Share an online invoice or credit note with your customer

ⓘ This article is for small businesses who use Xero

Overview

Send the link to an online invoice or credit note to your customer so they can access it online and view changes made in real time.
Find out what details appear on an online invoice or credit note.

⚠ Warning
Anyone with the link to an online invoice or credit note can view the transaction. Treat the link with the same care as the invoice or credit note itself – make sure you store it securely and only share it with your customer.

Share an online invoice

Web

iOS

Android

You can share the link to an invoice with your customer using either new or classic invoicing. To check which one you’re on, see the link at the bottom of the screen. If it says Switch to new invoicing, you’re on the classic invoicing screen. If it says Switch to classic invoicing, you’re on the new invoicing screen.

New invoicing

ⓘ Tip

Copying an online invoice link in new invoicing automatically approves invoices in Draft or Awaiting approval status.

In the Business menu, select Invoices.
Find and open the invoice you want to share.
If the invoice is:
- Draft or Awaiting approval status, click the Approve & email arrow and select Approve & get link
- Awaiting payment or Paid status, click the menu icon and select Get link
Click Copy to copy the invoice link.
Paste the link into an email for your customer or into your web browser.

If you use the link to view the invoice yourself, the invoice will be marked as Viewed.

Edit your email template to include the [Online Invoice Link] placeholder if you’d like to include the link for invoices you send going forward.

Classic invoicing

In the Business menu, select Invoices.
Find and open the invoice you want to share.
If the invoice is:
- Draft or Awaiting approval status, click Email. Check that you’ve inserted the online invoice link, then click Send.
- Awaiting payment or Paid status, click Invoice Options and select Share Invoice. Click Copy to copy the link, or click the link to take you to the online invoice.

If you use the link to view the invoice yourself, the invoice will be marked as Viewed.

Edit your email template to include the [Online Invoice Link] placeholder if you’d like to include the link for invoices you send going forward.

Share an invoice with your customer using any messaging or email app you have on your mobile device.

From the Dashboard, tap + to create an invoice, or tap Sales to open an existing invoice.
Tap Options, then tap Share.
Select either a messaging or email app to create a new message with the online invoice URL in the message body.

If you choose iMessage or an email app, the primary contacts mobile phone number or email address will automatically populate, if saved in Xero.

When using the iOS Mail app, the contents of the default email set up for sales invoices will be copied into the email body.

Share an invoice with your customer using any messaging or email app you have on your mobile device.

From the Dashboard, tap + to create an invoice, or tap Sales to open an existing invoice.
Tap the menu icon, then tap Share.
Select either a messaging or email app to create a new message with the online invoice URL in the message body.

Share an online credit note

In the Business menu, select Invoices.
Find and open the credit note you want to share.
If the credit note is:
- Draft or Awaiting approval status, click Email. Check that you’ve inserted the online invoice link, then click Send.
- Awaiting payment or Paid status, click View online invoice to open the online credit note. Then, copy the link from your browser and paste it into an email to your customer.

Edit your email template to include the [Online Invoice Link] placeholder if you’d like to include the link for invoices you send going forward.

Details on an online invoice or credit note

If your invoice or credit note is set up with an advanced invoice template, it will open in a new browser tab and display in an online PDF viewer. Invoices set up with a standard invoice template will open directly in the new browser tab.

Customers can download the online invoice or credit note as a PDF or CSV file. Alternatively, if your customer has a Xero organization, they can log in and save the invoice as a draft bill in their Xero organization.

Buttons, links and information	Description
Outstanding bills	This button shows if your customer still owes you money and you’ve included a link to view outstanding bills.
Pay now	Customers can pay their invoice online if you’ve set up and applied a payment service to your invoice.
Days overdue	The number of days an invoice is overdue by if it’s outstanding past its due date.
Ask a question	Your customer can email you directly from the online invoice or credit note. The email will be sent to the user who created the invoice or credit note.
Less amount paid	If a part payment is applied to an invoice, the amount paid displays, reducing the amount due. Once the invoice is fully paid, the amount due will display as $0.00.
Less Credit to Invoice(s)	View the amount of the credit note applied to invoices. Depending on how much of a credit note is allocated, there may be a remaining balance.
Less Cash Refunded	View the amount of a credit note that’s refunded. If the credit note isn’t fully refunded, a remaining balance will show.
Attached Documents	See a list of attachments on your online invoice or credit note if you’ve attached files to your transaction.
Links to social media accounts	If you've added your organisation's social media links, such as Facebook or Twitter, your customer can click through to connect with you.

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