Subscription Tier: Starter (PDF generation), Pro (emailing invoices)
An invoice in Apex Rental Pro is the billing document you send a customer after a job is booked or completed. It shares the same underlying data as its originating quote — there's no separate invoice record to create. The distinction is purely in how the document is labeled and what additional information (like deposit paid status) is shown.
Invoices are generated from booked quotes. The flow is:
Quote created → Quote booked → Calendar Event created
↓
Invoice PDF available
Invoice Email sendable
Once a quote is booked, both a Quote PDF (pre-event) and an Invoice PDF (billing document) are accessible from the associated event's detail panel. They contain identical pricing data, but the invoice is labeled "Invoice" and can display a deposit payment status, remaining balance, and paid/unpaid markers.
Invoices are accessed from the event detail panel, not from the Quotes list.
- Open the calendar.
- Click the event that was booked from a quote.
- In the event detail panel, you'll see buttons for:
- View Invoice PDF
- Email Invoice (Pro only)
There is no standalone "Invoices" section in the navigation — invoices live under their associated events.
Click View Invoice PDF on an event to generate and open the invoice as a PDF in a new browser tab.
- Your business branding — name and logo from Settings
- Document header — labeled "INVOICE" (vs. "QUOTE" on the quote PDF)
- Invoice number — the event ID (e.g., "Invoice #42")
- Customer information — name, event date
- Itemized line items — all equipment with quantities, unit prices, and line totals
- Custom items — any custom line items added to the quote/event
- Pricing breakdown:
- Subtotal
- Discount (if any)
- Delivery fee (if any)
- Tax (rate and amount, or "Tax Exempt" if applicable)
- Total
- Deposit amount (what was required)
- Deposit paid status (paid ✓ or unpaid)
- Notes — the customer-facing notes from the quote
|
Quote PDF |
Invoice PDF |
| Document label |
"QUOTE" |
"INVOICE" |
| Shows deposit paid status |
No |
Yes |
| Shows "Amount Due" |
No |
Yes (when deposit is tracked) |
| Same pricing data |
Yes |
Yes |
| Same items |
Yes |
Yes |
| Generated from |
Event or Quote |
Event only |
Requires: Pro plan + email delivery configured
- Open the event.
- Click Email Invoice.
- Choose whether to mark the invoice as Paid or Unpaid — this affects how the email is labeled (Paid invoices show as "Receipt").
- Optionally enter the deposit already paid amount so the email shows the correct remaining balance.
- Optionally override the recipient email (defaults to the customer email on the event).
- Click Send.
The system supports two invoice email modes:
| Mode |
What the Customer Sees |
| Invoice (unpaid) |
"Invoice" heading, total due, deposit info, amount remaining |
| Receipt (paid) |
"Receipt" / "Payment Confirmation" heading, total paid amount |
Set the isPaid toggle before sending to control which version is sent.
- Your business branding and contact info
- Customer name and event date
- Itemized list of all equipment rented
- Subtotal, discount, delivery, tax, and total
- Deposit amount (required vs. paid)
- Remaining balance due (if not fully paid)
- If layouts are attached to the invoice: layout PDFs as email attachments + a link to view layouts online
Requires: Pro plan
Layouts can be attached to invoices independently of what's attached to the quote:
- Open the event.
- In the invoice section, find Invoice Layouts.
- Click Attach Layout to link a layout.
When you email the invoice, these layout PDFs are included as attachments.
Note: Invoice layouts are stored in a separate invoice_layouts table from quote layouts (quote_layouts). Attaching a layout to a quote doesn't automatically attach it to the invoice, and vice versa. You manage them separately.
The invoice system connects with the Deposit & Pickup Tracking feature:
- When you mark a deposit as paid on an event (with an amount), that deposit amount is reflected in the invoice PDF and email.
- The invoice PDF will show:
- "Deposit Required: $X"
- "Deposit Paid: $Y ✓" (or "Deposit Unpaid ✗")
- "Balance Due: $Z"
See the Deposit & Pickup Tracking documentation for details on recording payments.
When a quote is booked, the invoice copies the full pricing snapshot from the quote — subtotal, discount, delivery, tax, total, deposit, custom items, and any price override.
This pricing is frozen at booking time. If you change your tax rate in Settings or edit item prices in the catalog after booking, the invoice keeps the original pricing. This is intentional — invoices should match what was quoted.
You can update invoice pricing by editing the event directly:
- Open the event.
- Use the event's item builder / pricing fields to modify pricing.
- Save the event.
- The invoice PDF will now reflect the updated pricing.
Caution: Changing an invoice's pricing after it's been sent to a customer requires re-sending the invoice. Notify the customer of any changes.
To add custom line items after booking (e.g., a damage fee or additional equipment):
- Open the event.
- In the pricing section, find Custom Items.
- Add a custom item with name, quantity, and unit price.
- Save the event.
- The custom item appears on the updated invoice PDF.
The system supports one invoice per event (since invoices are derived from the event record). However, you can:
- Re-send the invoice as many times as needed with updated content.
- Send as "paid" receipt after the customer settles — effectively sending a second version of the document.
- Add custom line items before resending to reflect additional charges.
There is no separate invoice numbering system — the event ID serves as the invoice number.
- Invoices live on events, not quotes: The Invoice PDF and Email Invoice buttons are on the event detail panel, not on the quote itself. You need to navigate to the event after booking to access invoice features.
- Quote PDF ≠ Invoice PDF: Even though they share data, the Quote PDF is accessible from both the quote and the event, while the Invoice PDF is only accessible from the event. Don't send the Quote PDF as your billing document — use the Invoice PDF.
- Invoice layouts are separate from quote layouts: A layout attached to a quote is not automatically included in the invoice email. Go to the invoice's layout section and attach it there separately if you want it in the invoice email.
- Paid/Receipt mode is chosen at send time: The system doesn't automatically know whether the customer has paid — you set
isPaid: true manually when sending. It's not connected to the deposit tracking system; it's just a label change on the email.
- Deposit paid amount must be entered manually: When sending an invoice email, if you want to show the correct "Amount Due" (total minus deposit paid), you must manually enter how much was paid. The system doesn't pull this from the deposit tracking record automatically.
- Pricing is frozen at booking: The invoice always reflects the pricing at the time the quote was booked. To change it, you must edit the event's pricing directly. This is correct behavior for financial integrity — invoices shouldn't silently update.
- Email delivery required for email: Emailing an invoice requires email delivery to be configured. Without it, only the PDF download is available. The PDF is available to all plan tiers; only emailing requires Pro.
- Tax-exempt invoices show $0 tax: If the quote/event is marked tax-exempt, the invoice PDF shows "Tax Exempt" with $0 tax and the total is just
subtotal − discount + delivery. No tax line is shown.
- There's no invoice payment portal: Apex Rental Pro does not process payments. The invoice is a document only — payment collection happens outside the system (cash, check, Venmo, etc.). You then manually record the deposit as paid.