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How Payments+ Works with Invoices and Quotes

Written by Angelene Rosario

How Payments+ Works with Invoices and Quotes

This guide explains how to use BuildOps Payments+ to collect customer payments through invoices and quotes, record manual payments, and correct common payment issues.

The steps in this guide apply to customers integrated with Payments+
Some options may differ based on your Payments+ setup, accounting integration, user permissions, and company settings.

Before you begin

Make sure the following items are ready before collecting or applying a payment:

  • Payments+ is active for your company and the payment methods you want to accept are configured.

  • The correct customer and property records exist in BuildOps.

  • The invoice or quote uses the correct billing customer.

  • Your invoice or quote template is ready to send.

  • For a quote, a Pricebook, quote template, and required quote settings are configured.

  • For manual payments, you know the payment type, amount, payment date, and invoice or invoices the payment should cover.

Invoice payments and quote deposits: the key difference

Payments+ supports two related but different workflows:

Workflow

How the customer pays

What happens in BuildOps

Invoice payment

The customer clicks Pay Now in an invoice email and pays by card or ACH.

BuildOps creates the payment, applies it to the invoice, and updates the invoice balance.

Quote deposit

The customer approves the quote and pays a full or partial deposit through the quote payment option.

BuildOps creates a payment record. The payment must then be manually applied to an invoice when the invoice is created.

A quote deposit is not the same as an invoice payment. A quote deposit can be collected before an invoice exists, so it remains available as an unapplied payment until your team applies it to the appropriate invoice.

Collecting a payment through an invoice

Step 1: Create or open the invoice

For a Time & Material job, the recommended workflow is to create the invoice from the Job Report. This lets you review the work completed before selecting what to bill.

  1. Open the job from the Dispatch Board, Jobs table, or Global Search.

  2. Click OPEN JOB REPORT.

  3. On the Visits tab, review each visit you plan to include.

  4. Confirm that the visit summary, labor entries, inventory items, parts and materials, purchased items, forms, and supporting details are accurate.

  5. If something needs to be corrected, click EDIT, update the visit, and save the changes.

  6. When the visit is complete, click REVIEW.

  7. Open the Overview tab.

  8. Confirm the customer, billing information, Pricebook, labor, and billable items.

  9. Click INVOICE and then Create Invoice.

You can also create an ad-hoc invoice from either of these locations:

  • Go to Accounting → Invoices → + NEW INVOICE.

  • Click the + icon next to the Global Search bar and select New Invoice.

Step 2: Choose what to bill

When creating an invoice from the Job Report, choose the scope of the invoice:

  • Select Entire Job to include all billable work that is ready to be invoiced.

  • Select Specific Visits to bill only work associated with selected visits.

  • Select a custom combination of labor, inventory items, purchased items, fees, or other billable sections when you need more control.

  • Select Include visit summaries in the invoice summary when you want visit summaries included in the customer-facing invoice.

  • Click GENERATE.

Review your selection before generating the invoice. For example, you may want to bill labor now and materials later, exclude an item that is not ready to bill, or invoice only a specific date range.

Step 3: Review and configure the invoice

After the invoice is created:

  1. Review the invoice number, billing customer, issue date, due date, line items, taxes, totals, and balance.

  2. Open the invoice configuration panel by clicking the arrow on the right side of the invoice.

  3. Select the appropriate invoice preset, if one is available.

  4. Review the section settings and confirm that the customer will see the correct level of detail.

  5. Confirm that labor, materials, fees, totals, and the invoice summary appear as expected.

  6. Click Preview Invoice.

  7. Read the preview carefully before sending it.

  8. Download or print the invoice if needed.

Always preview the invoice before sending it, especially if you created a custom invoice or excluded visits, labor lines, or material-related items.

Step 4: Email the invoice with a Pay Now link

When Payments+ is enabled and the payment-link option is active, an invoice email can include a secure Pay Now link.

  1. On the invoice, click the three dots next to PREVIEW INVOICE.

  2. Select Email Invoice.

  3. Select any attachments you want to include, such as the Job Report or forms.

  4. Click NEXT.

  5. Complete the email details:

    • Email To

    • CC

    • BCC

    • Invoice Template

    • Subject

    • Message

  6. Confirm that the invoice balance is still outstanding and that the payment-link option is included when available.

  7. Click SEND INVOICE EMAIL.

After the email is sent, BuildOps returns you to the invoice page. Review the email status to confirm the message was sent and delivered.

Step 5: The customer pays the invoice

The customer opens the Pay Now link in the invoice email and selects an available payment method, such as a credit card or ACH.

