Estimates, Invoices & Payments

This article describes the billing workflow in Creative Job Hub: creating estimates, issuing invoices, and recording payments (including deposits and payments linked to estimates or jobs).

Estimates (overview)

• Estimates are quote documents that can be associated with clients, properties and jobs. Estimates can be used to collect deposits or to convert into a job/invoice when accepted. The Payments UI and Payments data model already handle estimate-linked deposits (payments with entity_type === "estimate"), and the app can navigate to estimate records from payments. :contentReference[oaicite:17]{index=17}

Invoices — key concepts

• Invoice lifecycle / statuses: The UI shows typical statuses such as draft, sent, paid, and overdue. Dashboards summarize totals (Total Outstanding, Paid This Month, Overdue). :contentReference[oaicite:19]{index=19}
• Invoice creation: Create an invoice from the Invoices screen (New Invoice). Invoices can include client details, job references, taxes, discounts, and attachments such as job notes or photos. The invoices table includes invoice number, client, linked job, status, total and balance. :contentReference[oaicite:20]{index=20}
• Filters & date ranges: Use search and date pickers on the Invoices page to find invoices by date range, status, number or client. The UI also surfaces quick finance metrics (outstanding, paid this month and overdue counts). :contentReference[oaicite:21]{index=21}

Payments — recording and reconciliation

• Payment records: Payments include received_at, method (cash/check/stripe/etc.), amount, notes, and references to a job, invoice or estimate. The Payments list displays client, street address (from the related job/property/estimate), type (Payment or Deposit), reference numbers and the amount. :contentReference[oaicite:22]{index=22}
• Deposits & estimate payments: The system treats payments that are deposits or that reference an estimate specially (shows as Deposit and links to the estimate). The Payments UI looks up estimate metadata when entity_type === "estimate" so deposits appear with the estimate number and client. :contentReference[oaicite:23]{index=23}
• Click-to-navigate: Payment rows are clickable — navigate to the related invoice, job, or estimate from a payment entry. This makes reconciliation and tracing very fast. :contentReference[oaicite:24]{index=24}

Offline & sync considerations

• Payments recorded while a device is offline are queued and synchronized automatically when the device reconnects. This is important if technicians record payments (or partial payments) in the field — verify the payment successfully synced after reconnecting. :contentReference[oaicite:25]{index=25}

Best practices & workflows

• Collecting deposits: Record deposits against the estimate to keep track of prepayments; later convert the estimate to a job or invoice and apply the deposit. The Payments UI will show the deposit and reference the estimate number. :contentReference[oaicite:26]{index=26}
• Finalizing invoices: Prefer to create an invoice from a completed job so job metadata (property address, job number, photos) is attached and visible on the invoice. The Invoices table displays the linked job number for quick context. :contentReference[oaicite:27]{index=27}
• Reconciliation: Use the Payments screen to reconcile incoming funds against invoices and deposits. The page includes payment editing and method badges for quick scanning. :contentReference[oaicite:28]{index=28}

Troubleshooting

Updated on: 10/01/2026