From recorded hours to a saved invoice

1. Open Settings from the home screen menu, scroll to Invoices and open the section heading. Enter your company, contact, registration and payment details, then save.
2. Check the invoice currency and default VAT rate (%). On the main Settings screen, set Payment term (days). The default is 30 days; leave it empty to omit the payment due date.
3. Open the client and check its Billing name and billing address. The billing name is the recipient printed on the invoice.
4. Open each task and enter its Hourly rate. A task can specify its own VAT rate (%); otherwise the invoice default applies.
5. Review and save the hours for the month you intend to invoice.

Check the PDF before completing it. A missing hourly rate leaves the affected amount and invoice totals as dashes; it does not mean that the work is free. Changing company details, rates or hours later does not change a completed PDF.

The example uses Northlight Studio, contact Jamie Taylor, and fictional address, registration and payment details. The email address is hello@example.com; the bank field is explicitly marked as a demo.

Enter your own business details when preparing real invoices.

Open Settings → Invoices → Invoice numbering.

• Prefix: optional text such as INV-. Use letters A–Z, digits 0–9, hyphens or underscores; spaces and slashes are not accepted.
• Start number: enter the number without leading zeros, for example 1.
• Number of digits: controls zero padding. With prefix INV-, start number 1 and 4 digits, the next invoice is INV-0001. Longer numbers are kept in full.
• Numbering sequence: continue across years, or reset to 1 each year. For yearly numbering, choose a two-digit or four-digit year. The year is placed between the prefix and sequence number and uses the invoice date.

Check Next invoice and select Save. The start number locks after the first completed invoice. Saving or previewing a draft does not consume a number.

For example, prefix INV-, four year digits and four sequence digits produces INV-20260001 for the first invoice in 2026. The next year starts a separate sequence.

1. From the home screen, open Invoices → Create invoice.
2. Choose the month containing the hours. The screen starts on the previous month; use This month when appropriate.
3. Select the client, project and tasks. Check the task selection before continuing.
4. Choose the document language and check the Invoice date. The billed month and invoice date are separate choices.
5. Select Preview PDF to inspect the draft, or Save draft to return to the list.

Preview PDF also saves the draft internally. It does not assign a final invoice number. Return to the editor to make changes; saving again updates that draft. Its preview has no print or share actions.

The example selects Installation and Planning for Canal Studio’s Office refresh in September 2026. Document wording comes from the shared Manage translations collection.

This example shows 20 installation hours and 4 planning hours for September. The DRAFT label shows that it has not been completed. The preview shows the next available number without reserving it.

Both tasks use an example hourly rate of €75.00. The 24 hours total €1800.00 before VAT; 21% VAT adds €378.00, giving an amount due of €2178.00. Check the rates, VAT and payment details before completing an invoice.

Open the example draft PDF to inspect the full document. All company and payment details in this example are fictional.

1. Open your draft and check the details and PDF.
2. Select Save invoice.
3. Read Complete this invoice now? and confirm with Complete invoice.
4. Open the completed invoice in the list to view its saved PDF. Use the print or share icon when you want to export it.

Completion assigns the next invoice number and advances the counter. A completed invoice cannot be edited or deleted individually from the list. Use Delete completed invoices in the Danger zone to remove selected completed invoices. The separate numbering reset removes all completed invoices.

Saving a draft or completed invoice also creates an extra cloud copy when configured. Previewing a draft does not. If a cloud copy fails after saving, the invoice remains saved inside the app; check the error before assuming there is an external copy.

Find the right record

Use All, Draft or Complete above the list. A draft opens in the editor and has a delete action. A completed invoice shows its invoice number and opens its saved PDF.

Deleting a draft removes its internal record and PDF after confirmation. Previously exported copies and backups remain where you saved them.

The completed example is INV-0001. It contains the same 24 hours at €75.00, €378.00 VAT and €2178.00 amount due. The DRAFT label is gone and the saved PDF offers print and share actions.

Open the completed example PDF. This is demonstration data, including the company, client billing address and payment details.

1. Make the backup first

1. Return to the home screen and open Backup & Restore from its settings menu.
2. Select Export ZIP. Complete the save to a destination outside the app. When extra cloud copies are enabled, wait for the app to confirm the backup was saved; you can also choose Share extra copy.
3. Check that you can find the ZIP in the chosen destination. Keep any separate completed PDFs you need.
4. Only then return to Settings → Invoices → Invoice numbering.

Reset does not create a backup for you. See Backup & restore for the full export and restore workflow.

2. Open the Danger zone

Scroll down and select Reset invoice numbering. Read both confirmation sheets before continuing.

1. Have you saved all completed invoices elsewhere? Choose Yes, saved elsewhere only after checking your external copies.
2. Permanently delete all completed invoices? Review what will be removed, then select Delete completed invoices and reset.

You can select Cancel at either confirmation to leave the invoices and numbering unchanged. The deletion happens after the second confirmation.