Garage Invoices & Payments¶
Bill your garage customers for completed work orders, email the invoice as a PDF, and record the payments you receive.
Overview¶
Garage invoices live in the Garage area under Invoices (subtitle Manage garage invoices and payments). They are kept completely separate from freight invoices: they have their own list, their own numbering and their own payments, and they never appear on the freight Invoices page.
- Built from work orders: an invoice bills one or more Completed work orders for a single customer. See Garage Work Orders.
- Single or bundled: Generate Single Invoice bills one work order in one click. Bundle with Other Work Orders (or New Invoice) lets you pick several work orders for the same customer.
- Numbering: every invoice gets a number like
GRG-00001from the Invoice Prefix in Garage Settings. Numbers are never reused. - Totals: subtotal of parts and labour, an optional discount (applied before taxes), shop supplies, GST and QST.
- Lifecycle: Draft > Sent > Partially paid > Paid, or Void at any point.
- Email: Email Invoice sends the invoice PDF to the customer, with the customer's accountant in CC.
- Payments: record payments on the invoice page. The status moves to Partially paid or Paid automatically.
Quick Start¶
To invoice one completed work order:
- Open the work order (its status must be Completed).
- Click Generate Single Invoice and confirm. A Draft invoice opens.
- Check the totals, then click Email Invoice (which also marks it Sent) or Mark Sent if you deliver it another way.
To bundle several work orders on one invoice:
- Go to Invoices and click New Invoice.
- Pick the Customer and click Continue.
- Tick the work orders to include, adjust the invoice fields, and click Create Invoice.
To record a payment:
- Open a Sent or Partially paid invoice.
- In Record Payment, check the Amount (it defaults to the balance due), pick a Method, and click Record Payment.
Access & Permissions¶
Garage invoices are available only when the Garage add-on is enabled for your company (see Add-ons & Options).
| Role | Access |
|---|---|
| Admin | Full access to garage invoices and payments |
| Manager | Full access to garage invoices and payments for the offices they belong to |
| Garage | Full access to garage invoices and payments for the offices they belong to |
| Accountant, Dispatch, Customer, drivers | No access to the Garage area |
Invoices belong to an office. The list, the counts on the tabs and the customers and work orders you can pick from only cover the office you are currently working in (see Multi-Office).
How to get there:
- Main menu Garage > Invoices in the Garage sidebar
- A completed work order > Generate Single Invoice or Bundle with Other Work Orders
- The Work Orders list > row actions menu > Generate invoice or Bundle with others
The Invoices List¶
The list shows the newest invoices first, 20 per page.
Tabs¶
Each tab shows a count of matching invoices.
| Tab | Shows |
|---|---|
| All | Every invoice, including void ones |
| Draft | Invoices with status Draft |
| Sent | Invoices with status Sent (no payment yet) |
| Unpaid | Invoices with status Sent or Partially paid |
| Paid | Invoices with status Paid |
| Void | Invoices with status Void |
There is no Partially paid tab
Partially paid invoices appear under Unpaid (and All). Drafts are not counted as unpaid because they have not been sent to the customer yet.
Columns¶
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Invoice # | The invoice number. Click it to open the invoice |
| Customer | The customer name, with the company name in brackets when there is one |
| WOs | The number of work orders on the invoice. Hover over it to see their numbers (for example Work orders: #12, #15), or No work orders linked |
| Status | Draft, Sent, Partially paid, Paid or Void |
| Date | The invoice date |
| Due | The due date. Shown in red once it has passed and the invoice is not Paid |
| Total | The invoice total, taxes included |
| Balance | Total minus payments. Red while something is owed, green when nothing is |
| Actions | The eye button opens the invoice |
When there are no invoices you see No invoices yet and Create one from the New Invoice button, or generate from a completed work order.
Status colours¶
| Status | Badge colour | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Grey | Created but not sent. Can be edited or deleted |
| Sent | Blue | Sent to the customer, no payment recorded |
| Partially paid | Yellow | At least one payment recorded, balance still owing |
| Paid | Green | Payments cover the full total |
| Void | Red | Cancelled. Excluded from all financial reports |
Creating an Invoice¶
Only work orders that are Completed and not already on an invoice can be invoiced. One invoice always belongs to one customer, so you cannot bundle work orders of different customers.
