Recurring invoices make it easy to bill for ongoing services automatically on your own schedule. You can also set up recurring payments and preview what your clients will see.
Access & Permissions
To set up recurring payments, you must be enrolled in Canopy Payments.
Why it Matters
Automate billing for retainers or ongoing services.
Reduce manual errors with auto-linked time entries.
Preview exactly how the invoice will appear to clients.
Table of Contents
Create a Recurring Invoice
Recurring invoices can be set up to send automatically according to your custom schedule.
Set up the Invoice
Click the Global + icon and select Invoice.
Choose Recurring Invoice.
Assign a Client.
Enter an Invoice description.
(Optional) Adjust Terms—the Due date updates automatically.
Open Layout & Settings:
Select which Columns to display.
Click Done to apply changes.
These are the columns visible to clients on the final invoice.
(Optional) Toggle on Client notes or Terms & conditions, enter details, and click Save.
Set your schedule
Select a Start date.
Choose when the schedule should end:
After a set number of occurrences, On a specific date, or Never.
Choose a Frequency — Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly.
Set the Repeat schedule — Day, First, Second, Third, Fourth, or Last.
Additional fields will appear based on your selections.
(Optional) Include spouse name if the contact record contains a spouse.
Add line items
Add a Service item for each billable service or product.
Complete all visible fields (e.g., rate, quantity/hours, tax, class, etc.).
Click + Add line item to include additional services.
(Optional) Single line invoice
Toggle on to show only a Description and totals, instead of itemized services.
Enter the description and any Discount.
Toggle off to return to editing itemized services.
Set up Recurring Payments
Recurring Payments let you automatically collect payments for each generated invoice.
Prerequisites
You’re enrolled in Canopy Payments.
A Client is assigned to the invoice.
The client has a saved payment method in the Client Portal or profile.
The client has consented to recurring payments (consider sending an eSign agreement).
Note: Time entries cannot be added to invoices that have recurring payments active.
Enable recurring payments
Switch the Recurring payments toggle to active.
Select a Payment date — Invoice date or Due date.
Choose a Payment method — Credit/Debit card, ACH, or a saved method.
Enter billing information.
(Optional) Check Make default payment method.
(Optional) Click the Preview button to review the invoice before starting the recurrence schedule.
Click Start to activate recurring payments.
Save & Start the Recurrence
When your line items, recurring payments (if used), and auto-link settings are ready:
Click Start to begin the recurrence, or
Click Save as draft to return and enable later.
In-app guide: Prefer a walkthrough? From Canopy, launch the in-app guide to create a recurring invoice.
Auto-linking Time Entries
Keep invoices accurate by automatically linking billable time to the next invoice created by the recurrence.
What it does
Canopy auto-links billable time entries to matching service items on the next outstanding invoice when that invoice is created.
Requirements
The time entry and recurring invoice share the same contact and at least one matching service item.
Only billable time entries auto-link.
How to use
In the recurring invoice, check Automatically link time.
(Optional) In the client’s WIP report, use the Auto-link column to see entries scheduled to link.
Toggle off Show scheduled auto-link time to hide these entries if you want a cleaner report.
Notes
You can enable auto-link on new or existing recurrences.
Removing a service item from the recurrence does not remove previously linked time—consider reporting impacts.
Preview a Recurring Invoice
Use Preview to confirm layout, terms, and visibility before the first send.
Preview from an existing recurring invoice
Go to Billing > Invoices.
Click the Recurring invoices tab.
Click the invoice description to open it.
Click Preview.
What Preview shows
Invoice number: Appears as #XXXX because the real number is generated only when an invoice instance is created.
Outstanding balance: Appears as $#### for the same reason; the real balance shows on the created invoice.
Purpose: Preview is a visual QA of your recurring template; it is not the invoice itself.
Send Timing & Batches
Canopy begins checking for new recurring invoices at 12:00 AM Mountain Time each day.
Invoices send in batches of approximately 300 every 5 minutes until all invoices dated for that day are delivered.
All invoices dated for a given day are delivered before the end of that invoice date.
Troubleshooting
Payments not showing on the client’s Billing page
Confirm the recurring payment is linked to the correct recurring invoice.
Verify contact assignment and other prerequisites above.
Go to Payments > Recurring and locate the associated invoice.
Time didn’t auto-link
Confirm the contact and service item match between the time entry and the invoice.
Ensure the entry is billable and the invoice is the next outstanding one.
Review the WIP report and the Auto-link column.
Preview isn’t showing a real invoice number or balance
Expected behavior—those values only generate when an actual invoice instance is created.
Summary
Create your recurring invoice (setup → schedule → line items), enable Recurring Payments if you want automatic collections, optionally Auto-link time for accuracy, Preview to QA, then Start the recurrence. This keeps billing consistent, timely, and hands-off for ongoing services.
Need help?
Contact Support or ask Penny, our AI Support Bot, for assistance.