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Recurring Invoices

Recurring invoice templates generate each period's invoice on schedule — ideal for retainers, subscriptions, and SaaS. Choose auto-send or draft-for-review, and track how many invoices each template has produced.

Key capabilities

  • Six frequencies: daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, annually
  • Day targeting: Day of month (1–31) for monthly/quarterly/annual, Day of week (Monday–Sunday) for weekly/biweekly
  • Per-period due date via a Days until due offset (0–365, default 30)
  • Optional auto-send to email each generated invoice (invoice templates only; off by default)
  • Optional project and contract link, so generated invoices flow into project reporting and the contract's billing
  • Create recurring schedule from this invoice on the invoice form; that invoice counts as the first occurrence
  • Fixed total or line-item template amounts, with optional description
  • End conditions: an End date, a Max occurrences cap, or run indefinitely — whichever limit comes first stops it
  • Pause / Resume without losing history, Skip Next to skip one occurrence, Clone to copy a template, and Delete to remove one
  • Cancel schedule to stop permanently; templates auto-complete when a limit is reached
  • Generation history ("Generated History") showing every invoice produced, with status and amount
  • Upcoming runs also appear on the Scheduled tab of Invoices, where you can skip an occurrence
  • AI Suggest panel that detects recurring patterns from past transactions
  • The same engine also powers recurring bills (pick Bill as the type; bill templates take a fixed Amount instead of line items)

How it works

A background scheduler checks active templates each day. When a template's next occurrence is due, it generates the invoice, advances the schedule, and either emails it (auto-send) or leaves it as a draft.

flowchart TD
  template["Active template"] --> due{"Due & under limits?"}
  due -->|"No"| wait["Wait for next day"]
  due -->|"Yes"| generate["Generate invoice"]
  generate --> mode{"Auto-send?"}
  mode -->|"Yes"| sent["Emailed to customer"]
  mode -->|"No"| draft["Draft for review"]
  generate --> advance["Advance schedule"]

How to use it

  1. Open Recurring Templates and click New Template.
  2. Set Type to Invoice, pick the customer, and choose a Frequency (the form defaults to monthly).
  3. Add line items (description, quantity, price) or products, a description, an optional project, and a Start Date (cannot be in the past).
  4. Optionally set an End Date (optional); the last invoice is generated on that date.
  5. Click Create Template. Invoices are created as drafts with a due date 30 days out unless the template says otherwise.
  6. To start from an existing invoice instead, tick Create recurring schedule from this invoice on the invoice form and set Frequency, First occurrence, Days until due, and an optional Template name.
  7. Use the type filter (All, Invoices, Bills) to narrow the list. Click a template to see its details and Generated History, and to Pause, Resume, Skip Next, Clone, Edit, or Cancel schedule.

Pro tips

  • For monthly billing on a fixed day, set Day of month; if a month is shorter (e.g., 31 in February), generation falls back to the last day automatically.
  • Without a Day of month or Day of week, the schedule follows the day or weekday of the start date. The New Template form does not show those fields, nor auto-send, days until due, or max occurrences: ask Regent to create or update the template with them, or see the Recurring templates guide if you work over the API.
  • Use draft mode (auto-send off) for variable amounts you want to tweak before each send; use auto-send for fixed retainers.
  • Skip Next (active templates only) advances the schedule by one period without generating — ideal for a billing holiday — while Pause halts all generation until you resume.
  • Setting both an end date and a max-occurrences cap is fine; whichever is hit first stops the template and flips its status to completed.
  • Clone starts a fresh copy (named "… (Copy)") at 0 occurrences with active status and today's start date by default — handy for spinning up a similar plan for another customer.

In-depth guide

Lifecycle & generation

Templates start active on the start date, generate only while active and under caps, and move to Completed when limits hit or Cancel stops them permanently. Pause / Resume halt or restart without losing history. Each run increments the count, records the last date, and advances the schedule; generated invoices appear in history with status, amount, and due date.

Accounting impact

Recurring templates don't post journal entries themselves — they create invoices, and each generated invoice follows the normal invoice lifecycle:

  • Finalizing — debits Accounts Receivable and credits revenue.
  • Payments — reduce its balance.
  • Auto-send on — invoices are generated and emailed.
  • Auto-send off (draft mode) — invoices wait for you to finalize and send.

AI & automation

From transaction history, AI suggestions surface likely recurring patterns — a description, suggested frequency, average amount, counterparty, last occurrence, and a confidence score — that you can turn into templates. This complements manual creation when you're formalizing existing repeat billing.

Limits & edge cases

  • Start and end dates cannot be in the past at creation time, and the start date cannot be changed after creation.
  • Updating the amount requires a positive value.
  • Delete, in the template's details, removes the template permanently. It is separate from Cancel schedule, which keeps the template and its history; invoices already generated are untouched either way.
  • Templates can be filtered by type, status, and customer.