---
key: bill-from-a-customer-account
title: Handle a customer's billing from their account
audience: staff
section: accounts
routes: ["/accounts/:accountUid/billing/:billingView", "/accounts/:accountUid/billing/:billingKind/new", "/accounts/:accountUid/billing/:billingKind/new/:panel", "/accounts/:accountUid/billing/:billingKind/:documentUid", "/accounts/:accountUid/billing/:billingKind/:documentUid/edit", "/accounts/:accountUid/billing/:billingKind/:documentUid/edit/:panel", "/accounts/:accountUid/billing/statements", "/accounts/:accountUid/billing/statements/:statementUid", "/accounts/:accountUid/billing/quotes/:documentUid/review/:workflowMode", "/accounts/:accountUid/billing/quotes/:documentUid/conversion", "/accounts/:accountUid/billing/quotes/:documentUid/decision/:decisionAction", "/accounts/:accountUid/billing/invoices/:documentUid/collection", "/accounts/:accountUid/billing/invoices/:documentUid/replacement"]
permissions: ["billing.invoices.read"]
features: ["crm.accounts"]
since: 0.0.1
updated: 0.0.1
status: published
summary: Use a customer's Billing tab to see what they owe, make a quote or invoice, collect a payment, issue a credit or deposit, send a statement and refund a payment without leaving the account.
keywords: [payment instructions for one customer, invoice message for one customer, customer balance, what they owe, account billing, customer invoices, customer payments, credit, deposit, statement, refund]
related: [create-a-billing-document-template, work-on-a-customer-account, create-a-quote, create-an-invoice, take-a-card-payment-on-an-invoice, record-a-payment, refund-a-payment, generate-a-statement]
---

In the sidebar, open **Accounts**, then **All Accounts**, open the customer,
then open the **Billing** tab. The page address ends in `/billing`. Everything
here is limited to this one customer, and anything you open or create stays
inside the account page.

## What you see at the top

Five boxes sum up the customer: **Balance due** across open invoices,
**Open invoices**, **Overdue** (needs collection follow-up),
**Unapplied cash** and **Credits & deposits**. Press one to jump to the list
behind it.

Below them, pick a list: **Invoices**, **Quotes**, **Statements**,
**Payments**, **Credits & deposits** or **Cards & recurring**. Each list loads only this customer’s documents. Saved cards and recurring billing load when you open **Cards & recurring**.

The people selected to receive invoices or quotes under **Billing Settings** fill the matching document’s send screen. Email and text each use that person’s saved address or number; you can adjust either list before sending.

## Make a quote or an invoice

1. Press **New quote** or **New invoice** on the Billing tab, or **Create quote** or **Create invoice** in the account’s **Actions** menu.
2. The document opens with the customer already filled in. Build it as usual
   ([[create-a-quote]], [[create-an-invoice]]).
3. When you save or send, you come back to the customer's list.

If the button asks you to fix something first, the customer's status does not
allow new quotes or invoices (for example, a lead or an inactive account). The
window that opens explains the fix and can change the status for you.

## Collect a payment

1. Press **Collect payment** at the top, or open an invoice's row menu and
   press **Collect payment**.
2. Take the payment as on any invoice: a card through Nova Payments
   ([[take-a-card-payment-on-an-invoice]]), or cash, a cheque or a transfer
   ([[record-a-payment]]).

## Other things you can do here

- **Invoices** and **Quotes**: search, filter by status, and use a row's menu
  to **Open invoice**, **Open quote** or **Download PDF**. An open quote
  offers the same review, accept or decline, and convert-to-invoice steps as
  the **Quotes** page.
- **Statements**: see past statements and press **Generate statement** to make
  a new one for this customer ([[generate-a-statement]]).
- **Payments**: every payment, with its status. A payment's menu can start a
  refund in **Refund account payment** ([[refund-a-payment]]).
- **Credits & deposits**: press **Issue credit** to give the customer a
  credit, or **Create deposit** to record money paid in advance.
- **Cards & recurring**: the customer's saved cards, automatic payments and
  recurring billing.
- **More billing actions** › **Billing settings** opens the customer's
  **Billing Settings** tab (payment terms, billing name, currency and who
  receives documents).

## Give a customer their own invoice wording

On the customer's **Billing Settings** tab, open **Documents and delivery**.
**Payment instructions**, **Invoice customer message** and **Quote customer
message** each show the wording this customer gets today. Until you change
it, that is your organization's own wording from the default invoice or quote
template (or from the template chosen for this customer), shown as plain text.

1. Press **Override for this customer**. A box opens with the organization's
   wording already in it.
2. Change the words. They save on their own; nothing is saved until the text
   differs from the organization's wording.
3. To go back, press **Use organization default instead**. Emptying the box
   does the same.

To change the wording for every customer who has not been given their own,
press **Edit organization default**, change the text, and press **Save
organization default**. The change is saved on the invoice or quote template
([[create-a-billing-document-template]]); invoices and quotes already made keep
their wording. You only see this if your role can change billing document
templates.

## If something looks different

You only see the lists and buttons your role allows. Someone who can read
invoices but not create them sees the lists without **New invoice**.