# Your first invoice (tutorial)

> A ten-minute walkthrough — add a customer, create and send an invoice, record the payment — with the accounting that happens at each step.

Canonical: https://docs.getonebooks.com/getting-started/first-invoice/
Language: en
Documentation index: https://docs.getonebooks.com/llms.txt

This tutorial takes a new business from an empty **Sales** area to a paid invoice. You will add a customer, create an invoice with two lines, send it, and record the customer's payment. Along the way you will see what OneBooks posts to the ledger, so nothing is a black box.

## Before you start

- You are signed in and your [business is set up](https://docs.getonebooks.com/getting-started/set-up-business/) — at least the tax rate is right.
- Your role is **Owner**, **Admin** or **Member** (viewers cannot create documents).

## 1. Add a customer

1. Open **Sales → Customers** and select **Add Customer**.
2. Enter the **name** (required). Add an **email** if you want to email invoices, and the customer's **tax ID** if they are tax-registered — it prints on the invoice.
3. Select **Save**.

![The Add Customer dialog with name, email, phone, address and tax ID fields](https://docs.getonebooks.com/screenshots/en/sales-customers-new.webp)

For cash sales you can use the built-in **Cash Customer** instead of creating one.

## 2. Create the invoice

1. Open **Sales → Invoices** and select **Create Invoice**.
2. Under **Bill To**, pick the customer you just created.
3. Check the **Invoice Date** and **Due Date** (the due date defaults from your payment terms).
4. Add line items: choose an **item** from your catalog or type a **description**, then the **quantity**, **unit price** and **tax %**. Select **Add Line Item** for more lines.
5. Optionally add a **discount** (a percentage or an amount, applied before tax) and **notes / terms**.
6. Select **Save as Draft** to keep editing later, or **Save** to finish.

![The New Invoice form with a customer selected and a line for 20 kg of espresso beans](https://docs.getonebooks.com/screenshots/en/sales-invoice-new-lines.webp)

The totals panel shows **Subtotal**, **Tax** and **Total**. If your business uses tax-inclusive pricing, the unit price you type already contains the tax and the panel shows how much of it is tax.

## 3. Send the invoice

A draft is editable and posts nothing. Sending it makes it final.

1. Open the draft invoice and choose a channel in the header: **Email**, **WhatsApp** or **Download PDF** (to send the PDF yourself). Or select **Save & Send** straight from the form.

![An invoice in Sent status with its PDF, payment and journal actions](https://docs.getonebooks.com/screenshots/en/sales-invoice-detail-sent.webp)

The status changes from **Draft** to **Sent**, the invoice number is final, and the accounting entry is posted.

> **Accounting effect**
> Debit **1100 Accounts Receivable** for the total · Credit **4000 Sales Revenue** for the net amount · Credit **2100 VAT Payable** for the tax. A discount is debited to **4200 Discount Given**. In Accountant mode, select **View Journal** on the invoice to see these lines.

## 4. Record the payment

1. On the invoice, select **Record Payment**.
2. Enter the **amount** (a partial amount is fine), the **payment date**, the **method** — Cash, Bank Transfer, Card or Other — a **reference** such as the bank transaction ID, and the cash or bank **account** the money went into.
3. Select **Save**.

![The Record Payment dialog on an invoice with amount, date, method, reference and account](https://docs.getonebooks.com/screenshots/en/sales-invoice-record-payment.webp)

The invoice becomes **Partially Paid** or **Paid**, and the dashboard's receivables figure drops by the amount received.

> **Accounting effect**
> Debit **1200 Cash** or **1210 Bank** · Credit **1100 Accounts Receivable** for the amount received.

## What you have now

- A customer with a running balance and statement.
- A numbered, sent invoice with a PDF you can re-download any time.
- A payment linked to the invoice, visible under **Sales → Payments**.
- Revenue on the **Profit and loss**, cash on the **Balance sheet**, and the tax on the **Tax report** — all computed from the entries above.

## Next

  - [Invoices](https://docs.getonebooks.com/sales/invoices/) — Every option on the invoice form.
  - [Payments received](https://docs.getonebooks.com/sales/payments/) — Partial payments, allocations and receipts.
  - [Reports overview](https://docs.getonebooks.com/reports/overview/)