How do I generate an invoice?

In FreshBooks, you and your team can track time to projects. Those projects are assigned to individual clients, and you can Invoice your clients easily based on that tracked time.

Generating an invoice allows you to pull all unbilled time from specific or multiple projects tracked by you and your team members onto an Invoice. This marks those time entries as billed automatically as well. While generating this invoice, you can also bill for any unbilled expenses related to the project(s) or to your client.

• Generate From Time Tracking
• Generate from Project
• Generate From Invoice
• FAQs

 

There is a limit of 400 time entry line items when generating an invoice with tracked time on it. If your invoice is too long, use the Grouped or Simple format for a shorter invoice and include a PDF of the Time Entry Details report attached to share with your client instead.

 

Generate From Time Tracking

Use the below steps to generate an invoice from the Time Tracking section:

1. Select the Time Tracking section 
2. Then select Generate Invoice in the top right corner
   
3. Select your Client, any unbilled hours will show up next to their name
   
4. Select Continue
5. In the Review Unbilled Time for [Client] pop-up, under Date Range, select the dropdown and choose from All Time, This Month, Last Month, or Custom
6. Next, in the Choose Projects section, select Select All to add all your projects, find a project and/or check off specific projects
   
7. In the Choose Expenses section, choose between All unbilled expenses for this client, Only unbilled expenses assigned to selected projects, or No expenses
   
8. Then for Choose Time Entry Format section, choose between Detailed, Grouped, or Simple for how you want your time entries to appear on the Invoice - time entries are added in chronological order. Select Show Preview for a preview of your time entries by a particular format: 
   
   
   1. Detailed - Each time entry will appear as its own line item and include all details. Above the Description, select Includes and check off the boxes to display Service, Project, Team Member, Date, and/or Notes 
      
   2. Grouped - Time entries will be grouped by service and include all details. Above the Description, select Grouped By to choose displaying by Service, Team Member, or Day, and select Includes and check off the boxes to display Service, Project, Team Member, and/or Date
      
      
   3. Simple - Time entries will be grouped into a single line by project and include all details. Above the Description, select Includes and check off the boxes to display Project, Team Member, Total Hours, and/or Date 
      
9. The rate will automatically be populated depending on what billing rate was chosen
10. Enter any additional details on your invoice like notes, terms, due date, etc as needed
11. Then continue to edit the invoice, or save/send it when you're ready.

 

Generate From Project

Use the below steps to generate an invoice from the Projects section:

1. Select the Projects section
2. Then select the project you want to generate an invoice for
3. Next, select the More Actions button
4. Select Generate Invoice
   
5. Follow the steps as outlined in Generate from Time Tracking above for your date range, projects, expenses and time entry format
6. Then continue to edit the invoice, or save/send it when you're ready.

 

Generate From Invoice

Use the below steps to generate an invoice from the Invoices section:

1. Select the Invoices section
2. Then select New Invoice, or select the pencil icon over any existing invoice
3. If needed, select a Client
4. Then select the Add a Line button
5. Select Import Unbilled Time, Expenses, and Projects
   
6. Follow the steps as outlined in Generate from Time Tracking above for your date range, projects, expenses and time entry format
7. Then continue to edit the invoice, or save/send it when you're ready.

 

If you'd like to add unbilled time to a recurring template for future invoices, review How do I create a recurring template? instead.

 

FAQs

How do I manually mark time entries as billed or unbilled?

Follow the steps using the Bulk Actions button outlined in How do I review my time? here.

 

What happens if I delete my generated Invoice with the time entries on it? 

When the generated invoice is deleted, all time entries that were on this invoice will revert back to unbilled status. This allows you to rebill those time entries on another invoice, or manually mark them as billed in the future. Undeleting the invoice will not change the status of the time entries.