Zinvoice FAQs
Plain answers about invoicing when self-employed.
Answers about creating and sending invoices, keeping payment records, repeat schedules, expenses, pricing and where Zinvoice stops.
Product fit
Who this simple invoicing software is for, what it handles, and where it deliberately stops.
No. Zinvoice is simple invoicing software for freelancers, sole traders, and self-employed people doing their own admin. It does not provide ledgers, payroll, bank reconciliation, VAT returns, prepared accounts, or direct HMRC filing.
Zinvoice is invoice-first rather than a complete accounting package. It helps you create and send invoices, manage clients and repeat work, record payments, and keep the related history together. You can also manually log expenses and mileage, but there are no bank feeds, payroll tools, VAT returns, or full bookkeeping ledgers.
Yes. Zinvoice is built for invoicing when self-employed: save your client details, create a professional invoice, send it by PDF or secure link, record the payment, and keep the history tidy for later. You stay in control of the records rather than handing your whole business over to an accounting system.
You can create and send invoices by PDF or secure link, manage repeat invoice schedules, keep client records, manually record payments and refunds, send receipts and payment reminders, follow delivery and secure-link activity, log expenses and mileage, and review cash-basis summaries.
Freelancers, sole traders, contractors, tradespeople, creatives, and consultants who want easy online invoicing and clear records without moving their whole working life into full accounting software.
That fits. Save client details, continue your invoice numbering, preview the document, send it as a PDF attachment or secure link, then record payment or send a reminder without rebuilding the same admin each time.
If you need bank reconciliation, payroll, ledgers, VAT workflows, prepared accounts, or direct HMRC filing, full accounting software may fit better. Zinvoice handles invoices and the records that go with them.
Invoices, agreements, and repeat work
Creating, sending, agreeing, numbering, and repeating client work without implying that every step is automatic.
Yes. Choose a prefix and the next number to use, then Zinvoice increases the number for new invoices. This lets you continue an existing sequence when moving from spreadsheets, Word, Canva, or another system.
Rather than copying the same Word or spreadsheet invoicing template, Zinvoice reuses your saved business details, client details, branding, payment terms, notes, and numbering. For regular work, a repeat invoice schedule gives you a reusable setup that can create a draft for review or send automatically.
Yes. Build the invoice as a draft, preview the client-facing document, and check the client, line items, dates, notes, payment terms, bank details, and branding before it is sent.
Yes. Send a professional invoice as a PDF attachment or use a secure invoice link for that client. Zinvoice keeps the sent document and available email delivery activity with the invoice.
Yes. Upload a finished one-off agreement PDF or reuse a saved standard agreement, then choose whether the client should sign it or simply read it. When a signature is needed, you sign first and the client receives a private link to read the PDF, type their full name, confirm their agreement, and sign online. Zinvoice keeps the exact sent copy and dated activity, then emails the completed signed PDF to both sides. You remain responsible for the agreement wording and whether it is suitable and legally valid.
Yes. You set up the client, line items, dates, frequency, and delivery choice. Each generated invoice can then be emailed automatically, or created as a draft for you to review and send manually.
Yes. You can edit timing and details, pause and resume an active schedule, generate an invoice manually, or cancel the schedule while keeping invoices that were already generated.
Each invoice keeps its status, transaction history, sent document, and activity together. Email events can show queued, sent, delivered, delayed, bounced, or failed states where the mail provider supplies them.
Payments, refunds, and emails
Payment records are entered by you; Zinvoice organises the record and the communication around it.
No. Zinvoice does not process client payments, import bank transactions, or decide that an invoice has been paid. You manually record payments, refunds, and credits after the money moves through your normal payment method.
Yes. A payment can be allocated fully or partly to one invoice, split across several invoices, or left as unapplied client credit until you decide where it belongs.
It records payment and refund creation, updates, deletion, and receipt or refund-email lifecycle activity. Entries keep useful context such as date and time, client, invoice, amount, and recipient where available.
You record the refund manually and can keep it linked to the relevant payment and invoice. Depending on the real situation, the refund can reopen the invoice balance or remain an informational refund while the invoice stays settled.
Yes. Choose to email a receipt while saving a payment, or send it afterwards from the payment record. Receipt delivery activity is kept in the payment audit trail.
Yes. Choose PDF attachments or secure invoice links per client. Secure links record Invoice page viewed and PDF downloaded activity with counts and timestamps. You can also enable one automatic reminder for each overdue invoice, choose the delay in days per client, and use your saved reminder wording. Sending a reminder manually first cancels that invoice's automatic reminder, while the recent-reminder warning still helps prevent over-chasing.
Yes, when you use a secure invoice link. Zinvoice records Invoice page viewed and PDF downloaded activity with counts and timestamps. This shows link activity, not proof that the client read or accepted the invoice.
Yes. After you record payments, Zinvoice shows useful invoice, paid, and outstanding totals alongside overdue invoices and recent payment activity. The figures reflect the records you enter and are not imported from a bank feed.
Expenses, summaries, and pricing
Keeping records tidy for tax return time, how manually entered figures feed the summaries, and what is included.
Yes. You manually log business expenses, suppliers, categories, dates, notes, and receipt files. Mileage is entered as a journey with miles and rate details so the claimable amount can be calculated consistently.
No. Zinvoice is intended for self-employed people who are not VAT registered. Its annual and optional MTD-oriented summaries use the payments, refunds, and expenses you entered, but they do not connect to HMRC, submit returns, prepare VAT returns, or replace an accountant.
No. You can switch off MTD figures and choose your own recurring financial-year start date for annual summaries. If you want MTD-oriented quarterly summaries, you can instead choose standard UK tax-year periods or calendar-aligned periods. This only changes how Zinvoice groups its summaries; it does not change your financial records or submit anything to HMRC.
Yes. For freelancers and sole traders doing their own tax return, keeping invoices, manually recorded payments, refunds, expenses, and mileage in one place can make the figures easier to check. Zinvoice is not tax software: it does not calculate your income tax, give tax advice, or submit a return.
No. Repeat invoices, automatic numbering, secure-link activity, automatic payment reminders, payment and refund records, audit trails, receipt emails, expenses, and summaries are part of the main product rather than an upsell ladder.
The free trial lasts 7 days. If Zinvoice suits you, choose the £12 monthly plan or the £120 yearly plan. There is no setup fee, no long-term contract, and no higher feature tier.
Yes. You can request a download of your account records and stored files from settings. The export is generated when you ask for it; it is not a live accounting integration.
If you reach the point where you need VAT workflows, payroll, bank reconciliation, ledgers, prepared accounts, or direct filing, full accounting software or an accountant-led setup may be the better next step.
Still have a question?
Send it through the public contact form and get a direct answer about whether Zinvoice fits the way you work.
Your next invoice can be the easy one
Send the next invoice without opening another spreadsheet.
Start with seven days free. Keep the professional invoice, client record, activity and payment history together from the beginning.
£12/month or £120/year · one plan · cancel when needed