Recurring invoicing: subscriptions, retainers and monthly fees with zero manual work

Recurring invoicing: subscriptions, retainers and monthly fees with zero manual work

On the first of every month, thousands of firms repeat the same ritual: manually issuing the same invoices as last month. It is the most automatable task in any business — and the one that produces the most slip-ups (skipped months, outdated amounts, cancelled customers still getting invoiced).

How it works in InvoSeal

Under Recurring you define a template per customer: recipient, lines, amounts, taxes and periodicity (monthly, quarterly, yearly — with its issue day). From then on, each period the invoice is born, numbered, signed and sent by itself, VeriFactu registration included. You just see it appear under «Issued invoices».

Good configuration habits:

• Description with the period: use the period variable in the concept («Tax retainer — {month}») so every invoice explains itself.
• A strategic issue day: issuing on the 1st with 15-day terms tidies your cash flow; issuing on the 25th brings next month's collection forward.
• Combine with reminders and the portal: recurring + automatic reminders + recipient portal = the full revenue-to-cash loop with no intervention.

The four cases you need to handle well

1. Mid-month start: first invoice prorated manually (or a full first fee with a postponed start — a commercial choice), and the template takes over from the next period. 2. Customer cancels: pause the template BEFORE the issue day. If the invoice already went out, it is not deleted: corrective invoice — one more reason to issue early in the month. 3. Price increases: edit the template with effect from the next period and communicate beforehand (with retainers, the agreed notice period rules). 4. Annual payment in advance: if you collect the year up front, remember the VAT on advances — tax accrues on collection. Issuing the annual invoice upon collection settles it cleanly.

VAT accrual on continuous services

In continuous services (retainers, maintenance), VAT accrues as each instalment becomes due — your monthly invoice on the 1st is exactly that. That is why retrospective "annual summary invoices" are a bad idea: the tax was accruing month by month even if you didn't invoice. Recurring invoicing is not just convenience — it is accrual booked correctly.

Signs it's time to switch it on

• More than 3 identical invoices a month.
• You once forgot to invoice someone (we all have).
• Old fees coexist with new rates and nobody remembers who pays what.

Ten minutes of setup per customer, and the 1st of the month stops being a ritual. A case with edges — proration, hour bundles, base fee plus variable? Open a Support ticket and we'll model it together.