A recurring invoice is a template and a schedule, not a bill the customer can pay. Use it for retainers, subscriptions, or any charge that should repeat. You still need a customer and at least one line.
Build the template from scratch, or copy an invoice you already have. Either way you get one schedule.
How to open it
| Step | Click |
|---|---|
| 1 | Sales → Recurring Invoices → New Recurring Invoice |
| 2 | Or invoice row → Make Recurring |
Each generated invoice gets the next sales-invoice number (SI-00001 and so on) and counts toward your invoice quota. The template itself is not an invoice.
Build the template from scratch, or copy an invoice you already have. Either way you get one schedule. An invoice that is already on a schedule cannot be made recurring again.
Where to create it
| Start from | What it copies |
|---|---|
| Sales → Recurring Invoices → New Recurring Invoice | Nothing. You pick the customer, lines, tax, and schedule. Needs a name and at least one line |
| Invoice row → Make Recurring | Customer, lines, tax, addresses, notes, payment terms, and due days from that invoice. You only set the schedule name, frequency, dates, and generate-as. Draft or finalized invoices work; void and cancelled do not |
On Make Recurring, start date defaults to today. If that date is the same calendar day as the source invoice, Seedflow links that invoice as the first occurrence and will not generate a second one for that day. If the invoice is older, the first new invoice is still created on the start date.
Give it a name you will recognize in the list (for example Monthly retainer). Choose the customer. Frequency is weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Every is the step — 1 is every month; 2 with monthly is every two months.
Start date is required and cannot be in the past. Next invoice is calculated for you: first run is the start date, then start plus each interval. End date and max occurrences are optional; leave both empty to keep going until you pause or end. End date must be on or after start.
Schedule fields
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Start date | First occurrence. Required. Cannot be before today |
| End date | Optional. After this date, no more invoices; the schedule becomes Ended |
| Max occurrences | Optional. After this many invoices, the schedule becomes Ended |
| Due days | Each invoice’s due date is the run date plus this many days (0 is due the same day) |
| Location / sales person | Optional. Copied onto each generated invoice (and onto the journal if that invoice finalizes) |
Lines and tax work like a one-off invoice: pick a product or type a description; on VAT workspaces a taxable line needs a tax type. Use Add address & contact and Add notes & terms if they should appear on every generated invoice. The form shows a preview of upcoming dates (up to 12).
This is the status of each invoice Seedflow creates, not the status of the template. Default is Draft. Choosing Finalized asks you to confirm: that invoice will lock and follow the usual finalize and accounting path.
What each generated invoice does
| Generate as | Result |
|---|---|
| Draft | You can still edit lines before you finalize. No journal until you Save & Finalize. You can email from preview after it exists |
| Finalized | Locked when created. Auto-post can journal if Auto-Post is on and Accounting is Accrual. Still does not email the customer |
Saving the template does not create the first invoice (except the Make Recurring same-day link above). Seedflow creates an invoice when the schedule is Active and Next invoice is due. Invoice date is that run date. If an invoice already exists for that day on this schedule, that run is skipped.
If your invoice quota is full, that run is skipped and the template shows the error. Fix the quota (or delete a draft you do not need) and the next due run can try again. Open View Invoices on the row to see what this schedule has created.
New schedules start Active. Change status from the row menu or the badge. Ended templates are not editable.
Schedule status
| Status | What happens |
|---|---|
| Active | Due dates generate invoices. You can edit the template, Pause, or End |
| Paused | No new invoices. You can edit, Resume (back to Active), or End |
| Ended | Permanent stop. Set when you End, or when end date or max occurrences is reached. Generated invoices stay. You cannot resume |
Delete removes the template only. Generated invoices stay. That cannot be undone. Ending is enough if you only want to stop future invoices.
Treat each generated invoice like any other: preview, PDF, email, finalize if it is still a draft, then record a customer payment when they pay. Email and payment are still per invoice — the schedule does not send or collect for you.
Other guides in Sales