Recurring invoices in AccBooks AI

What are recurring invoices?

Recurring invoices are invoices that AccBooks generates automatically on a schedule — daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually. They’re ideal for:

• Monthly retainer clients.
• SaaS or subscription services.
• Regular maintenance contracts.
• Rental income.

Once set up, you never need to remember to send them — AccBooks handles it automatically.

Creating a recurring invoice template

1. Go to Invoices → Recurring → New template.
2. Select the customer.
3. Set the frequency: daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, or annually.
4. Set the start date — the date of the first invoice.
5. Set an end date (optional) or choose indefinite.
6. Add line items (same as a regular invoice — description, amount, VAT rate, nominal code).
7. Under Delivery, choose:
   • Email automatically — AccBooks emails the invoice on the scheduled date.
   • Create as draft — AccBooks creates the invoice but you approve and send it manually.
8. Click Save template.

Managing recurring templates

Go to Invoices → Recurring to see all templates. Each shows the customer, frequency, last invoice date, next invoice date and status.

You can:

• Pause a template — no invoices are generated while paused.
• Edit the template (changes apply to future invoices only).
• Delete the template (existing invoices are retained).

Viewing generated invoices

Each invoice generated from a recurring template is identical to a manually created invoice — you’ll find it in Invoices with a recurring icon to indicate its origin. You can edit, void or resend it like any other invoice.

Handling price changes

If you need to increase a retainer mid-contract:

1. Edit the recurring template.
2. Update the line item prices.
3. The next scheduled invoice will use the new prices.

If you want the change to apply from a specific date: pause the template, create a one-off invoice for the transition period with the old price, then resume the template.

Custom invoice messages

Under Template → Notes, add a personalised message for the customer (e.g., “Thank you for your continued business”). This appears on every invoice generated from the template.

Applying discounts

Add a discount line item with a negative amount (e.g., -£50 early payment discount). Alternatively, use AccBooks’ built-in Discount field on each line item, which calculates the percentage discount automatically.

Failed delivery

If an automatically-emailed invoice bounces (the customer’s email address is invalid), AccBooks sends you an alert and marks the invoice as Delivery failed. Update the customer’s email address and resend manually.

Recurring invoices and cashflow

AccBooks includes recurring invoice amounts in the Cashflow forecast — expected income appears on the forecast invoice date, helping you project cash position accurately.

Go to Reports → Cashflow forecast to see future income from recurring invoices overlaid on your historical bank transaction patterns.