How do I ask a customer for part of an invoice?

Open the invoice, choose Review and send, and turn on Payment request. Enter the amount you want now and the date it is due, then send. Your customer gets one invoice that lists the work, every payment so far, the balance remaining, and the amount due now.

What your customer sees

The email and the PDF lead with Amount due now and its date, with the balance remaining underneath. On the payment page they can choose:

• Due now: the amount you asked for.
• Full balance: everything left on the invoice.
• Another amount: any amount up to the balance.

Every payment lands on the same invoice and is listed on its own line.

Taking a deposit

In Create invoice, choose With a deposit. Coastline makes one invoice for the whole job and opens it ready to send, with the deposit already filled in as the payment request. See How do I collect a deposit or bill a job in stages?

Due dates and reminders

An invoice can have two dates. The invoice's own due date is when the whole balance is due. A payment request's date is when its amount is due, and it can't be later than the invoice's due date. If either date passes with money still owed, the invoice shows as Overdue.

You can change the invoice's due date even after payments have come in, from the invoice or from Manage.

If customer reminders are on, a payment request gets its own reminders, and your customer never gets two reminders on the same day. See When does Coastline remind my customers about an invoice?

Changing or cancelling a request

To change it, send the invoice again with a new amount or date. To cancel it without emailing your customer, open Manage on the invoice and choose Cancel request. Once your customer pays the amount due now, the request is done and the invoice goes back to showing the balance due.