What are recurring invoices?

QuickBooks' Recurring Invoices feature automates the issue of regular invoices, for monthly retainers, ongoing project fees, or annual contractual services, and can even automate the collection of payment against them. Rather than manually raising the same invoice every week, month or quarter, you set it up once and let QuickBooks handle the rest.

Why automate your regular billing?

Beyond the obvious time saving, automating recurring invoices helps with credit control: invoices go out consistently and on schedule, rather than whenever you get a spare moment, which means customers are billed on time and cashflow is easier to predict.

How to set up recurring invoices in QuickBooks

• Select the Invoice option and choose the relevant customer.
• Complete the invoice as normal, description, quantity, value, class/location, then select "Enable Recurring Payments".
• Add your recurring criteria, frequency, invoice date, and the timeframe over which invoices should keep being issued.

What kind of businesses benefit most?

Anyone billing the same amount on a repeating basis: consultants and coaches on monthly retainers, agencies with ongoing support contracts, or any business with subscription-style services.

Frequently asked questions

Can a recurring invoice amount change each time it's issued?

The standard Recurring Invoices feature is built around invoices of the same amount each time. If your fee varies, you'll usually still need to create or adjust individual invoices for those months.

Can I automate payment collection as well as invoicing?

Yes, QuickBooks allows payment collection against recurring invoices to be automated alongside the invoice itself, which is where a lot of the time saving comes from.

What if I need to change or cancel a recurring invoice?

You can edit or switch off the recurring schedule for a customer at any time from within QuickBooks, it won't affect invoices already issued.

Take the next step

If you'd like help setting up recurring invoices, or getting more generally from QuickBooks or Xero, book a call with Sakura.