A manual invoice is an invoice you create on demand, outside the regular subscription cycle of a rental. It's the tool for billing a one-off service like a lock cut, cleaning fees, a lost key, or any other charge that isn't monthly rent.
Who this article is for
Creating a manual invoice requires the Owner or Manager role. If the New Invoice button is missing, ask an Owner on your team.
Difference between a manual invoice and a rental invoice
Type | How it's created | Effect |
Rental | Generated by Stripe, linked to a booking. | Affects access, emails, and late fees. |
Manual | Created on demand, no booking required. | No access effect; no auto late fees. |
Before creating a manual invoice
The customer must already exist as a Contact in the facility — if not, create the contact first (see the Contacts article).
To use Charge automatically, the customer must have a default payment method on file (card or pre-authorized debit) — see Payment methods and autopay. Otherwise, use Send invoice.
For Send invoice, the contact's email address must be valid.
Create a manual invoice
To bill a one-off service to a customer:
Step 1.
From the left menu, click Invoices, then New Invoice at the top right. The New Invoice page opens.
Step 2.
In the Customer section, click Select a customer... and choose the contact to bill — they must already exist in the facility.
Step 3.
In Line Items, fill in a line: Description (text visible to the customer, for example "Lock cut" — avoid internal jargon), Qty (1 by default), Price per unit in dollars, and check Tax to apply your facility's taxes to that line. Click Add line item to add more lines as needed.
The Preview to the left of the form shows the invoice rendering in real time as you fill it in.
The filled-in form: customer selected, a "Lock cut" line at $25.00, and taxes applied in the preview.
Step 4.
In Payment Method, choose Charge automatically (Stripe immediately charges the customer's default payment method — recommended when the customer has a card on file) or Send invoice (Stripe emails the customer a payment link, paid at their own pace). Optionally add a Customer note (visible on the invoice) or an Internal memo (private, only visible to your team).
Step 5.
Click Create & charge to finalize the invoice, or Cancel to exit without creating it.
The full flow: New Invoice → customer → line item → Create & charge.
Once created, the invoice shows its number, status, billed amount, and activity history.
The created invoice: number, status, billed customer, and line item detail.
What happens automatically
With Charge automatically
Stortech creates the invoice locally and in Stripe, then Stripe immediately attempts to charge the customer's default payment method. If the charge succeeds, the invoice moves to Paid and the customer receives a Stripe receipt email — no action on gate access, since this isn't a rental invoice. If the charge fails, the invoice stays Open (or moves to Overdue once the due date passes), the failure is recorded, and the customer receives a payment failure email. Late fees don't apply automatically to manual invoices.
With Send invoice
Stortech creates the invoice in Open status and Stripe sends the customer an email with a hosted payment link. The customer pays via Stripe Checkout; on successful payment, the invoice moves to Paid and the customer receives a receipt. No action on gate access. See also Automatic notice when an invoice is issued (manual billing).
Important statuses and fields
Item | Meaning |
Select a customer | Choice of the contact to bill. Must already exist in the facility. |
Description | Text visible on the customer invoice. Avoid internal jargon. |
Qty / Price / Tax | A line's calculation is |
Charge automatically | Immediately charges the default method. Fails if the customer has none. |
Send invoice | Sends a Stripe payment link by email; the customer pays at their pace. |
Customer note | Appears on the invoice sent to the customer. |
Internal memo | Only visible to your team on the invoice record. |
Preview | Live invoice rendering while you fill in the form. |
Common issues
Charge automatically fails with "no payment method". What now?
What to check: does the customer have a card or pre-authorized debit set as default?
What to do: ask the customer to update their payment method (see Payment methods and autopay), or use Send invoice so they pay via a link.
The customer doesn't receive the email after Send invoice. What now?
What to check: is the email address on the contact record correct? Does the facility's Emails list show a send for this customer?
What to do: update the address if needed and resend the invoice.
I created a manual invoice by mistake. How do I cancel it?
What to check: what's the invoice status (Open, Overdue, Paid)?
What to do: for an unpaid Open or Overdue invoice, you can void it from the Stripe dashboard. For a Paid invoice, issue a refund from the invoice record. See the Invoices article.
The customer paid me cash, cheque, or e-transfer instead of through Stripe. How do I mark the invoice paid?
What to check: was the payment really received outside Stripe (no duplicate automatic charge)?
What to do: record the offline payment directly on the invoice. See Record an offline payment on an invoice.
The total doesn't include taxes. Why?
What to check: is the Tax box checked on each taxable line?
What to do: check the box on all relevant lines. If the invoice is already sent, create a new corrected invoice.
The Internal memo shows up on the customer receipt. What now?
The internal memo should never appear on the customer's receipt. If it does, contact support immediately — in the meantime, check that you filled in Internal memo and not Customer note.
Common questions
How do I bill a customer for a lock cut? Go to the Invoices page, click New invoice, choose the customer, add a line with the description and price, and finalize.
How do I charge the customer immediately instead of sending a payment link? Pick Charge automatically as the payment mode. The customer's default card or pre-authorized debit will be charged right away.
How do I add multiple lines to a single invoice? Click Add line item after each line to create a new one.
Why does Charge automatically fail with "no payment method"? The customer has no card or pre-authorized debit set as default. Ask them to add one, or use Send invoice instead.
What's the difference between Customer note and Internal memo? The Customer note appears on the invoice they receive. The Internal memo is private, only visible to your team on the invoice record.