Recurring invoices (Basic): Create & apply 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.

Covered here:

• Creating recurring invoice templates
• Applying recurring invoice templates
• Editing recurring invoice templates
• Duplicating recurring invoice templates
• Deleting recurring invoice templates
• Your recurring invoices template list

Creating 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.

Below, learn more about all the options (1-18) you have in the Create recurring invoice template window:

1. Template name: This is what you’ll see when selecting the template.

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

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

5, 6. Recurrence(s):  Here, you can select the invoice repeat period and set the number of invoices that will be sent within the scope of the recurring invoice.

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

8. 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.

9. Description:  Add a description outlining what's included in the invoice (optional).

10. Add shortcode: Include dynamic data to individualize your invoices. You can use account shortcodes based on custom fields and date shortcodes. Here's more on shortcodes.

• Automatic payment: 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. Available for Stripe only.
• Manual payment of invoice: invoices will be issued and sent to the client according to your schedule, but they will need to pay them each time manually.

Read more on payment authorization types here.

12. Email invoice to client:  Toggle this on and add a custom message if you want the client to be notified by email about a recurring invoice with automatic payment. Otherwise, they will receive a notification only inside their portal.

13. QuickBooks settings: Select Location for the invoice to be sent to QuickBooks. Clients will not see this field.

14. Line items: Itemize the services performed within each invoice of the recurrence, as well as any discounts applied. 

• Line item: Click Line item, then either select an existing service or create a new one. Fill in the Rate field, set the quantity for each service and the tax rate (more on tax rates), and add a Description (optional). Select the Class to be sent to QuickBooks (clients will not see this field).
• Discount: To add a line item, click Discount, then fill in the Rate field. 

You can also edit the same line item fields from the  Edit item page by clicking the three dots to the right of the line item, selecting Edit, then clicking Save.

15. Summary: Here, you can see the amount of each payment.

• Subtotal: The sum of the services provided for each invoice, before tax. This is filled automatically after the line items have been added. Or, you can enter the sum manually if you don't want to add line items.
• Tax Rate: Once sales tax is added, it’s reflected in the total (more on adding sales tax).

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

17. Each payment, Invoice amount, Total: Review the main settings of the recurring invoice: how many payments you are expecting, the amount of each payment, and the total.

18. Save & Exit, Save and Cancel: Click Save & Exit to save the template and go back to the list of templates, Save to keep your changes and continue editing the template, or Cancel to exit without saving.

Applying 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.

Editing 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.

Duplicating 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 pull-down. The recurring invoice template copy will be saved with a suffix (e.g., Form1040 (2)).

Deleting 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 pull-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 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.

The  Recurring invoices page is fully customizable (see below). 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.

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.

The list of recurring invoices templates can be customized in different ways. You can resize, enable, disable and move columns to your liking. To customize the 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 on 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.