Creating and Managing Invoices

Invoices in EventWorks track the money flowing in and out of your events. You can create client invoices for billing, supplier invoices for tracking what you owe, and commission invoices for agency or referral fees.

Getting There

• Event invoices — Navigate to Events > [Event] > Invoices (available after the event is contracted)
• All invoices — Click Invoices in the main sidebar for a global list across all events

Invoice Types

EventWorks supports five invoice types:

Invoice Lifecycle

Creating a Client Invoice

• Open the event and click the Invoices tab.
• Click Create Invoice and select Client.
• Choose how to build the invoice:

- Fixed amount — Enter a specific amount and description (e.g., "50% deposit")
- Percentage — Enter a percentage of the event's total price
- From costs — Select individual cost line items to include
- From cost types — Group costs by type, creating one line per type
- From cost tabs — Create one line per selected tab
- Uninvoiced amount — Automatically calculates the remaining balance

• Optionally include the Event Management Fee as a separate line item.
• Set the invoice date and due date (defaults to the configured number of days from now).
• Review and adjust the to/from addresses.
• Click Save.

The invoice is created in Draft status.

Crediting Previous Invoices (Avoiding Double-Billing)

When you bill in two stages — a deposit up front, then a final invoice built From costs — you can end up charging the client twice: once for the deposit and again for the full event value on the costs invoice.

To avoid this, the costs section of the invoice form includes a Credit previous invoices option. It lists the event's already-paid client invoices, each with a checkbox:

• Build the invoice using From costs as normal.
• Under the costs, tick the previously paid invoice (or invoices) you want to credit — for example, the 50% deposit you already collected.
• Save the invoice as usual.

Nothing happens to those invoices yet. The credit is applied when you send this invoice (see below). At that point a credit note is raised for each ticked invoice and applied to this one, so the client is billed only the outstanding balance — while the full cost values still appear on the invoice and post to their correct nominal codes in your accounting system.

Note: This option only appears when your Xero integration is set to create invoices as Authorised (in your accounting integration settings), and it only lists invoices that have been paid. If your Xero integration creates invoices as Draft for review, the option won't show — Xero can't apply a credit until both the invoice and the credit note have been approved.

Creating a Supplier Invoice

• Click Create Invoice and select Supplier.
• Select the supplier.
• Select the costs to include (shown grouped by supplier).
• Optionally include resource allocations.
• Review the line items and save.

Authorising (Sending) an Invoice

Authorising an invoice locks it and assigns a number:

• Open the invoice.
• Click Send (or Authorise).
• The invoice number is generated and the status changes to Authorised.

If you have an accounting integration configured (Xero, QuickBooks, etc.), the invoice is pushed to your accounting system at this point.

If you ticked any invoices under Credit previous invoices when building this one, the send confirmation lists exactly what will happen — each invoice to be credited, the total credit, and the resulting balance. When you confirm, EventWorks raises a credit note for each of those invoices and applies it to this one, reducing the Amount Due to the outstanding balance. You can review the resulting credit notes on the event's Credit Notes tab.

Note: Your administrator may have restricted invoice authorisation to users with the Send invoices permission.

Downloading an Invoice PDF

Click Download on an invoice to get a PDF. The PDF uses your configured invoice template for branding.

Note: By default, draft invoices cannot be downloaded as PDFs. Your administrator can enable this in settings.

Invoice Line Items

Each invoice contains line items with:

• Description — What's being billed
• Quantity — Number of units
• Unit Amount — Price per unit
• Tax Rate — The applicable VAT/tax rate
• Discount — Any line-level discount

Line items can be added, edited, or removed while the invoice is in Draft status.

Voiding an Invoice

If an invoice was created in error:

• Open the invoice.
• Click Void.

The invoice status changes to Voided. If it was synced to an accounting integration that supports void updates, the change is pushed there too.

Note: To partially adjust an authorised invoice, use a Credit Note instead of voiding.

Global Invoice List

Click Invoices in the sidebar to view all invoices across all events. You can filter by:

• Invoice type (Client, Supplier, etc.)
• Status
• Date range

You can also export the invoice list as an Excel or CSV file.

Accounting Integration

If your organisation uses an accounting integration (Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent, or NetSuite):

• Authorised invoices are automatically pushed to the external system
• Invoice numbers may come from the external system when that integration controls numbering
• Payments may be imported back from the accounting system, depending on the integration

See the Integrations section for setup details.

Tips & Best Practices

Tip: Use the "Percentage" option for deposit invoices — enter 50% for a half deposit, and EventWorks calculates the exact amount from the event's total price.

Tip: The "Uninvoiced amount" option is handy for final invoices — it automatically calculates whatever hasn't been invoiced yet, accounting for all previous invoices and credit notes.

Tip: Taken a deposit and now invoicing from costs? Tick the paid deposit under Credit previous invoices when building the costs invoice. The client is billed only the remaining balance, but the full cost lines still post to their nominal codes — no double-billing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Limited editing is possible with the Edit authorised invoices permission. Without this permission, you can only make changes to draft invoices.

Voiding completely cancels the invoice. A credit note partially or fully adjusts it while keeping the original invoice on record. Use credit notes for adjustments; use void for invoices created in error.

If no accounting integration is controlling numbering, EventWorks auto-generates invoice numbers from your configured pattern when the invoice is authorised. Your administrator sets the starting number and format in Accounting and Invoice Settings.

Yes, while the invoice is in Draft status. The default due date is calculated from your settings (typically 30 days from the invoice date).

Build the final invoice using From costs, then tick the paid deposit under Credit previous invoices. When you send the invoice, EventWorks raises a credit note for the deposit and applies it, so the client is charged only the remaining balance — while every cost line still posts in full to its nominal code. This needs your Xero integration set to create invoices as Authorised; Draft invoices can't have credits applied until they're approved in Xero.

Related Articles

• Recording Payments
• Credit Notes
• Managing Costs
• Understanding Financial Summaries