> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bouclay.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Invoices > What invoices hold, VAT, one-off invoices, and selling to businesses Bouclay issues an invoice for everything a customer owes: each billing period, each upgrade, each one-off charge. An issued invoice never changes. Corrections are made with [credit notes](https://docs.bouclay.com/billing/refunds-and-chargebacks.md#credit-notes), the way accountants expect. ## Statuses | Status | Means | | - | - | | `draft` | Being prepared. Not yet owed. | | `open` | Issued and waiting to be paid. | | `paid` | Paid in full. | | `void` | Cancelled. Can't be paid. Final. | | `uncollectible` | Written off as bad debt. The customer can still pay it later. | Every change sends `invoice.updated`. Read `status` off the invoice. ## What an invoice tells you * `total`, `amountPaid` and `amountDue`. `amountDue = total − amountPaid − amountCredited − balanceApplied`, so credit notes and the customer's balance both lower what is left to collect. * `lines`, one per fee, usage charge, proration or setup fee, each with its own tax. * `hostedUrl`, the page where the customer sees and pays it, and `invoicePdfUrl`. * `billingReason`: `subscription_create`, `subscription_cycle`, `subscription_update`, `subscription_threshold`, `manual` or `credit_purchase`. * `payment`, the latest payment attempt, with why it failed when it did. List a subscription's invoices with `GET /invoices?subscriptionId=sub_…`. ## Invoice numbers Invoices are numbered in one unbroken sequence (such as `INK-0001`, `INK-0002`), as Nigerian tax rules require. Set the prefix under **Billing settings → Invoicing**. Credit notes have their own sequence. ## VAT Turn VAT on under **Billing settings → Tax** once your business is VAT registered. You never type a rate: Bouclay knows the rate for your country (7.5% in Nigeria) and applies it by each product's tax category. * **VAT included or added on top.** By default your prices include VAT, as most Nigerian prices do: a ₦10,000 price stays ₦10,000 to the customer, and the invoice shows ₦9,302.33 plus ₦697.67 VAT. Choose "added on top" instead and ₦10,000 becomes ₦10,750. Set it for your business, or per price. * **Tax categories.** Each product is `standard`, `zero_rated` (0% VAT) or `exempt` (no VAT). * **Exports.** Sales to customers whose billing address is outside your country are zero-rated, and the invoice says so. * **On the invoice.** A registered business's invoices are titled "Tax invoice" and show your TIN and the customer's. * **Frozen rates.** The rate is saved on each line, so a later rate change never rewrites an issued invoice. Tax is worked out after discounts, on what the customer actually pays. ## One-off invoices Bill something outside a subscription, such as an onboarding fee or extra work, with `POST /invoices`. It takes `collectionMode`, `daysUntilDue` and `reference` like a subscription does. ## Selling to businesses ### Paying by invoice A subscription with `collectionMode: manual` sends each invoice to pay by bank transfer or on its hosted page, instead of charging a card. It starts `active` straight away, and the customer uses what they bought while the invoice is open. An invoice still unpaid a day after it is due turns the subscription `past_due`, the customer gets reminders, and it is suspended or ended as your [failed-payment settings](https://docs.bouclay.com/billing/failed-payments.md) say. Paying the invoice, wherever it is paid, brings it back. ### Payment terms A manual invoice is due 7 days after it is issued, unless you change the default under **Billing settings → Invoicing → Payment terms** (0 to 365 days, 0 being due on receipt). A subscription can have its own with `daysUntilDue`, and `PATCH /subscriptions/{id}` changes it for the invoices that follow. ### Purchase order numbers Many companies only pay an invoice that quotes their purchase order. Send it as `reference` (up to 100 characters) on the subscription, and every invoice prints it as "Your reference" on the PDF, the hosted page and the emails. ### Your bank details on the invoice Set the account customers pay into under **Billing settings → Invoicing → Pay by bank transfer**. Every manual invoice still to be paid shows it on its PDF, hosted page and emails. When the transfer lands, record it with `POST /invoices/{id}/payments`. See [Payments taken at the desk](https://docs.bouclay.com/billing/payment-links.md#payments-taken-at-the-desk). ### Who gets the invoices Invoices go to the customer's `email`. Add up to 5 more addresses, such as the finance team, with `billingEmails` on the customer. Customers can change these themselves in the portal. ## Writing off and voiding * `POST /invoices/{id}/mark-uncollectible` writes an open invoice off as bad debt. The customer can still pay it later through `hostedUrl`. * `POST /invoices/{id}/void` cancels an open or uncollectible invoice for good. It can't be paid after that. Either way, if it was the last overdue invoice on its subscription, a `past_due` subscription becomes `active` again, and a suspended one becomes an ordinary pause for you to resume or cancel. Neither cancels the subscription. ## Emails Bouclay sends Bouclay emails the customer when an invoice is issued, a payment succeeds (with a receipt), a payment fails, a payment is recovered, a credit note is issued, a trial is ending, and before and after a suspension. They carry your branding from **Billing settings → Branding**. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.