Creating, sending & tracking invoices
Invoices in Platybooks move through a simple lifecycle: you build one in the full-width editor, finalize it to lock in a permanent number, send it to your client by email with the PDF attached and a payment link, then watch its status update as the money comes in. This guide walks through every step and what each status means.
Creating an invoice in the editor
Open Invoices from the sidebar and choose New invoice. (On the Free plan there's a monthly cap on how many documents you can create; you'll see a counter like "3/5 this month" next to the button, and you'll be prompted to upgrade if you hit it.) That opens the full-width editor, where everything you build appears live before you commit anything.
The editor has two tabs at the top, Editor and Preview, and a tools bar down the right-hand side. The Editor tab is split into cards: Details (client, dates, currency), Line items, and Notes & terms. As you type, totals recalculate instantly and nothing is sent or numbered yet.
- Pick a client from the Client picker. This snapshots the client's name, email, billing address and VAT number onto the invoice, so later edits to the client record don't rewrite a sent invoice.
- Set the Issue date and Due date. New invoices default the due date from your organisation's payment terms (set in Settings).
- Confirm the Currency (a 3-letter code such as USD). It defaults to your workspace currency.
- Optionally turn on Recurring invoice to auto-generate a fresh draft on a weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly schedule (this is a paid-plan automation feature).
Adding line items and reusing catalog products
Each line in the Line items card has a Description, Qty, Unit price and Tax % field, with the line Amount shown on the right. Use Add line to add a blank row, fill in the details, and the Subtotal, Tax and Total at the bottom of the card update as you go. Every amount is handled in exact minor units behind the scenes, so totals are always penny-accurate.
If you keep a product catalog, use Add from catalog to drop a saved product or service straight in as a new line — its name, unit price and tax rate are filled in for you, and you can still tweak the quantity or any field afterward. Use the trash icon at the end of a row to remove a line (you can't remove the last remaining line).
The Notes & terms card lets you add a free-text Notes block and a Terms block; both appear on the PDF and on the page your client sees.
- Description — what you're billing for
- Qty — quantity (supports fractional quantities)
- Unit price — price per unit in the document's currency
- Tax % — the tax rate for that line; leave at 0 for untaxed items
Previewing and downloading the PDF
Switch to the Preview tab at any time to see the exact PDF your client will receive — your business name, logo and address in the header, the bill-to block, the line items, totals, and your notes and terms. The preview rebuilds a moment after you stop typing, so it always reflects your latest edits.
To save a copy to your computer, use Download PDF in the right-hand tools bar (or the PDF button on smaller screens). You can download a draft before it's finalized — it'll simply be labelled "Draft" instead of carrying an invoice number. On paid plans the small "Made with Platybooks" line in the footer is removed.
Saving a draft vs finalizing
There are two distinct states. A draft is a work-in-progress you can edit freely. Finalizing locks the invoice and assigns it a permanent, gapless number (for example INV-0001) — numbers are issued in order with no gaps, so your sequence stays clean and audit-friendly. You can't finalize the same invoice twice.
Use Save draft in the tools bar to keep your work without numbering it. Use Finalize when the invoice is ready and you want its number assigned. Note that Send (below) will finalize the invoice for you automatically if you haven't already, so you don't have to do both steps by hand.
- Save draft — persists your changes; the invoice stays editable and unnumbered.
- Finalize — assigns the next invoice number and locks the document in.
- Send — finalizes (if needed) and emails it in one action.
Sending the invoice and what your client sees
Click Send in the tools bar to open the Send document dialog. The To field is pre-filled with the client's email and the Subject with the invoice number; add an optional message and click Send. Behind the scenes the app finalizes the invoice (if it isn't already), renders the PDF, and emails it to your client with the PDF attached plus a link to a hosted online version. Re-sending a finalized invoice won't change its number. Your sends count against a monthly email allowance on lower plans — the dialog shows how many you have left.
The link opens a clean public page showing the invoice with your branding, the line items, totals, and an amount-paid / balance-due summary once payments come in — no login required. For an unpaid invoice that page also shows a Pay button. (Payments currently run through a test-mode checkout by default until a live payment provider is switched on, so treat the on-screen "Secure test-mode checkout" wording as exactly that.) Every send is recorded in the Email activity card inside the editor, with the recipient, subject, a sent/failed badge and a timestamp.
Statuses and recording payment
An invoice's status badge appears in the editor header, the tools bar, the Invoices list, and the public page. Draft means unfinalized; Sent means finalized and emailed (the Invoices list shows its outstanding Balance); Partially paid and Paid reflect money received; Void marks a cancelled invoice. Invoices that are still open past their due date are surfaced as overdue on your dashboard and in the balance column, even though the badge itself stays "Sent" or "Partially paid".
When a client pays through the online link, the status updates on its own. To log a payment you took offline — cash, a bank transfer, a card terminal — use Record payment in the tools bar. This action is available to owners and admins only; members can create and send invoices but not record payments.
- Click Record payment to open the dialog. The amount pre-fills to the full outstanding balance.
- Adjust the Amount if it's a partial payment (or click Pay full), choose a Method — Bank transfer, Cash, Card or Other — and add an optional note.
- Submit. The invoice flips to Partially paid or Paid automatically, and the outstanding balance updates everywhere.
- To issue a refund, enter a negative amount. The app won't let a payment exceed what's outstanding.
Frequently asked questions
Can I edit an invoice after I've finalized or sent it?
Finalizing assigns a permanent number and locks the document, so it isn't meant to be re-edited like a draft — that's what keeps your numbering gapless and trustworthy. If something's wrong, the cleanest approach is to void the incorrect invoice and issue a corrected one. You can re-send a finalized invoice as many times as you like without changing its number.
Do I have to finalize before sending?
No. Send handles it for you — it finalizes the invoice (assigning the number) and emails it in a single step. Finalize on its own is there for when you want to lock in the number without emailing it yet, for example if you'll send it through another channel.
Why can't I see the Record payment button?
Recording payments is limited to owners and admins, and only appears on a finalized invoice that isn't void. If you're a member you can still build, finalize and send invoices, but an owner or admin needs to log offline payments. You'll also only see payment controls once the invoice has a number.
Is the Pay button on my client's invoice charging real money?
By default the app runs payments on a test-mode gateway, which is why the public page reads "Secure test-mode checkout." It demonstrates the full pay-and-update flow without moving real funds. Once a live payment provider is connected, the same Pay button collects real payments and the wording updates accordingly. Online payment links are also a paid-plan feature.
Ready to put this into practice?
Open your workspace