Invoicing

ContractorScope AI lets you create professional invoices directly from your estimates so you are not re-entering information. Send invoices by email, collect payments, and track what is paid and what is outstanding — all from the same platform where you estimate.

Creating an Invoice

There are several ways to create an invoice, depending on your workflow.

From an Accepted Estimate

The fastest way to invoice is to convert an accepted estimate directly:

1. Open the estimate that the customer approved.
2. Click Create Invoice in the estimate toolbar.
3. Review the invoice preview — all line items, quantities, and prices carry over automatically.
4. Adjust anything that changed (for example, if the final quantities differed from the estimate).
5. Set the due date.
6. Click Save Invoice.

tip

This method is the recommended workflow. It eliminates double entry and ensures the invoice matches exactly what the customer agreed to.

From a Project

1. Open the project in Projects.
2. Click the Invoices tab.
3. Click + Invoice.
4. The New Invoice form opens already scoped to that job — the project's customer is pre-selected as the payer (you can change or remove it), and the invoice you create is linked to the project automatically.
5. Add line items, set the due date, and save.

From a Contact Record

1. Open the contact in Contacts & CRM.
2. Click the Invoices tab.
3. Click New Invoice.

Blank Invoice

If you need to invoice for something not tied to an estimate:

1. Go to Invoicing in the left navigation.
2. Click New Invoice.
3. Select the contact.
4. Add line items manually.
5. Set the due date and save.

Invoice Fields

Every invoice has the following fields:

Field	Description
Invoice number	Auto-generated sequentially. You can override it.
Contact	The customer being invoiced.
Invoice date	Date the invoice is issued (defaults to today).
Due date	When payment is due.
Line items	Description, quantity, unit, unit price, and total for each item.
Subtotal / Tax / Total	Calculated automatically from line items.
Notes to customer	A message that appears on the invoice PDF — useful for payment instructions or thank-you notes.
Internal notes	Notes visible only to your team — never shown to the customer.
Payment terms	Net 15, Net 30, Due on receipt, etc.

Progress Invoicing

Progress invoicing lets you bill in stages as work is completed — instead of waiting until the entire job is done. This is common on larger projects where you might bill 30% upfront, 40% at a milestone, and 30% upon completion.

Setting Up Progress Invoices

1. Open the project or estimate you want to invoice progressively.
2. Click Create Invoice and select Progress Invoice.
3. Define your billing stages. For each stage, set:
   • A stage name (for example, "Deposit", "Halfway", "Final").
   • The percentage or fixed amount to bill.
4. ContractorScope AI calculates the dollar amount for each stage based on the total estimate value.
5. Save the schedule.

Issuing a Progress Invoice

When a milestone is reached:

1. Open the project's Invoices tab.
2. Find the progress invoice stage you are ready to bill.
3. Click Issue Invoice for that stage.
4. Review the invoice and click Send or Save as Draft.

All issued progress invoices appear in the invoice list with their own invoice number. The project's financial summary updates to show the cumulative amount billed.

info

You can mix progress invoicing and one-off invoices on the same project. For example, you might issue a deposit progress invoice at the start and then a change order invoice mid-project for extra work.

You can't bill more than the estimate total

When you invoice from an estimate — whether by percentage or a fixed deposit amount — ContractorScope AI won't let the combined invoiced amount exceed the estimate's total. If you try, you'll see "This estimate is already fully invoiced — you can't invoice more than the estimate total." This guard prevents accidentally over-billing a customer across several progress invoices. If the job genuinely grew, raise the estimate total (or add a change-order invoice) first.

Per-Line-Item Overrides

The percentage or fixed amount you set above applies as the default for every line item on the estimate. If a stage isn't evenly split across the job — for example, cabinets are ready to bill in full while the countertop install hasn't started — open the Line Items list in the "Invoice from Estimate" dialog and edit an individual row's percentage or dollar amount. That row bills at your typed value; every other row keeps tracking the aggregate default above it, so you only need to touch the lines that differ.

$0 per-line overrides aren't supported yet

You can dial a line down to a small amount, but not all the way to $0 — if you want to exclude a line from this invoice entirely, remove it from the estimate instead. Typing 0 shows a validation message explaining this rather than silently billing that line at either $0 or its full amount.

Invoice Templates

Templates let you set default line items, notes, and terms that pre-populate every new invoice. This saves time when you have a standard set of items you include on every job.

Creating a Template

1. Go to Settings → Invoice Templates.
2. Click New Template.
3. Give the template a name.
4. Add default line items, notes to customer, internal notes, and payment terms.
5. Save.

Applying a Template

When creating a new invoice, click Apply Template and select the template. The template's fields populate into the invoice, which you can then edit as needed.

Sending an Invoice to a Customer

Once an invoice is saved, send it to the customer:

1. Open the invoice.
2. Click Send Invoice.
3. Review the email preview. The customer's email address is pre-filled from the contact record.
4. Customize the subject line or message body if needed.
5. Click Send. A confirmation dialog appears — review the recipient address and click Confirm Send to deliver the invoice.

The customer receives an email with a link to view the invoice online in the customer portal. They can view the full invoice, print it, or pay online if you have payment collection enabled.

