Recurring Invoices

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Introduction

Recurring invoices automate your billing process by generating invoices at specified intervals. This powerful feature streamlines your workflow, ensures consistent cash flow, and reduces the administrative burden of manual invoice creation. This guide explains how to set up, manage, and optimize recurring invoices in Blinksale.

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Understanding Recurring Invoices

Blinksale’s recurring invoice system consists of two primary components:

1. Recurring Invoice Template: Contains all the invoice information, including client details, line items, pricing, and schedule parameters.
2. Recurring Invoice: The system component that manages the schedule, tracks occurrences, and generates actual invoices based on the template.

When you create a recurring invoice, you’re creating a template along with the scheduling rules that determine when new invoices will be generated.

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Recurring Invoice Status Lifecycle

Recurring invoices have a specific lifecycle with four possible statuses:

1. Active - Generating invoices according to the schedule
2. Paused - Temporarily stopped generating invoices
3. Completed - The recurring schedule has ended (reached max occurrences or end date)
4. Canceled - Manually stopped generating invoices

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Recurring Invoice Dashboard

The recurring invoices dashboard provides a comprehensive view of all your recurring templates and their schedules. From this central hub, you can:

• View all recurring invoices with their status
• Filter recurring invoices by client
• See next generation dates for active templates
• Access template details
• Create new recurring templates

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Creating a New Recurring Invoice

To set up a new recurring invoice:

1. Navigate to the Recurring Invoices section from the main sidebar
2. Click the “New Recurring Invoice” button in the top right corner
3. Complete the form with invoice details and scheduling parameters

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Essential Information

When creating a recurring invoice, you’ll provide information in two main categories:

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Template Information

Similar to standard invoices, you’ll need to provide:

• Client - Select the client who will be billed
• Name (optional) - A descriptive name for the recurring template
• Currency - Choose the currency for this invoice series
• Line Items - Products or services included in each invoice
• Tax Settings - Apply appropriate tax rules
• Discount Settings - Apply any recurring discounts
• Payment Terms - Specify when payment will be due for each generated invoice
• Late Fee Settings - Configure late fees for overdue invoices
• Notes - Any standard note text to include on each invoice

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Schedule Parameters

The scheduling section is what makes recurring invoices unique:

• Frequency - How often invoices will be generated:
  • Daily
  • Weekly
  • Every 2 weeks
  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Every 6 months
  • Annually
• Start Date - When the first invoice should be generated
• End Criteria (at least one is required):
  • End Date - A specific date when recurring invoices will stop
  • Max Occurrences - A specific number of invoices to generate

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Viewing Recurring Invoice Details

To access detailed information about a recurring invoice template, click on its name in the list. The detail page provides:

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Template Overview

The top section displays key template information:

• Template name or number
• Status of the recurring schedule
• Client information
• Available actions based on the current status

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Line Items Section

This section lists all products or services included in the recurring template, displaying:

• Item name and description
• Quantity and unit of measurement
• Unit price
• Tax information (when applicable)
• Line item total

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Schedule Information

The schedule details section shows:

• Frequency of invoice generation
• Start date
• End date (if specified)
• Maximum occurrences (if specified)
• Current number of occurrences (how many invoices have been generated)
• Date of last invoice generation
• Date of next scheduled invoice

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Generated Invoices

This section shows all invoices that have been created from this recurring template, including:

• Invoice number
• Status (draft, sent, paid, overdue, etc.)
• Issue date
• Due date
• Total amount
• Links to view the full invoices

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Managing Recurring Invoices

Depending on the current status of a recurring invoice, you can perform various actions:

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Preview Next Invoice

Before the next invoice is generated, you can preview exactly what it will look like:

1. Navigate to the recurring invoice’s detail page
2. Click the “Preview Next Invoice” button
3. Review the invoice details that will be created on the next generation date

This feature is especially useful for verifying that your recurring template is correctly configured before invoices are sent to clients.

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Generate Invoice Now

If you need an invoice immediately rather than waiting for the next scheduled date:

1. Navigate to the recurring invoice’s detail page
2. Click the “Generate Invoice Now” button
3. Confirm the action
4. The system will create a new invoice immediately and update the schedule for the next generation

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Pause a Recurring Invoice

To temporarily stop invoice generation:

1. Navigate to the recurring invoice’s detail page
2. Click the “Pause” button
3. Confirm the action

While paused, no invoices will be generated from this template. The template can be edited while in the paused state.

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Resume a Recurring Invoice

To restart invoice generation for a paused template:

1. Navigate to the recurring invoice’s detail page
2. Click the “Resume” button
3. Confirm the action

The system will recalculate the next generation date based on the current date and frequency settings.

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Cancel a Recurring Invoice

If you need to permanently stop a recurring invoice:

1. Navigate to the recurring invoice’s detail page
2. Click the “Cancel Recurring Invoice” button
3. Confirm the action

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Editing Recurring Invoices

To modify an existing recurring invoice template:

1. Navigate to the template’s detail page
2. Click the “Edit” button
3. Make your desired changes
4. Click “Save Template” to apply your updates

When editing a recurring template, you can update:

• All template information (client, line items, prices, etc.)
• Frequency settings
• End criteria (end date or max occurrences)

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Deleting Recurring Invoices

If you need to remove a recurring invoice template:

1. Navigate to the template’s detail page
2. Click the “Delete” button
3. Confirm the deletion in the dialog that appears

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Automated Notifications

When invoices are generated automatically from recurring templates, the system can optionally send notifications:

• Client Notifications - Automatically email new invoices to clients when generated
• Admin Notifications - Notify you when recurring invoices are generated

These settings are controlled through the notification preferences in your account settings.

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Best Practices

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Setting Up Recurring Invoices

• Use descriptive template names to easily identify different recurring invoices
• Carefully select the start date considering your billing cycles
• Set appropriate end criteria to avoid generating too many invoices
• Review the template carefully before activating it
• Consider using the preview feature before the first invoice is generated

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Managing Multiple Recurring Invoices

• Establish a consistent billing schedule to create predictable cash flow
• Organize recurring invoices by client or service type
• Regularly review active recurring templates to ensure information is current
• Pause rather than cancel templates you might need again

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Common Use Cases

Subscription Billing

• Monthly membership fees
• Software-as-a-Service subscriptions
• Ongoing service retainers

Regular Services

• Maintenance contracts
• Cleaning services
• Consulting retainers

Installment Payments

• Breaking large projects into multiple payments
• Payment plans for clients

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Troubleshooting

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Common Issues

Invoice not generated on expected date:

• Verify that the recurring template has Active status
• Check that you haven’t reached the maximum occurrences or end date
• Confirm that the next generation date is correct

Cannot edit recurring invoice:

• Verify that the invoice has Active or Paused status
• Completed or Canceled templates cannot be edited

Duplicate invoices generated:

• Avoid manually generating invoices close to scheduled dates
• Be cautious when adjusting frequency settings on active templates

Need to make changes to already-generated invoices:

• Edit the individual invoices directly, not the recurring template
• The recurring template only affects future invoices, not past ones

By effectively leveraging recurring invoices, you can automate your billing process, save administrative time, and create a more predictable cash flow for your business.