For: Fleet customers · Time: ~3 minutes
Quick summary
- Open the email with the subject Invoice For Service.
- Check the details and the totals. The full invoice is in the attached PDF.
- Click Pay now (or Pay now in QuickBooks) if your shop included the button.
- If something looks wrong, call your shop before you pay.
Before you start
- The invoice goes to the contacts your shop has set to receive invoices. If you can't find it, check your spam folder, then ask your shop to resend it.
- If your shop inspected the vehicle, the inspection forms are attached too. The email says so.
- You don't need a login or an account to pay.
- Online payment is your shop's choice. If the email has no Pay now button, pay the way your shop has told you, such as the terms on the invoice.
Step 1: Open the invoice email
The subject starts with Invoice For Service. It ends with one of these, in this order of preference:
- PO and your purchase order number, if the order has one. Example:
Invoice For Service - PO 4471 - Unit # and the vehicle's unit number. Example:
Invoice For Service - Unit # U-42 - Service # and the service order number. Example:
Invoice For Service - Service # 261008-WJK-0064
The email shows your shop's logo and phone number, an INVOICE tag and the headline Your invoice is ready. It also says "your invoice for Service Order # is ready", with your reference number in brackets when the order has one, and that the full breakdown is below and in the attached PDF.
If your shop stopped the work before finishing, the subject starts with Work Stopped: Invoice For Call-Out and the email is tagged WORK STOPPED. It bills the call-out only. The rest of this article still applies.
Step 2: Read the email
The top of the email gives the key facts:
- Vehicle: the year, make and model.
- Total Invoice Amount: the invoice total.
- Terms: your payment terms, such as Net 30 or Due on receipt.
- Due Date: the day payment is due. It is the same date as on the PDF.
Under Service details you see the vehicle's Year / Make, the Authorizer (who approved the work) and the Service Writer at your shop. Your shop's address is printed above it. Under Work items you see each job with its labor, parts and fees. If your shop bills labor by the hour, a Labor block follows the jobs. It has one row per rate, named as your shop names it, such as Regular or Holiday, with (weekend) added on a weekend, and the hours and the amount. The totals come last.
If the invoice has payment terms and conditions, the email says they are printed on the attached invoice. The wording is not in the email.
Step 3: Check the PDF
The PDF is the official copy. Keep it for your records. It has these blocks, from top to bottom:
- Masthead: your shop's logo and the invoice details (Invoice No, Date and Due).
- Bill To: your company. Next to it, Remit Payment To shows who to pay and the address.
- Service order details: the service order number, Terms and Due Date. When they apply, you may also see your PO number (Customer PO), a Reference #, the Authorizer (Authorizers when there is more than one) and the Service Writer. If someone approved the estimate online, a line under the Authorizer reads Approved by with their name, email, the date and what they approved. When several people approved, it adds "and N more below", and an Approvals table after the totals lists each one (date, name, email, what was approved), oldest first.
- Description of Issue: the problem you reported, as your shop recorded it.
- Work Items: each job, with Labor, Parts and Fees/Tolls lines.
- Labor: when your shop bills labor by the hour, a table with one row per rate (Rate, Per hour, Hours, Amount), and the labor total. The hours are the hours billed, after your shop's labor rounding (how labor is rounded).
- Totals: see the next step.
- Terms & conditions: printed under the amount due, when your shop has set them.
Step 4: Understand the totals
The totals read from top to bottom like this. Only the rows that apply to your invoice appear. The email and the PDF show the same rows, so they add up the same way.