Generate Single Invoice¶
Use this when a work order is billed on its own.
- Open a work order with status Completed.
- Click Generate Single Invoice (on the Work Orders list, open the row actions menu and click Generate invoice).
- Confirm Generate a single-WO invoice for this work order only? You can still edit the work order while the invoice stays in Draft.
The invoice is created as a Draft with these values, and the invoice page opens with Invoice generated successfully.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Customer | The work order's customer |
| Tax Rate | The first active tax of your office |
| Invoice Date | Today |
| Terms | Default Payment Terms from Garage Settings |
| Due Date | Invoice date plus the terms (see Terms and due date) |
| Shop Supplies Fee | The work order's Shop Supplies Fee |
| Discount | None |
The work order's status changes to Invoiced. If the work order is already on an invoice, you are taken to that invoice instead (Invoice already exists.). If the work order is not Completed, you see Work order must be completed before invoicing.
Bundle work orders (New Invoice)¶
Use this to put several work orders for the same customer on one invoice. Clicking Bundle with Other Work Orders on a work order (or Bundle with others in the row actions menu) skips step 1 below and pre-ticks that work order.
Step 1: pick the customer
- Go to Invoices and click New Invoice.
- Choose the Customer * (only active customers are listed). The form reminds you: An invoice can only bundle work orders for a single customer.
- Click Continue.
Step 2: pick the work orders and fill in the invoice
The customer is now locked. Click Change customer to go back to step 1.
| Field | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Rate | The first active tax of your office | Choose another rate, or No tax |
| Terms | Default Payment Terms from Garage Settings (Net 30 if none) | Due on Receipt, Net 15, Net 30, Net 45 or Net 60 |
| Invoice Date | Today | |
| Shop Supplies Fee | Empty (Auto from WOs) | Leave empty to use the sum of the selected work orders' shop supplies fees. Type an amount to override it |
| Discount | No discount | Percent (%) or Fixed amount ($) |
| Discount Value | Empty | For example 10 for 10% or 50 for $50. Applied before taxes. One discount per invoice. |
| Notes | Empty | Printed at the bottom of the invoice |
Under Work Orders to Include * the table lists only completed, uninvoiced work orders for this customer, oldest first, with WO #, Date, Equipment, Description and Subtotal (parts plus labour). Tick the ones to bill and click Create Invoice.
If the customer has nothing to bill, you see This customer has no completed work orders ready to invoice.
The invoice is created as a Draft, the page shows Invoice created., and every selected work order moves to Invoiced.
Someone else may have invoiced it first
If a selected work order was invoiced or reopened by someone else in the meantime, the invoice is not created and the form shows an error such as Work orders #15 is not available for invoicing. Untick it and try again. No invoice number is used up when this happens.
Terms and due date¶
The new invoice form has no due date field. The due date is the invoice date plus the terms:
| Terms | Due date |
|---|---|
| Due on Receipt | Same day as the invoice date |
| Net 15 | Invoice date + 15 days |
| Net 30 | Invoice date + 30 days |
| Net 45 | Invoice date + 45 days |
| Net 60 | Invoice date + 60 days |
When you edit a draft, the Edit Invoice page has a Due Date field:
- Changing Terms or Invoice Date on the page fills in the Due Date from the table above. You can then type a different date.
- When you save, if the Terms changed, the due date is always recalculated from the invoice date and the terms, so a date you typed by hand in the same save is replaced.
- If the Terms did not change, the Due Date shown in the field is saved as is.
Invoice Numbering¶
The number is assigned the moment the invoice is created, including drafts. It is built from two Garage Settings:
- Invoice Prefix (for example
GRG) - the next sequence number, padded to five digits
So the first invoice with prefix GRG is GRG-00001, the next GRG-00002, and so on. The prefix is GRG until you change it. The Invoice Prefix field in Garage Settings shows the number the next invoice will get (Next invoice: GRG-00042). See Garage Settings & Taxes.
