Creating Invoices

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The Invoices screen shown below lets you add, edit and view invoices. This screen also lets you view the details for the invoice including totals and tax without opening the invoice.



You can filter the invoices using the Filter Invoices drop-down list. The following options are available from this list.

Show All

When you select Show All, all your invoices are displayed.

Show Paid

When you select Show Paid, only invoices that are fully paid are displayed.

Show Unpaid

When you select Show Unpaid, only invoices that are not fully paid are displayed.

Show Overdue

When you select Show Overdue, only invoices that are overdue are displayed.

Show For Month

When you select Show By Month, two drop-down list are displayed from which you can choose the year and the month to display invoices for.

Show By Customer

When you select Show By Customer, a drop-down list containing all your customers is displayed. When you choose a customer, that customer's invoices are displayed.

When an invoice is selected, all items that are part of that invoice are shown in the Invoice Details list. The Total Cost, Subtotal, Tax and Invoice Total are also shown.

Click the Add button to add a new invoice.

Click the View / Edit button to view or edit the selected invoice.

You can also print, email and print details for the selected invoice without opening the invoice.

Click the Delete button to delete the selected invoice.

When you click the Add or View / Edit buttons the screen shown below is displayed. This is where you view and edit complete details for the invoice. This is also where you print or email the invoice from.



Click the small button next to the Customer field to select the customer the invoice is for. A window like the one shown below will open listing all your active customers.



You can sort the list by any column by clicking the column header. Click again to sort in the opposite direction. Select the customer from the list and click the OK button.

You can add a description for the invoice in the Description field.

The Invoice # will be entered for you as will the Invoice Date. You can change the date by clicking the small button next to the field.

The Tax Rate % will be entered for you based on the default tax rate you entered on the Company Info screen. You can change this if needed.

Select or type the terms for the invoice using the Terms drop-down list. If the one you want is not on the list, just type it in and it will be saved for next time. You can manage this list from the Other Lists screen.

Select or type a note for the invoice using the Notes drop-down list. If the one you want is not on the list, just type it in and it will be saved for next time. You can manage this list from the Other Lists screen.

You add items to the invoice in the Add / Edit Invoice Items section. You have two options, you can just type in the item information or you can select an item from the Item List list. This gives you complete flexibility when creating invoices.

If you just want to type in the item then enter the title and optionally the description. To enter a description, click the View / Edit Description button. This will open a popup window as shown below where you can view and edit the text.

Click the OK button to enter the description or the Cancel button to discard.

Enter the quantity and unit cost. The unit cost can be broken down into Labor, Materials and Other. If you don't want to break the unit cost down, just enter the total unit cost in the Labor field. Check the Taxable box if it is a taxable item. Enter a markup % if you want to apply markup to the item. As you enter information the item cost and price will be calculated. When you are happy with the item, click the Save / Update button to add it to the invoice. The invoice totals will be updated. When you type an item in you can add it to the Item List list by clicking the Save To List button.

To select an item from the Item List list, click the button to the right of the Item field. This will open the screen shown below.

Simply select the category and click the OK button. This will display the second screen shown above listing the items in the chosen category. Select the item you want and click the OK button. All the information will be entered for you but you can edit it if you want. Editing will not affect the item in the Item List. All the calculations will be done also. You can make any changes you need to the item such as changing the quantity or unit cost and it will recalculate automatically. When you are happy with the item, click the Save button to add it to the invoice. The invoice totals will be updated.

Repeat the steps above to add a plant to the invoice. Just click the button instead.

To keep things consistent and to save time, you should add all the items and plants that you use to the Item List and Plant List.

To edit an existing invoice item, select it from the Invoice Items list. Its details will be displayed in the Add / Edit Invoice Items section. Make any changes and then click the Save button. All the totals will recalculate automatically.

You can force Plant Estimator to print subtotals anywhere within the invoice. To do this, simply click the Insert Subtotal Line button. See the example below.

This

will look like this when printed.

You will notice that the * does not print.

You can re-arrange the items in the list using the Move Row Up and Move Row Down buttons. Simply select the row you want to move and click the appropriate button. You can insert an item anywhere within the list by selecting the row you want to insert an item after and then clicking the Insert New Row button. This feature combined with the ability to move items up and down, header items and subtotals, gives you complete control over how the invoice will look when printed.

You can expand the Invoice Items list by clicking the Expand List button. This lets you view more items at a time and is useful if the invoice has a lot of items. Click the button again to return to normal view.

You can optionally view the Invoice Items in a tree like view by clicking the Tree View button. See the example below.



The items will be grouped by header items if any exist. You can select an item and edit is just like in list view. Click the button again to return to list view.

Click the Save Invoice button to save your changes to the invoice. If you have not saved your changes the font color on the Save button changes to yellow, which acts as a flag or reminder that you have made changes that are not saved yet.

Click the Print Invoice button to print a copy of the invoice to give to the customer. A popup menu will appear listing different printing options including any custom invoices you have created.

When you choose the one you want, a message will popup asking if you want to print the item descriptions. If you choose No, only the item titles will be printed on the invoice. The invoice will open in the Print Preview window.

Click the Email Invoice button to email the invoice to the customer. A popup menu listing different options including any custom invoices you have created.

When you choose the one you want, a message will popup asking if you want to include the item descriptions. If you choose No, only the item titles will be included on the Invoice. The Invoice will be converted to a PDF file so it can be attached to an email message. Then the screen shown below will open.



You must be already connected to the internet. If you have entered an email address for the customer, it will be entered in the To Email field. You can change this to any email address you want. You can edit the subject as needed. If you have setup a default message on the Email Settings screen, it will be entered for you. If you included any merge fields in the default message, these will have been replaced with the correct values. Click the Send button to send the Invoice or click the Cancel button to not send it. A small dialog window will show the status and let you know if the message was sent or if it failed.

You can also email the invoice from the Print Preview window. This method uses your default email program.

Click the Print Details button to print a copy of the invoice showing all the details including costs and markup. This is for your own use and should not be given to the customer. A message will popup asking if you want to print the item descriptions. If you choose No, only the item titles will be printed. The invoice details will open in the Print Preview window.

Click the Duplicate button to duplicate the current invoice. This a great way to create a similar invoice. The new invoice will be displayed so you can edit it if needed and print it.

Click the Close button to return to the Invoice List screen. If you have not saved your changes a message will popup asking you if you want to save them or not.

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