The four types of invoice

Every invoice carries a Type badge, and you can filter the Invoices page by it. Hover a badge to see what it means.

the Type column on the Invoices page showing the four badges

Direct

Built from tracked time and approved expenses, billed at their rates. This is the invoice you draft with New invoice or Create invoice — see Create an invoice from unbilled work.

Starts as a draft you can edit.
Due after your workspace's payment terms (Payment terms and reminders).
Emailed by Timebun when you finalise it, and reminded about on your schedule.

Retainer

A subscription's invoice — the first payment or a renewal. Its hours were bought with it.

Raised by Stripe on the subscription's own schedule, and charged automatically.
Timebun doesn't email it. Whether Stripe emails the client a receipt depends on the customer email settings in your Stripe account — see Stripe's Receipts and paid invoices.
The hours land on the client's balance when the payment succeeds.

Top-up

A bundle of hours bought on top of a plan, whether the client buys it in their portal or you sell it to them. See Top-ups.

Finalised straight away — there's no draft.
Always due on receipt, whatever your payment terms say.
Emailed by Timebun like a Direct invoice.
The hours are added to the balance once it's paid in full. A part payment adds nothing.

Upgrade

The difference charged when a client's plan is changed to a bigger one mid-period.

Finalised straight away and always due on receipt.
Emailed by Timebun.
The extra hours land when it's paid, and lapse at the end of the current period like the rest of that period's hours.

Correcting one

Only a Direct invoice can get a credit note in Timebun. An unpaid Retainer, Top-up or Upgrade invoice can be voided; once it's paid, correct it in your Stripe dashboard and adjust the client's hours by hand. See Void an invoice or issue a credit note.

Where to see them

The Type column on Invoices, the badge beside the number on each invoice, and the client's Invoices tab. Top-up invoices have no lines on the invoice page — they bill a block of hours, not tracked time — so the page names the bundle instead.