Configuring Invoice Settings
Set your invoice number prefix, default payment terms, memo, automation rules, bank transfer, and the technology fee.
Overview
Invoice settings control the defaults for every invoice you create — the number prefix, how long clients have to pay, whether invoices are created and sent automatically, and whether you keep the full amount of every card payment. You'll find them on SettingsInvoices, below the payment account section.
Before you start
- You need the Admin role.
- These settings apply to all new invoices. Existing invoices are not affected.
- The technology fee also needs a connected payment account that is Active. See Setting Up Payments.
Invoice defaults
Open the Invoices tab
Go to SettingsInvoices and scroll to the Invoice Defaults card.
Set your number prefix
Enter a prefix for your invoice numbers in the Number Prefix field. The default is INV-. Invoices are numbered sequentially — for example, INV-1001, INV-1002.
Choose default payment terms
Select how long clients have to pay from the Default Terms dropdown:
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Due on receipt | Payment is due immediately |
| Net 15 | Due within 15 days |
| Net 30 | Due within 30 days |
| Net 45 | Due within 45 days |
| Net 60 | Due within 60 days |
Add an invoice memo (optional)
Type a message in the Invoice Memo field. This text appears on every invoice — use it for standard notes like payment instructions or a thank-you message.
Changes save automatically as you type.
Technology fee
Every card payment normally costs you a processing rate, taken out before the money reaches you. Turn the Technology Fee on and that rate is waived — you keep the full invoice amount, and the 3.95% fee is added at checkout for clients who choose to pay by card.
On a $500 job that is the difference between being paid $481 and being paid $500.
The invoice itself never changes. The fee is added when the client picks a card on the payment page, so anyone paying by bank transfer, cash or check pays the invoice amount and nothing more.
Check your local rules first
Rules on adding card costs at checkout vary by state and province. Check what applies where you do business before you turn this on. The setting is hidden entirely in places where it is not allowed.
You have to offer a fee-free way to pay
Adding the fee at checkout means giving clients a way to avoid it. You cannot turn the fee on until you do one of these:
- Switch on Accept cash, check or other methods and list what you take. This is the one that works immediately. The list starts as Cash or check — edit it to match what you actually accept, because clients see it on their payment page. Turn this on only if you really take these: the list on its own counts for nothing until the switch is on.
- Accept bank transfer. Free for your client, and cheaper for you than a card — a flat $4.00 instead of a percentage (on an invoice under $4.00, the fee is capped just below the amount, so bank transfer still works). Stripe reviews every request before switching it on, which usually takes a few days, so this one does not unlock the fee straight away.
You need only one of the two. If you later turn both off, the technology fee switches itself off with them.
In a hurry?
If you tap the Technology Fee switch before setting either up, a message explains what is missing and offers to switch on cash and check and turn the fee on together, in one step.
Where bank transfer has got to
Once you switch Accept bank transfer on, a label next to it tells you where Stripe's review stands. You do not have to sit on this page waiting — a message appears across the top of the dashboard when the answer arrives.
| Label | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pending Stripe review | Stripe is still deciding. Usually a few days. Clients cannot use it yet |
| Approved | Clients can pay this way, and it now counts as your fee-free option |
| Stripe needs more info | Stripe wants more information before it will decide. Finish your payment setup to continue |
| Not approved | Stripe will not enable it for this account. Use cash and check as your fee-free option instead |
Find the Technology Fee card
Go to SettingsInvoices and scroll to the Technology Fee card, below Invoice Defaults.
If you don't see it, see If something goes wrong below.
Add a fee-free way to pay
Switch on Accept cash, check or other methods and check the list matches what you take. Switch on Accept bank transfer too if you want it — but it only counts once Stripe approves it, so cash and check are what let you start today.
Turn on the fee
Switch on Turn on the Technology Fee.
What changes once it's on
| Effect | |
|---|---|
| The invoice | Unchanged. It still bills for the work, with no fee line |
| The payment link | Clients get a page with two buttons — Pay by card and Bank transfer — each showing its own total, with the fee itemised |
| Collecting payment at booking | If your booking page collects payment, clients see the same two buttons there; the fee applies only to the amount collected at booking |
| Paying by card | Adds 3.95%, calculated on the amount still owed after any discount, shown as a "Technology Fee" line with no percentage |
| Bank transfer, cash, check | No fee — the client pays the invoice amount |
| Your processing rate | Waived. You are no longer charged the usual rate on card payments, so every invoice pays out in full |
Billing a client without the fee
Most of the time you don't need to: a client who would rather not pay the fee can simply choose bank transfer, cash or check.
To take the choice away for one job, turn off Charge technology fee on the Billing tab of their Order before you create the invoice. Their payment page then offers the fee-free methods only.
Automation
Two switches control whether invoices are created and sent without manual steps:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Auto-Create Draft | When a Order is created, a draft invoice is generated automatically from its line items |
| Auto-Finalize on Approval | When you approve a Order, its draft invoice is finalized and sent to the client immediately |
Both are off by default. You can enable either one independently — for example, auto-create drafts but still finalize manually, so you can review each invoice before sending.
What you should see
After changing a setting, a brief save indicator appears. The next invoice you create will use the new defaults.
If something goes wrong
- Settings won't save? Make sure you have the Admin role.
- New invoices still use the old prefix? The prefix applies to invoices created after the change. Existing invoices keep their original numbers.
- No Technology Fee card? It appears only when your payment account is Active, and only where the fee is allowed. It is not offered in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, Colorado, or Oklahoma, in Quebec, or outside the United States and Canada. Even when your business is clear, the fee is switched off for any single job whose property address is in one of those places.
- Can't switch the fee on? The card tells you why, right under the switch. Usually you need a fee-free way to pay first: switch on Accept bank transfer, or Accept cash, check or other methods. Bank transfer only counts once Stripe has approved it, so a pending one doesn't unlock the switch on its own.