| Row | What it means |
|---|---|
| Subtotal (labor & parts) | The labor, parts and other work item lines added up, including the Labor block. |
| Fees (by name) | Fees your shop charges on the order, each on its own line. Examples are a service fee with its tier, Travel time with the minutes, and other fees. |
| Discount | A discount your shop applied. It is shown as a negative amount. On a no-charge invoice the row says No charge. |
| Surcharges (by name) | Extra charges your shop adds, each on its own line. |
| Taxes | Sales tax on the invoice. |
| Card processing fee | Appears when your shop passes on card fees. It shows the rate, for example (3%), and sits after taxes on its own row. |
| Total | The invoice total after fees, discounts, surcharges, taxes and any card fee. The email shows this row only when a card hold or payment comes off the total. |
| Refunded | Money your shop sent back to you that lowered the bill. It sits under Total. The email's first paragraph says what came back, for example "This copy shows the $40.00 refunded to you on Oct 28." |
| Total after refund | The bill now: Total less the refund. |
| Card hold applied | Money already collected on your card for this order. It is subtracted from what you owe. |
| Paid | Any other payment already made on this invoice. It is subtracted from what you owe. |
| Credit | A credit your shop gave on this invoice. It is subtracted from what you owe. |
| Written off | An amount your shop chose not to collect. It is subtracted from what you owe. |
| Amount Due | What you still owe. The email shows the same figure as Amount due, and the Pay now button shows it. |
The Pay now button is for the balance due, not the invoice total. If a card hold covered part of the bill, you pay only what is left. If the hold covered all of it, there is nothing to pay and no button.
In the customer portal, the invoice rows match the invoice your shop sent you until your shop sends a new one. A late fee or interest shows its tax on its own row, such as Tax on late fee.
Step 5: Pay online
- Click Pay now in the email. The Stripe button shows your balance due, for example Pay now — $856.04.
- Your browser opens a secure payment page from Stripe. You don't need to log in.
- Enter your payment details and confirm.
If your shop bills through QuickBooks Payments, the button reads Pay now in QuickBooks, with the line "Pay your invoice online through QuickBooks. No login required, secure payment." The link opens a QuickBooks payment page, not Stripe. You still don't need to log in.
Your shop sees the payment. You don't need to tell them.
The text version of the email has the same link under "Pay your invoice online".
If your shop passes card fees on, the Card processing fee row is on the invoice and the Pay now amount includes it.
If you get the invoice again
If your shop changes the invoice, the new subject starts with Updated Invoice and has the same ending (PO, Unit # or Service #). If it only sends the same invoice again, the subject is unchanged. Either way, pay from the newest email and use the PDF that came with it. The old Pay now link closes when the invoice is changed, and also after any payment, credit or write-off. A resend after that has a link for the new amount, if anything is still owed. If you pay through QuickBooks, the link is the same one each time and shows the new balance.
Questions about the invoice
Contact your shop before you pay. Call the phone number in the email header and say the service order number and which line you question. Replies to the email reach your shop only if it has set up a reply address, so call if you are not sure.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| I can't find the invoice email | It went to spam, or your address isn't set to receive invoices | Check spam. Ask your shop to add your email to the invoice contacts and resend. |
| There's no Pay now button | Your shop doesn't offer online payment for this invoice, or a card hold covered the balance. In the customer portal only: your company shares one account and you are not on the order or its owner | Check Amount Due on the PDF. If it's more than $0, pay the way your shop tells you. In the portal, ask someone on the order or the account owner to pay. |
| The Pay now link doesn't work | Your shop changed the invoice, or recorded a payment, credit or write-off. Either one closes the old link. Or nothing is owed any more. | Open the newest invoice email from your shop. If you pay through QuickBooks the link does not change, so check the amount on the page. If you paid, check with your shop that the payment went through. |
| The balance due is lower than the invoice total | A card hold, a payment, a credit or a write-off was applied | Look for the Card hold applied, Paid, Credit and Written off rows in the totals. |
| There's a Card processing fee I didn't expect | Your shop passes card fees on to the customer | Ask your shop. The row shows the rate it uses. |
| The email doesn't show the terms and conditions | They are printed on the PDF only | Open the attached PDF and look under the amount due. |
FAQs
Do I need an account to pay?
No. The payment page needs no login.
Who processes the payment?
Stripe, or QuickBooks if your shop bills through QuickBooks Payments. The email says which.
Is the PDF the same as the email?
The PDF is the full invoice. The email shows the same totals rows in a shorter form. If they ever differ, go with the newest PDF and ask your shop.
Can I pay another way?
Ask your shop. Payment terms and the remit address are on the PDF under Remit Payment To.
Related articles
- Approve or Decline an Estimate
- Approve and Send an Invoice (for shop staff)