Creating and Managing Invoices

This article is your savior if you are struggling to understand the working of invoices and the complexities related to it.

Table of Contents

Introduction to Invoices

An invoice is a non-negotiable itemized statement issued for the products or services rendered to the customer.

Feature Availability

This feature is available in One Growth, One Professional, and One Enterprise editions of Vtiger CRM.

List View in Invoices

By default, the ListView is the screen that is visible when you click the Invoices module. This view sorts and lists all invoices based on the last modified invoice.

Columns in List View

The columns that are visible by default in the List View are :

• Subject - Displays the name of the invoice.
• Organization Name - Displays the name of the organization linked to the invoice.
• Contact Name - Displays the name of the contact to which the invoice is created.
• Assigned To - Displays the user to whom the invoice is assigned to.
• Status - Displays the status of the invoice.
• Sales Order - Displays the name of the sales order linked to the invoice.
• Total - Displays the amount mentioned in the invoice.
• Invoice Number - Displays the invoice number.

List actions

You can perform quick actions such as Edit, Delete, Email, Comment, etc. on the invoice’s records in the List View.
To learn more about List View actions in Vtiger CRM, click here.

Ways to view an Invoice

Summary View

Summary View is the view that appears when you click a particular record from the ListView. Summary View displays a collection of all key information for the selected record.
Summary View displays data in different sections for easy viewing. Each section allows you a particular functionality.

Summary View Actions

• Follow: You can follow any invoice record to get updates on all the activities performed on that record.
• Tags: You can add tag names to a record to identify the record easily.
• Print: You can print an invoice or save it as a PDF for future references.
• Duplicate: You can duplicate a current record and have all the details reflected into a new record.
• Delete: You can delete a record by clicking this button.

Invoice document

Do button

When you click on the Do button on the right-hand top corner of the Summary View, you will see the following:

• Reach out now -You can get in touch with the contact via Email, Call or SMS at the moment.
• Reach out later - You can schedule an email, event or task with the contact.
• Add or Create - You can add or create other modules related to the invoice.
• Share - You can share the invoice as a link or as an attachment.

Widgets

• One View - All the modules related to the invoice are displayed here.
• Tasks -All the tasks related to the invoice are displayed here. You can also do a new task from here by clicking the + button.
• Events - All the events related to the invoice are displayed here. You can also see a new event from here by clicking the + button.
• Activity -All the activities made on the invoice are displayed here. Here you can add comments related to the invoice.
• Analytics -You can view all the metrics related to the invoice in the form of charts, mini-lists, etc. You can also create new ones here.
• Documents - You can create a new document or add an existing document to the invoice. All the related document details are displayed here.
• Items - You can view the assets linked to the invoice or create a new asset.
• Sales Ops - You can view the credit notes linked to the invoice or create a new credit note.
• Settings - You can change the template of the invoice here.

More Icon

You can view and edit all the information for an Invoice record by clicking the More icon in the Summary view of the record.

Statuses in an Invoice

The following are the statuses in an Invoice:

• Created: When an invoice is created, the status is set to Created.
• AutoCreated: When the invoice is created automatically, the status is set to AutoCreated.
• Overdue: When the payment is not made by the expected date, the status is set to Overdue.
• Partially Paid: When the amount is partially paid, and not complete, the status is set to Partially Paid.
• Sent: The Invoice has been created and sent for approval.
• Approved: Once the Invoice is received, it is reviewed, and the status is set to approved.
• Initiated: The payment is initiated.
• Sent: The invoice is sent for approval.
• Credit Invoice: A credit invoice status is to let a client know that a refund or credit is due to them.
• Paid: The total payment is made, and the status is set to Paid.
• Cancel: The Invoice is canceled.
• In Progress: The Invoice is in progress.

Key Terminology

Mandatory field
Displays the title of the invoice.

Mandatory field
Displays the organization to which the invoice is associated with.

Displays the name of the contact related to the invoice.

Mandatory field
Displays the user or the group to whom the invoice is assigned.

Mandatory field
It is the address where bills are sent to and connected to a credit/debit card. Hence, the billing address by default should reflect the related Deal's company address.

You can enter the billing address manually or by clicking the Select an option drop-down and selecting one of these options:

• Copy from Organization
• Copy from Related To
• Same as Shipping Address

Mandatory field
It is the address where the customer would like the invoice to be delivered. By default, the shipping address will be the same as the billing address.

