Cobot automates the task of invoicing your members for their membership, booked resources, extra time passes and one-time charges. Invoicing in Cobot is automated so you can focus on other things.
This guide will cover:
Default (Automated) Invoicing
By default, Cobot automatically generates and sends invoices to your members on two cycles:
1. Their membership renewal date:
The membership renewal date is tied to the 'Per' field in the 'Basic Settings' tab in the membership plan. Membership fees are charged one month in advance.
If your member is billed monthly, then this date is also the same as their monthly invoicing date.
If your member is billed on a different cycle, say every six months, or annually, then the membership renewal date can be found within the member's profile under 'Membership' and will only be charged on that date.
This date is in addition to the member's monthly billing date where charges for bookings and one-time charges will be picked up.
You can change this date by clicking on the menu in the 'Membership' box » Change Renewal Date. We only process invoices between the 1st and 28th of the month, so please choose a date within that timeframe.
2. Their monthly invoicing date
The monthly billing date will be tied to the date the member registers or your chosen date as a default billing date in your Invoice settings. Cobot will look for any charges on the member's account, such as membership fees, booking charges, or one-time charges/credits, and apply them to the member's next invoice.
Membership fees are charged one month in advance, but all other charges are posted to their next month's invoice.
This invoice can be previewed in the members profile » Invoicing » Preview Next Invoice.
You can change this date by clicking on the menu in the 'Membership' box » Change Renewal Date. We only process invoices between the 1st and 28th of the month, so please choose a date within that timeframe.
Changing this date will adjust the day and month of the membership renewal and the monthly invoice day. If the member incurs any additional charges (such as booking rooms, printing, etc.), they will be billed on the newly-selected invoice day, even before the chosen month of the membership renewal.
How Automated Invoices Are Sent
When an automated invoice is generated, Cobot will:
Create the invoice and post it to their member profile. You can view these in their member profiles under Invoicing » Past Invoices and Manage » Invoices.
If you have an automated payment gateway, Cobot will try to charge the payment method on file.
If 'Send members' invoices by email' is activated in your Invoice Settings, Cobot will send an email with the .pdf of the invoice to the member with the payment status. It will:
Mark it as paid if the automated payment went through correctly.
Try up to three times to process payment if the payment fails. The member will receive email notification of the failure each time. If you want to be notified of each failure, turn on the email notification 'Temporary problem with a member's payment' in the Admin settings.
Notify both the member and admin by email if it failed permanently.
Activating Manual Invoicing
If you would like to review your invoices before charging your members, you can activate the feature 'Don't charge invoices automatically' under Customize » Features » Payments.
If you want to make it so no invoices are generated by Cobot at all, contact support and we will deactivate your invoices for you.
How Manual Invoices Are Sent
When automated invoices are deactivated, Cobot will:
Create the invoice and post it to their member profile. You can view these in their member profiles under Invoicing » Past Invoices and Manage » Invoices.
If 'Send members' invoices by email' is activated in your Invoice Settings, Cobot will send an email with the .pdf of the invoice to the member with the payment status.
Processing Payment on Manual Invoices
To track payments manually, go to the invoice overview under Manage » Invoices. Hover over the invoice to see actions like recording a payment or writing the invoice off.
Click Record Payment. A small dialog will pop up, allowing you to record the date of payment and add a comment. Partial payments can also be applied.
Click the 'Save Payment Record' button. The general invoice overview will now display the invoice as 'paid'.
Invoicing With the External Booking Add-on
Invoicing visitors via the Public Visitor Portal works differently.
Once visitors have selected their reservation via the Public Visitor Portal and shared their booking contact details, they can pay instantly for their reservation via credit card. The invoice is generated and emailed to the visitor immediately after the booking.
You can also add manual payment methods, such as cash. When a manual payment method is activated for the Public Visitor Portal, the member will be prompted to add their billing details (name, address, phone number) at the time of the booking. The visitor can then pay in whichever method you indicate when they enter your space.
Click here to read more about how External Bookings work and how to set them up.
Free-Form Invoices
You can create Free-form invoices for one-time charges to members or send invoices to non-members/visitors to your space. You can create these under Manage » Invoices » New Invoice.
Check out this guide for more details.
Editing & Deleting Existing Invoices
You can edit or delete an invoice by going to Manage » Invoices and clicking on 'Edit' from the invoice menu.
Check out this guide for more details.
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