How to View and Manage an Invoice

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How to View and Manage an Invoice in OctopusPro

The Invoice Details page is your central place to review, send, and manage an invoice in OctopusPro. From here you can confirm invoice totals and line items, track payments/refunds, view the invoice audit trail (history log), manage attachments, and run key actions such as emailing the invoice, exporting a PDF, or voiding the invoice.

Best for: admin teams, accounts staff, operations managers, and field teams who need a clear record of what was billed, what was paid, and what changed over time.

On this page

What you can do from the Invoice Details page

  • Review invoice details: customer, billing address, invoice number, issue/due dates, status, taxes/discounts, and totals.
  • Confirm billed items: service/line items, quantities, rates, taxes, and subtotals.
  • Track money movement: payments, partial payments, refunds, and remaining balance due.
  • Audit trail: see who changed what (and when), including key actions like “sent”, “edited”, “paid”, or “voided”.
  • Run actions: send invoice, export/download PDF, print, add payment, void, manage attachments, labels, and more (based on permissions).

Tip: If you’re trying to find a specific invoice quickly, use Universal Search & Advanced Filters to search by customer name, invoice number, status, date range, amount, and other filters.

Invoice Payment and Reconciliation Workflow

How to open an invoice

You can access an invoice from multiple places depending on your workflow:

  1. Invoices list: Go to Invoices and click the invoice you want to open. (Invoice & Billing Overview)
  2. Customer profile: Open the customer → go to the Invoices section → click an invoice.
  3. From a booking/job: Open the booking/job and view the invoice linked to it (common for field teams).
  4. Search: Use Universal Search & Advanced Filters to locate the invoice instantly.
  5. Fieldworker app: Fieldworkers can view and manage invoices (based on permissions) from the app. See Invoicing, Payments and Refunds – App.

Invoicing, payments, and refunds for fieldworkers (app workflow)

Understanding invoice sections

The Invoice Details page is typically organized into these main areas:

Invoice Details Overview in OctopusPro

1) Invoice header & customer details
  • Invoice identifiers: invoice number, issue date, due date, and invoice status (e.g., draft, unpaid, paid, voided).
  • Customer & billing info: customer name, contact details, billing address, and (if enabled) third-party bill payer details.
  • Notes / internal fields: may include internal notes, terms, or references depending on your setup.
2) Line items & financial summary
  • Line items: services/products, quantities, unit prices, taxes, and per-line subtotals.
  • Summary totals: subtotal, tax, discounts, total, amount paid, and balance due.
  • Editing control: ability to edit line items depends on your role/permissions and invoice state.

Need to update charges? See How to Edit or Update an Invoice.

3) Payments, refunds & receipts
  • Payment records: payment method, amount, date/time, and who recorded it.
  • Partial payments: track multiple payments against a single invoice and the remaining balance.
  • Refunds: view/refund entries (if enabled/approved) to keep your ledger accurate.

View Invoice Payments, Receipts & Refunds • Add Invoice Payments • Refund Management

Adding payments to invoices in OctopusPro

Refund Management Workflow

4) Invoice history log (audit trail)

The Invoice History Log provides an audit trail showing key events such as status changes, edits, sending activity, payment updates, and other system/user actions. This is especially useful for disputes, reconciliation, and internal accountability.

Invoice History Log / Audit Trail Summary

Tip: If you also need broader activity tracking, review your logs and reporting tools (e.g., booking/invoice activity history). See Booking History & Audit Log.

5) Actions & attachments

Depending on your permissions, you may see actions such as:

  • Send invoice (Email/SMS)
  • Export / download PDF and print
  • Add payment
  • Void invoice (cancel an issued invoice)
  • Manage attachments (work orders, photos, documents, supporting files)

Export Invoice as PDF • Invoice Attachments & Document Management

Export invoice data to PDF in OctopusPro (Standard PDF or Custom Invoice Template)

Send an invoice (Email, SMS, Automation, Customer Portal)

Invoices can be sent manually or automatically depending on your workflow and settings:

Sending invoices to customers and bill payers (Email & SMS)

