In this article you'll find a step-by-step guide for creating, sending and tracking invoices in Solo. If you're still unsure about anything or have questions, please feel free to send us a message using the in-app chat.
In this article:
1. Setting up your invoices
Before creating an invoice, first configure your invoice settings. This will customise your invoices to your business details. To set up your invoices:
Go to the Invoices page.
Click on Invoice settings link in the top right of the page.
Invoice settings
A brief overview of Solo's invoice settings:
Business details:
Your business details will be automatically displayed on each invoice you create.
Name: The name of your business or your name if you don't have a business name.
Address: Your business address. This could be your home address if you operate your business from home. It's common for companies to require an address on your invoice in order to pay you.
Email: Your business email address. When emailing invoices from Solo, this email address will be used as the 'reply to' address. You can select if you also want your email address to be displayed on your invoices.
Phone: Your business phone number.
Logo: Your business logo which will be displayed on your invoices. A logo is optional and the recommended image size is 600 x 400 pixels. Solo accepts JPG, JPEG, or PNG formats with a max file size of 2MB.
Note: When you change your business details they will update on all online invoices that you have already sent.
Invoice details:
Invoice prefix: The invoice prefix will be displayed in front of the invoice number on new invoices.
Next number: The next invoice number that will be assigned to a new invoice. You can set a start number and new invoice numbers will be generated from that number onward. '0001' is set by default.
GST Number: The GST number for your business. As a sole trader this is likely your personal GST number. A GST number only needs to be displayed if you're GST registered.
Payment details: Enter your bank details and any additional information regarding how you'd like the invoice to be paid.
Due days: The default number of days before an invoice becomes due. E.g. '30' days from the date the invoice is created. You can still manually set the due date when creating or editing an invoice.
Customer note: The customer note will be shown by default when creating a new invoice. You can also edit the note when creating or editing an invoice.
Note: When you change your GST number or payment details they will update on all online invoices that you have already sent.
2. Creating an invoice
Now that you're all set up you can begin creating invoices:
Go to the Invoices page in the main menu.
Click the Create an invoice button.
Enter the invoice details.
Click the Save button.
The invoice details are:
Client: Select an existing client to address the invoice to. Or click the 'Create new client' option in the dropdown to add a new client.
Date: This date will appear on the invoice as the 'Issued' date. By default today's date will be used but you can set any date you need.
Due date: This date will appear on the invoice as the 'Due' date. It will be automatically suggested based on the 'Due days' option in your invoice settings, however you can adjust this date as needed.
Invoice number: A unique number to identify the invoice. E.g. 'INV2303'. The next available invoice number will be automatically displayed for you. You can change the invoice prefix and default starting number in your invoice settings.
Enable GST: If enabled, GST will be added to the invoice. If disabled, then GST will not be calculated on the invoice. GST is calculated based on the invoice subtotal and not each line item – this is the correct way to invoice. Even if you're including GST exclusive expenses in your invoice, if you're GST registered, then GST still needs to be applied to the entire invoice. The GST you collect on the invoice will be claimed back when you file your next GST return.
Purchase order number: If a purchase order number has been provided by your customer you can enter it here. Otherwise leave this field blank.
Currency: The currency that the invoice amounts will be displayed in. New Zealand dollar (NZD) is the default currency.
Description: A short description of the product/service/item that you are invoicing for.
Quantity: The quantity of the product/service/item. This could be the number of products or hours worked.
Unit price: The price of a single product/item, or your hourly rate for the service.
Discount: You can add either a discount amount ($10) or a percentage (10%) to the item. The discount will be included in the subtotal of the item.
Subtotal: The subtotal is automatically calculated based on the quantity multiplied by the unit price and minus any discount.
Add row: This button will add another line item to your invoice. You can add as many rows as you need. You can also delete rows by clicking on the trash icon at the right end of the row. To reorder a row click on the dots icon at the left end of the row and drag the row into the new position.
