Automatic Invoice Generation
WHMCS automatically generates invoices for products and services that are due
in advance of the due date. Exactly how far in advance they generate you can
configure yourself in Config > Automation Settings but by default it is 14
days.
The cron performs the generation each day so it is important you have this
configured for it to work.
Invoice Reminders & Notices
WHMCS will send one reminder after generation but before the due date if the
invoice has not been paid and then up to 3 overdue notices once the due date has
passed. These can be used to warn the user about an upcoming suspension or
termination of service. You can configure exactly which days these notices go
out on again in Config > Automation Settings.
Creating Custom Invoices
With WHMCS, you can generate an invoice whenever you want. This is very
useful for many reasons, some examples are:
- Overusage Charges
- Web Design
- Other Services
- One Off Sales/Custom Pricing
The steps to do this are below...
- Locate the client you wish to generate an invoice for
- Once on the clients summary page, click the Invoices tab
- Next, click the Create Invoice button located at the top of the page
- You will now be presented with a new blank invoice
- To add items to the invoice, simply enter a description and amount in the
empty boxes at the bottom of the list of Invoice Items
- Once you have added all the items to the invoice, select the "Options" tab
at the top - from here you can configure the payment method, invoice date, due
date and tax rate for the invoice - on completion, click Save
- Finally, to send the client an email letting them know about the new
invoice, click the "Send Invoice Created Email" button located on the Summary
tab
Grouping Items into a Single Invoice
WHMCS will automatically group products & services, addons and domains
with the same due date onto a single invoice for the customer. This means the
customer only needs to make one transaction making it easier for them and
reducing your transaction fees.
Continuous Invoice Generation
Continuous Invoice Generation refers to whether invoices are created for
items that are unpaid. It is best explained through the use of an example.
Take for example a hosting account paid monthly. The user places their order
in January. They receive an invoice and they pay their invoice. In the following
month, the user gets their next invoice and they pay that. Then in March, the
user receives their invoice but they don't pay it because they no longer wish to
use the account or simply because they miss the emails about it. With continuous
invoice generation disabled, the user would not receive any furthur invoices
until the March invoice has been paid. However, with continuous invoicing
enabled, the user would receive invoices every month until the account is set to
terminated, regardless of whether the item has been paid for or not.
Enabling Continous Invoicing
To enable this feature, go to Configuration > General Settings >
Invoicing and tick the checkbox next to this setting. After enabling this
option, if there are then users who are due invoices for months which have not
yet been invoiced, there will be one invoice generated on each cron run for the
user for the following days after enabling this.
Proforma Invoicing/Sequential Invoice
Numbering
This feature is primarily aimed at EU based companies where for accounting
reasons, it is sometimes necessary to ensure paid invoice numbers are
sequential. This feature in WHMCS can of course be used by all though.
Enabling Sequential Invoice Numbering
- To enable this feature, begin by going to Configuration > General
Settings
- Then click on the Invoices tab
- Next, tick the box labelled "Sequential Paid Invoice Numbering"
- In the field below, you can then specify the format you want to use for the
numbering - it doesn't just have to be a number - you could for example include
your companies initials and the year to differentiate invoices for each year -
eg. WHMCS2007-{NUMBER} - {NUMBER} placeholder gets replaced with that invoices
number
- The final field allows you to set the next number to be assigned to an
invoice. Each time an invoice is paid, the number increases by 1. You can alter
the number here, such as when removing an invoice or at the beginning of a new
year if you want to start at 1 again.
That's all there is to it! Sequential invoice numbering is now enabled and
each time an invoice is paid, the next number in the sequence will be applied.
Proforma Invoicing
The sequential numbering is most often used in conjunction with proforma
invoicing. If you want to do this, then you need to make a few template changes
aswell to reflect the different names - Proforma invoice when unpaid and Invoice
once paid. Instructions can be found in the viewinvoice.tpl and pdfconfig.php
files where the changes need to be made - just need to uncomment the commented
out code you will find in those files.
Refunding Payments
If you are using a merchant gateway, support may be built into WHMCS to allow
you to issue a refund without logging into your gateway. If this is supported
with the gateway, on a paid invoice in the admin area you will see a "Refund
Invoice" button. If clicked, this button will issue a refund for the payment
made towards that invoice and set it's status to Cancelled. This will not
reverse the actions that were carried out as a result of the payment - for
example changing the next due dates back or cancelling domain
renewals/unsuspensions.
Setting the Starting Number
WHMCS allows you to set the next invoice number that is generated. This is
useful for if you want to start invoicing at a number other than 1 or start
invoices for a new year from a new number. You do this as follows:
- Go to General Settings > Invoicing
- Enter the next number to assing in the "Invoice Starting #" field
- Click Save
The value will then disappear from the field but the next invoice will be
assigned that number.
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