Yes. Once your customer accepts an estimate, you can turn it into an invoice without retyping anything. Only Administrators and Finance Managers can open estimates and create invoices.

  1. Go to Quotes/Estimates and open the estimate. Accepted estimates are in the Accepted / Rejected list.

  2. Click Create Invoice at the top right. It's also in the Actions menu.

    An accepted estimate for Harvest & Co. with the Create Invoice button at the top right and the Actions menu open, including Create Invoice and Link to Invoices

  3. The Create Invoice page opens, filled in from the estimate. Check it (see below) and change anything you need.

    The Create Invoice page filled in from an accepted estimate for Harvest & Co., with the estimate's lines, subject and customer contact copied

  4. Click Save Invoice. The invoice is saved as a Draft, ready to send.

When you save, the estimate is linked to the invoice and its status changes from Accepted to Invoiced. Nothing is saved before that: if you click Cancel or leave the page, no invoice is created and the estimate stays Accepted.

What's copied, and what to check

  • Copied: every line item (type, description, quantity, unit price, line discount and tax rate), the Subject and the Customer Contact.
  • Currency: the customer's currency, as on the estimate. For a foreign currency, the invoice gets the current exchange rate, not the estimate's. Click Edit Rate to change it.
  • Amounts are: not copied. The invoice starts with Show Amounts as from Settings › Invoice & Bill Settings. If the estimate was tax inclusive and the invoice is tax exclusive (or the other way round), the prices stay the same but the total changes. Set it to match before you save. See tax inclusive and exclusive amounts.
  • Invoice Template: the customer's default invoice template, not the estimate template.
  • Notes: not copied. The invoice starts with its template's default notes, if it has any.
  • Number and dates: the next invoice number, today's date, and a due date from the customer's payment terms.
  • Attachments: not copied. Add them to the invoice after saving.

The invoice and estimate are separate: editing one later doesn't change the other. See filling out an invoice.

If the estimate isn't accepted yet

Create Invoice only appears on an Accepted estimate. If your customer agreed by phone or email, record it first:

  • Sent, Expired or Rejected: choose Actions › Mark as Accepted, add a comment if you like, and click Approve.
  • Draft: choose Actions › Mark as Sent first, then Mark as Accepted.
The Actions menu on a sent estimate for Fernleaf Media, with Mark as Accepted below Mark as Rejected
The Estimate Approval popup with an optional comments box and the Approve button

Bill only part of the estimate

To invoice a deposit or the first stage, change the quantities or prices, or delete lines, before you save. Once the estimate is Invoiced, the Create Invoice button is gone. Create each later invoice from Invoices as usual, or copy the first one, and link it to the estimate with Actions › Link to Invoices. See linking an estimate to more than one invoice.

After the invoice is created

  • Where the link shows: the invoice number appears under Linked Invoices at the top right of the estimate, and opens the invoice. The invoice doesn't show the estimate. Administrators and Finance Managers also see "created an Invoice based on Estimate" in their activity feed.
  • Deleting the invoice removes the link. If no other invoices are linked, the estimate goes back to Accepted and Create Invoice reappears. Voiding the invoice keeps the link.
  • Deleting the estimate: Delete is greyed out while an estimate is Invoiced. Unlink its invoices under Actions › Link to Invoices first.
  • Monthly invoice limit: if your plan's limit is reached, Create Invoice takes you to the Invoices page with a message instead.