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Issuing invoices and credit notes

Invoice the money your tenants paid in a period through your invoicing provider, issue the credit notes that are waiting, and record any invoice you made outside VIVIN.

Before you start​

  • Plan: an invoicing provider connected in Invoicing connections (Settings → Integrations), such as VIVIN Invoicing, Invoice Express, Hostkit, Sage50c, NetSuite or A-Cube.
  • Permissions, in Settings → Users → Role Permissions:
    • Finance → Approve Payments to open Finance → Transactions, issue, attach and revert invoices. Only Super Admin has it by default.
    • Bookings → Add Credit Note to issue credit notes or set them manual. Super Admin, Admin and Finance have it by default.
    • Finance → Assign Payments To Other Bookings for Set manual on an invoice allocation. Super Admin and Finance have it by default.
  • In Invoicing (Settings → Invoicing), every charge type you invoice has its Tax VAT and a Code under Tax Codes, and every Others category you charge has a Product code (Others Categories Taxes). Only Sage50c works without codes. With Hostkit, the Hostkit invoice series is set.
  • Check the invoice date: with Use today as invoice date on (the default), each invoice is dated the day you issue it.

Steps​

1. Approve the period's payments​

Business → Finance → Transactions

Approve the payments that really arrived and reject the others, as in Recording a received payment, so that you only invoice money you received.

2. List what is not invoiced yet​

Business → Finance → Transactions

VIVIN invoices each part of a payment that pays a charge (an allocation), so the invoice lines follow the charges the payment covered.

  1. Set the date range to the period you invoice. It starts on the last 3 months.
  2. Click the Not Invoiced pill. To work on one payment type, click its card as well.

Result: the payments with at least one allocation still to invoice. The Invoiced column shows how much of each is already invoiced.

3. Issue the invoices​

Finance → Transactions, Not Invoiced pill

  • Everything in view: click Invoice all allocations. It issues at once, with no confirmation, and covers only the rows loaded on screen: hover it to see how many allocations it will invoice, and scroll to the end of the list first.
  • Some payments: tick their rows and click Invoice selected, then confirm.
  • One payment: open its row and click Invoice all allocations in Transaction details, or click an allocation's status to invoice that allocation only.

You can also invoice one payment from a booking: on its Transactions tab, click Invoice transaction, then Issue invoice.

Result: "Invoice creation was queued and may take some time depending on your invoicing provider." Each allocation then reads Invoiced with its invoice number, and see invoice opens the document at your provider. With Send invoice receipt email to tenant on (Settings → Global Settings → Notifications & Emails), the tenant receives each invoice by email.

4. Check the result​

Finance → Transactions, a payment, Transaction details

Under Allocations, each line has its Status: Invoiced, Draft in Invoice Express until you finalise it there, Waiting while your provider answers, or Failed when it refused. Fix the cause (see Troubleshooting), then click the Failed status to issue it again. Transactions explains every status.

5. Issue the waiting credit notes​

Finance → Transactions, Not issued credit note pill

Credit notes start un-issued, for example after a cancellation or a refund of invoiced money.

  1. Tick the rows and click Issue credit notes.
  2. For one credit note, open the payment and click Issue credit note to provider on its credit-note line.

Result: the credit note goes to your provider and the payment moves to the Issued credit note pill. Sage50c cannot issue credit notes: use Set manual on the credit-note line instead.

6. Record invoices made outside VIVIN​

Finance → Transactions, a payment, Transaction details

  • Set manual marks an allocation as invoiced outside VIVIN. Revert manual undoes it.
  • Attach invoice uploads the PDF from your accounting tool: choose the file, enter the Invoice external ID and optionally the Invoice date, then click Upload invoice.

Result: the allocation no longer shows under Not Invoiced.

Done when​

  • Not Invoiced shows nothing for the period you invoice.
  • Not issued credit note is empty.
  • No allocation reads Failed or Waiting.

Troubleshooting​

  • An allocation reads Failed. Usually a missing Code or Tax VAT for that charge type, a missing Product code on its Others category or, with Hostkit, no Hostkit invoice series. Fix it in Settings → Invoicing, then click Failed again.
  • "No eligible allocations selected". The selected payments have nothing left to invoice: their allocations are invoiced, set manual, or carry a return of value.
  • "This allocation has a return of value and cannot be invoiced." That money was given back to the tenant, so it cannot be billed.
  • An invoice was issued by mistake. Revert invoice only resets the status in VIVIN (remove any credit note first): cancel or credit the document at your provider yourself.
  • A banner says a custom invoice date is set. Every invoice uses that date until you switch Use today as invoice date back on.

Tips​

  • With Hostkit, turn on Issue security deposits on a separate invoice before you invoice deposits, so a deposit can later be refunded on its own.
  • Invoice at a fixed moment, for example the first working day of the month, so each period is invoiced once.
  • You never issue proformas here: with Invoice Express or VIVIN Invoicing they go out automatically when a charge is due or paid (see Transactions). Their emails have their own switches under Proforma invoices in Settings → Global Settings → Notifications & Emails.