Email an invoice directly to your client from the drafted invoice itself. Before you send it, you can customize the message, add attachments, and include any number of users and/or contacts. Plus, BigTime keeps track of who sent the invoice and when, and who viewed it. If you're managing multiple invoices at once, bulk invoicing makes it easy to generate and send them in batches. This article will show you how to customize your invoice emails and send them.
First, we’ll get to a drafted invoice so you can see where you’ll find the individual email invoice option. Then, we’ll customize and send the email.
1. Click INVOICING...Overview from your navigation bar.
2. Click on the Drafts tab (on the middle tile), and then click on the tile itself.
3. Click on a hyperlinked dollar amount in the Amounts column to get to the drafted invoice.
You’ll default into the Invoice Detail tab on your Drafted Invoice.
4. Click on the Envelope icon.
A new window will pop up with your email options.
We’ll explain each option:
To: (i.e., who this email is being sent to) - This is your client.
Cc: (carbon copy) - This is the project’s Team Lead.
Bcc: (blind carbon copy) - This is the system administrator.
You can add more contacts to the invoice. See the tip at the end of this workflow.
Subject/Message: The information that appears in these text boxes is auto-generated. However, you can edit it to fit your needs.
Attachment(s): Click on the dropdown arrow next to the Attachment(s) box and a picklist will appear. This is where you tell BigTime how you’d like to handle the attachments for this invoice.
5. Make your email changes and/or selections. Then, click the white triangle next to EMAIL INVOICE and a picklist will appear.
- EMAIL INVOICE will do just that: email your invoice.
- EMAIL & POST INVOICE will both email your invoice out and post it to your account.
- EMAIL ME A PREVIEW COPY will send you a preview of the invoice. However, you’ll have to go back into the email template and click EMAIL INVOICE to send the email.
Note: BigTime keeps track of who sent an invoice and when in the activity feed. Click the GRAY ARROW next to ACTIVITY(FEED) at the bottom of your invoice. You’ll see when the invoice was sent and by which staffer. You’ll also see who opened it.
TIP: Add More Contacts to an Invoice
If you’d like to add another contact who’s not listed, then click MORE…This will direct you to a window where you can add a new contact.
Click ADD EMAIL and a picklist will appear.
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NEW CONTACT means the person who you’re adding is a new BigTime contact. This person will be included in your list of contacts.
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OTHER means the person will be added to this email, with the option to save this person’s email for future email lists. “Other” contacts are not added to your BigTime contacts, but they’re included in the picklists shown above.
Bulk Emailing Invoices
Instead of emailing invoices one at a time, send multiple invoices to their respective clients at once using our "bulk actions" feature in the Drafts page of the Invoicing Dashboard.
1. Click Invoicing....Overview from your navigation bar.
2. Select Drafts, which is the middle tile on the Invoicing Dashboard.
3. Check the boxes next to the invoices you want to send to each client.
4. Click the arrow next to Bulk Actions. Then select Email from the dropdown.
A new window will pop up with your email options. You will be met with the same fields as if you were sending a singular invoice, but with a few added options. Because you're possibly sending invoices to multiple clients with different sets of Contacts, the 'To**:' field will have the following options:
- Billing Contact(s) - The Billing Contact associated with the selected projects.
- Primary Contact(s) - The Primary Contact associated with the selected projects.
- Other Contact(s) - Any 'Other' Contacts associated with the selected projects.
- Yourself - The staffer sending the bulk email.
- Any 'Team Role' - Staff assigned this Team Role on the selected projects.
- and any Contact input via the 'ADD EMAIL' workflow tip above.
5. Make your edits/selections, then click the Email Invoice button to send all the selected invoices to their designated recipients. You can also click the dropdown arrow and select Email Me A Preview Copy to get a test copy of each invoice in this bulk email.