How do I merge invoices in the Saptivo CRM system?

Merging invoices is a feature in Saptivo CRM that allows you to combine/include already created invoices into one invoice by transferring all the invoice information to a new invoice. This feature is useful when your customer has other unpaid invoices, but you need to create an additional invoice for the customer, and you want to prevent them from paying multiple invoices. In this case, your customer will only need to pay one consolidated invoice.

To check if there are available invoices to be merged, you can find this information in different places:

• 1. When creating a new invoice: Available invoices to merge are displayed after selecting a customer. The system will check if there are invoices that can be merged into the one you are creating for the selected customer.
• 2. When previewing an existing invoice from the admin area: Available invoices will be shown at the top, and you can click on the edit button to take the necessary action.
• 3. When editing an existing invoice: Available invoices for merging are displayed immediately after entering the edit invoice area.

It’s important to note that you can only merge invoices with the following statuses: Unpaid, Overdue, and Draft. For example, if the invoice you are editing has a status of Partially Paid, you won’t be able to merge existing invoices into it unless they also have a status of Unpaid, Overdue, or Draft.

To merge invoices, when you create or edit an invoice, a message will appear at the top indicating if there are invoices available for merging

You can merge multiple invoices by selecting the checkbox on the left side of the invoice number.

Once the checkbox is selected, the invoice items will be automatically added to your existing invoice that you are currently creating or editing.

Additionally, you have the option to mark the merged invoices as canceled instead of deleting them. This is important because merging invoices may create gaps in invoice numbers. If you prefer not to have gaps in your invoice history, avoid merging invoices. Alternatively, you can manually adjust invoice numbers to fill any gaps.

Cancelled invoices are excluded from reports, and overdue reminders are disabled.

How can you configure automatic invoice overdue notices in our CRM system? 

You can send invoice overdue notices either manually or automatically using a cron job.

For automatic overdue notices:

• 1. Navigate to Setup -> Settings -> Cron Job -> Invoices.
• 2. Set up automatic overdue notices by adjusting the field ‘Automatically send a 3 reminder after.’ If you want to send the notice the same day the invoice is overdue, set it to 0; otherwise, adjust it according to your preferences.
• 3. The second field pertains to resending overdue notices based on the last notice date. To disable resending, set this field to 0.

The automatic sending of overdue notices will occur at a specific hour, based on the ‘Hour of day to perform automatic operations’ value set in Setup -> Settings -> Cron Job -> Invoices.

How can you record an invoice payment in our CRM system?

While viewing the invoice from the admin area, click on the ‘+ Payment’ button to record a new invoice payment. After clicking on the button, a new view will be displayed, including the ‘Record Payment’ form

Keep in mind that the ‘+ Payment’ button will be shown only if the user has permissions for payment creation. Additionally, this button may be disabled if the invoice has a status of ‘Paid’ or ‘Cancelled.

1. Amount Received – This is the total amount paid for the invoice, automatically populated based on the invoice due amount.
2. Payment Date – Choose the date for the payment; the default is the current date.
3. Payment Mode – Select one of the available payment modes for this invoice. If the preferred payment mode is not listed, click here to learn more.
4. Additionally, you can include a payment note.
5. ‘Do not send invoice payment recorded email to customer contacts’ – If checked, no email will be sent to customer contacts notifying them of the recorded payment for this invoice. To disable this option, deactivate the email template in Setup -> Settings -> Invoice Payment Recorded (Sent to customer contacts). After disabling the template, this field won’t be shown, and no email will be sent to the customer.
6. Click ‘Save.’

After recording the payment, the invoice status will automatically update based on the total amount. If the full amount is recorded, the status will change to ‘Paid’; otherwise, it will be updated to ‘Partially Paid.

Email Sent to Customer Contacts:

If the option ‘Do not send invoice payment recorded email to customer contacts’ is unchecked, an email (with a PDF payment attachment) will be sent directly to the customer contacts after the payment is recorded. This email serves to inform them that payment has been recorded for this invoice.

To edit the email content, navigate to Setup -> Email Templates -> Invoice Payment Recorded (Sent to customer contacts).

Email Sent to Staff:

Furthermore, the system will send another email (‘Invoice Payment Recorded (Sent to staff)’) to the invoice sale agent and invoice creator. This email will also be sent when the customer pays the invoice online via an online payment gateway.

Please note that if the payment is recorded via the admin area by a staff member (currently logged in), this staff member won’t receive an email.

How to send an invoice as an email in our CRM system?

Saptivo has the option to send this invoice to a related customer. Additionally, the PDF invoice will be attached to the email. If you do not want to attach the PDF invoice, simply uncheck the checkbox ‘Attach Invoice PDF.

