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Create a Recurring Invoice

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What's in this Article

Applicable Roles/Permissions/Licenses

  • Roles: Any
  • Permissions: Create, Edit, & Send Invoices; Invoices
  • Licenses: Time & Billing

In-App Guide: You can follow an in-app guide to create a recurring invoice by clicking here.

Recurring invoices can be set up to be sent automatically according to your own custom schedule.

Create a Recurring Invoice

1. Click on the Global + Icon and select Invoice from the slide-in menu.

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2. Click on the Invoice dropdown in the top-left corner.

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3. Choose Recurring Invoice from the dropdown.

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4. Assign a Contact to the invoice.

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5. Input a Description for the invoice.

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6. As needed, change the Terms for when payment is due.

The Due Date will automatically update to reflect changes to the Terms.

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7. Select which columns to display on the invoice by checking their category in the Columns dropdown menu under the Gear icon.

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  • Click Done to update the visible columns.
  • These are the columns that will be visible on the final invoice.

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8. Fill out the start and end times for when the recurring invoice will be sent out.

  • Select a Start Date.
  • Select an option for when the invoice will quit recurring.
  • You can choose to quit After a set number of occurrences, quit On a specified Date, or Never.

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9. Specify the repetition information.

  • Select a Frequency.
    • Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly.
  • Select a Repeat schedule.
    • Day, First, Second, Third, Fourth, or Last.
    • The subsequent columns will update according to your Repeat selection.
  • Fill out the remaining columns as needed.

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10. Check the Automatically link time box.

Auto-Link Time Entries for Recurring Invoices

Auto-Linking Time Entries:

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Canopy auto-links time entries to the corresponding service items, even if they pre-date the invoice. This helps invoice amounts and line items stay as accurate as possible.
Double-check that time entries and recurring invoices have the same contact and at least one matching service item. If it doesn't meet these criteria, it won't auto-link.

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The Auto-link column in a client's WIP report shows if a time entry is scheduled to link to an invoice.
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Toggle off the Show scheduled auto-link time option to hide these entries in the report to help you focus on important billing decisions and keep the WIP report clutter-free.

Editing Existing Recurrences:

You can even update existing recurrences and activate the auto-link time option. This applies to both new and previously-created recurring invoices.
Once you enable this, any following time entries auto-link to invoices, which makes your process less hands-on.

Removing Service Items:

Note that removing a service item from a recurring invoice doesn't automatically remove linked time entries. Please take into account the impact on reporting when making these changes!

Time Entry Linking Process:

Time entries auto-link to the next outstanding invoice and link when Canopy creates the invoice. Through this process, the WIP report displays these entries, clearly showing the scheduled auto-link.

11. Complete your line item invoice information.

  • Input a Service Item.
  • Fill out each visible column.
    • The columns will automatically update to reflect the service item's information.
  • As needed, click + Add line item to add an additional service to the invoice.

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12. Toggle Single Line Invoice to create an invoice that shows only a description and the totals due.

  • After toggling Single Line Invoice, you will not be able to edit your service items and time entries. To edit services again, toggle Single Line Invoice to off.
  • Enter a Description for the Single Line Invoice. Your description will be shown in place of the services.

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13. To add a Client Note, switch the Client Note toggle to green.

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14. To include Terms and Conditions, switch the Terms and Conditions toggle to green.

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15. Click Start to begin the recurrence.

Alternatively, you can select Save as draft and go back to it later.

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Timeframe for Recurring Invoices: Recurring invoices send out every day from 12 am (midnight) to 12 pm (noon) Mountain Time. The system sends out 300 invoices every 5 minutes until all the invoices for that day deploy.

While there is no exact time when your recurring invoice sends, Canopy begins checking for new invoices at 12 am every day and ensures the delivery of all the invoices before the end of the invoice date.

Set Up Recurring Payments

Recurring Payments allows you to set a cadence of scheduled payments within a client invoice. To get started, follow the Create a Recurring Invoice guide at the beginning of the article to create an invoice.  

Applicable Roles/Permissions/Licenses

  • Roles: Any
  • Permissions: Access to the contact; Invoices; Create, Edit & Send Invoices; Create, Edit & Refund Payments 
  • Licenses: Time & Billing 

Please Note:

  • To set up recurring payments, you must be enrolled in Canopy Payments. 
  • The recurring payments toggle can not be activated until a Contact Name has been assigned to the invoice.
  • Time Entries cannot be added to invoices that have recurring payments active.

1. Switch the Recurring Payments toggle to active (green).

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2. Select a Payment date.

You can require your clients to pay on the Due Date or the Invoice Date.

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3. Select a Payment method.

You can choose Credit Card, ACH, or a previously added payment method.

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4. Fill out the billing information.

5. As needed, check the Make default payment method option to save the billing information as a default payment method.

6. Click Start to begin the recurring payment.

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