Create & apply recurring invoice templates

Recurring invoice templates are a great way to simplify and optimize your invoicing procedures. By setting up a recurring invoice, you can automate the billing process for regular subscription payments with payment authorization, saving you time and effort. Additionally, recurring invoices ensure consistency and uniformity across all client interactions, reducing the risk of errors and confusion. Here, we show how to create them.

Coming soon!

You will be able to use recurring invoice templates for automations, too.

Create recurring invoice templates

A recurring invoice template can be created by a firm owner, admin or team member with access rights to manage templates .

To create a recurring invoice template, go to Templates > Firm templates from the left menu bar, then Recurring invoices. Next, click Create template.

The Create recurring invoice template window can be split into two parts:

• The first part includes the recurrence settings, payment method and metadata describing the template and invoice. 
• The second part includes the payment authorization settings, the QuickBooks integration settings and details regarding the services and amount. For more information, see the descriptions below. 

In the first part, you have the following options:

1. Template name: You’ll see this when selecting the template.

2, 3. Starts on: This is when the first invoice will be sent to the client after agreeing to the recurrence. This may be upon acceptance (for recurring invoices with payment authorization only) or on a specific date. If Specific dateis chosen, you need to select it under the First invoice date.

4, 5. Recurrence(s):  Enter how many invoices you want to send and select a time interval between them.

6. Team member: Select the team member who will receive the payments (by default, the person creating the invoice receives it).

7. Name:  The recurring invoice name (e.g. Bookkeeping 2023 or Financial Planning 2024). The client will see it only for recurring invoices with payment authorization.

8. Description: Add an optional description outlining what’s included in the invoice. You can use account shortcodes based on custom fields and date shortcodes. Here’s more on shortcodes .

9. Payment method: This is how you want your invoices to be paid (either by credit card, bank debit, or both). We support a number of payment methods . When the default payment provider is disabled, the payment method will be switched to Credit card for all recurring invoice templates.

In the second part, you have the following options:

1. Payment authorization: Select one of the options:

   • Auto-pay: After the client accepts the recurring invoice terms, invoices will be issued according to your schedule, and the client’s card/bank account will be charged automatically. This option is available for TaxDome Payments (Stripe) only.

   • Manual payment: Invoices will be issued and sent to the client according to your schedule, but they will need to pay them manually each time.

2. Email invoice to client: This message will replace the default text in the email system notification sent along with the invoice. The email won’t be accessible to you after you send the request. You can also use account  shortcodes  based on  custom fields  and date shortcodes. 

3. QuickBooks settings: Select Location and Class for the invoice to be sent to QuickBooks. Clients will not see this field. Note that the QuickBooks settings section is displayed only if you turn it on in QuickBooks. Go to Account and Settings > Advanced > Categories and turn on tracking locations and/or classes.

4. Line items: In the Line items section, you can:

• Add line item: Click Line item, then either select an existing service or create a new one. Fill in the Rate field, set the number of services and tax (here’s more on tax rates in invoices ), and type in the Description (optional). Select Class to be sent to QuickBooks (clients will not see this field).

• Apply discounts: To add a discount line item, click Discount, then fill in the Rate field. 

• Manage line items: Click the trash bin icon to delete a line item. Click three dots to edit, duplicate, delete or create a new service from it.

• Adjust settings: Click Settings to determine which columns will be displayed in your invoice.  If the Description and Service date fields are empty and you didn’t hide them, they will automatically be hidden from the invoice. There is a different logic for the Rates & Qty and Tax columns: you should hide them in Settings so they are not displayed in the invoice, even if the value is set to 0. 

5,8. The summary section lets you see:

• Subtotal: This is the sum of the amounts for the services provided before tax. You can edit it if you don’t have any line items. After you add them, it is calculated automatically and can’t be changed.

• Tax/VAT/GST rate: If you don’t have line items, you can edit the rate. If you have line items, to edit the tax rate, you need to enable the Tax column for the line items (here’s more on sales tax ).

• Tax/VAT/GST amount: Calculated automatically from Subtotal × Tax rate. Both the tax percentage and the tax amount are displayed in the section.

• Total: Calculated automatically from Subtotal + Tax amount.

  Additionally, in the end, after the  Payment schedule section, you can review the main settings of the recurring invoice: the number of payments you are expecting, the amount of each, and the total amount.

6. Note to client: You can add Note to client and personalize it using shortcodes. It can be either a note with the payment details or just a message. This note will be displayed in the client portal and in the PDF invoice.

7. Payment schedule: Review the dates when each of the invoices will be sent. 

Apply recurring invoice templates

Recurring invoice templates could be used either while creating recurring invoices or while creating proposals .

Here’s how:

1. Create a new invoice or add an invoice to the proposal.

2. Set the Invoice type to Recurring.

3. Click the Invoice template list to expand it, then select a template and сontinue by setting up the recurring invoice. You can now make changes to the amount, tax rate, etc.

Note

Changes you make to invoices don’t affect the template used to make it.

Edit recurring invoice templates

To make changes to a recurring invoice template, follow these steps:

1. Go to Templates > Firm templates from the left menu bar, then select Recurring invoices. Next, click on the recurring invoice template name in the list.

2. Make changes to the recurring invoice template, then click Save & Exit.

Duplicate recurring invoice templates

To create a new recurring invoice template from an existing one, click three dots to the far right of the recurring invoice template, then select Duplicate from the drop-down. The recurring invoice template copy will be saved with a suffix (e.g., Form1040 (2)).

Delete recurring invoice templates

To remove a recurring invoice template completely, click three dots to the far right of the recurring invoice template name, select Delete in the drop-down, then click Delete again to confirm.

Your recurring invoices template list

TaxDome allows you to easily track your recurring invoice templates so you are always able to find them quickly and easily. For an overall picture of your recurring invoice templates, go to Templates > Firm templates from the left menu bar, then Recurring invoices.

The Recurring invoices page is fully customizable. Here, you may have columns for:

• Name: This is what you’ll see when selecting the template.

• Description: The description outlining what’s included in the invoice.

• Payment authorization: whether the payments will be processed automatically or not.

• Controls: whether to show controls to open the dropdown with Edit, Duplicate and Delete options.

The entire recurring invoice template list is available to a firm owner and admin or any team member with access rights to manage templates . Otherwise, this page will not be available.

Customize recurring invoice template list

You can customize your recurring invoice template list in different ways. Column names are visible at all times while you’re scrolling. You also can click the up-down arrow next to the header of the column you wish to sort.

You can resize, enable, disable and move columns to your liking. To customize the size of columns, click and hold the divider between the names of the columns and resize it by moving your mouse.

To set up the columns you want to be displayed in the section with the list of recurring invoices templates, click the gear icon at the top right of the table.

You can enable, disable, or move any columns you want. After clicking Apply, the table will be rebuilt with new columns. Clicking Reset will display all columns.

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