Getting Started with PaidInvoice 📝

If you’ve ever sent an invoice as a slightly panicked Excel sheet at 11pm the night before a deadline, you’re exactly who we built this for.

PaidInvoice gets you from “I did the work” to “I got paid for it,” without spreadsheets, without Googling how VAT works, and without accidentally invoicing someone £180 instead of £1,800. (We’ve all been there.)

This guide walks you through everything, from setting up your profile to watching that invoice status flip from ‘Read’ to ‘Paid’. Grab a coffee. It won’t take long.

Step 1: Tell PaidInvoice a bit about yourself

Before you send a single invoice, spend two minutes in Settings → Business Details. This is the boring bit, but it’s the kind of boring that pays off every single time you invoice someone after this.

Add:

• Your business name, logo and address

• Your VAT or company number, if that applies to you

• A default currency, tax rate and payment terms

• An invoice number prefix, so your invoices number themselves

Do this once and every invoice from here on is already dressed for the occasion. No retyping your address for the fortieth time.

Screenshot: the Business Details settings page

Step 2: Add your first client

Head to Clients and hit + New Client. All you actually need is a name and an email. Everything else, billing address, payment terms, notes to self, can wait until later, or never happen at all.

Honestly, you don’t even need to treat this as its own step. You can add a brand new client mid-invoice without ever leaving the page.

Step 3: Create your first invoice

This is the bit that actually matters, and also the fun bit. You’ve got two efficient options. Pick whichever matches your mood today.

Option A: the proper form

Click New Invoice, choose your client, and fill in the details:

• Invoice number, issue date and due date (pre-filled, all editable)

• Line items: item, quantity, rate, tax. PaidInvoice does the maths so you don’t have to

• Notes, payment terms and a footer message

Add as many line items as the job needs. Your subtotal, tax and total update themselves as you type, live.

Screenshot: the New Invoice form

Option B: just say it out loud

Click AI Invoice, then type or speak what you need, like you’re texting a mate rather than writing a legal document.

“Create an invoice for a logo design, £800 with a 50% deposit, due in 7 days for Alex at North Studio. His email =isalex@northstarstudio.com”

Hit Generate and watch it build a full draft template. Give it a quick check on the edit screen first, and we’ll flag anything we’re unsure about. You can change or add any extra details before sending.

If you’re not quite ready to send, hit Save as Draft and come back to it later.

Screenshot: the AI Invoice generator, voice or text mode

Step 4: Make it actually look like your business

Your invoice doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s.

Pick from a growing collection of beautiful ready-made templates, from clean and minimal to bold, creative and a bit more out there. There are styles made for:

• Trades & construction

• Creatives & agencies

• Freelancers

• Restaurants & hospitality

• Small businesses that just want something clean and professional

Then make it yours with your brand colour, logo or header image (template-dependent), and watch it all update live as you edit.

Your invoice is the last thing your client sees before they pay you. So give it the same care and attention as the work you’re charging for.

Screenshot: customising the invoice, live preview

Step 5: Send it and get paid

Hit Send Invoice, and we’ll email your client a clean, professional invoice with a clear Pay Invoice button. Prefer to send it yourself? Just copy the payment link and share it by email, WhatsApp or wherever works best.

When they click through, they land on a secure payment page. No login, no account, no faff. From there they can:

• Pay by card (Stripe), PayPal or Google Pay

• View your bank details for a manual transfer

• Download the invoice as a PDF

The second they pay, the status flips to Paid automatically. You don’t have to ask, chase, or refresh anything.

Screenshot: the client-facing payment page

Step 6: Keep an eye on everything

Your Dashboard is home base. One glance tells you total revenue, what’s paid, what’s outstanding, and your most recent invoices.

Head to Inbox for a simple activity feed: sent, viewed, paid, overdue, all logged the moment it happens. No more wondering “did they even open it?”

Status badges make it easy to scan at a glance:

Screenshot: the Smart Inbox

A few more things that make life easier 🥹

• Friendly payment reminders: Give clients a little nudge before or after an invoice is due, without having to awkwardly chase them yourself.

• Recurring Invoices: Got regular clients or retainers? Set the schedule for weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly, and let PaidInvoice send them automatically.

• Estimates & Quotes: Send a quote first. Once it’s accepted, convert it to an invoice in one click. Switch on Auto-send to automate the process and save time.

• Time Logging: Clock hours as you work and pull them straight onto an invoice, no spreadsheet required.

• Expense Tracking: Add expenses yourself or upload receipts and let AI pull out the details and organise them for you.

• Reports: Track revenue over time, top clients, outstanding balances and more, then export what you need to CSV or PDF. Your accountant will love you.

• Referrals: Like PaidInvoice? Share your link and earn 20% recurring commission on everyone you bring in. 💰🥳

• Security: Keep your account safer with two-factor authentication for extra protection and peace of mind.

You’re now a PaidInvoice Ninja 🥷

That’s genuinely it. Set up your profile, add a client, create an invoice by hand or with AI, send it and get paid. No spreadsheets, no awkward chasing, no crossed fingers.

Stuck anywhere? Keep an eye out for the PaidInvoice bot floating around the app. It’s friendly, helpful, and won’t make you feel silly for asking.

Now go get paid. 😁