Creating and managing invoices

Every invoice you raise in Coffer follows the same flow: you create it, you optionally email it to the client, the client pays, you mark it paid. From that moment Coffer ringfences the GST and income tax and your dashboard updates. This article covers the create + manage half of that loop; the ringfence math is covered in Marking invoices paid.

Creating an invoice

Hit Add invoice in the top-right of the Invoices page. A dialog opens with the fields Coffer needs to generate a valid NZ tax invoice:

• Client. Pick from your existing clients or use the inline “new client” affordance to add one without leaving the dialog. 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 dialog 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.

Editing an invoice

Every row has an Edit action (pencil icon). Edits open the same dialog as Create, pre-filled with the current values. Save to update; Cancel to discard. Coffer doesn't version the invoice; the edit replaces the existing data.

Two cases where the row'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 mail icon in the row 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, so next time you open the row you'll see “Last sent <timestamp> to <recipient>” alongside the action buttons.

Downloading and previewing the PDF

Two actions on each row:

• Preview PDF (eye icon) opens the generated PDF in a new browser tab. Useful for quickly eyeballing what the client will see.
• Download PDF (down-arrow icon) saves the file locally. 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.

Row actions at a glance

Every invoice row has six actions in its right-hand column. Read-only ones (Preview, Download) don't change anything; the rest mutate the invoice in some way.

Deleting an invoice

The trash icon 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).

Deletion is fine for obvious mistakes caught before sending. For anything that's already been sent or paid, keep the record: deleting it loses the audit trail (and once a GST return covers the period, Coffer blocks delete 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.