Creating and managing invoices

Every invoice you raise in Coffer follows the same steps: you create it, you can email it to the client, the client pays, and then you mark it paid. Once you mark it paid, Coffer ringfences the GST and income tax and your dashboard updates. This article covers creating and managing invoices; the ringfence math is covered in Marking invoices paid.

Creating an invoice

Hit New invoice in the top-right of the Invoices page. Coffer opens a dedicated editor with the invoice fields on the left and a live document preview on the right:

• Client. Pick from your existing clients or use the inline “new client” affordance to add one without leaving the editor. The new client is saved to your Clients list and the form continues with them selected.
• Issued date. Defaults to today. Drives the year used in the invoice number template (when the template includes {year}) and the default due-date calculation.
• Invoice number. Coffer auto-suggests the next number from your active template (see Invoice numbering templates). Edit the field if you need a one-off override; clear it to re-track the suggestion.
• Payment terms (days). Defaults to the value in Settings (usually 14). The editor previews the computed due date underneath as you type.
• Line items. One or more rows with description, quantity, unit price, and an auto-calculated amount. GST is added on top at your account's GST rate (15% by default); you enter ex-GST figures and Coffer derives the GST and total.

Two optional disclosures are tucked beneath the main form:

• Column label overrides. Default column labels are “Qty” and “Unit price” (set globally in Settings). Override per-invoice when you want something different on this particular invoice (e.g. “Hours” / “Hourly rate” for a time-based engagement).
• Period. Optional start + end dates covering what the invoice is for. Useful for retainers and time-based work; printed in the PDF header when set.

Save invoice stores the completed invoice as Ready to send without emailing it. Save and send saves the invoice and opens the email review dialog immediately.

Editing an invoice

Select an invoice to open its details, then use Edit invoice in the header. Editing opens the same full-page editor as Create, pre-filled with the current values. Save changes to update it, or use the back arrow to leave without saving. Coffer doesn't version the invoice; the edit replaces the existing data.

Two cases where the preview's Edit and Delete actions render disabled:

• The invoice is paid and the period it falls into has been closed by a filed GST return. Editing or deleting after the return is filed would silently desync your books from what IRD has; Coffer blocks it. A tooltip on the disabled buttons names the GST period that locked them.

Sending the invoice by email

The Send invoice button in the selected invoice's header opens the Send dialog. Coffer pre-fills:

• To: the client's saved email address. Add or remove recipients as tags; type a comma or press Enter to add.
• Cc: hidden by default. The “Add Cc” link to the right of the To label expands it.
• Subject and body: template-substituted using your business name, the client's name, the invoice number, the amount, the due date, and the period (if set). The default template is the calm/professional one in Coffer's code; you can override the body template in Settings if you want a different voice.

Hit Send invoice. The invoice goes out with the PDF attached. Coffer records when you sent it and to whom and moves the invoice to Sent. Until the invoice is paid, its workspace status is Awaiting payment (or Overdue after its due date).

Downloading and previewing the PDF

The selected invoice's header keeps the most useful PDF action visible for its current status. The remaining document actions are available from the More menu:

• Preview PDF opens the generated PDF in a new browser tab. Useful for eyeballing what the client will see.
• Download PDF saves the file locally. It is a primary action once an invoice is paid and remains available for ready and sent invoices. The filename uses the invoice number for easy filing.

Both render the same tax-invoice PDF Coffer generates. What appears in it (header, GST number, line items, payment block, totals) is covered in Setting up your business profile.

Invoice actions at a glance

Header actions follow the invoice's next useful step. A ready invoice prioritises sending, a sent invoice prioritises marking it paid, and a paid invoice prioritises downloading the final PDF. Edit, resend or email-copy actions stay visible when relevant; Preview PDF, Mark unpaid, and Delete live in the More menu when they are secondary.

Deleting an invoice

Delete invoice in the More menu opens a confirm dialog. Delete removes the invoice from your records entirely. Coffer's counter remembers the deleted invoice's number so the next auto-assignment skips over it (NZ tax audit conventions: invoice numbers must be monotonic and never reused).

Deleting is fine for an obvious mistake you catch before sending. For anything that's already been sent or paid, it's better to keep the record, because deleting it loses the history. Once a GST return covers the period, Coffer blocks deleting entirely. If a sent invoice needs a correction, handle it with your accountant outside Coffer.

Your first invoice

A brand-new Coffer account starts with no invoices. The page shows an empty state inviting you to add one. The minimum needed to send a valid NZ tax invoice: your business name, GST number (if registered), business address, and a bank account for payment instructions, all configured in Settings. The wizard captures these on signup; Settings is where you edit them later.