Cobot simplifies your administrative tasks by automating the invoicing process for your memberships, member bookings, and one-time member charges.
With automated invoicing, you can direct your focus towards other aspects of your workspace management, ensuring a more efficient and hassle-free experience. Enhance your user experience even more by adding automated payment methods. Hence, your invoices are not only automatically generated but charged as well!
You can invoice non-members in your space, such as visitors who book a room or purchase day passes from your Homepage. Click here to read more on this.
Automated Invoicing
By default, Cobot automatically generates and sends invoices to your members on two cycles:
The membership renewal date is when membership fees are charged. Their monthly invoicing date is when extra charges, such as one-time fees and bookings, are processed.
When an invoice is generated on either billing cycle, Cobot will:
Create and post the invoice to the member's profile under Invoicing » Past Invoices.
When an automated payment gateway is connected, and your member has a payment method on file (credit card, PayPal, etc.) Cobot will try to charge the payment method on file.
The invoice will be posted to their member portal under 'Membership.'
To hide invoices from the member portal, go to Setup » Invoice Settings » and check 'Hide invoices from members' » Save.
If 'Send members' invoices by email' is activated in your Invoice Settings, Cobot will also email the invoice to the member with the payment status. It will:
Mark it as paid if the automated payment went through.
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 your admin settings.
Notify both you and your member if the payment fails permanently.
Membership Renewal Date
Whenever someone registers for a membership in your space, they are automatically assigned a renewal date. The renewal date is based on the cycle set in the 'Per' field in the membership plan's 'Basic Settings' tab.
For example, if you add "12" in the 'Per' field, the member will be charged every 12 months for their membership fees, starting when their membership begins.
If your member is billed monthly, this date is the same as their monthly invoicing date.
You can change your member's renewal date by going to Manage » Members » Click on the member's name » Membership » Change Renewal Date.
Monthly Invoicing Date
Along with automated invoices created on your member's renewal date, Cobot will also look for any additional charges on the member's account, such as booking fees or one-time charges/credits, and generate a monthly recurring invoice for them.
Only a single invoice for all charges will be created if the membership fees are also monthly.
The monthly billing date is also tied to the date the member registers, but NOT to the frequency of their membership renewal fee.
For example:
A new member registers and starts on August 1st. Their membership fee is set up to be charged quarterly (every 3 months).
The member will be charged for the first 3 months on August 1st.
The member won't be charged again for their membership fees until 3 months later, on November 1st.
All other fees accumulated on the member's accounts will be charged on their monthly invoicing date (September 1st, October 1st, November 1st, and their membership fees, etc.)
IMPORTANT NOTES
Invoices can only be processed between the 1st and 28th of the month.
Membership fees are charged in advance, but all other charges are posted to the members on their next month's invoice.
If you change the member's renewal date, their monthly invoice date will also change to that same date. It is not currently possible to split these cycles.
Invoices are only automatically charged when an automated payment method is present.
Previewing Upcoming Invoices
It is good practice to review your member's upcoming invoices anytime you make changes to their account, such as changing their renewal date or adding a one-time charge.
Head to their member profile » Invoicing » Preview Next Invoice to see what's coming.
Free-Form Invoices for One-Time Charges
Utilize free-form invoices when you want to charge your member promptly rather than post charges to the member's account so it is added to their next recurring invoice.
To create a free-form invoice, go to your members profile » Invoicing » New Free-form Invoice or Manage » Invoices » New Invoice.
After generating the invoice, it will be posted to the member's profile and to the member's portal. You can charge the invoice (when an automated payment method is present) and email it to them. Both of these actions can be seen on the invoice overview.
IMPORTANT NOTE
If the member is paid for by someone else, creating a free-form invoice under the member's name will post it to the main payers account, not the member's account.
Invoice Current Charges
Cobot allows you to invoice some charges in advance of their automated billing date. To do this, go to the members profile » Invoicing » Invoice Current Charges.
Once in the Invoice Current Charges page, you can choose which charge you would like to create an invoice for.
After you click on "Create Invoice", a new invoice will be populated and the charges will be removed from the members next automated invoice cycle.
The invoice will NOT be charged or sent to the member. You will need to do both of these actions manually.
