How-to
    Financial Management

    Create and send a client invoice

    Learn how to create an invoice, review it for accuracy, and send it to your client. Sending professional, accurate invoices helps you get paid faster.

    6 min read
    Updated June 3, 2026

    This guide explains how to create and send a professional invoice to your client. Issuing clear, timely invoices is a key step to maintaining healthy cash flow and getting paid for your work.

    AtomicSam helps you build invoices from existing jobs or from scratch. After you send an invoice, its status is tracked so you can see at a glance what is paid, pending, or overdue.

    Before you start

    • You must have a staff member role with permissions to create and send invoices.
    • You need a client with a valid email address saved in AtomicSam.
    • Ensure your organization's business details, like address and tax ID, are complete in Settings → Organization Profile.

    Create an invoice from a job

    This is the most common way to create an invoice. It automatically pulls in tracked time and expenses associated with the job.

    1. Navigate to Jobs and open the job you want to invoice.
    2. From the job summary page, select the Create Invoice button.
    3. AtomicSam populates a new invoice with the client's details and any billable line items from the job.
    4. Review all details. You can edit descriptions, adjust quantities, or change rates directly on the invoice. You can also add new line items.
    5. When finished, click Save as Draft. This saves the invoice so you can review it before sending.

    Create an invoice from scratch

    Use this method for invoices that are not tied to a specific job, such as for a deposit, retainer, or a direct sale of goods.

    1. Navigate to Billing → Invoices.
    2. Click the New Invoice button.
    3. Select a Client from the dropdown menu. Their billing details will automatically load.
    4. Set the Issue Date and Due Date. An Invoice Number is generated for you, but you can edit it.
    5. Add one or more line items. For each line, provide a Description, Quantity, and Rate.
    6. Click Save as Draft to save your work.

    💡 Tip: You can save common line items to reuse them on future invoices and quotes. Go to Settings → Line Items to set them up.

    Review and send the invoice

    After you create a draft invoice, you must send it to the client.

    1. Open the draft invoice from the Billing → Invoices list.
    2. Carefully review the entire invoice for accuracy. Check the client's information, line items, and the Job Total.
    3. When you are ready, click the Send Invoice button.
    4. An email preview appears. The client's primary email is automatically added to the To field. You can add more recipients in the CC field.
    5. You can customize the email's Subject and message body. A PDF of the invoice is always attached automatically.
    6. Click Send. The invoice's status will change from Draft to Sent.

    ⚠️ Heads up: Once an invoice is sent, it cannot be edited. If you find a mistake, you must void the sent invoice and create a new, corrected one. This ensures your financial records are accurate.

    Good to know

    • If you send an invoice outside of AtomicSam, you can still track it. Open the draft invoice, click the More Actions menu, and choose Mark as Sent.
    • When a client pays an invoice through a connected payment gateway, its status automatically updates to Paid.
    • For payments received by check, bank transfer, or cash, you must record the payment manually to update the invoice status.
    • Invoices that pass their due date without being fully paid are automatically marked as Overdue.

    What's next

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