Saved items: You can create, save and reuse common line items in your invoices.
Customer note: If you need to add any additional information about the product/project or instructions to the client you can add them to the customer note. The customer note that you created in your invoice settings will be displayed here by default, but you can still edit the note per invoice.
3. Sending an invoice to your customer
There are three ways to share an invoice with your customer:
Email the invoice from Solo
To email an online invoice directly from Solo:
Click the Save button to save the invoice. The invoice must have a client and number to be saved.
Click the Send button.
Customise the email message if needed.
Click the Send button.
The client will receive an email with a link to view the invoice online.
Note: When an invoice is sent it's status will automatically change to 'Sent'. You can change the invoice status at any time by clicking it's status on the Invoices page.
Share an invoice link
To get a link to the online invoice that you can then share with your client:
Click the down arrow next to the Send button (the invoice must be saved).
Select Get share link from the menu.
Click the Copy to save the link to your clipboard.
You can then email or message the link to your client so that they can view the invoice online.
To changes the invoice status to 'Sent', check 'Mark invoice as sent' and click Done.
Download an invoice PDF
To download a PDF of the invoice that you can then share with your client:
Click the down arrow next to the Send button (the invoice must be saved).
Select Download PDF from the menu.
The invoice PDF will then be downloaded to your computer.
How do I mark an invoice as paid?
When an invoice is paid, change it's status to 'Paid':
Click the Status in the invoices list.
Select Paid from the dropdown menu.
The invoice status will change to Paid and it will no longer appear in your unpaid invoices count on the dashboard.
Note: Invoices are not included in Solo's income and tax calculations. Tax calculations are based only on categorised income transactions and/or the pre-taxed income feed. Learn more.
Can I edit an invoice after sending it?
Yes, you can edit an invoice in any status apart from 'Paid'. To edit a Paid invoice, you must first change it to another status.
To edit an invoice:
Click the invoice ID in the invoices list.
Make your changes to the invoice.
Click the Update button.
Note: If you've already sent the invoice to your client, any edits will be instantly visible to your client on the existing online invoice.
What are the different invoice statuses?
There are five statuses to help you manage your invoices:
Draft: Invoices that are not yet ready to be sent. Draft invoices will not be displayed in the Invoices figure on the Solo dashboard. Change the status to 'Ready to send' in order to send it.
Ready to send: New invoices are set to 'Ready to send' by default and included in the Invoices figure on the dashboard. When a 'Ready to send' invoice has past it's due date, the invoice amount will be included in the 'Overdue' figure on the dashboard.
Sent: When an invoice is sent from Solo it's status will automatically change to 'Sent'. The invoice amount will be included in the Invoices figure on the dashboard
Paid: When an invoice is paid by your client, change it's status to 'Paid' on the Invoices page. A 'Paid' banner will be displayed at the top of the online invoice. The invoice amount will then be removed from the Invoices figure on the dashboard.
Void: Invoices that are no longer valid. A 'Void' banner will be displayed at the top of the online invoice. Void invoices aren't included in the Invoices figure on the dashboard.
How do I delete an invoice?
Click the ... icon of the invoice you would like to delete.
Select Delete in the dropdown menu.
Click the Delete button.
That's it, the invoice will now be permanently deleted from Solo.
Duplicating an invoice
Click the ... icon of the invoice you would like to duplicate.
Select Duplicate in the dropdown menu.
That's it, the invoice will be duplicated and the new duplicate will be displayed at the top of the invoice list. The new invoice will have a 'Daft' status and be automatically given the next available invoice number.
Creating a quote from an invoice
You can easily turn any invoice into a quote:
Click the ... icon of the invoice you would like to duplicate.
Select Copy to quote in the dropdown menu.
A new quote will be created based on the invoice and will be displayed at the top of the quotes list. The new quote will have a 'Daft' status and be automatically given the next available quote number.