Create a Free (Non-Billable) Service (No Invoice)

Need to schedule work but don’t want to bill the customer? In OctopusPro, you can create a Free (Non-Billable) Service so your team can dispatch and track the job like any normal booking—without generating an invoice or sending payment requests.

This is ideal for warranty callouts, complimentary follow-ups, internal jobs, training runs, site inspections, or charity work—where operational tracking still matters, but charging the customer doesn’t.

Non-billable free service workflow diagram

Quick summary

Shows in scheduling: appears in your calendar and dispatch workflows like a paid service.
Captures job data: notes, photos, attachments, time on site, and internal records can still be logged.
No billing: no invoice is generated and customers won’t be prompted to pay for that service.

What is a Free (Non-Billable) Service?

A Free (Non-Billable) Service is a service template flagged as “Free Service (No invoice)” in the service setup. When this service is added to a booking, your team can:

Schedule and dispatch the job normally
Track operational information (job notes, checklists, photos/files, time logs, internal comments)
Maintain a clean audit trail for reporting and accountability

But: customers are not billed for that service, and no invoice is produced for it.

Common use cases

Warranty visits / callbacks: return visits that must be tracked but not charged.
Complimentary follow-ups: goodwill or service recovery visits.
On-site assessments: free inspections or measurements before quoting.
Internal work orders: training, internal maintenance, team tasks.
Charity / pro-bono jobs: schedule properly without impacting revenue reporting.

Step-by-step: Create a Free (Non-Billable) Service

Go to: Settings > Services Settings > Services
Click Create New Service.
Complete the Service Details section (name, category, duration, visibility, etc.).
Open the Cost & Payrate tab.
Under Type of Service, select Free Service (No invoice).

Select Free Service (No invoice) under Type of Service

Optional (recommended):

Set Fieldworker Payrate / Compensation if you want to pay staff for completing non-billable jobs (e.g., hourly payrate, fixed amount, etc.).
Add Custom Fields to capture non-pricing details (e.g., warranty reference number, access instructions, reason for visit). See: Custom Fields | Booking, Lead-Capture & CRM Data.
Enable attachments so teams can upload photos and files for proof/compliance. See: Upload Images, PDFs & Docs to Bookings, Quotes & Inquiries.

Finally, click Save. Your Free (Non-Billable) service is now available to use when creating inquiries, quotes, and bookings.

How it behaves when used in bookings

Scheduling: the job can be assigned and scheduled like any other service.
Customer experience: customers receive normal booking communications, but won’t be asked to pay for that service.
Billing: no invoice/payment link is generated for that service.
Operations: staff can still record job notes, time, checklists, and attachments for internal tracking.

Tip: If you need to perform the same service sometimes paid and sometimes free (e.g., “Tile Re-seal” as a warranty callback), create a separate non-billable version of the service (e.g., “Tile Re-seal (Warranty – No Invoice)”) so staff can select the correct one quickly.

Best-practice tips

Use clear naming: add a prefix like “Warranty – ” or “Internal – ” so your team can instantly identify non-billable jobs.
Organise categories: consider a dedicated category (e.g., “Non-Billable / Internal”) to keep your service list tidy. See: Create, Edit & Organise Service Categories.
Track costs properly: use payrates/compensation settings so internal/warranty work is still measurable.
Capture proof: encourage fieldworkers to attach photos/files and add notes for warranty protection and dispute prevention.

FAQs

Will customers see prices for a Free (Non-Billable) Service?
No—free services are designed to run without pricing and without invoice generation.

Can I still pay fieldworkers for free jobs?
Yes—configure payrates/compensation for the service and manage payroll separately. See: Fieldworker Commission & Pay Rates and Fieldworker Payroll Management.

What if I want the service to be $0 but still generate an invoice?
Use a normal (paid) service and apply pricing/discount rules as needed. A Free (Non-Billable) Service is specifically for no-invoice workflows.

Service setup

Booking & scheduling

Attachments & record-keeping