Invoicing and payments

From approved work to a paid invoice, with nothing billed twice.

Check what is ready, choose the sources, preview the invoice your client will see, and follow it to a settled balance. Every amount traces back to the work behind it.

Plans: Invoices from time, expenses and milestones, and online client payments, on every plan. Retainer billing on Studio and Scale.

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Billable sources for Kite Mobility

Milestone: Identity approved, selected
Complete, ready to bill
$30,000
Milestone: Guidelines delivered, not selected
Planned, billable once complete
$30,000
Expenses: 2 approved, excluded
Not billable under this fixed fee
$1,800

Selected to invoice$30,000

Payment status

Issued, done
INV-0004 is numbered, and its totals and line snapshots are locked.
Sent to the client, done
Accepted for delivery by the email provider. Delivery is confirmed separately.
Deposit applied, done
$15,000 received at signing, counted as cash once, when it arrived.
Awaiting payment, pending
$15,000 outstanding. The invoice is marked paid only when Stripe confirms a payment.

Net invoiced: $30,000
Cash collected: $15,000
Outstanding: $15,000

Northline Studio

214 Mercer Street, Floor 3, New York, NY 10012

Invoice

INV-0004

Partly paid

Bill to: Kite Mobility Inc.
88 Harbor Way, Oakland, CA 94607
PO number: KM-PO-2291
Terms: Net 30

Invoice lines
Description	Amount
Kite brand identity: Identity approved milestone (50% of fixed fee)	$30,000.00

Total: $30,000.00
Deposit applied: -$15,000.00
Balance due: $15,000.00

Sample invoice for Kite Mobility from Northline Studio, a fictional studio. No payment can be made from this page.

How it works

From billable work to a settled balance

Check readiness
Before drafting, see missing approvals, unassigned time, work not yet invoiced, disputed scope and retainer balances.
Select sources
Approved time, billable expenses with any markup, milestones, accepted change requests and retainer periods. A source on a draft is reserved, and each can be billed once.
Preview and issue
A branded preview and PDF. Issuing assigns the next number and freezes the totals and the client and studio details.
Send and collect
Email the invoice with its own payment link. Payments through your Stripe account are recorded when Stripe confirms them.
Reconcile
Deposits, credits, partial payments, refunds and write-offs settle the balance without counting cash twice.

In practice

Where it makes a difference

A milestone with a deposit

Kite’s $30,000 milestone invoice takes the $15,000 deposit received at signing. $15,000 stays outstanding, and cash collected stays at $15,000 until the next payment succeeds.

Month-end hourly billing

Approved hours become invoice lines grouped by project or by person, at the rates snapshotted when the time was logged.

A retainer period

The period fee is billed on schedule with any overage from the period’s ledger, and the same period can never be invoiced twice.

Correcting an issued invoice

Issued invoices cannot be edited. Void it and issue a corrected one; voiding releases its sources so the work can be billed again.

Limits

What it does not do

Stated plainly, so you can decide with the whole picture.

Studioflow is not an accounting system. Accounting connections such as Xero and QuickBooks are optional and need to be set up before they do anything.
Online payments need your own Stripe account connected. Until then, invoices show your payment instructions instead.
Tax is applied at the rate you configure. Studioflow does not determine or file tax obligations for you.
An email is confirmed as accepted for delivery, not as read. Delivery problems are shown on the invoice when the provider reports them.

Questions

Common questions

Can I edit an invoice after issuing it?

No. Issued invoices are immutable: totals, client details, dates and lines are fixed by the database. Void it and issue a corrected invoice; voiding releases its sources so they can be billed again.

What happens when a client pays online?

The client pays on a Stripe-hosted page through your connected account. The invoice is updated only when Stripe confirms the payment, so a completed checkout page alone never marks it paid.

How are deposits handled?

A deposit counts as cash when it arrives and is held as client credit. Applying it to an invoice reduces the balance without counting the cash a second time.

Are reminders sent automatically?

Only if you turn them on. Reminders follow the schedule you set around the due date, and nothing is ever sent from the sample studio.

Do clients need an account to pay?

No. Each invoice has its own secure payment link. Client guests who sign in can also see their invoices in the client portal.

A clearer picture of the work. A stronger studio.