Understanding Invoicing In Time To Pet

Time To Pet makes invoicing your clients extremely easy and, in most cases, is almost entirely automatic. For those accustomed to a more manual invoicing process, there might be a slight learning curve, and there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

Invoices Are Automatically Generated

Invoices are automatically generated from services that are scheduled for a client. The Scheduler will always inform you of the current invoice that is being worked on. We call this a Service Order, which is a group of all events associated with one invoice as viewed on the Scheduler page:

View of a Service Order, a group of all events associated with one invoice viewed on the Scheduler page

The Current Invoice bar (pictured above) shows the current invoice that any newly scheduled services will be added to. The table lists all existing services that are already part of this invoice.

Each scheduled service will have a corresponding line item in its invoice.

You Can Add Services To An Existing Invoice

The first time you schedule services for a client, we will automatically create an invoice for that client and add all of the services to that invoice. The next time you schedule services for the client, you will be prompted to select whether or not to schedule the new services in a new invoice or an already open invoice. An open invoice is an invoice for that client that has not been fully paid.

Scheduling services, select an existing invoice, or a new invoice

Note that if the client does not have any open invoices, we will automatically create a new invoice, and you will not be prompted to select an invoice as the above image demonstrates.

You can also open an existing invoice on the calendar for scheduling by clicking the “Calendar” link next to any invoice (for example, from the Invoice List found in the Services/Invoices tab in each client’s profile).

Open existing invoice in calendar view for scheduling by clicking “Calendar” link next to an invoice number

Invoices Can Be Manually Edited

Invoices are automatically generated, but you can still manually adjust them with our built-in invoice editor. You can manually adjust all aspects of each line item and add custom line items.

To add a custom line item, open any invoice and click the "Add Custom Item" button:

Adding A Custom Line Item

To edit an invoice line item, click the pencil icon:

Editing An Invoice Line Item

To create an invoice without any events, and just a custom line item, follow the steps to Schedule A Client until the service order is visible. Instead of clicking "Add Event" or "Trip Tool," click directly on the invoice number to load the blank invoice, then follow the steps in the screenshots above to add a custom line item

Blank Invoice with Only Custom Line Items

Note: Manually adjusting a line item property (the Cost or Price) that was generated from a scheduled event will prevent any automatic changes to that line item property should you later update the service. For example, suppose a Dog Walking - 30 Minute line item is manually edited to $20, and the event is updated and changed to an Overnight service. In that case, the line item will remain locked at $20 and must be manually updated when the service is updated.

Services Can Be Scheduled Without Being Invoiced (Do Not Invoice These Services Option)

Although the situation is rare, it is possible to schedule services for a client without invoicing that particular service. To schedule services without invoicing, check off “Do Not Invoice These Services.” You will also receive a warning when selecting this option. This option only appears when scheduling services from the main Scheduler -> Schedule Client button:

Scheduler Do Not Invoice These Services
Moving Services Between Invoices Or To A New Invoice

So long as the source and destination invoice belongs to the same client, you can freely move services between invoices. For detailed instructions on how to do this: Moving Services Between Invoices. If you need to move services to a new invoice, you can use these steps: Moving Services Onto A New Invoice - Video.

Emailing Invoices

Invoices are not automatically emailed to clients; however, we have several options available to make it easy for your invoices to be emailed, scheduled to be emailed, and shown to your clients, depending on your company's preferences.

To email an individual invoice to a client, you can open the invoice you want to send, scroll to the bottom of the invoice window and click the "Email" button:

Invoice Screen - Email Option

To email a group of invoices in bulk, you can use our Bulk Invoicing tool.

To schedule emails containing invoices, you can use our Scheduled Messages feature.

You can set when invoices are automatically shown to clients in their Client Portal and Client App by adjusting the "Show Unpaid Invoices?" setting in Client Settings - Portal Settings. More information is available in our Portal Settings help documentation.

To see a list of when Time To Pet emails your clients: When Time To Pet Emails Your Clients.