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Create recurring invoices and other transactions in QuickBooks Online

by Intuit•2• Updated about 3 hours ago

Learn how to create templates for recurring transactions in QuickBooks Online Essentials, Plus, and Advanced.

In QuickBooks Online, you can create templates for recurring invoices, estimates, and other ‌transactions like recurring expenses. You can’t create recurring bill payments or time activities.

Note: You can automate credit card payments with a recurring sales receipt.

Prerequisites

These instructions apply to the new QuickBooks Online experience.

Create a new recurring transaction from scratch

Here's how you can create a new recurring transaction from scratch.

Follow this link to complete the steps in product
Select New.
Select the type of transaction to create, and then select OK.
Enter a Template name.
Select a Type: Scheduled, Reminder, or Unscheduled.
1. Use Scheduled transactions when you want to send the transactions out automatically. Use for when schedule and payment amounts don’t change, such as rent payments, loan payments, and depreciation.
2. Use Reminder when you want to schedule transactions, but send them manually. Use for transactions with a fixed schedule that need to be edited before they're created, such as utility bills.
3. Use Unscheduled when you want to create transactions but not schedule them for any specific point. Use this when you’ve created a complicated transaction you don’t want to retype, but only don’t issue on any particular schedule.
If you create a scheduled or reminder type of recurring template and you use Merchant Services, decide if your customer can pay you online. To do this, select or uncheck the checkboxes for Cards and Bank transfer in the Online Payment section.
If creating a Scheduled or Reminder invoice recurring transaction, verify if these invoices should include unbilled charges and automatically send emails.
Complete the fields and select Save template.

Note: We save each recurring transaction invoice as a draft. You need to review and finalise them yourself.

Use an unscheduled recurring transaction

Create unscheduled transactions when you need them.

Follow this link to complete the steps in product
For the template you want to use, in the Action column, select Use.
Fill out the rest of the transaction normally.
Select Save or Save and close.

Copy ‌an existing recurring transaction

To copy a recurring transaction except for the title:

Follow this link to complete the steps in product
In the Action column, select Duplicate from the Edit ▼ dropdown. This copies all settings other than the title.
Select Save template.

Make an existing transaction recurring

When you create or edit an invoice, receipt, bank deposit, credit note, or credit statement, you can make it recurring.

To make an invoice recurring, open an existing invoice, select Manage ⚙, then select Scheduling. Turn on Make invoice recurring and select OK. Fill out the details, then select Save template.
Note: If you're on the old Invoice layout, select Make recurring. Complete the fields and select Save template.
To make a receipt, bank deposit, credit note, or credit statement recurring, select Make recurring.

Note: You can’t turn an existing estimate into a recurring estimate. Create a new recurring estimate from scratch, as described above.

Your estimates or invoices will look different depending on whether you have the old or new estimate and invoice experience.

Edit a recurring template

You can edit recurring templates for any changes in invoices, expenses, and other tasks you do regularly.