How to raise an invoice

In Financial IQ you draft an invoice, issue it, then send it. Keeping those three apart means nothing reaches a customer before you are ready for it to.

Before you start

You need the customer on your records first. If they are not there yet, you can add them from inside the invoice. A name and an email is enough to get going and you can fill in the rest later.

Raise the invoice

1. 1
   Choose the customer and the dates

   Pick the customer, the Invoice Date and the Payment Terms (Days). The Due Date (Auto-calculated) field is worked out from those two, so it always matches your terms.

   Invoice Details

   Draft

   Customer

   Kingsway Media Ltd

   Invoice Date

   4 Sep 2026

   Payment Terms (Days)

   30

   Due Date (Auto-calculated)

   4 Oct 2026
2. 2
   Add what you are charging for

   Each line takes a description, a quantity, a unit price and a VAT rate. If you bill the same thing regularly, save the line as a template and pick it off the list next time.

   Description

   Qty

   Unit

   VAT

   Amount

   Brand identity, phase two

   1

   £3,600.00

   20%

   £3,600.00

   Photography day rate

   2

   £600.00

   20%

   £1,200.00

   Brand identity, phase two

   1 × £3,600.00 · VAT 20%

   £3,600.00

   Photography day rate

   2 × £600.00 · VAT 20%

   £1,200.00

   Subtotal£4,800.00

   VAT at 20%£960.00

   Total£5,760.00
3. 3
   Issue it

   Choose Issue Invoice from the invoice's actions. Issuing gives the invoice its number and puts it into your books. Until then it is only a draft, so change it or delete it as much as you like.

4. 4
   Send it to the customer

   Once it is issued, Send Email sends it to the customer and keeps a record of when it went and where to. Sending is its own step, so you can issue today and send on Monday if that suits you better. Or choose Download PDF and send it however you normally would.

What each status means

After you have sent it

Invoices that repeat

If you bill a retainer or a subscription, switch on Make this a recurring invoice before you issue it, then choose how often it repeats.

Fill in End Date (Optional) or Max Occurrences (Optional) if the arrangement has a natural end, or leave both empty to keep it going. Each one is raised and posted to your books on its date. It isn't emailed on its own, so send it to your customer from the invoice when it appears.