Invoices
Turn a visit's charges into a finalised bill - create, edit, finalise, send, void, credit, merge and mark as sent.
An invoice is the bill you hand or email to a client. Every visit gets its own draft invoice automatically, from the moment the first charge is added - this page is about checking that draft and making it official.
New here? Read Charges vs invoices first - it explains the one idea that makes everything below click.
Draft or finalised - the only question that matters
| State | Editable? | Has a number and date? | Can be sent or paid? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draft | Yes, freely | No - it isn't a document yet | No |
| Finalised | No - unfinalise first | Yes - both stamp on the moment you finalise | Yes |
One thing stays editable on a finalised invoice: the internal note. Everything else - the lines, the prices, the dates, the owner and the customer note - locks when you finalise. The customer note stays on screen, greyed out, so you can still read exactly what the client was sent; it just can't be changed, because they're holding a copy of it. The internal note is the clinic talking to itself, nobody outside sees it, and you can keep adding to it for as long as the invoice exists. It saves by itself when you click away.
Saving a draft is not the same as finalising it. Save and walk away and the bill just sits there - no number, nothing to send, and you can't take payment against it. The last step is always Finalise.
Common tasks
| I want to... | Do this |
|---|---|
| Bill a visit's charges | Patient or client → Financials → Not yet billed → Invoice this visit → check it → Finalise |
| Bill with no visit (sundries) | Add charge on the client's or the patient's Financials tab. It starts the bill and opens it, so you can add more lines and Finalise |
| Find an invoice | Billing → Invoices, then search or filter. Or the client's Financials tab |
| Find late ones | Invoices list → Status filter → Overdue |
| Fix a draft | Open it → change lines, dates, notes → Save |
| Add a line | + → pick a catalogue item |
| Reorder lines | Drag the grip handle (≡). Needs a mouse - won't work by touch |
| Issue it | Finalise. Saves your edits for you first |
| Fix an issued one | Unfinalise → edit → Finalise again |
| Cancel one nobody has paid | ⋯ → Void invoice. Puts any stock back |
| Bring back one you cancelled | ⋯ → Un-void, or Copy to a new draft if stock went back |
| Cancel one that's been paid | ⋯ → Credit note. Raises a CRN- document |
| Bill it to someone else | ⋯ → Reissue to a different payer |
| Bin a draft you never issued | ⋯ → Delete draft. This deletes the charges on it too, and can't be undone |
| Take money | Take payment (header button on a finalised invoice with a balance) |
| Use credit they already hold | Apply credit in the Payments panel |
| Print or save a PDF | The printer or download icon in the header |
| Email it | The envelope (Send) icon. Finalised only. Marks it sent for you |
| Flag it as sent by hand | ⋯ → Mark as sent. Or tick several in the list. For post and counter |
| Combine small bills | Tick 2+ invoices from the same client → Merge invoices. Drafts included. Not ones that have been paid |
Walk-throughs
What's on the document
Each line shows the item, the quantity, any discount and the amount.
- There is no unit price column. Nearly every medication line carries a dispensing or injection fee, so a per-unit price either fails to add up or has to be blended into something clinically odd - ketamine at $197.17/mL. With one money figure per line the document adds up plainly. An Australian tax invoice needs the supplier and ABN, the date, a description, the quantity, the GST amount and the total; a unit price has never been on that list.
- A client never sees a dispensing or injection fee broken out. It sits inside the line's total, which is what it has always done. You can see the full breakdown on screen - click the arrow at the start of any line to see the price, the quantity, each fee and any discount - so you always have the answer when a client asks what a line is for.
- A package is one line. It shows the package name, its price and its discount, with the contents listed underneath by name. The arrow at the start of the line opens the working: each item at its own price, and the discount.
- If any line carries a weekend or after-hours loading, one sentence appears under the totals - "Some items on this invoice include a 40% Sunday loading." No multiplier is ever printed. Reword or remove it in Settings → Clinic Settings → Rate loading.
Printed and PDF versions use the clean document layout, with the on-screen panels hidden. See Printing & PDFs.
Gotchas
- A payment that doesn't "stick" wasn't allocated. Recording money and telling Wattle which invoice it belongs to are two separate steps. Full detail in Taking payments.
- The status badge shows two different things - where the invoice is in its life (Draft, Finalised, Void) and how payment is going (Paid, Partial, Overdue). So a perfectly normal finalised invoice reads Overdue once its due date passes. That's the badge being helpful, not a fault.
- Finalise needs at least one line item. An empty draft is refused with a message saying there's nothing on it to bill.
- No Take payment button means the invoice is still a draft, or already fully paid.
- Reordering lines needs a mouse. Dragging the ≡ handle won't work by tapping a tablet screen, and there are no up/down buttons yet.
- Send is greyed out on drafts. Finalise first.
- Unfinalise is missing on voided or merged invoices. Un-void it first, or work with the destination invoice. If Un-void refuses because stock went back, use Copy to a new draft.
- Merge is strict: same client, all finalised or sent. One draft or one stray client in the selection and it refuses.
Where to go next
Taking payments - allocation, credit, refunds · Estimates · Charges vs invoices · Emailing clients · Glossary