The customer contact needs an email address

An invoice is emailed to the address on the customer's contact record. If that contact has no email on file, Send stops and tells you "This customer has no email on file — add one to send the invoice" rather than silently marking the invoice as sent. Add an email to the contact, then send.

Online payment requires Stripe Connect onboarding

The Pay online button on the customer's invoice works only after you have completed Stripe Connect onboarding — click Activate payments under Settings → Deposits (the same button also appears under Settings → Disputes). Only the company owner can complete this step. Until then, payments cannot be collected online — the customer sees "Online payment isn't available for this invoice yet — please contact the company to arrange payment," and you'll see an "activate payments" prompt when you send. Payments you do collect online go directly to your connected Stripe account.

Sending Options

• Email — Sends an email notification with a link to the invoice.
• Download PDF — Generates a PDF you can send manually or print.
• Copy link — Copies the invoice portal URL so you can share it via text or another channel.

warning

Sending an invoice changes its status from Draft to Sent. If you need to make changes after sending, edit the invoice and optionally re-send it so the customer always has the latest version.

Payment Tracking

Every invoice has one of the following statuses:

Status	Meaning
Draft	Saved but not yet sent.
Sent	Sent to the customer; awaiting payment.
Partially Paid	A partial payment has been recorded.
Paid	Paid in full.
Overdue	The due date has passed and payment is not complete.
Void	Cancelled. No further action expected.

What "Outstanding" counts on your dashboard

The Outstanding dollar figure and the Pending Invoices count on your home dashboard include only invoices that have actually been issued — Sent, Viewed, Partially Paid, and Overdue. Draft invoices (saved but not yet sent) are not counted as outstanding, because you have not asked the customer to pay them yet. This matches the Outstanding total shown inside the Invoicing area, so the two figures always agree.

Recording a Payment

When you receive a payment:

1. Open the invoice.
2. Click Record Payment.
3. Enter:
   • Amount — Can be partial or full.
   • Payment date — Defaults to today.
   • Payment method — Cash, Check, Bank Transfer, Credit Card, etc.
   • Reference number — Optional (check number, transaction ID, etc.).
4. Click Save Payment.

The invoice status updates automatically. If the full balance is covered, it moves to Paid. Partial payments move it to Partially Paid and show the remaining balance.

Payment History

Every payment recorded on an invoice appears in the Payment history section at the bottom of the invoice. This is a permanent record you can reference if there is ever a dispute.

Overdue Invoices and Reminders

ContractorScope AI flags overdue invoices automatically. On the invoice list, overdue invoices are highlighted and sorted to the top by default.

Sending a Reminder

1. Open an overdue invoice.
2. Click Send Reminder.
3. Customize the reminder message or use the default.
4. Click Send.

The reminder email is logged in the invoice's activity history and in the contact's activity feed.

tip

Send reminders promptly when invoices go overdue. Most late payments are due to invoices being forgotten, not customers refusing to pay. A polite nudge resolves the majority of overdue balances.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I connect to QuickBooks Online? Yes. Go to Settings → Integrations and connect your QuickBooks account. Accepted estimates and paid invoices sync automatically, eliminating double entry.

Can customers pay online? Yes, on every plan — online payment is not restricted by subscription tier. It does have to be switched on once: go to Settings → Deposits and click Activate payments to complete Stripe Connect onboarding. Only the company owner can do this — if you are an admin or a team member, the app tells you that only the owner can activate online payments, so hand this step to whoever owns the account.

What happens if I need to adjust an invoice after the customer has paid part of it? You can edit the invoice and record additional payments. The payment history always reflects exactly what was received. If you need to credit the customer, use a negative line item or void the invoice and create a corrected one.

Can I create recurring invoices? Recurring invoices are available for service agreement customers. See Service Agreements for details.

I tried to invoice a deposit from an estimate and got "you can't invoice more than the estimate total." That estimate has already been fully invoiced — the percentage or amount you entered would push the total billed past the estimate's value. Check the estimate's existing invoices; if the scope of work actually increased, update the estimate total or add a separate change-order invoice for the extra work rather than over-billing the original estimate.

I created an invoice but it isn't showing in my invoice list. This should no longer happen. If you ever see an empty invoice list right after creating an invoice, refresh the page — your invoices appear in the list ordered by creation date. When you create an invoice from an accepted estimate, the invoice automatically carries over the linked customer and project, so it also appears under that contact's and project's Invoices tab.

What Your Customer Sees

When you send an invoice, here's what happens on the customer's end:

1. Email notification — Your customer receives a professional email with the invoice summary and a "View & Pay" button
2. Invoice portal — Clicking the button opens a branded payment page showing the invoice details, amount due, and payment options
3. Payment options — Customers can pay by credit card or ACH bank transfer directly from the portal
4. Confirmation — After payment, both you and the customer receive a confirmation email. The invoice status updates automatically in your dashboard
5. Payment history — Customers can view their complete payment history from the portal at any time

Preview Before Sending

Use the "Preview" button before sending any invoice to see exactly what your customer will receive. This helps you catch formatting issues or missing details before the email goes out.

Next Steps

After setting up your invoicing workflow, explore these related features:

• Projects — Track every job from estimate to final payment.
• Service Agreements — Set up recurring invoices for maintenance customers.
• Contacts & CRM — Manage your customer relationships alongside your invoices.