To make an invoice in Brightdesk, tap ＋ → New Invoice, add your client and the services you provided, enter any discount and advance already paid, and tap Create Invoice. Brightdesk fills in your logo, business details, invoice number, totals and payment details, and gives you a link, PDF or image to send. Invoices are unlimited on the Free plan.
In this tutorial
Before you start
Make sure you've set up your logo and business details, your payment details and your services. It only takes a few minutes once, and then every invoice is ready to send without extra work.
Step 1: Start a new invoice
There are two ways:
- From a booking (recommended): go to Finance → Payments, find the booking and tap Create Invoice. The client, services and advance all fill in automatically and the invoice is Linked to Booking.
- From scratch: tap ＋ → New Invoice (mobile), or go to Finance → Invoices → Create Invoice.
Step 2: Choose the invoice type
Under Invoice Type:
- Simple Invoice: a basic invoice without tax calculations. This is right for most freelancers who aren't GST-registered.
- GST Invoice (Tax Invoice): with GST breakdown and HSN/SAC codes. See how to create a GST invoice.
Step 3: Check the invoice details
Under Invoice Details:
- Invoice Number: generated automatically in order (for example INV-2026-01, INV-2026-02), so you never skip or repeat one
- Invoice Date: today, by default
- Due Date (Optional): when you expect to be paid
Step 4: Add the client
Under Client Information, enter the Client Name, Phone, Email and, if you want, their address. If you started from a booking, this is already filled in.
Step 5: Add what you're charging for
Under Invoice Items:
- Search Services to add items from your catalog with their prices, or
- Tap Custom Item for a one-off charge, for example Travel to Udaipur
For each item, set the Qty and price, and add a Description (Optional). The Amount calculates itself.
If an item has a price of zero, Brightdesk asks you to confirm before creating the invoice, so you don't accidentally send a free service.
Step 6: Discount, advance and total due
The Invoice Summary shows:
- Discount: any reduction you've agreed with the client
- Advance Paid: filled in automatically when the invoice is linked to a booking
- Round Off: rounds the total to a clean number
- Total Due: what the client still has to pay
Step 7: Add notes or terms
Use Additional Notes for terms, for example "Balance payable on the event day. Advance is non-refundable." Then tap Create Invoice.
Step 8: Your invoice is ready
You'll see Invoice created successfully! and land on the invoice page, with the status, total amount, balance due and buttons to Preview Invoice, Share Invoice, Save as PDF, Save as Image, or delete it.
Next, send it to your client: share invoices as a link, PDF or image.
What a professional invoice includes
Brightdesk adds all of these for you:
- Your business name, logo, address and contact details
- A unique, sequential invoice number and invoice date
- Client name and contact details
- Itemized services with quantity, rate and amount
- Discount, taxes (if any), advance received and balance due
- How to pay you (UPI/bank/PayPal)
- Your signature and terms
New to invoicing? Read what is an invoice and invoice mistakes that delay payment.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make two invoices for the same booking? Each booking has one active invoice. If you need to re-issue it, Brightdesk lets you Deactivate & Create New. The old invoice stays in your records, marked inactive.
Is there a limit on how many invoices I can create? No. Invoices are unlimited on every plan.
Can I edit an invoice after creating it? Invoice items can't be edited once the invoice is created. To change items or amounts, create it again from the booking and choose Deactivate & Create New. Payments you record later update the invoice's balance and status automatically, so you don't need a new invoice when the client pays.