Invoices — deposit, progress, and final
Every invoice in Surfacely belongs to a project and has a type. The types match how painting work is actually billed, and the app generates most of them automatically.
Invoice types
- Deposit — usually 10–30% of quote total, billed on acceptance. Auto-generated when the quote is accepted, if your terms include a deposit.
- Progress — billed at intervals during the job. Usually posted alongside a project update. New build projects may use labels like First Fix or Practical Completion for their progress invoices — same type, different display label.
- Final — the balance, billed at completion. Issued through the completion wizard.
Invoice numbers
Invoices are numbered per project: P-00042-INV01, P-00042-INV02, etc. The project number is the spine and the sequence is atomically incremented, so there are never duplicates or gaps — essential for accounting.
What's on each invoice
Every invoice shows your branding, the project reference, the line items, GST treatment appropriate to your locale, and a payment link if Stripe is connected. PDF is attached to the email automatically.
Your money at a glance
Each project tracks how much you've invoiced, how much you've been paid, and what's still owed, in $. You can see at a glance which projects owe you money, how much, and for how long.
Why it matters: unpaid invoices are the silent killer of painting businesses. Surfacely's automatic invoice generation + clear money tracking + overdue reminders together mean your outstanding balance stays low — and you get to spend your time painting, not chasing payments.