Invoice Management

Understand how to view, manage, and work with invoices in the Autumn dashboard

Invoices in Autumn track all billing activity for your customers. This guide explains how to view invoice details, understand invoice statuses, and manage billing workflows.

Understanding Invoices

Invoices are automatically generated when:

• A customer subscribes to a paid plan
• A recurring billing cycle completes
• Usage charges are calculated at period end
• Manual invoices are created via the API

Autumn uses Stripe for payment processing. All invoices are synced with your Stripe account.

Viewing Customer Invoices

1. Navigate to Customer Page

   Go to Customers and select the customer whose invoices you want to view.

2. Scroll to Invoices Section

   On the customer detail page, scroll down to the Invoices table. This shows all invoices for the customer.

3. Review Invoice List

   The invoice table displays:

   • Products: Which plans are included on the invoice
   • Total: Final amount charged (in the invoice currency)
   • Status: Current payment status (draft, paid, unpaid)
   • Created At: When the invoice was generated

   If a discount was applied, you’ll see the discount amount shown next to the total in parentheses.

Invoice Statuses

Invoices can have several statuses:

• Draft: Invoice created but not yet finalized
• Open: Invoice sent to customer, awaiting payment
• Paid: Payment successfully collected
• Void: Invoice canceled and not collectible
• Uncollectible: Payment attempts failed and collection stopped

Status badges in the dashboard use color coding: green for paid, yellow for open/draft, and red for failed states.

Viewing Invoice Details

1. Click an Invoice Row

   In the Invoices table, click any invoice to view its details.

2. View Line Items (Admin Users)

   If you’re an admin user, clicking an invoice opens a detail sheet showing:

   • Line items: Individual charges on the invoice
   • Product breakdown: Which features or plans are included
   • Discounts applied: Coupon or promotional discounts
   • Tax information: Applied tax rates

   Admin users see additional technical details like Stripe invoice IDs and internal references.

3. Open Stripe Invoice

   Double-click any invoice row (or click once as a non-admin) to open the Stripe-hosted invoice page in a new tab. This shows:

   • Customer-facing invoice view
   • Payment link for unpaid invoices
   • Download PDF option
   • Complete billing history

Invoice Components

Each invoice can include:

Base Subscription Charges

• Recurring plan fees
• Proration adjustments for plan changes
• Trial period handling

Usage-Based Charges

• Metered feature consumption
• Per-unit pricing
• Calculated at the end of billing period

One-Time Charges

• Setup fees
• Add-on purchases
• Manual charges

Discounts

• Coupon codes
• Promotional credits
• Customer-specific discounts

All charges are itemized separately on invoices, making it easy for customers to understand what they’re paying for.

Invoice Currency

Invoices are created in the customer’s billing currency:

• Default currency is set at the organization level
• Individual customers can have different currencies
• All amounts on an invoice use the same currency

The invoice currency is displayed next to the total amount (e.g., “100.00 USD”).

Working with Draft Invoices

Draft invoices are not yet finalized and can still be modified:

• Created when a subscription starts
• Can be updated before being finalized
• Won’t charge the customer until finalized
• Useful for reviewing charges before collection

1. View Draft Invoice

   Draft invoices appear in the invoice list with a “Draft” status badge.

2. Access in Stripe

   Click the invoice to open it in Stripe, where you can:

   • Add or remove line items
   • Apply discounts
   • Finalize the invoice
   • Delete the draft if no longer needed

Invoice Links

Each invoice has a hosted URL where customers can:

• View invoice details
• Download PDF
• Pay outstanding invoices
• Update payment method

Quick Access: Click any invoice in the dashboard to automatically open its hosted URL in a new tab.

Understanding Proration

When customers change plans mid-cycle, proration ensures fair billing:

• Upgrade: Credit for unused time on old plan, charge for new plan
• Downgrade: Credit applied to next invoice
• Immediate invoicing: Some changes trigger immediate invoice creation

Proration calculations are handled automatically by Stripe and appear as separate line items on invoices.

Invoice Filters and Search

While invoices are displayed per-customer, you can:

• Filter customers by those with unpaid invoices
• Search for specific invoice amounts
• Sort by creation date or total amount

Handling Failed Payments

When an invoice payment fails:

1. Status changes to “Unpaid” or “Past Due”
2. Stripe automatically retries collection based on your settings
3. Customer may lose access based on your grace period configuration
4. Admin users can manually retry or void the invoice in Stripe

Set up webhook handlers to notify customers of failed payments and provide links to update their payment method.

Invoice Best Practices

Regular Review: Check unpaid invoices regularly to identify customers with payment issues.

Clear Descriptions: Use descriptive product names so customers can easily understand what they’re being charged for.

Discount Transparency: When applying discounts, ensure they’re clearly shown on invoices so customers see the value they’re receiving.

Admin Invoice Features

Admin users have additional capabilities:

• View internal invoice IDs
• Access Stripe dashboard links
• See detailed line item breakdowns
• View invoice metadata and properties

Admin-specific features are indicated with special badges and hover tooltips in the interface.

Common Invoice Scenarios

New Subscription

1. Customer subscribes to a plan
2. Invoice created with subscription charges
3. Payment collected immediately or at end of trial
4. Invoice marked as paid upon successful payment

Recurring Billing

1. Billing period ends
2. New invoice generated with subscription and usage charges
3. Stripe attempts payment with customer’s saved method
4. Invoice paid or enters retry cycle if payment fails

Plan Change

1. Customer changes subscription mid-cycle
2. Proration invoice created immediately
3. Charges for new plan, credits for old plan
4. Next regular invoice resumes normal billing cycle

Next Steps

• Learn about customer management workflows
• Explore analytics to understand usage patterns
• Set up automated dunning for failed payments
• Configure invoice email templates in Stripe

For advanced invoice customization, you can modify invoice templates and add custom fields in your Stripe dashboard settings.