Creating your first invoice in QuickFile is simple. When you create a new invoice you can also give your client access to a branded client area where they can view, download and pay their outstanding invoices.

This guide takes you from a blank invoice to a sent invoice with a payment logged, and then shows where to customise how your invoices look.

Prefer to watch?

Start a new invoice

1. Click the blue + icon in the top right-hand corner of the dashboard.

2. Click Create new invoice.

   

The invoice editor opens with Invoices - New Invoice at the top. You can also open it by clicking Sales and then Create new invoice.

Add a new client

Start by choosing the client the invoice is for. As this is your first invoice, you will need to add a client record.

1. Click New next to Client Name.

   

2. Enter the client’s name in Client Name. You can enter as little as a name to start with.

3. To give your client login access to view, download and pay their invoices online, tick Create a login area where this client can view their invoices.

   

4. Enter the contact’s First Name, Surname and Contact Email. You need all three when the login box is ticked.

5. Click Save Client.

QuickFile shows A basic client record has been created! and adds the client to your invoice. You can add the rest of the client’s details later.

Set the issue date and due date

QuickFile numbers your invoices for you and offers the next number each time you start a new invoice. Use the boxes in the top right-hand corner of the editor to check the details:

• Invoice Number: filled in for you.
• Invoice Date: today’s date to start with.
• Payable within: the number of days your client has to pay. It starts at 30 days. QuickFile works out the due date from this.

If you would rather enter the due date itself, instead of a number of days, change this in Invoice customisation:

1. Click Sales, then click Invoice customisation.

2. Click the Issue Date area of the sample invoice.

3. Tick Allow due dates and expiry dates to be entered directly.

   

Add your invoice items

Now add what you are charging for. Enter the description, unit cost and quantity of each item directly in the table. If the item has VAT, choose a rate from the VAT list: 20%, 12.5%, 5% or 0%. The totals under the table update as you type.

• To add another line, click the green + at the left of a line.
• To move a line, drag it using the blue handle.
• To enter amounts that already include VAT, tick Enter line totals inclusive of VAT.
• To set the category, add a page break or sub-total, or turn the line into a comment, click the cog on the line. There is more about these in Invoice and estimate line settings.

Invoice for time spent

You can also invoice for time. Click New Line, then click Add Time Event Line. A time line has Task, Notes, Rate and Hours columns. Choose Add Item Line to add a normal item line.

The default unit is hours. To invoice in days, months or another unit, change Time Denomination in Invoice customisation (click the Itemised area of the sample invoice). It applies to all your invoices, past and present.

Create inventory items

Inventory items are a quick way to reuse the things you sell often. You can see and manage them under Sales > Sales Inventory.

1. Click in the Item column and type a name for the item.

2. Click Save item under the cell to save it.

   

Next time, start typing in the Item column and pick the saved item. QuickFile fills in the description, unit cost and quantity for you.

You can find out more in Setting up reusable inventory items.

Tag your invoice or estimate to a project

Projects are a great way to group your sales, expenses, estimates and purchase orders into a single container. Use Project Tags under the invoice lines to tag the invoice to one or more projects.

You can find out more in Projects in QuickFile.

Add an invoice name, notes and payment terms

Below the project tags you can add more information:

• Invoice Name: QuickFile fills this in from the description of your first line. Change it if you want.
• Additional VAT Options: click Edit to mark the invoice VAT Exempt or Out of Scope for UK VAT.
• Additional Notes: comments your client can see, such as delivery timescales or information about the order.
• Payment Terms: bank details or cheque instructions, to make it easier for your client to pay you.

You don’t have to retype your notes and terms on every invoice. New invoices start with your saved defaults, and [Import default] next to each box brings them back if you have changed them. To set the defaults, click Sales, then Invoice customisation. Click the Invoice notes area for Default Invoice Notes, or the Payment Terms area for Default Invoice Terms.

Save, preview and send your invoice

All done? Now preview and send your finished invoice.

1. Click Preview. QuickFile saves the invoice first, which can take a few seconds, and then shows a preview of the invoice.

   

2. Check the invoice. To see a PDF version, click Print.

3. Click Send.

   

Choose how to send

After you click Send you can:

• Send invoice by email: email your client a link to the invoice.
• Flag invoice as sent: QuickFile says this “will update your records only to show the invoice as outstanding”. It does not email your client.
• Send a hard copy by post: this is offered once the client has a full postal address.

Send an invoice by email

1. Click Send invoice by email.

2. Check the contact under Send to. Tick CC me if you want a copy.

3. Change the Subject or the message if you want to.

4. Click Send.

   

The email contains a link your client uses to view the invoice and get a PDF copy. To send later, click the arrow on the Send button and choose Schedule send. To send at once, choose Send now.

Until you send the invoice or flag it as sent, it shows the DRAFT stamp.

Log a payment

You can log a payment against an invoice from the preview screen or from your list of invoices.

1. Click Log Payment.

2. Enter the amount in Amount [GBP], or tick Pay in full.

3. Check the Payment Date.

4. Choose the bank account the money went into from Paid to.

5. Add any notes. Tick Send an email notification to the client if you want to tell them.

6. Click Save.

   

Once the payment is saved, QuickFile records it against the invoice and makes a deposit into the bank account you chose.

Customise your invoice design

Now you have created your first invoice, have a look at the customisation tools. One thing you will probably want to do first is add your logo. Click Sales, then Invoice customisation, click {MY LOGO} on the sample invoice and click Change Logo.

On the invoice preview screen, the green Invoice style gallery button at the top left opens a selection of invoice templates you can try straight away: Eco, Modern, Neon, Rounded, Standard and Vista. Point at the current style and click Customise this style to work on it.

If you are confident with CSS, you can also fully customise your invoice design from the preview screen. See Customising your invoice design for more.

Set up recurring invoices

If you are looking for a way to send invoices automatically over a fixed interval and period, take a look at the recurring invoice guide. You can start a recurring invoice from an existing one with More Options > Create recurring profile.

Enter lots of invoices at once

If you need to enter a whole load of invoices in one go, click Sales > Bulk invoice entry and take a look at The multi-invoice entry form.

Troubleshooting

QuickFile won’t save my invoice and says “Please check, the item line is incomplete: Missing item description”

One of your lines has no description. This often happens after clicking the green + and leaving the new line empty. Enter a description, or click the red x at the right of the line to remove it.

I can’t see an option to send my invoice by post

QuickFile only offers a hard copy by post once your client has a full postal address. Add the address to the client’s record, then click Send again.

Related topics

Once your first invoice is out, these articles cover the next steps:

• Product and time based invoicing: Choose between product lines and time lines and see how each is shown on the invoice.
• Invoice and estimate line settings: What the options on each invoice line do, such as categories, page breaks and sub-totals.
• Projects in QuickFile: Group your sales, expenses, estimates and purchase orders into projects.
• Customising your invoice design: Add your logo, choose a template and style your invoices with CSS.
• Setting up a recurring invoice: Send the same invoice automatically over a fixed interval.
• The multi-invoice entry form: Enter many invoices in one screen.