After a successful Payments+ transaction:

  • BuildOps creates a payment record.

  • The payment is applied to the related invoice.

  • The invoice's Amount Paid and Balance fields update.

  • The customer receives a payment confirmation or receipt email.

If your company passes processing fees to the customer, the fee is displayed separately on the payment page before the customer completes the transaction. If your company absorbs the fees, the payment is recorded in BuildOps for the full customer payment amount.

Step 6: Post the invoice according to your accounting workflow

When the invoice is ready to sync with your accounting system, click POST INVOICE.

If the invoice has already been recorded outside BuildOps, use the drop-down option next to POST INVOICE to bypass posting instead of creating a duplicate accounting record.

Recording a payment manually

Use the manual payment workflow when a customer pays by check, cash, another payment type, or a processor outside the Payments+ invoice-link workflow.

Step 1: Create the payment

  1. Hover over Accounting and click Payments.

  2. Click New Payment.

  3. Enter the payment details:

    • Payment Number

    • Billing Customer

    • Payment Type

    • Amount

    • Date

  4. Click View Invoices.

  5. Review the open invoices for the selected billing customer.

Step 2: Apply the payment

  1. Enter the amount to apply to the invoice.

  2. If the payment covers multiple invoices, enter the amount for each invoice.

  3. Click Apply.

  4. Review the applied amounts.

  5. Click Save.

Entering the payment details does not, by itself, apply the payment to an invoice. The payment must be distributed in View Invoices and applied before the invoice balance is reduced.

Depending on your accounting setup, you may see additional save options:

  • Save records the payment in BuildOps.

  • Save & Post Payment records the payment and sends it to the connected accounting system.

  • Save & Bypass records the payment in BuildOps without sending a duplicate payment to accounting. Use this when the same payment already exists in the accounting system.

Applying an existing payment to an invoice

Use this workflow when the payment already exists but is not yet attached to the correct invoice.

  1. Open the invoice.

  2. Click Apply Payment.

  3. Select the available payment.

  4. Enter the amount to apply.

  5. Click Apply twice to confirm.

  6. Verify that the payment appears in the invoice's Payments section.

  7. Confirm that Amount Paid and Balance show the expected values.

The payment and invoice must belong to the same billing customer. If the payment is not available, verify that the invoice has the correct billing customer and that the payment still has an unapplied balance.

Collecting a deposit through a quote

Quote deposits allow you to request payment before the work is fully invoiced. The deposit can be a percentage or a fixed dollar amount.

Step 1: Create the quote

Before creating the quote, confirm that the customer and property already exist and that your quote settings, Pricebook, quote templates, and external email message template are configured.

  1. Hover over Operations and click Quotes.

  2. Click + NEW QUOTE.

  3. Search for and select the property.

  4. Click CONTINUE.

  5. On the Info tab, complete the required information, including:

    • Quote Title

    • Department

    • Pricebook

    • Expiration

    • Job Type

    • Billing contact and company representative

  6. Add the customer PO number, service agreement, internal notes, and other optional details as needed.

  7. Click SAVE.

  8. Open the Scope of Work tab and describe the work to be performed.

  9. Select any covered assets, if applicable.

  10. Open the Pricing tab.

  11. Add labor, parts, materials, other line items, discounts, and tax as needed.

  12. Review the quote subtotal, total, cost, profit, margin, and markup.

  13. Open Forms & Attachments and add any customer-facing documents you want to share.

Step 2: Configure the quote for customer approval

  1. Open the quote configuration panel using the arrow in the upper-right corner.

  2. Confirm the sections and totals that should appear in the customer-facing quote.

  3. Click GENERATE Proposal.

  4. Select the quote template.

  5. Review the generated proposal and update the text or formatting if needed.

  6. Click SAVE if you make changes.

  7. Click GENERATE PDF AND SEND.

Step 3: Add a quote deposit payment option

Quote deposit options must be enabled in Payments+ settings before they can be used.

  1. Open Payments+ Settings from the main menu.

  2. Enable the quote deposit or quote payment-link option.

  3. Return to the quote and open the send or share flow.

  4. Select Include Deposit Payment Link when the option is available.

  5. Enter the deposit amount as either:

    • A percentage of the quote total, from 1% through 100%.

    • A fixed dollar amount.

  6. Review the deposit amount carefully before sending the quote.

Step 4: Send the quote

  1. Confirm the Email To address.

  2. Add any additional recipients to CC or BCC.

  3. Select the quote external message template.

  4. Confirm the subject and email message.

  5. Select the customer-facing attachments you want to include.

  6. Send the quote.

The quote email includes the quote document and, when enabled, the payment option for the deposit. The customer can review the quote, approve or reject it, and complete the deposit payment through the secure payment experience.

