Creating and Managing Invoices

ServiceTrade allows you quickly build pro-forma invoices using information from existing jobs. Our invoices are meant to be considered pro-forma - an "almost-ready-to-go" invoice that accounting or billing staff might tweak and polish before sending the final bill to the customer.

Creating an Invoice

This section will walk you through creating a full Invoice for all job items.

1. On the Job Page, click the Invoice Job button.
2. Select the Contract for this invoice.
   • Contracts are what define your pricing and invoice rules.
3. Check to select all or individual job items and services that you want to be included on this invoice.
4. Adjust Item Cost, if necessary.
   • Note: This will change the Item's cost on the Job itself because the invoice doesn't show the cost.
5. Click the Create Invoice from [x] Items button.  
6. This will create the Invoice with the selected Job Items and adopt the selected contract's rules. It will also automatically take you to the newly created Invoice Page. On the Invoice Page, you can manage the details of the invoice, change the status, edit the item Detail Level that the customer sees, edit or add items and their prices, record payments on the invoice, void the invoice, and send the invoice to your customer.
   • Note: A newly created invoice will adopt the status, that is preset in your Account Settings.

Editing Invoice Details

This section will walk you through editing the Invoice Details. 

1. On the relevant Invoice, click the Pencil Icon in the Invoice Details section.
   
2. This allows you to make edits to the Invoice Details.
   
   
   
3. The table below defines each field:
   

   Field Name	Definition
   Invoice Number	ServiceTrade will automatically apply an Invoice Number. Here you can give an Invoice any customer number. It can also include characters and letters.
   Payment Terms	This field will be auto-filled from the Invoices selected contract's rules. Here you can change the terms.
   Transaction Date	The Transaction Date is normally either the original document date (i.e. the original invoice date) or the date the transaction was recorded in ServiceTrade. By default, the transaction date is the date that the invoice was created. Here you can change that date.
   Due Date	The date the invoice is due.
   Customer PO	This is the customer's Purchase Order number. This field will be auto-filled from the Invoices selected contract's rules, or if a customer PO was entered on the Job, the invoice will adopt that PO.
   Terms and Conditions	This field will be auto-filled from the Invoices selected contract's rules. Here you can change the T & C's. Note: Multiple Terms and Conditions are only supported for Premium and Enterprise customers.
   Office	This is the office the invoice belongs to.
   Invoice Name	The invoice name will be automatically created using the following format: "Invoice for Job#[job_number] (location_name)"
   Final Invoice for Job	Creating a final invoice for a job indicates that the job has been fully invoiced. By default, all new invoices will be set to Final. Click here to learn more about Partial Invoices.
   Status	A newly created invoice will adopt the status, that is preset in your Account Settings. Here you can change the status manually.
   Add Tags	You can add Create Tags for this invoice.

4. Click Update Invoice when done.

Invoice Notes

The Invoice Notes field is useful for communicating additional information about the Invoice to your customer. It is visible to the customer to whom you are sending the invoice.

Note: If you have set specific Invoice Notes in a Contract you are using, these specific Invoice Notes will automatically populate to the Invoice Notes field on all invoices generated using that specific contract. You can read more about this functionality in our article on Managing Contracts.

Editing Invoice Items and the Detail Level that the Customer Sees

This section will walk you through editing, adding, and removing items on an invoice. It will also walk you through editing the detail level your customer will see on the invoice.

Voiding an Invoice

1. Open the invoice you wish to void.
2. Click Void Invoice
   • *optional. You can create a new invoice on the Job Page by clicking Invoice Job.
   • Important Note: Voiding cannot be undone.

Note: If you have voided all invoices on a job, the job status will change from Invoiced to Completed.

Creating a Partial Invoice

You may create multiple invoices for any values and with any item for a single job. Whether they are for the full amount or partial invoices is up to you.

The following section will walk you through creating a Partial Invoice.

