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Configure System to Automatically Email Invoices for Scheduled Billing

Updated
The Goal: Configure your system to automatically deliver renewal invoices by email when scheduled billing runs, so invoices reach members without manual sending.

Before You Begin:

  • You need permission to access the billing settings at Finance > Administrative > Billing Settings.
  • Have at least one email template categorized as “billing finance” ready to use for invoice delivery.
  • IMPORTANT: If you wish to automatically email invoices, Invoice Before Autopayment may not be enabled, which means credit cards set to autopay will be charged on the date that you are creating invoices. If you wish cards to be charged on the renewal date, do NOT enable automatic emails. See Invoice Processing for Stored Payment Profiles for more information.

General Billing Settings page with the Invoice Before Autopayment checkbox boxed, showing it cleared

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Go to Finance, Administrative section, click Billing Settings and select General Billing Settings.
    Finance rail expanded to the Billing section with Settings open and General Billing Settings highlighted
  2. In the Automatic Invoice Emails section:
    • Enable the Enable Automatic Invoice Emails setting.
    • Select the email Template you wish to use for delivering the invoices. Available templates will be those that you have categorized as “billing finance”.
  3. Click Save to finalize your changes.

How it Works

If Use Automated Billing is enabled (see Scheduled Billing Settings in Configure Default Finance Settings), when the invoices are generated the system will automatically send out the invoices using the email template selected.
NOTE: If an email address is not available, the system will place these invoices on the Unsent Invoices page under Finance, Billing section.

Automatic Invoice Emails section of General Billing Settings with Enable Automatic Invoice Emails checked and the Template dropdown boxed

NOTE: If the lead time for invoices is set to 30 days, customers WITHOUT Autopay will receive the automatic invoice email 30 days ahead of the next bill cycle date.

If invoices are manually generated from Upcoming Billing in the Billing section, the Run Upcoming Billing window opens before anything is created. It reports how many invoices will be created, how many of those will be emailed (Invoices to Email), the number of scheduled billing items, the total value, and the Next Bill Date Range. Nothing is generated or sent until you click Run. Tick Advanced Options first to reveal the Overrides section, where you can change the Email Template used for that run. See Manage Invoices for Upcoming (Recurring) Billing for instructions on updating settings.
NOTE: If an email address is not available, the system will place these invoices on the Unsent Invoices page under Finance, Billing section.

IMPORTANT: Payment profile charges take place on the scheduled invoice date. If that date is in the past, those profiles are charged immediately when you click Run.

Run Upcoming Billing window with the Run button boxed

Run Upcoming Billing window with Advanced Options ticked, showing the Next Bill Date Range and the Email Template override boxed

NOTE: For scheduled billing automated invoice emails, Autopay members will NOT be included in this email thread and will only receive a receipt or failure of payment notice upon payment/next bill date per your Automated Message Settings.

Common Pitfalls

  • Charging autopay cards too early: Enabling automatic invoice emails while Invoice Before Autopayment is disabled causes autopay cards to be charged on the invoice creation date rather than the renewal date. If you need cards charged on the renewal date, do not enable automatic emails.
  • No billing finance template: Only templates categorized as “billing finance” appear in the Template picker. If your template is missing, confirm its category before returning to this setting.

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