Statements and Invoices - Sending Account Communications

Statements and invoices are the primary financial communications sent to customers. Statements summarize all account activity over a period, while invoices document individual charges. Both can be customized per account using layouts and configured for automatic or manual delivery.

Sending Statements

Bulk Statements from the Account List

To send statements to multiple accounts at once:

1. Navigate to the Accounts page
2. Check the selection boxes next to the accounts that should receive statements
3. Click the Send Statements button

Statements are generated using each account's configured statement layout and delivered according to their notification preferences.

Statements from the Purchases Tab

To send a statement for a single account:

1. Open the account and select the Purchases tab
2. Click the Send Statement button

This sends a statement covering the account's current activity.

Statement Tracking

The system tracks when statements are sent:

• Monthly Statement Last Sent Date on the account record shows when the last statement was delivered
• This date is updated automatically each time a statement is sent

Sending Invoices

From the Purchases Tab

To send invoice notifications for specific orders:

1. Open the account and select the Purchases tab
2. Check the selection boxes next to the orders you want to send
3. Click the Send Invoice button

This sends the invoice to the account's billing contact using the account's invoice layout.

Invoice Tracking

• Date Last Billing Notice on the account records when the last billing notification was sent
• Pre-Bill Date tracks pre-billing schedule dates

Invoice Layouts

Each account can have a custom invoice layout that controls how invoices appear. To configure:

1. Open the account and select the Details tab
2. Locate the Invoice dropdown
3. Select a layout from "Layouts for Invoices"

The help text reads: "Select the invoice layout for this customer. Leave blank to use the default invoice."

When set to "Use Default," the site-wide default invoice layout is used. Custom layouts allow different formatting for different types of customers (e.g., corporate accounts may need a formal layout while retail accounts use a simpler design).

Invoice layouts are managed in the Layouts data table and can include HTML templates with merge fields for order data.

Statement Layouts

Each account can also have a custom statement layout:

1. On the Account Details tab, locate the Statement dropdown
2. Select a layout from "Statement Layouts"

The help text reads: "Select the statement layout for this customer. Leave blank to use the default invoice."

Statement layouts control the formatting of account statements and are managed in the Statement Layouts data table.

Receipt Notifications

The Send Receipt checkbox on the Account Details tab controls whether the customer automatically receives a receipt after each payment.

The help text reads: "When checked this customer will receive a receipt after each payment."

When enabled, every time a payment is processed for the account (whether through automatic billing, the Payment tool, or online payment), a receipt is generated and sent to the billing contact.

Receipts can also be suppressed on individual payments by checking the "No Receipt" option in the Payment tool.

Notification Method

The Notification field on the Account Details tab determines how the customer prefers to receive billing communications:

• Email — invoices and statements are sent via email
• Fax — invoices and statements are sent via fax
• Print Queue — invoices and statements are added to the print queue for physical mailing
• Print and Email — both printed and emailed

The help text reads: "How this customer would prefer being notified."

The print queue can be managed through the Print Queue report in the Reports section.

Invoice and Receipt Messages on Orders

Each order can carry custom messages that appear on the invoice and receipt:

• Invoice Copy — text that appears on the invoice before the order is paid
• Receipt Copy — text that appears on the receipt/invoice after the order is paid
• Allow Invoice Copy — controls whether the invoice copy is included
• Allow Receipt Copy — controls whether the receipt copy is included

These messages can be set during invoice creation using the Invoice tool (under "Invoice Messages") or configured on items:

• Items have their own Invoice Copy and Receipt Copy fields
• When Allow Invoice Copy or Allow Receipt Copy is checked on an item, the item's copy text is included on orders containing that item

Item-Level Invoice Terms

The Account Terms record associated with an account can include an Invoice Message that appears on all invoices for accounts using those terms. This provides a standard message for accounts on the same payment terms (e.g., "Net 30 — payment due within 30 days").

Pre-Billing

The Pre-Bill Date and Pre-Bill Balance fields on accounts support advance billing scenarios:

• Pre-Bill Date — when set to a non-zero date, pre-billing is active
• Pre-Bill Balance — the pre-billed amount

These fields are used in scenarios where accounts need to be billed in advance of service delivery.

Tips

• Set up default invoice and statement layouts that work for most accounts, then create custom layouts only for accounts with special formatting needs
• Use the bulk Send Statements action on the Account List for monthly statement runs
• Review the Notification method on each account to ensure communications are delivered through the preferred channel
• The Print Queue report helps manage accounts that receive physical mail — process it regularly to avoid delayed communications
• Item-level invoice and receipt copy fields are useful for adding product-specific terms, warranty information, or redemption instructions to invoices