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Beginner’s guide to invoicing in HoneyBook

Learn how to create and send your first invoice in HoneyBook—this guide walks you through one easy way to get started.

Updated today

To help you get started with invoices, the steps below will walk you through an easy way to to begin building invoice templates.

There are a few other places you can build out invoices in HoneyBook, like adding them to Smart Files or Templates. Learn more about the other ways to create an invoice.

📣 Note

All invoices contain 2 pages: an Invoice page and a Pay page. You can’t create an invoice template with only an Invoice page, or with only a Pay page.

Invoice page: Where you create and specify the services you are charging for, along with the payment schedule.

Pay page: Where you customize settings such as payment methods and the option for clients to add gratuity.


Create and name your first invoice template

  1. From the navigation menu, select Templates > select File templates

  2. Select Create New > Invoice

  3. Click into the title field to the top left of your screen and give your template a name

This page is where you create and specify the services you are charging for, along with the payment schedule.


Add your services to the invoice template

When creating a template, ensure that you include relevant services you want to bill for. For instance, if the template is for premium clients, include your premium package.

  1. If you’re working from a new invoice template, you’ll see that a generic service has already been added: "My Service"

  2. Edit the details for the service by clicking on the field you'd like to update: name, image, quantity, price, tax, and tax

  3. Continue adding items or services as needed by clicking + Add a service/item

Learn how to customize settings and designs for invoices.


🎓 Visit our Academy for a 4-minute interactive walkthrough on creating and sending invoices.


Edit a payment schedule

In the payment schedule section, you can:

  • Adjust the amount and date of each payment

  • Add payments to the plan by selecting + Add A Payment

  • Remove a payment by selecting the trash can icon

Amount options

Click the dollar amount to edit. You can choose from:

  • Custom amount: the dollar value of your choice

  • Percentage: automatically calculate dollar amounts based on percentage of the total

  • Divide equally: the total invoice amount, divided equally across all payments

Due date options

Click on the dates to edit the values. You can choose due dates from:

  • Invoice date: payment due on the date the invoice is sent

  • Custom date: select a fixed due date on the calendar

  • Smart date: due date is based on a variable such as specific number of days, weeks, or months before a project date, after a project date, or after the invoice has been sent

  • Mid-project payment: halfway between the day the invoice is sent and the project date

  • Project date: the date your project is set for. If your project has a start and an end date, this will pull in the project start date

  • Milestone payment: manually request payment once a project milestone is completed (e.g. completion of a deliverable). If selecting this option, be sure to enter the Milestone name


Decide how you want your client to pay

Payment option settings are where you’ll edit how your client can pay: the method, gratuity options, and autopay.

  1. On the right side of your screen, select Pay > select the payment block to open its settings

  2. Here, you can adjust:

    • Payment method: Set which payment methods you’ll accept (credit card, bank account, or both).

      • At the moment, HoneyBook cannot process bank account payments for Canada-based members—only credit card payments can be accepted.

    • Client can add a tip: Allow your client the option to add gratuity/tip, then select if this option will be turned on for all payments, or just the last payment.

    • Client must use Autopay: Automatically charge clients on the due dates set in the payment schedule. If toggled off, clients won’t be required to opt in to automatic payments, but they’ll still have the option to turn it on themselves.

    • Client pays late fee: Enter the percent amount for a late fee.

      • This percentage is based on the payment value

      • Late fees are capped at 10%




Share your invoice with your client

Once your invoice is set up to your liking, it’s time to send it to a client. Learn how to share a smart file.


Still have questions? Feel free to send us a message by clicking the Question Mark icon on any HoneyBook page. Our team is always happy to help!