Setting Up Recurring Invoices

What recurring invoices are for

Many businesses bill the same customer on a repeating schedule — a monthly retainer, a quarterly membership, an annual license. StretchBooks surfaces these in a dedicated Recurring invoices view so you can see, in one place, which arrangements repeat, their cadence, and when the next invoice is due to go out.

How recurrence is tracked

A recurring arrangement is an invoice that carries recurrence details:

• Recurrence rule — the cadence (for example monthly, quarterly, annually).
• Recurrence status — whether the schedule is active or paused.
• Next invoice date — when the next invoice in the series should be issued.

Any invoice with these details appears in the Recurring invoices tab, sorted by the soonest next date so upcoming billing rises to the top. Each row also shows the customer, so you can see who's on a schedule at a glance.

Step-by-step: set up a recurring invoice

1. Create the invoice as usual — pick the customer, add the line items and tax, and set the currency and terms. This first invoice defines the amounts the series bills.
2. Set its recurrence details: the rule (for example monthly), the status (active), and the next invoice date.
3. Save. The arrangement now appears in the Recurring invoices tab.
4. Each period, use the recurring entry to issue the next invoice to the customer.

Worked example

Northlight Coaching puts a client on a monthly retainer:

1. Create an invoice for Harbor & Vine Studio: line Monthly coaching retainer, qty 1, unit price $1,000.00, tax GST 5% — total $1,050.00.
2. Set recurrence: rule monthly, status active, next invoice date the 1st of next month.
3. Save. In the Recurring invoices tab, the retainer shows the customer, the monthly cadence, and the next date, so you always know the retainer is due at the start of each month.

Tips

• Keep the recurring entry's line items current — when the retainer amount changes, update it so future invoices bill the right total.
• Use the status to pause a schedule (for example a client on hold) without losing the arrangement.
• Review the Recurring invoices tab at the start of each billing period; it's sorted by next date so what's due is at the top.
• Pair recurring invoices with online checkout so retainer clients can pay each month's balance by card.

FAQ

Does StretchBooks send recurring invoices completely automatically? The Recurring invoices tab tracks and surfaces each arrangement, its cadence, and its next date so you can issue each period's invoice reliably. Treat it as your recurring-billing control panel.

Can I change the amount for one period only? Yes — issue that period's invoice and edit its lines before sending; the recurring arrangement keeps its own amounts for future periods.

How do I stop a recurring invoice? Set its recurrence status to paused/inactive, or clear its next date, and it drops out of the active recurring schedule.