Send an invoice
Email a draft invoice with the PDF attached and a public pay link. Use To, Cc, a message, a live preview, and a test send — or mark it sent silently.
Sending moves an invoice from Draft to Sent, emails it to your client with the PDF attached, and creates a public link they can pay online.
- Role
- OwnerAdminManager
Sending an invoice is a manager-tier action.
Send the email
Open the send dialog
On a Draft invoice, click Send. The dialog is titled Send invoice email (it reads Resend invoice if it's already been sent, or Send overdue reminder in reminder mode).
Set the recipients and message
The client's email is pre-filled in To. Add a Cc (optional) and a Message (optional) if you like.
Review the checklist and preview
A "Before you send" checklist flags things worth a look — these are advisories only and don't block sending. Use the live email preview to see exactly what your client will receive. Want a dry run? Click Send test to me.
Send
Click Send. The invoice moves to Sent, and the PDF is attached automatically.
What happens next
- The invoice status becomes Sent and its sent timestamp is recorded.
- Hoursmith mints a public share token — an unguessable pay page at
/i/[token]your client can open without logging in. See Public links & views. - If you've connected Stripe, the public page shows a Pay button. Otherwise share your bank details and record the payment when it arrives.
Mark sent without emailing
Don't need to send an email — say you've already invoiced this client another way? Use Mark sent (without emailing). The invoice still moves to Sent and gets a public link, but no email goes out. See Mark sent & paid.
Tips
- Emails send from your domain once you've set it up under Email settings; otherwise they come from Hoursmith's default sender.
- Use Send test to me before a first send to a new client to confirm branding and wording.
Troubleshooting
- The email didn't arrive. Check the address in To, then see Invoice email failed and I didn't receive an email.
- No Pay button on the client's page. Stripe isn't connected — see Stripe not connected.