Send manually (Admin dashboard)
  • Go to Invoices → open the invoice → select Actions → Email Invoice (or Send).
Send manually (Fieldworker app)
  • Open the job/booking → open the invoice → tap Send Invoice → choose Email or SMS (availability depends on permissions/settings).
Send automatically (Automation rules)
  • Configure automated invoice sending to trigger at key moments (e.g., job completed, invoice overdue, booking confirmed).
Customer Portal (self-service)
  • Customers can view invoices through the Customer Portal when an invoice is linked to their booking/job (subject to your portal settings).
Third-party billing (bill payer ≠ service recipient)

If someone other than the service recipient pays the invoice (e.g., agencies, property managers, corporate billing), you can send invoices to a third-party bill payer. This is commonly managed via customer properties/custom fields.

Customer Properties: Track Dependents, Assets & Locations

Diagram showing how customer properties (dependents/assets) connect to customers and bookings

Full sending guide: Send Invoices by Email or SMS

Tip: If you need to pause automated invoice reminders/notifications (temporarily), see Pause / Resume Automated Notifications for Invoices, Quotes & Bookings.

Common invoice actions

These are the most common management tasks performed from the invoice area (availability depends on permissions and invoice state):

  • Edit invoice breakdown: update line items, taxes, discounts, and totals. Edit Invoice
  • Change invoice number: adjust numbering rules or correct a number. Edit Invoice Number
  • Label / tag invoices: categorize and filter invoices (e.g., “Overdue”, “VIP”, “Insurance”). Label / Tag Invoices
  • Add attachments: store proof of work, purchase orders, work orders, and documents. Add Invoice Attachments
  • Export as PDF: download/share a PDF version of the invoice. Export Invoice as PDF
  • Convert to draft: move an invoice back to draft (when appropriate). Convert Invoice to Draft
  • Void an invoice: cancel an issued invoice (recommended instead of deleting, to preserve audit history). Void an Invoice
  • Delete an invoice: remove invoices where allowed (often limited to draft states and admin roles). Delete Invoices

Best practice: Prefer voiding over deleting whenever you need a clean audit trail and accurate reporting.

Limitations, permissions & role-based access

Access to invoices (and what users can do with them) depends on your user role and permissions. For example:

  • Admins/Managers typically have full invoice access (view, edit, send, record payments, export, void, delete where allowed).
  • Fieldworkers may have limited access (view/send only, or view only), depending on your setup.
  • Office staff roles can be configured with custom permissions (e.g., “can view invoices but cannot delete”).

Manage Users & Permissions (Role-Based Access Control)

User Management: Adding, Inviting, Importing Users • Role-Based Access Control & Permissions

If a user can’t see invoices: confirm they have invoice permissions enabled, and that they’re assigned the correct role.

Impact on Xero & QuickBooks sync

If your account is connected to accounting software (e.g., Xero or QuickBooks), invoice changes made in OctopusPro can be synchronized to your accounting system. Depending on your integration settings, updates may sync automatically on schedule or require a manual sync action.

  • What may sync: invoice totals, line items, tax, discounts, payments, and status (depending on integration settings).
  • When to sync: after editing invoice details, recording payments, or updating invoice status.
  • Tip: If you rely on accounting reports, avoid frequent invoice edits after they’ve been sent—use an approval workflow internally where possible.

Learn more: Integrated Accounting (Xero & QuickBooks)

Best practices & troubleshooting

Best practices
  • Use labels to organize invoices by workflow stage (e.g., “To review”, “Disputed”, “Insurance”).
  • Use the audit trail during disputes to confirm what changed and when.
  • Record payments promptly to keep balances accurate and reduce overdue follow-ups.
  • Prefer voiding over deleting to preserve history and reporting accuracy.
  • Use billing cycles if you invoice periodically (weekly/fortnightly/monthly) across multiple bookings.
Common issues

Automatic invoice generation for portal and widget bookings

Note: If you accept online bookings (via portal/widget) and generate invoices automatically, make sure your payment terms and portal settings are aligned with your billing policy (deposit/full payment/no payment required at booking).

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