What a recurring invoice is
A recurring invoice is the same charge sent to the same client on a fixed rhythm: a monthly retainer,
a quarterly maintenance plan, weekly cleaning, annual hosting, rent. The work is predictable, so the
billing should be too. What catches people out is the calendar. Somebody forgets the
first of the month, February has no 31st, a purchase order runs out in August, and a price rise agreed in
January never actually reaches an invoice.
This page builds the run in advance so none of that depends on memory. You get every billing date,
the amount on each one, the due date after your payment terms, and the invoice number that belongs to
each. Download it as a spreadsheet, load the reminders into your calendar, and the schedule does the
remembering.
Recurring billing without the software subscription
Recurring billing splits into two jobs that get talked about as one. The first is producing the same invoice on a schedule, with the number, the dates and the period rolled forward. The second is taking the money automatically from a card on file. This page does the first: download the schedule free, or sign in and we email each invoice on its date with a link your client can pay by card or bank transfer. Charging a saved card automatically (autopay, with the client's consent) is on Pro and Business, and for a large share of small businesses the first job is the whole problem.
The second job is what the monthly subscriptions actually charge for. If your retainer clients pay by bank transfer on receipt, an automatic card charge does nothing for you and you are paying for it every month.
Where recurring invoices go wrong
Three failures account for most of them. The period drifts, so an invoice dated the 1st covers a service period that has quietly slipped by a week, and a client checking the dates finds a gap or an overlap. The number repeats, because somebody duplicated last month's document and forgot to advance it, and two invoices with the same number will be queried by any accounts system worth the name.
The third is the quiet one: the amount stops matching the agreement. A retainer that was twenty hours a month is now taking twenty-eight, and because the invoice is the same every month nobody notices until renewal. If that sounds familiar, the retainer calculator shows what you are really earning per hour once overage is counted.
What goes wrong, trade by trade
Trades and field service
Maintenance contracts are billed monthly but the work is seasonal, and a purchase order from a
commercial client covers a fixed dollar amount. Bill past it and the invoice is rejected weeks later.
Set the PO ceiling and the schedule shows which invoice crosses it.
Freelancers and agencies
Retainers drift. An invoice sent late reads as an afterthought, and a yearly rate rise is awkward
to raise mid-relationship. Schedule the increase and you can name the exact date and amount before
the client sees it on an invoice.
Landlords and property
Rent is due on a date, not a rhythm, and the 31st does not exist in four months of the year. The
end-of-month rule bills the last day instead of skipping, so a tenancy never quietly loses a month.
Cleaning and lawn care
Weekly or every two weeks visits produce a lot of small invoices, and the season stops. Mark the quiet
months and the plan picks up on the right date rather than billing through winter.
Consultants and bookkeepers
Clients pay on a weekly approval run, so an invoice that arrives on the due date is already late.
Set terms and bill a few days ahead of the cycle to land inside it.
Tutors, coaches, studios
Billing follows terms and holidays rather than the calendar. Skipping months and a fixed count of
invoices describe a teaching block far better than an open-ended subscription does.
How to set up recurring invoices
Start with the standing amount and the client, then choose the rhythm and the first date. Add the
payment terms you actually use, because the due date is what your client's accounts team reads. Then
handle the three things that break real schedules: the day rule for short months and weekends, a yearly
increase if your rate moves, and the purchase order ceiling if you bill a company that issues them.
Export the schedule, add the reminders, and send each invoice from the
invoice generator when its day arrives. A retainer that is drawn down as the work is done is a recurring invoice too; the deposit invoices guide sets out how it differs from a one-off deposit.
Choosing the rhythm
Monthly suits retainers and maintenance plans. Quarterly suits low-touch service agreements where a
monthly invoice costs more in admin than it collects. Weekly and every two weeks fit visit-based work like
cleaning, lawn care and staffing, where the invoice follows the visits. Yearly works for licenses,
hosting and insurance-style renewals, and is the one most likely to be forgotten entirely, which is
exactly why it belongs on a calendar.