You can enter the shipping address manually or by clicking the Select an option drop-down and selecting one of these options:

• Copy from Organization
• Copy from Related To
• Same as Billing Address

Mandatory field
The name of the product or service against which the invoice is created.

Mandatory field
The count of the products or service that was returned by the customer.

Creating an Invoice

You can create an invoice from the List View or from the deal record.

From Invoices’ List View

You can use the +Add Invoice button to create a new invoice.
Follow these steps to create a new invoice:

1. Click the Menu icon.
2. Go to the Inventory tab.
3. Select the Invoices module.
4. Click the +Add Invoice button.
5. Fill in all the necessary details.
6. Click Save .

From Deals

You can create an invoice through a deal with the More button. This option provides a way to add an invoice either by creating from scratch or by duplicating one of the recently created invoices.
Follow these steps to add an invoice from the More button in Deals:

1. Click the Menu icon.
2. Go to the Sales tab.
3. Select the Deals module.
4. Open any particular deal.
5. In the Summary View, click the Do button on the right-hand side top corner of the screen.
6. Click the Add or Create button.
7. Click on Invoices .
8. Enter all the necessary details.
9. Click Save .

This newly created invoice would be linked to the deal. It is visible in the Sales Ops widget in the Summary View of the record.

Invoice Configuration

You can configure fields like Taxes, Tax regions, Shipping Charges (if any) and Terms and Conditions from the Settings > Inventory Management section. These actions are limited to the Admin role only.
Refer to the Tax management article to learn how to set up Taxes and other fields.

1. Tax regions: You can set up taxes based on a region. Regions are set up in the Tax Settings screen.
2. Currency: It is the same as the currency defined in a deal. Invoice Line item currency is the same as record level currency.
   If the currency is changed from the Configure button, it will reflect on all the line items.
3. Tax mode:
   1. Group Taxes: If there are multiple products/services in the inventory, group taxes help in populating tax rates according to specific tax calculations.
   2. Individual Taxes: You can enable this option while creating an invoice. You can apply taxes for individual items in an invoice by clicking the Configure button on the invoice.

   Note: The default Tax mode is set based on the option set in the Tax Management page by the administrator. This can be overridden on an Invoice level from the Invoice Configuration pop up.

   1. Price Books: Price Books allows you to define different prices for your products and services. Prices of these items can vary anytime depending on the customers and their needs.
      There are two ways in which you can add a price book to the line items in an invoice:
      1. You can add a price book that will apply to all the line items by clicking the Configure button and selecting the price book.
      2. You can add different prices for individual line items by clicking the Price Book icon.

      When a Price Book is selected or changed, the system updates the unit prices of all line items based on only one of the selected Price Book, i.e., either the group price or the individual price.
      To know more about Price Books, click here.

      1. Discounts You can apply two types of discounts on the line items in an invoice:
         1. Overall discount: You can apply an overall discount on all the line items as a percentage or specify the direct amount.
         2. Individual discount: This option will give you the chance to apply a discount for each individual line item separately. Here also, you can apply the discount as a percentage or direct amount.

         Unlike Price Books, here both the individual and the overall discount can be applied to the line items in the invoice.

         1. Shipping Charges: Shipping Charges is the additional amount charged by the company’s sales team for shipping the product to the customer.
         2. Adjustments: This option allows to round off the total amount to the next value or the previous value based on the decimal number .

         Note: You can customize and add or remove fields by going to the Module Layouts and Fields under Settings.

         Adding Line Items to an Invoice

         You can add new Line Item records for a new product or service or you can add a new section in the existing invoice by editing the Item Details block.
         Follow the steps mentioned below to add Line item records:

         How to add a new Product or Service

         • Click the Menu icon.
         • Go to the Inventory tab.
         • Select the Invoices module.
         • Click + Add Invoice and
         • Fill the necessary details.
         • Open the recently created invoice.
         • Click Edit .
         • Go to the Item Details block.
         • Click Add row .
         • Select the Product or Service .

         Refer to the Invoice Configuration section in this document to understand Tax management, Price books, etc.

         How to add a new Section

         1. Click the Menu icon.
         2. Go to the Inventory tab.
         3. Select the Invoices module.
         4. Select any particular invoice.
         5. Click the Deep Dive button.
         6. Go to the Item Details block.
         7. Click Add Section .
            

         You can also select a particular product by entering the first three characters of the product name in the Type to search bar or by clicking the product button and selecting the product from the list of all available products.

         Invoice Actions

         Share an invoice

         You can share an invoice with a customer by sending a link to the invoice or by sending the invoice itself as an attachment.