Partial Invoicing with Job Items

1. On the Job Page, click the Invoice Job button.
2. Select the Contract for this invoice.
   • Contracts are what define your pricing and invoice rules.
3. Select the individual job items and/or services that you want to be included on this invoice.
4. Adjust Item Cost, if necessary.
   • Note: This will change the Item's cost on the Job itself because the invoice doesn't show cost.
5. Adjust the Quantity of the item if necessary.
6. Click the Create Invoice from [x] Items button.  
7. Repeat this process as many times as you wish to create multiple invoices.
8. To distinguish between partial invoices created for incremental billings and the final invoice that is issued to the customer once work is complete, the following steps:
9. On the relevant invoice, click the Pencil Icon on the Invoice Header.
10. Change the Final Invoice setting on that invoice from Yes to No.  Changing this setting to "No" indicates this is a partial invoice.  By default, all invoices are final invoices.
    
    

IMPORTANT:  Only final invoices are used when determining if a job has been invoiced on the ServiceTrade dashboard, when searching the job list for invoiced jobs, etc.

The total amount of revenue for a given job -- displayed on the job page, on the job lists on the location and asset pages, and in the revenue calculations used on the tech scorecard -- is the sum of the total amounts of all the non-void invoices associated with that job.

Partial Invoicing without Job Items

Sometimes you may want to invoice a partial amount that has no relation to the job items used on the job. This is typical when you quoted a certain total amount and want the customer to make partial percentage payments based on that total.

Look to the original quote, and divide the agreed upon total by the payment amount. So, for example if you Quoted a Job for $10,000 and want them to make two payments of $5,000. You would create two invoices for $5,000 using the following instructions.

1. On the Job Page, click the Invoice Job.
2. Select the Contract for this invoice.
   • Contracts are what define your pricing and invoice rules.
3. Deselect all individual job items and services you want to be included on this invoice.
4. Click the Create Invoice from 0 Items button. 
5. Click the pencil icon on the Parts, Labor, and Items section.
6. Add an ad hoc item called something like "Partial Payment Total"
7. Set the Price to your partial invoice amount.
8. Mark the ad hoc item as non-taxable.
9. To distinguish between partial invoices created for incremental billings and the final invoice that is issued to the customer once work is complete, the following steps:
10. On the relevant invoice, click the Pencil Icon on the Invoice Header.
11. Change the Final Invoice setting on that invoice from Yes to No.  Changing this setting to "No" indicates this is a partial invoice.  By default, all invoices are final invoices.
12. Repeat this process as many times as you wish to create multiple invoices.

IMPORTANT:  Only final invoices are used when determining if a job has been invoiced on the ServiceTrade dashboard, when searching the job list for invoiced jobs, etc.

The total amount of revenue for a given job -- displayed on the job page, on the job lists on the location and asset pages, and in the revenue calculations used on the tech scorecard -- is the sum of the total amounts of all the non-void invoices associated with that job.

Adding an Invoice from an External System on a ServiceTrade Job

You may want to invoice using an external accounting system and need to record the invoice on your ServiceTrade Job.

1. On the relevant Job, click Invoice Job.
2. On the Invoice Job Menu, click I already have an invoice.
   
3. Now you can enter an Invoice Number, Grand Total, Description, and indicate who you would like this invoice Visible To.
4. If you want to attach a copy of the external invoice, click Choose File and select the invoice from your computer.
   
5. When done, click Invoice Job.

This will create an invoice on the job and change the Job Status to Invoiced. The Invoice's status will automatically be set to Sent because it assumes you have already sent this invoice via the external system.

Recording Payments on an Invoice

You can record payments made on invoices.

1. On the relevant Invoice, click to expand the Payments accordion.
2. Enter a Reference Number, Transaction Date, select a Customer, select a Payment Method, and enter a Payment Amount.
3. Click Save.
4. Repeat as many times as necessary.
   

Video Walkthrough of Creating an Invoice

We walk through invoicing from the office in the video below:

Note: This video excerpt is from our ServiceTrade Office Certification Course.

Searching for Invoices

You can use the Invoice List View Page to search for Invoices using a wide variety of search parameters.

Bulk Sending or Change Status of Invoice

The Invoice List View Page allows you to search for and send invoices to your customers in bulk. It also allows you to search and change the status of your invoices in bulk.