Garage Settings are kept per office, so each office has its own prefix and its own sequence. Give each office its own prefix so invoice numbers stay unique across your company.
Numbers are never reused
The sequence only moves forward. Deleting a draft or voiding an invoice does not give its number back, so you will see a gap in the sequence. Changing the prefix affects new invoices only.
How Totals Are Calculated¶
Totals are recalculated whenever the invoice is created, saved from Edit Invoice, or one of its work orders is edited while the invoice is a Draft.
| Line | How it is calculated |
|---|---|
| Subtotal | Parts plus labour of all work orders on the invoice (quantity x charge price, hours x rate) |
| Discount | Percent (%): that percentage of the subtotal. Fixed amount ($): the amount, capped at the subtotal. Shown as Discount (10%) or Discount |
| Shop Supplies | The work orders' shop supplies fees added together, unless you typed an amount on the invoice |
| GST | GST rate of the selected Tax Rate x taxable amount |
| QST | QST rate of the selected Tax Rate x taxable amount |
| Total | Subtotal - Discount + Shop Supplies + GST + QST |
| Paid | Sum of recorded payments |
| Balance Due | Total - Paid |
Taxable amount = taxable parts + taxable labour + shop supplies - discount (never below zero). Parts and labour lines whose Tax box is unticked on the work order are left out of the taxable amount. Shop supplies are always taxed. With No tax selected, GST and QST are zero.
Discount is applied before taxes
The discount reduces the amount taxes are calculated on. Example: subtotal $1,000, 10% discount, all lines taxable, no shop supplies, GST 5% and QST 9.975%. Discount = $100, taxable amount = $900, GST = $45.00, QST = $89.78, total = $1,034.78.
Percent discount limit
A Percent (%) discount cannot be more than 100. A Fixed amount ($) discount larger than the subtotal is reduced to the subtotal, so the invoice never goes negative.
Lines with a zero amount (discount, shop supplies, GST, QST) are hidden on the invoice page, the printout and the email.
Editing a Draft¶
Only Draft invoices can be edited. Open the invoice and click Edit.
The Edit Invoice page shows the customer (it cannot be changed) and these fields: Tax Rate, Terms, Invoice Date, Due Date, Shop Supplies Fee, Discount, Discount Value and Notes.
Work Orders on this Invoice lists the work orders already on the invoice (ticked) plus the customer's other completed, uninvoiced work orders (unticked):
- Untick a work order to remove it. It returns to Completed.
- Tick a work order to add it. It moves to Invoiced.
Click Update Invoice to save. The totals are recalculated and you see Invoice updated successfully.
Shop Supplies Fee on edit
The Shop Supplies Fee field shows the invoice's current fee. If you add or remove work orders and want the fee recalculated from the work orders, clear the field before saving. If you leave a number in it, that number is kept.
An invoice should always keep at least one work order. To drop a draft you no longer need, use Delete.
Fixing a work order on a draft invoice¶
A work order on a Draft invoice can still be edited. On the invoice page, each work order section has an Edit work order link. Saving the work order updates the draft invoice's totals automatically, so there is no need to void the invoice. When you started from the invoice page you are taken back to it, with a message such as Work order updated. Draft invoice GRG-00001 was recalculated to $1,034.78. The work order page also reminds you with a banner (...which is still a draft — you can still edit it...) and an Open draft invoice link.
- If you change the work order's Shop Supplies Fee, the invoice's fee goes up or down by the same difference, so an amount you typed on the invoice is adjusted rather than replaced.
- The work order's customer cannot be changed while it is on an invoice. Remove it from the invoice first.
Once the invoice is Sent, Partially paid or Paid, its work orders are locked. To change them, reopen the invoice (see below) or void it.