         As link

         Follow these steps to share the invoice as a link:
         1. Click the Menu icon.
         2. Go to the Inventory tab.
         3. Select the Invoices module.
         4. Click the Do button in the Summary View.
         5. Select Share .
         6. Select Share as link .
         7. A mail compose window opens with the invoice link.
         8. Enter the recipient's details and click Send .

         As attachment

         Follow these steps to share the invoice as an attachment:

         1. Click the Menu icon.
         2. Go to the Inventory tab.
         3. Select the Invoices module.
         4. Click the Do button in the Summary View.
         5. Select Share .
         6. Select Share as attachment .
         7. A mail compose window opens with the invoice attachment .
         8. Enter the recipient's details and click Send .

         Generate related documents

         Add Documents

         Use Vtiger’s Documents module to solve the problems of organizing and sharing! It acts as a repository for all the documents that you create or those shared with you by your customers or sales team.
         Follow these steps to add a document:

         1. Click the Menu icon.
         2. Go to the Inventory tab.
         3. Select the Invoices module.
         4. Open any invoice record.
         5. Click the Do button in the Summary View.
         6. Click Add or Create button.
         7. Select Documents .
         8. Here, you see two options on your screen:
            1. Select Documents
               1. If you want to add an existing document , select this option.
               2. Hover over a record in the list of all existing documents to display the radio buttons.
               3. Click the radio button on the left side of the record to select the record.
               4. Click Add Selected button present below of the list.
               1. If you want to add a new document , select this option.
               2. Fill all the necessary details.
               3. Click Save .

               The linked document will be seen in the Documents widget in the Summary View of the invoice record.

               Generate an Asset

               Assets are tangible or intangible resources that are rendered to your customers.
               Follow these steps to generate an asset:

               1. Click the Menu icon.
               2. Go to the Inventory tab.
               3. Select Invoices module.
               4. Click the Do button in the Summary View.
               5. Select Add or Create .
               6. Select Assets .
               7. Fill in all the necessary details.
               8. Click Save to create the asset record.
                  • Click Save and Continue to add more information.

               The newly created asset will be linked to the invoice.

               Generate a Credit Note

               A credit note is the amount that must be paid back to the customer as credits on the invoice or as refunds. Follow these steps to generate a credit note:

               1. Click the Menu icon.
               2. Go to the Inventory tab.
               3. Select the Invoices module.
               4. Open any particular invoice .
               5. In the Summary View, click the Do button on the right-hand side top corner of the screen.
               6. Click the Add or Create button.
               7. Click on Credit Notes.
               8. Enter all the necessary details.
               9. Click Save to create the credit note.

               This newly created credit note will be linked to the invoice.

               Generate a Payment

               Vtiger CRM allows you to link all the payments and transactions related to that particular invoice.
               Follow these steps to generate a payment:

               1. Click the Menu icon.
               2. Go to the Inventory tab.
               3. Select the Invoices module.
               4. Click the Do button in the Summary View.
               5. Select Add or Create .
               6. Select Payments .
               7. Fill in all the necessary details.
               8. Click Save to create the payment record.
                  • Click Save and Continue to add more information.

               The payment will be created and linked to the quote.

               Note: For an automatic update of invoice and payment status, the customer needs to copy the silent URL from Vtiger CRM and paste it to the authorized accounts settings page. Once this is done, payment and invoice will get automatically updated once they have made the payment.
               ​

               

               

               Generate a Purchase Order

               A Purchase order (PO), is the first official offer issued by a customer to the company’s sales team indicating types, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services.
               Follow these steps to generate a PO:

               1. Click the Menu icon.
               2. Go to the Inventory tab.
               3. Select the Invoices module.
               4. Click the Do button in the Summary View.
               5. Select Add or Create .
               6. Select Purchase Orders .
               7. Fill in all the necessary details.
               8. Click Save .

               The PO will be created and linked to the invoice.

               Generate a Subscription

               A subscription is the amount of money that the customer has to pay regularly in order to receive a product or a service.
               Follow these steps to generate a subscription:

               • Click the Menu icon.
               • Go to the Inventory tab.
               • Select the Invoices module.
               • Click the Do button in the Summary View.
               • Select Add or Create .
               • Select Subscriptions .
               • Fill in all the necessary details.
               • Click Save .

               The subscription will be created and linked to the invoice.

