The short answer
- A job is finished, or a crew member sends a note saying what went out.
- A draft invoice appears with the customer matched to the name in your books, the lines priced from your list and HST applied the way you charge it.
- You check it and send it. Nothing goes to a customer without your OK, and anything over an amount you set always waits for you.
It works with QuickBooks Online directly, or with an inventory system such as SalesBinder that syncs into QuickBooks.
The problem it fixes
In most small businesses invoicing is not hard, it is late. The job finishes at four, the owner is on the next one by five, and the invoice gets written days or weeks later from memory. Some never get written.
Drafting the invoice at the moment the job is marked done closes that gap. The owner still decides what goes out, but the writing is already done.
What it reads, and what it never does
- Prices come from your list, or from the price written on the job note. If neither has one, it asks you instead of assuming.
- Customers are matched to the name your books use, not the nickname your crew uses. Names it has never seen get confirmed by you before a new customer is created.
- It never deletes or quietly edits an invoice that has already gone to a customer. A wrong invoice gets a new one, so your records always show what happened.
- The same job never creates two invoices, even if the note gets sent twice.
- Every invoice it drafts is logged: what prompted it, what was written and when.
What a Canadian invoice has to show
If you are registered for GST/HST, your customers can only claim back the tax you charge them if your invoice carries the right details. The Canada Revenue Agency's thresholds are:
| Invoice total | What has to be on it |
|---|---|
| Under $100 | Your business or trading name, the date, and the total. |
| $100 to $499.99 | All of the above, plus your GST/HST registration number and the tax charged, or a statement that the total includes it. |
| $500 or more | All of the above, plus the customer's name, a description of the goods or services, and the payment terms. |
We check your invoice template carries your registration number and the right tax before any invoice is drafted automatically. A business customer who cannot claim the tax back on your invoice notices quickly.
Getting the records right first
An automated invoice is only as good as the customer list, item list and tax settings underneath it. We check those first, and anything that needs fixing is fixed with you, never silently by the software.
Where we set this up
Setup is done with you, at your business, in Ontario.
Questions people ask
Does it send invoices on its own?
Not unless you decide it should. Every invoice is drafted and shown to you first. Invoices over an amount you set always wait for your OK.
Does it work with QuickBooks Desktop?
Desktop is harder to connect to than QuickBooks Online, but it can be done. See QuickBooks Desktop can be automated. Many businesses move to QuickBooks Online at the same time.
We use SalesBinder for stock. Does that matter?
No. Invoices are written once, in the system that raises them, and SalesBinder's own connector carries them into QuickBooks Online. Stock comes down as the invoice goes out.
What if my crew writes job notes in shorthand?
That is normal. It learns your shop words over time: every time it asks what something means and someone answers, that answer is kept and used from then on.
We are not registered for HST yet. Can we still use it?
Yes, but sort the registration out with your accountant first if you charge tax. Invoices that charge HST without a registration number cause problems for your customers and for you.