Bulk Sending Invoices

1. Go to the Invoice List View Page.
2. Fill in the desired criteria you wish to use in the Search Fields.
3. Then click Search. 
4. Click the checkbox above the list to select all of your results. If you have results you don't want to use, you can click the checkbox within the individual rows to remove them from your intended recipient's list.
5. Click the Gear Icon.
6. Then click the Send to Customer button.
   
7. In the new window that appears, use the Send to Contacts drop-down to select which Contacts will receive your message.
   
8. In the text field, you can type a generic message that will appear as the body of your email to all recipients.
9. When finished, click the blue Send button in the bottom left corner of the window.
10. When completed, status updates for all successfully sent messages and any that had errors will be displayed at the top of your Navigation Bar.

Bulk Changing the Status of Invoices

1. Go to the Invoice List View Page.
2. Fill in the desired criteria you wish to use in the Search Fields.
3. Then click Search. 
4. Click the checkbox above the list to select all of your results. If you have results you don't want to use, you can click the checkbox within the individual rows to remove them from your intended recipient's list.
5. Click the Gear Icon.
6. Then click the Update Status button.
   
7. On the Update Invoice Status Menu, click the New Invoice Status dropdown and select a status.
   
8. Click the Update Invoices button.

FAQs

What can my customer see on the Invoice Link when they click "Go To Service Details."

You will notice on an Invoice Link a button called Go To Service Details. This will take the customer to the Service Link.

The Service Link visibility can be changed on the Job Page so if you want to hide or show specific things to the customer on the Invoice Link via the Service Link.

1. Go to the Job Page.
2. Click Send Service Link.
3. Toggle on or off what you want visible.
4. Then close the menu. This will save the settings.

Note: The Service Link will remain active. If you change the settings after you send the Invoice Link. The customer will see those changes.

What are the best practices for searching for Jobs that need to be invoiced?

You can search for Jobs using the Job List View Page.

• If your organization marks a job complete and invoices it at the same time, you can simply just use the Jobs with drop-down menu "All Appointments Complete but not Invoiced" on its own to find jobs with all services and appointments complete without an invoice.
• If your organization has separate people or teams who mark jobs complete and invoice them, combining the Jobs with drop-down "All Appointments Complete but not Invoiced with the Status drop-down set to "Completed" allows you to find jobs that are complete but have no invoices.
  
  

Important Note: The search parameter will not find jobs with partial invoices. Currently, there is no way to search for "Jobs with partial invoices and no final invoice." At this time if you use partial invoicing, we recommend you use tags to search for jobs that are partially invoiced but not fully paid.

How do I customize the look of an invoice?

As our invoices are intended to be Pro-forma, we do not plan to support customization at this time.

How do I invoice in the field?

This is covered in our Technician training - Sending an Invoice from the Mobile App.

How do I show a discount on an invoice?

ServiceTrade has no discount feature.

However, you can create an item called "Discount" that you can add to job, or simply type an ad-hoc item called "Discount" on your invoice. Then you would just enter a negative price to signify that this is being taken off the invoice.

How do I print an invoice?

You can print an invoice by clicking the Print Invoice button on the Invoice Page:

ServiceTrade's recommended method of delivering invoices to your customers is our Invoice Link feature, which allows those customers to view those invoices online and to view the invoice's service details through integration with ServiceTrade's Service Links.

However, we recognize that some customers may not be able to receive online or even emailed invoices, and in those cases it's important to be able to print and mail invoices. The layout of our invoice header supports most #9 and #10 double-windowed envelopes:

I still see the "invoice job" button lit up after creating a final invoice.

We allow you to create as many partial or final invoices per job as possible. So no matter how many invoices you have, you can create more.

I need to create recurring invoices. How do I do that?

ServiceTrade currently only supports recurring invoices for our Enterprise customers. Please contact your ServiceTrade Account Manager if you are interested in this feature.

If you do not have access to this feature, we recommend you set up automated invoicing in your accounting system for this. If you want the invoices recorded on the ServiceTrade Job, follow the steps for Adding an Invoice from an External System on a ServiceTrade Job.