Invoice Lifecycle and Actions¶
The buttons at the top of the invoice page depend on its status.
| Button | Shown when | What it does | Confirmation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edit | Draft | Opens Edit Invoice | None |
| Mark Sent | Draft | Changes the status to Sent without emailing anything | Mark this invoice as sent? |
| Reopen to Edit | Sent with no payments | Returns the invoice to Draft so you can edit it | Reopen this invoice for editing? It will go back to Draft status — remember to mark it as sent again afterwards. |
| Any status except Void | Opens the printable invoice in a new tab | None | |
| Email Invoice | Any status except Void | Emails the PDF (see Emailing an Invoice) | Send invoice to: followed by the customer and the addresses |
| Delete | Draft | Deletes the invoice. Its work orders return to Completed | Delete invoice GRG-00001? The work order will return to Completed status. This cannot be undone. |
| Void | Any status except Void | Voids the invoice. Its work orders return to Completed | Void invoice GRG-00001? The work order will return to Completed status and you can generate a new invoice. The voided invoice will be excluded from reports. |
After Mark Sent you see Invoice marked as sent. After Delete you are returned to the list with Invoice GRG-00001 deleted.
When Edit is not available, a greyed-out Edit button with a lock is shown instead. Hover over it to see why:
| Situation | Tooltip |
|---|---|
| Paid | Paid invoices cannot be edited. Use Void if this invoice is wrong. |
| Payments recorded (Partially paid) | Remove the recorded payments below first, then you can reopen this invoice. |
Reopen to Edit¶
Use this when a sent invoice needs a correction (for example a forgotten discount) and you do not want to void it and lose the number.
- Open the Sent invoice and click Reopen to Edit, then confirm.
- The invoice is back in Draft (Invoice reopened for editing. Mark it as sent again when you are done.).
- Edit the invoice or its work orders.
- Click Mark Sent or Email Invoice again.
Reopen is blocked as soon as a payment is recorded (Remove the recorded payments before reopening this invoice.). Remove the payments first, then reopen.
Void¶
Void cancels an invoice that should not be collected, at any status including Paid.
- The status changes to Void and a red banner says This invoice has been voided and is excluded from all financial reports.
- All work orders are detached from the invoice and return to Completed, so you can invoice them again (Generate Single Invoice reappears on the work order). The confirmation tells you how many: Invoice GRG-00001 voided. 2 work order(s) reverted to completed.
- The voided invoice keeps its number and stays in the list under Void. Its page shows No work orders are linked to this invoice (it may have been voided).
- Payments already recorded stay listed on the voided invoice.
- No action buttons are shown on a void invoice. Voiding cannot be undone from the screen.
Delete vs Void
Delete is only for drafts and removes the invoice completely. For anything that has been sent or paid, use Void: the record stays for your audit trail. Trying to delete a non-draft invoice shows Only draft invoices can be deleted. Use void for sent or paid invoices.
Print¶
Print opens the invoice in a new browser tab, ready to print or save as PDF. It is the same layout as the emailed PDF:
- Your logo, company name, Garage Services, and the Company Address and Phone from Garage Settings
- INVOICE, the invoice number and the number of work orders
- Bill To: customer name, phone and email
- Invoice Date, Due Date and Terms
- One section per work order: Work Order #, equipment and plate, P/O number, Completed date, then each part and labour line (Description, Qty/Hours, Rate, Amount) and a Work Order Subtotal
- Subtotal, discount, Shop Supplies, GST and QST (each with your registration number from Garage Settings when set), and Total Due
- Notes
Total Due is the invoice total
The printout and PDF show the full invoice total. Payments and the remaining balance are not printed.
Emailing an Invoice¶
- Open the invoice and click Email Invoice.
- The confirmation lists who will receive it: Send invoice to: the customer name, then each address.
- Click OK. The page shows Invoice emailed to customer@example.com, accounting@example.com.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| To | The garage customer's Email |
| CC | The garage customer's Accountant Email, when filled in |
| From | Your company name and the Accountant Email from the application settings (see Application Settings) |
| Subject | Invoice GRG-00001 from \<your company name> |
| Body | A summary of the invoice: your company name with Garage Services and your Phone, the customer name and phone, invoice date, due date and terms, the work order lines and the totals, then Thank you for your business! and your Company Address from Garage Settings |
| Attachment | \<your company name> Invoice GRG-00001.pdf |
After sending:
- A Draft invoice is marked Sent automatically. Other statuses do not change.