               Export

               Exporting is a process of saving the invoice as a PDF in the local machine or sending the invoice link as a PDF via email.
               Follow these steps to export an invoice:

               1. Click the Menu icon.
               2. Go to the Inventory tab.
               3. Select the Invoices module.
               4. In the List View, Hover over any invoice record to display the radio button on the left side.
               5. Click the radio button .
               6. Click the Export button.
               7. Select any one of the following options:
                  1. Export Selected Records - This option will export only the selected record.
                  2. Export data in current page - This option will export the records on the current page.
                  3. Export all data - This option will export all the data in all the pages of the Project Tasks module.

                  The exported record will be saved on your local system

                  Print

                  1. Click the Menu icon.
                  2. Go to the Inventory tab.
                  3. Select the Invoices module.
                  4. Open any invoice record.
                  5. Click the More button.
                  6. Click the Print button.
                  7. You can perform any of the below options:
                     • Edit & Export - You can edit the invoice and export it to your local system.
                     • Email with PDF - You can email the invoice record as a PDF to the contact.
                     • Print - You can print the invoice and keep a hard copy.
                     • Save as PDF - You can save the invoice as a PDF on your local system.

                  When you try to print an invoice, you can see that the invoice has been presented in a certain template. Vtiger CRM offers a set of templates to select if the default template is not according to your liking.

                  How can I change the template of an Invoice

                  There are two ways from which you can change the template of an invoice.

                  Follow these steps to change the template of a quote from the print invoice screen:

                  This is a temporary change only until the invoice is printed.

                  1. Click the Menu icon.
                  2. Go to the Inventory tab.
                  3. Select the Invoices module.
                  4. Open any invoice.
                  5. Click the More button.
                  6. Click the Print button.
                  7. Select the template you want from the list of all templates.
                  8. You can perform any of the below options:
                     1. Edit & Export - You can edit the invoice and export it to your local system.
                     2. Email with PDF - You can email the invoice record as a PDF to the contact.
                     3. Print - You can print the invoice and keep a hard copy.
                     4. Save as PDF - You can save the invoice as a PDF on your local system.
                     Follow these steps to change the template of the invoice from the settings widget:

                     This is a permanent change and will be applied to the invoice immediately.

                     1. Click the Menu icon.
                     2. Go to the Inventory tab.
                     3. Select the Invoices module.
                     4. Open any quote.
                     5. Go to the Settings Widget.
                     6. Click the Template applied drop-down.
                     7. Select the template of your choice.

                     The template will be applied to the invoice instantly.

                     How to Apply Credit Amount on Invoices

                     Worrying about what to do when your customer returns the delivered products or they are not satisfied with the product?
                     You can create Credit Notes and apply the amount on invoices as credits.
                     Follow these steps to apply for credit on invoices.

                     1. Click the Menu icon.
                     2. Go to the Inventory tab.
                     3. Select the Invoices module.
                     4. Open any particular invoice.
                     5. In the Summary View, click the +Do button on the right-hand side top corner of the screen.
                     6. Click the Add or Create button.
                     7. Click on Credit Notes.
                     8. Enter all the necessary details.
                     9. Click Save to create the credit note.
                     10. In the Summary View, click the Apply Credits button.
                     11. Credit notes applicable to the current invoice will be displayed.
                     12. Select the credit note from which you want to apply the credit amount.
                     13. Enter the amount you want to apply to the invoice in the Amount to Credit field.
                     14. Click Apply . The credits will be applied to the invoice and the credit note will be linked to the invoice.
                     The credit note will be visible in the Sales Ops widget in the Invoices’ Summary View.
                     
                     1. The Balance field in an invoice will be updated every time a related payment record is created.
                     2. You can also create a new credit note independent of the invoice by going to Inventory>Credit Notes. To know more about Credit Notes, click here.

                     One View in Invoices

                     One View widget is a one-stop destination to view all important modules related to invoices.
                     One View widget in the Invoices module will show the following details:

                     • Related Company details - Parent company’s details are shown in this widget.
                     • Related Contact details - Parent contact’s details
                     • Related Deal data - Parent deal from which the invoice is created.
                     • Related Quote - Related quote details from which the invoice is created.
                     • Related Assets- Related Asset details generated from this invoice.
                     • Related PO - Related PO details generated from this invoice.
                     • Related WO - Related work order details for which this invoice was generated.
                     • Related Subscription - Related active subscription details for which this invoice was generated.
                     • Related Credit notes - List of credit notes related to this invoice.
                     • Related Payments - Shows the last five payments received from the customer.

                     To learn more about One View in Vtiger CRM, click here.