In this article, you'll learn what your customer sees after you send them an invoice. You'll see the message they get, the invoice page in your customer portal and how they pay it. It helps to know this when a customer calls with a question, or when you're deciding whether to turn on card payments.
The text or email they get
When you send an invoice, your customer gets your message by text, email or both, depending on how you sent it. The words come from your invoice template, or from whatever you typed on the send screen. A View Document link is always added after the message.
The link opens that invoice in your customer portal, at customer-portal.page/ followed by your company's name. They don't have to log in or look through a list. The link signs them in and lands on the right invoice.
What the invoice looks like
On a computer
The invoice opens in a pane beside their inbox. At the top they see:
- The invoice number, like Invoice #INV-1042
- Total due: and the amount still owed, or Total: once nothing is owed
- A Pay invoice button, when the invoice can be paid online
- A ⋮ menu with Print and Download as PDF
Under that is the invoice itself, laid out the way your invoice template looks.
On a phone
On a phone the invoice gets its own page. The bar at the top has ⟵ Back to homepage and Download PDF. Below that are the invoice number, a status chip and the date it was sent, plus the due date if it has one. The invoice sits in its own scrolling box.
A panel fixed to the bottom of the screen shows Total invoice and Total due, with a full-width Pay invoice button.
Download PDF works a little differently on a phone. The PDF isn't saved to the phone. Instead, the customer is asked where to email it, with their email already filled in. They tap Send and the PDF goes to that address.
The status chip
The chip next to the invoice number tells them where things stand:
- Pending: sent and not paid yet
- Partly paid: some of it has been paid
- Overdue: the due date has passed
- Paid: nothing is owed
- Refunded: the money was given back
How they pay
When they click Pay invoice, they get a short checkout page:
- Add a tip? They pick No Thanks, one of your suggested percentages, or Custom. This step only shows when you collect tips, and it's skipped on recurring and deposit invoices.
- Add your signature They sign in the box. They can tick Get a copy via email first.
- Make a payment They see the amount due and enter their card. They can tick Save this card for future charges to keep it on file.
If you charge a card service fee, it's shown here as part of the amount.
Online payments only work once you've connected Stripe. Until then, a customer who clicks Pay invoice sees Online payment isn't set up yet, with a note asking them to get in touch with you to pay. To fix that, see Connecting Stripe to take online payments.
After it's paid
Once the invoice is paid in full, a green banner says This invoice was successfully paid and the chip changes to Paid. A Download receipt button appears. If they've paid part of it, they get a Receipt so far button instead.
Depending on your notification settings, you're alerted when they first open the invoice (Invoice viewed) and when the money comes in (Payment received).
A refunded invoice shows the Refunded chip and a note that nothing is owed. There's no pay button and no receipt to download.
Coming back later
The link in their text or email keeps working, so most people just tap it again. If they go to your portal directly, they can sign in with their Last name and the Last 4 digits of your phone number, meaning the phone number you have on file for them. Once signed in, they'll see everything you've sent them. If they owe anything, a Pay Now button takes them straight to it.