Can I automatically add certain items, such as a truck or admin fee, to all invoices?

Yes, you can set automatic fees and charges up on Default and Company Contracts. Once you set up those rules on your contract, as long as you select the correct set up contract for the invoice, it will automatically follow the contract rules and add the fees and charges.

How do I attach reports or other files to invoices?

This is not directly supported on ServiceTrade invoices. However, ServiceTrade Jobs may have attachments (including invoice attachments). Your customer may review all job attachments by using Service Links, which are viewable via a link, in the Invoice Link. You will just have to make sure your ServiceLink settings on the job have the attachment set to visible.

How is sales tax determined?

• Tax rates in ServiceTrade must be setup by an office admin. Bulk Importing for Origin-Based Sales Tax States.

• ServiceTrade provides combined county tax rates based on the zip code of the Location's address.

• Additionally, when creating or editing a Location, you can now assign a Sales Tax Group based on location assignment rather than Zip Code. The selected Sales Tax Group will be used for all Invoices and Quotes created for this location. This is useful for Jurisdictions in states such as Washington and Louisiana whose tax rates are not always determined by Zip Code alone.
  Note: The selected Sales Tax Group will override the Location's Zip Code Sales Tax Group assignment. 

• You may use the taxable checkboxes to indicate whether each item is taxable or not. If using library items (items from your master item list), we will look up the taxable status of that item from your account's master item list.

Why can't I edit an invoice?

• Ensure it is in a status other than pending_accounting (this status prohibits editing).
• Check your user activities (permissions), or have a ServiceTrade admin at your company check them for you. 

How do I collect payment on an invoice?

• ServiceTrade invoices are meant to be pro-forma, and we do not offer any native payment processing.
• We recommend using Invoice Link Payments. Note that this requires setup and is powered by STAX. It is only available to customers in the United States.
• You can also collect payments using a third-party payment solution such as Square, Intuit GoPayment, or Paypal.  These solutions typically have an app and a free or inexpensive card swiper that works with a mobile phone or tablet.
• You can record the payments using the Recording Payments on an Invoice workflow.

Does the customer see costs or gross margins?

No they do not.  Costs and margins do not show when printing or emailing any ServiceTrade document, as they are for internal viewing only. You can adjust what's visible to the customer by editing the Detail Level for Customer, then preview the changes using the invoice previewer in the Send Invoice Link Menu.

How do I change the vendor on an invoice?

You cannot. However, below is a walkthrough of workaround.

1. Void the invoice.
2. Cancel the Job.
3. Copy the now-canceled Job.
   • It's important to note on the canceled Job why you canceled it and record the copied Job's Number so you can reference it later. It's also important to note on the copied Job the Job Number of the canceled Job because the canceled Job may contain import information like Clock Events, Comments, or Attachments you may want a record of later.
4. On the copied Job, click Manage Job and change the vendor.
5. Complete the Job.
6. Invoice the Job again.

Can I add Company External IDs to Invoices?

In your Account Settings, you can now add up to two existing external customer IDs on customer Invoices. These external IDs will be visible in a new section called Additional Customer Information in both the Portal and Print/PDF View.

1. For this to work, you need to have one or more External Systems added to your account and External System IDs added for the Company that you want to Invoice.
   
2. You will also need to update your Account Settings. To do so, click on your Profile Picture and then click on Account Settings.
3. Click to expand the Account Preferences menu.
4. A new option is available called Display External Customer IDs.
   • Here, you can select from a drop-down up to two ID # External Systems you want to display on customer material.
     
5. Once selected, you will need to check if you want them to display on Invoices.
6. When done, click Save.

For customers with External Customer IDs, you will see the following External IDs at the bottom of their printed/pdf or portal invoices:

What happens if I email an Invoice from ServiceTrade?

• The recipient will receive an email with an attached PDF of the invoice.
• Note: Invoice Link emails are NOT carbon copied (cc'ed) to the sender. To see the content of an Invoice Link email that was sent to a customer, click the appropriate entry in the invoice's history.