After sending the invoice to the customer, if you need to resend the invoice, there will be another email content. Since the initial invoice has already been sent, the customer may request the invoice again, and in all cases, this content will be different. To edit the email content for sending the invoice to your customer for the second time, go to Setup -> Email Templates -> Invoice Already Sent to Client.

By default, all contacts with enabled email notifications for invoices will be selected, and you can adjust this based on your needs.

When the cron job attempts to send the invoice (e.g., for expiration reminders), emails will be sent to all contacts with enabled email notifications for invoices.

How to set up a recurring invoice in the Saptivo CRM system?

Settings

Navigate to the Settings Menu -> Settings -> Cron Job.

Create a new invoice from the main recurring invoice only if the main invoice is with status paid.

• If set to No and the recurring invoice is not with a paid status, the new invoice won’t be created.

Hour of day to perform automatic operations (24-hour format, e.g., 9 for 9 am or 15 for 3 pm):

• The invoice will be re-created at a specific time of the day, based on the hour configured in this option.
• For example, if the invoice should be re-created on the 1st of May, and you set the hour as 09, the invoice will be re-created on the 1st of May at 9 AM.

Action to take after the invoice is re-created:

• Generate and auto send the renewed invoice to the customer. (Note: Customer contacts must have configured email notifications for invoices to receive the email.)
• Generate an Unpaid Invoice.
• Generate a Draft Invoice.

            Create a recurring invoice.

When you add/edit an invoice, you have the option to set this invoice to be recurring.

This means that the invoice will be re-created automatically based on your setup for a recurring invoice (every X months). Recurring options range from 1 month to 12 months, or you can select custom to fit your needs.

How are the recurring days calculated?

The date when the invoice needs to be re-created (renewed) is calculated from the invoice date.

The dates in the examples are shown in Y-m-d format.

• Example 1:
  • Invoice date is XXXX-08-17.
  • Recurring is every 1 month.
  • The invoice will be re-created (renewed) on XXXX-09-17.
• Example 2:
  • Invoice date is XXXX-03-01.
  • Recurring is every month.
  • The invoice will be re-created (renewed) on XXXX-04-01.

When the invoices are generated from this invoice, you will have an overview of which invoices are generated from this invoice at the ‘Child Invoices’ tab.

How to create an invoice in our CRM system?

To create a new invoice, go to Sales -> Invoices and click on the ‘Create new invoice’ button.

Select a customer. When choosing a client, the customer information will be fetched directly from the customer’s profile. Another option is to click on the edit icon and directly add the desired customer information. This also applies to billing information, which is fetched when selecting a customer.

NOTE: If you want the billing details to be auto-populated when selecting the customer, you need to have previously added billing details in the customer profile.

Billing and Shipping – If you change the billing and shipping information after selecting a client and click on the edit icon, this will be changed for the invoice, but in the customer profile, the information will remain the same.

Allowed payment modes for this invoice – Select the allowed payment modes for the invoice you are creating. If your customers pay online using saptivo CRM payment gateways, they will be visible in the invoice HTML area and when recording payment for the invoice from the admin area.

Currency – The currency is automatically selected based on your default currency or the currency set for the selected customer you chose previously in the customer profile. If the currency for this customer is USD, it will be automatically selected and cannot be changed.

INVOICE Number – The number is automatically populated, e.g., 00012, and the next will be 00013.

This number is fetched from Setup->Settings->Finance->Invoice– Next Number; the number is auto-incremented, but you can change the next number in Setup->Settings->Finance->Invoice.

Customer note is visible on the client side as well, both in the HTML invoice and PDF invoice.

You can set up terms directly in the invoice, or you can use predefined terms that will be auto-populated. To set up predefined terms, go to Setup -> Settings -> Finance -> Invoice, scroll down, and populate the fields as they fit your needs.

Sales Agent – You can select a sales agent for this invoice and generate reports in Reports -> Sales -> Invoices Report. Note that the full name of the sales agent will be shown on the invoice if, in Setup -> Settings -> Finance -> Invoice -> ‘Show sales agent on invoice’ is set to ‘yes’, see picture.

You can add invoice items; when adding, make sure to click on the blue check icon for the item to be added. You can also select tax options, as shown in the picture.

The items will be stored separately for each invoice, and changing the item information in Sales -> Items won’t affect the already created invoices with specific item/s.

Admin notes are only for admins/staff members.

Customer note is visible on the client side as well, both in the HTML invoice and PDF invoice.

Click ‘Save.’While editing/creating the invoice, the adjustment option is always available if you want to +/- the total amount.

How to Export Customers’ Invoices/Estimates/Payments to ZIP?

Go to the customer profile and click on the tab you want to export data, e.g., invoices.

Select a status or just leave it as ‘All’ and click ‘Submit.’ All invoices based on your selected options will be added to a .zip file

You can choose a start and end date, the date is based on the invoice/estimate/payment date