Getting paid on time
Predictable billing only helps if the money follows. Put a payment link on every invoice so paying is
one tap, and state the late fee in your terms before you ever need it. The
payment link generator and the
late fee calculator cover both, and a recurring schedule makes a
polite reminder easy to send because the date was never in question.
A practical monthly routine
Pick a fixed day and do all of them together, because a batch takes a quarter of the time that twelve interruptions do. Advance the number, advance the service period, check the amount against what was actually delivered, and send to the accounts address rather than to the person who signed the contract.
Then send a statement on the same day each month to anyone carrying a balance. A statement on a predictable rhythm gets read; an occasional one reads as a complaint.
What to put on each recurring invoice
Each invoice in the run is a complete invoice in its own right, so it carries everything a one-off
invoice does. The service period is the line that most often stops a repeat invoice being queried:
- Its own invoice number, the next in the sequence, never last month's.
- The service period it covers, as dates (1 to 31 March), not just the month name.
- The invoice date and a real due date, worked out from your
payment terms.
- The amount and any tax, matching the agreement, with the new figure from the date a price rise starts.
- The client's PO number, if they issue one, so accounts payable can match it.
- How to pay: bank details or a payment link, the same every time.
The schedule above works out the dates, amounts and numbers; the
invoice generator turns each row into the invoice itself. The glossary has the short definition of a
recurring invoice.
Recurring invoice questions
What is a recurring invoice?
An invoice for the same charge, sent to the same client on a fixed schedule: weekly, every two weeks, monthly, quarterly or yearly. Each one is still a separate invoice with its own number and due date, and the client pays each one when it arrives.
Can I set up recurring invoices for free?
Yes. This page builds the whole schedule in your browser at no cost: every billing date, the amount each time and the invoice number that goes with it. You get a plan you can follow and calendar reminders that fire on each billing day. With a free account we can also email each invoice on its date, with a Pay now button once you connect Stripe. The Free plan has no subscription: on payments made through Pay now, InvoiceTools keeps 1.3% of card payments or 0.5% of bank transfers (at most $5), on top of Stripe processing. Pro and Business have lower fees.
What is the difference between a recurring invoice and a subscription?
A recurring invoice bills the same client a set amount on a fixed rhythm and still asks for payment each time. A subscription usually charges a card automatically. Retainers, maintenance plans and rent are billed with recurring invoices because the client keeps control of the payment, and many commercial clients will not hand over a card at all.
Does this page send the invoices automatically?
It can. Without an account it plans the whole run: the billing dates, the amount on each, the due dates and the invoice numbers, which you can download as a CSV or PDF or load into your calendar as reminders, then send each invoice yourself. With a free account, choose Send automatically and each invoice is emailed to your client on its billing date with a link to view and pay it, and polite reminders follow if it goes unpaid.
How do I handle the 31st in a short month?
Pick the end-of-month rule. Bill on the 31st and the schedule moves February to the 28th or 29th rather than skipping. If you would rather never bill on a weekend, the business-day rule slides each date back to the Friday before, which suits clients whose accounts team only processes on working days.
How do I raise prices on an existing recurring invoice?
Set a yearly increase and the schedule shows exactly which invoice carries the new amount, so you can tell the client the date and the figure before it lands. Most disputes about a price rise come from surprise, not from the amount.
Can I stop a recurring invoice for a slow season?
Yes. Landscapers, pool services, snow removal and tutors rarely bill twelve months a year. Mark the months you do not work and the schedule skips them and picks up on the right date, instead of billing through a season when you are not on site.
What happens when the purchase order runs out?
Set the PO number and the amount it covers. The schedule shows the invoice where the remaining balance runs out, so you can request a new PO before an invoice gets rejected. An invoice against a spent PO is one of the most common reasons a large client refuses to pay on time.
Do recurring invoices need a new invoice number each time?
Yes. Each invoice is a separate document for your records and your client's accounts payable system, so each one needs its own number. The schedule numbers the whole run for you from the format and starting number you use now.
How far ahead should I send a recurring invoice?
Send it far enough ahead that it clears the client's approval cycle before the due date. Many accounts payable teams pay on a weekly or every two weeks run, so an invoice that arrives the day it is due waits for the next run. Billing a few days early is the simplest way to get paid on time.