Recorded work is a useful starting point for an invoice, provided its scope, billing method and billable entries are correct. Automating draft creation puts that review on the next person’s list.
Use “Job Completed — Auto-Generate Invoice”. It creates a draft, notifies the owners and sends a separate job-completion email saying an invoice will follow. The preset does not send the draft invoice to the customer.
What we will set up
- Professional access and the current invoice preset
- Job billing method and billable records checked
- Draft created through the job-to-invoice action
- Owner review before invoice issue and delivery
- Separate completion notice and series-billing checks
Workflows → Templates
Start from the named template
Use a Professional business account with permission to manage workflows. Open Workflows, browse the templates and choose “Job Completed — Auto-Generate Invoice”. Inspect the created workflow before enabling it.
The public demo lets you inspect workflows; activation requires Professional. Free does not include workflow automation. Keep the workflow paused while checking the records, recipients and actions.
Concept
A preset supplies connected steps and field mappings to review.
Advantage
Starting with the current preset avoids recreating the process from an incomplete blank-canvas recipe.
Job → billing, time and materials
Check what this job should bill
For time-and-materials work, review billable time, materials, charges and any previously invoiced work. Missing records do not become complete because a workflow runs.
For fixed-price work, check the agreed contract, approved variations and remaining amount to invoice. Do not replace the fixed price with a sum of hours and materials. Jobs with active series automatic payments are handled by their series billing process instead.
Concept
The job’s billing basis determines how the draft is built.
Advantage
The invoice follows the customer agreement rather than a generic copy of the job description.
Create Invoice → Notify Admin to Review
Inspect draft creation and the owner task
Keep the preset’s Create Invoice action that converts the completed job. The owner notification links to the resulting invoice for review.
Open the draft and check customer, invoice lines, GST, amounts already billed and the total. Issue and send the invoice through the normal invoice workflow after approval.
Concept
Creating a draft and delivering an invoice are separate stages.
Advantage
Someone can check the billing before the customer receives it.
Notify Customer Job Complete
Review the completion notice separately
The preset’s customer email confirms that the work is complete and says an invoice will follow. Check the customer email, business name and wording.
This message is not the invoice and does not establish that payment is due on an unissued draft. Adapt it to the timing you can honour.
Concept
The completion notice describes work status, while invoice delivery follows review.
Advantage
Customer communication matches the actual state of the paperwork.
Workflow test and execution history
Test the outcome before activating
Use a controlled test customer and completed sample job. Inspect the draft and notification rather than assuming a successful trigger means correct billing. The completion action can send a real email.
Check a time-and-materials job, a fixed-price job, repeated completion and a visit with active series billing. Confirm that the relevant billing process does not create a duplicate invoice.
Concept
Check the selected records, action results and failures, then assign an owner to review future runs.
Advantage
A controlled test exposes incorrect recipients or state changes before they affect customer work.
Draft creation can make completed work easier to find and review. It does not prove the invoice is correct, issued or paid.
Review failures and keep the billing owner clear, particularly when job scope or recurring billing arrangements change.
Try it in Axiom Blue
Inspect draft creation before enabling it
Inspect this workflow in the live demo, then check Professional access before using it on your business records. Free signup covers the limited core job workflow; it does not activate automation.