Step 5: Find the quote deposit payment

After the customer completes the deposit payment:

  1. Go to Accounting → Payments.

  2. Search for the payment using the customer, amount, date, or payment number.

  3. Review the payment status and available amount.

  4. Confirm that the payment is associated with the correct billing customer.

Quote deposit payments may be identifiable by a payment number beginning with PAYABLI_Q_ or PAYABLI_VQ_.

At this stage, the payment may still be unapplied. This is expected because a quote deposit can be collected before an invoice exists.

Step 6: Create the invoice for the deposit and apply the payment

When the work is ready to bill, create the invoice using your normal invoice workflow. If you need to create an invoice before the standard job invoice is available, your company may be able to create an ad-hoc invoice.

  1. Create or open the invoice for the correct billing customer.

  2. Open the invoice.

  3. Click Apply Payment.

  4. Select the quote deposit payment.

  5. Enter the amount of the deposit to apply.

  6. Click Apply twice to confirm.

  7. Verify the payment in the invoice's Payments section.

  8. Confirm that Amount Paid and Balance are correct.

  9. Preview and send the invoice if it has not already been sent.

  10. Post the invoice according to your accounting workflow.

The quote deposit does not automatically attach to the later invoice. Your team must complete this application step to reduce the invoice balance.

Step 7: Collect the remaining balance

After the deposit is applied, the remaining invoice balance can be collected through a Pay Now link or recorded manually.

  • For a Pay Now payment, email the invoice and have the customer pay the remaining balance through the secure link.

  • For a check, cash, or other payment, create a manual payment and apply it to the remaining invoice balance.

  • If the customer pays more than the remaining balance, follow the overpayment workflow below.

Troubleshooting

The Pay Now link is missing from an invoice email

  • Confirm that Payments+ is active for your company.

  • Confirm that the invoice has an outstanding balance.

  • Review the invoice email settings and verify that the payment-link option is enabled.

  • Send the most recent invoice email rather than reusing an older message.

  • If the option is still missing, contact your BuildOps administrator or Support team.

The customer paid, but the invoice still shows as unpaid

  1. Open the invoice in BuildOps.

  2. Review the Payments section.

  3. Confirm whether the payment appears on the invoice.

  4. Do not create a second payment until the first transaction has been investigated.

  5. Gather the invoice number, payment amount, payment date and time, transaction ID, and receipt information.

  6. Contact Support if the successful payment still does not appear or is not applied correctly.

The quote deposit does not appear on the invoice

This is expected when the quote deposit was collected before the invoice existed. Quote deposits are recorded as payments and must be manually applied to the invoice.

  1. Go to Accounting → Payments.

  2. Find the quote deposit using the customer, amount, date, or payment number.

  3. Confirm that the payment is for the same billing customer as the invoice.

  4. Open the invoice and click Apply Payment.

  5. Select the quote deposit, enter the amount, and click Apply twice.

  6. Confirm the updated Amount Paid and Balance fields.

The payment page does not load or the customer cannot pay

Ask the customer to:

  • Open the most recent invoice email.

  • Click the Pay Now button directly from that email.

  • Try Chrome or Edge, or another supported browser.

  • Try a private or incognito browser window.

  • Send a screenshot and the full web address if the issue continues.

A large payment is declined

Large payments may exceed the transaction limit approved for your Payments+ account, or the customer's card or bank may have its own limit.

Collect the following information before contacting Support:

  • Invoice number

  • Payment amount

  • Date and time of the attempt

  • Screenshot of the error message, if available

Do not repeatedly retry a declined transaction without first confirming the cause of the decline.

Invoice reminders continue after payment or a settings change

Reminder settings affect newly scheduled reminders. Older invoices may already have reminders scheduled.

  1. Go to Settings → Payments+ and review the reminder settings.

  2. Open the invoice.

  3. Cancel the active reminder if the invoice should no longer receive reminders.

  4. Confirm that the invoice is marked Paid or Voided when appropriate.

Changes to invoice details or applied payments may also cancel scheduled reminders.

Recommended best practices

  • Preview every invoice and quote before sending it.

  • Confirm the billing customer before creating or applying a payment.

  • Use the invoice payment link when the payment should apply directly to that invoice.

  • Treat quote deposits as unapplied payments until you manually apply them to an invoice.

  • Review the Payments section before requesting payment again.

  • Unapply a payment before moving it to another invoice.

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