- A purple Emailed badge with the date appears next to the status. It shows the most recent send.
- You can send the same invoice again at any time (for example as a reminder), except when it is Void.
When you cannot email:
| Situation | What you see |
|---|---|
| The customer has no Email | Email Invoice is greyed out with the tooltip Customer has no email address |
| The invoice is Void | The button is not shown |
Add the email on the customer record to fix the first case (see Garage Customers & Equipment).
Payments¶
The Payments section at the bottom of the invoice page lists every payment recorded (Date, Method, Reference, Amount), newest first, or No payments recorded.
Recording a payment¶
The Record Payment form appears only when the invoice is Sent or Partially paid and has a balance due. You cannot record payments on a Draft (mark it sent first), a Paid or a Void invoice.
| Field | Required | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | Yes | The balance due | Must be more than zero and cannot exceed the balance due |
| Method | No | Select... | Cash, Check, Credit card, E transfer or Debit |
| Reference # | No | Empty | Cheque number, transaction ID, etc. |
| Date | Yes | Today | The date you received the payment |
Click Record Payment. The page shows Payment recorded successfully.
If the amount is too high you see Amount cannot exceed balance due of .... Overpayments cannot be recorded: the most you can enter is the balance due.
Automatic status¶
You never set the payment status by hand. After each payment is recorded or removed:
| Result | New status |
|---|---|
| Payments cover the total (balance zero) | Paid |
| Some payment recorded, balance still owing | Partially paid |
| All payments removed | Sent |
Removing a payment¶
- Click the on the payment row.
- Confirm Remove this payment?. The page shows Payment removed. and the status and balance update.
Payments cannot be removed from a Paid invoice (Cannot remove payments from a fully paid invoice.). If a paid invoice is wrong, void it and invoice the work orders again.
FAQ / Troubleshooting¶
My work order does not appear in the New Invoice list¶
Solution
Only work orders that are Completed, not already on an invoice, and belong to the selected customer are listed. Check the work order's status and customer. A work order still In Progress must be marked Completed first. A work order on a voided invoice is available again.
Can I put work orders from two customers on one invoice?¶
Solution
No. An invoice can only bundle work orders for a single customer. Create one invoice per customer.
I need to change an invoice I already sent¶
Solution
If no payment is recorded, click Reopen to Edit, make the change, then Mark Sent or Email Invoice again. The invoice keeps its number. If payments are recorded, remove them first. If the invoice is Paid, use Void and create a new invoice.
There is a gap in my invoice numbers¶
Solution
A number is taken as soon as an invoice is created, even as a draft. Deleting a draft does not give its number back. This is expected.
The Email Invoice button is greyed out¶
Solution
The customer has no email address. Add an Email to the garage customer and reload the invoice. Fill in Accountant Email too if their accountant should get a copy.
The Record Payment form is missing¶
Solution
Payments can only be recorded on Sent or Partially paid invoices with a balance due. If the invoice is a Draft, click Mark Sent first.
Taxes look lower than expected¶
Solution
Taxes are calculated after the discount and only on lines marked taxable on the work orders (plus shop supplies). Check the Tax Rate on the invoice and the taxable setting of the parts and labour lines.
My garage invoices are not on the Invoices page¶
Solution
Garage invoices are separate from freight invoices. Open Garage in the main menu, then Invoices in the Garage sidebar.
Best Practices¶
Tips
- Fix work order lines while the invoice is still a Draft. Saving the work order updates the invoice totals without voiding anything.
- Use Reopen to Edit rather than Void for corrections on unpaid sent invoices, so the invoice keeps its number.
- Fill in the customer's Accountant Email so their accounting team is copied on every invoice.
- Use Email Invoice instead of Mark Sent when you can: it sends the PDF and marks the invoice sent in one step.
- Record the Reference # (cheque number or transfer ID) with each payment to make reconciliation easier.