
- Grand Trunk Cable (auto-added per panel)
- Aluminium Racking (auto-added per panel)
- System-specific components
**Note:** Some items auto-calculated with specific pricing formulas for standard installations.
### Adjusting Generated Items
**After Generation:**
- Review all items
- Adjust quantities if needed
- Modify pricing
- Add/remove items
- Customize for project
**Common Adjustments:**
- Change installation pricing
- Add permit fees
- Include upgrades
- Remove standard items
- Custom components
## Payment Tracking
### Payment Status
#### Unpaid
**Default status**
- Outstanding invoice
- Payment pending
- Shows in unpaid filter
- Red status indicator
#### Paid
**Fully paid**
- Payment received
- Completed transaction
- Shows in paid filter
- Green status indicator
**Marking Paid:**
1. Check "Paid" toggle
2. Save invoice
3. Status updates
4. System note created
5. Analytics updated
### Partial Payments
**Track installments**
**How It Works:**
- Enter amount received
- Shows on invoice
- Still marked "unpaid"
- Tracks progress
**Example:**
- Invoice total: $25,000
- Partial payment: $10,000
- Remaining: $15,000
- Status: Unpaid (with partial)
**Display:**
- Shown on invoice PDF
- Listed in project notes
- Payment history
- Outstanding balance
**Multiple Partials:**
- Update amount as received
- Running total
- Payment schedule
- Progress tracking
## Invoice PDF
### Generating PDF
**Download:**
1. Open invoice
2. Click **"View PDF"**
3. PDF generates
4. Opens in browser
5. Download or print
**Features:**
- Professional layout
- Company branding
- Customer details
- Itemized list
- Tax breakdown
- Payment status
- Due date
### PDF Contents
**Header:**
- Company logo
- Company name
- "INVOICE" title
- Professional design
**Invoice Details Box:**
- Invoice number
- Invoice date
- Due date
- Payment status (Paid/Unpaid)
- Partial payment (if applicable)
**Billing Information:**
- **From:** Your company details
- **Bill To:** Customer information
- Side-by-side layout
- Complete addresses
**Items Table:**
- Item Name
- Price per unit
- Quantity
- Line total
- Professional formatting
- Highlighted header
**Totals:**
- Subtotal
- Tax (if applicable)
- Tax percentage shown
- **Total** (highlighted)
**Footer:**
- Payment terms
- Company information
- Thank you message
- Contact details
### PDF Styling
**Professional Design:**
- Clean layout
- Easy to read
- Branded colors
- Consistent formatting
- Print-ready
## Email Invoices
### Sending Invoices
**Process:**
1. Open invoice
2. Click **"Send Invoice"**
3. Customize email subject
4. Customize email body
5. Click **"Send"**
6. Email delivered
7. Status marked "Sent"
### Email Customization
#### Subject Line
**Email subject**
- Default provided
- Customize per invoice
- Professional tone
- Clear purpose
**Example:**
`Invoice #2024-001 from [Your Company]`
#### Email Body
**Message content**
- Personalized greeting
- Invoice details
- Payment instructions
- Thank you
- Contact information
**Example:**
```
Dear [Customer Name],
Please find attached invoice #2024-001 for your solar
installation project.
Amount due: $25,000
Due date: [Date]
Payment can be made via [methods].
Thank you for choosing [Your Company]!
Best regards,
[Your Name]
```
### Email Delivery
**Includes:**
- PDF invoice attachment
- Customized message
- Your company branding
- Reply-to address
**Confirmation:**
- Sent status saved
- System note created
- Delivery recorded
- Customer can download
## Invoice Management
### Invoice Index
**Central dashboard:**
- All invoices
- Search and filter
- Sort options
- Analytics
- Quick actions
### Filtering
**By Status:**
- All invoices
- Paid only
- Unpaid only
- Quick toggles
**By Date:**
- Date range picker
- This month
- Last month
- Custom ranges
- Fiscal periods
**By Amount:**
- Highest first
- Lowest first
- Total value
- Outstanding amounts
### Sorting
**Sort Options:**
- Date (newest/oldest)
- Total (highest/lowest)
- Invoice number
- Project name
- Payment status
### Search
**Search Fields:**
- Project name
- Customer email
- Customer phone
- Address
- Invoice number
**Real-time:**
- Updates as you type
- Fuzzy matching
- Fast results
- Pagination
## Analytics
### Invoice Summary
**Key Metrics:**
- Total invoices
- Total value
- Average invoice
- Paid vs unpaid
- Outstanding balance
**Visual Display:**
- Card layout
- Color-coded
- Quick overview
- At-a-glance
**Date Filtered:**
- Current month default
- Custom ranges
- Year-to-date
- Fiscal periods
### Payment Analytics
**Track:**
- Total collected
- Outstanding amounts
- Payment trends
- Average payment time
- Collection rate
## Best Practices
### Invoice Creation
**Accurate Information:**
- Verify customer details
- Double-check line items
- Confirm pricing
- Review totals
- Proofread notes
**Professional Presentation:**
- Consistent formatting
- Clear descriptions
- Organized items
- Proper grammar
- Company branding
### Timing
**Send Promptly:**
- After installation
- Upon milestones
- As agreed in contract
- Before payment due
**Follow Up:**
- Track due dates
- Send reminders
- Professional communication
- Payment plans if needed
### Record Keeping
**Documentation:**
- Save all invoices
- Track payments
- Maintain history
- Backup records
- Audit trail
**Organization:**
- Consistent numbering
- Logical filing
- Easy retrieval
- Customer folders
### Tax Compliance
**Sales Tax:**
- Know your requirements
- Apply correct rates
- Document exemptions
- Report accurately
**Records:**
- Keep for required period
- Support for audits
- Complete documentation
- Professional records
## Integration with Projects
### Project Tab
**Invoices in Projects:**
- Dedicated invoices tab
- All project invoices
- Create new
- View history
- Total value display
**Benefits:**
- Organized by project
- Complete history
- Customer context
- Easy access
### System Notes
**Automatic Logging:**
- Invoice created
- Invoice sent
- Payment status changes
- Partial payments received
- Complete audit trail
**Visibility:**
- Team can see history
- Customer interactions
- Payment progress
- Project timeline
## Troubleshooting
### Can't Create Invoice
- Check project exists
- Verify permissions
- Ensure unique invoice number
- Check required fields
### Tax Not Calculating
- Verify tax toggle enabled
- Check company tax rate set
- Ensure items have prices
- Review tax settings
### PDF Won't Generate
- Check invoice saved
- Verify all fields complete
- Ensure company details set
- Try refreshing
### Email Not Sending
- Verify customer email
- Check email settings
- Confirm invoice saved
- Review delivery logs
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**Related:** [[CRM/Overview|CRM]] | [[Fleet Management/Overview|Projects & Fleet]] | [[Equipment/Equipment|Equipment]]