What Can Be Charged in Advance:
Bookings not associated with Booking Credits
What Can't Be Charged in Advance:
Membership fees and Extras
Bookings where a booking credit is applied (either partially or entirely)
Reminding Members of Unpaid Invoices
Cobot's Payment Reminders feature helps manage late invoices more effectively. This tool lets you notify members via email about late payments and customize reminder messages for better communication.
Click here to read more on how to set these up and how they work.
Deactivating Automatic Invoice Charging
Want to review your invoices before charging your members? No problem.
Go to Customize » Features » Payments and activate 'Don't charge invoices automatically.' With this feature, all invoices are generated and posted to your member's profile but are NOT charged, even when an automated payment method is present.
You can view all generated invoices under your members profile » Invoicing » Past Invoices and your general invoice section under Manage » Invoices.
Your invoices are now required to have payments recorded manually.
IMPORTANT NOTE
When 'Don't charge invoices automatically' is activated, your members will still receive their invoices via email and be posted to their member portals. If you do not want this to happen, head to your Invoice Settings and deactivate the corresponding settings.
Recording Payments Manually
To process payments manually, go your members profile » Invoicing » Past Invoices or to you general invoice section under Manage » Invoices. Click the hamburger menu next to the invoice and then 'Record Payment.'
Select the payment method and save the payment record. Partial payments can also be applied.
IMPORTANT NOTE
Selecting an automated payment method in this way will NOT charge the member card on file. You must click 'Charge' on the main invoice page to accomplish this.
Click the 'Save Payment Record' button. The general invoice overview will now display the invoice as 'paid'.
Editing, Deleting & Writing-Off Existing Invoices
Now that your invoices are coming in fast, you might need to make small tweaks for accuracy, fix duplicates by deleting, and wave goodbye to uncollectible income. But which one should you do and when?
How and When to Edit Invoices
Consider editing an invoice when errors or inaccuracies are identified. This is particularly useful for refining details such as charges or billing information. Maintaining accuracy in your invoices is crucial for providing clients with reliable information.
Edit an invoice by going to Manage » Invoices » Click on the hamburger menu » Edit.
You can edit the following fields:
Invoice Number
Issue Date
Member Details
Tax Rate
Line Items
Invoice Text
Admin Visible Notes
Editing an invoice will not automatically re-send it to your member, you will have to do this manually. It will, however, automatically update the invoice in that member's invoicing section in their member portal.
How and When to Delete Invoices
Generally, deletion is reserved for instances where correction through editing is not feasible or when a duplicate entry has been mistakenly created. Regularly reviewing invoices helps identify such situations where deletion may be necessary.
It's important to exercise caution when deleting invoices, as this action permanently removes the record.
Delete an invoice by going to Manage » Invoices and clicking on 'Edit' from the invoice menu. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the Delete option.
IMPORTANT NOTES
Once you have deleted an invoice, it will be permanently deleted.
Deleting invoices will remove that invoice number from your sequence (ie. If you have invoices 1,2 and 3, deleting invoice 2 will show your invoicing sequence as 1, 3 and so on). This may not be allowed in your region so make sure you double check what is legally correct.
If you would like to retrieve a deleted invoice, we may be able to help you. Please contact support at support@cobot.me with the invoice number.
How and When to Write-Off Invoices
Unlike deleting an invoice, writing it off recognizes the debt while removing it from active accounts, preserving a record of the attempted transaction. So you should only write off an invoice when it's clear the amount won't be collected due to a client's inability or unwillingness to pay. This acknowledges the financial loss, ensuring accurate accounts.
⚠️ Always follow established procedures in your region when deciding to write off an invoice, as this will impact your year-end accounts and taxable income.
Write off an invoice by going to Manage » Invoices » Click on the hamburger menu » Write-off.
Once written off, the income will be removed from your unpaid accounts in your Analytics and appear as lost income.
IMPORTANT NOTES
You can only write off unpaid invoices. If you need to write off one that has been marked paid by mistake, edit the invoice, remove the payment records and then save the changes. You will now be able to write it off.
Refunding Invoices
If you have received a payment via an automated payment method, refunds cannot be processed through Cobot for those invoices.
To request a refund, you need to log into your payment provider's platform directly. This is where you can manage transactions and submit refund requests according to the provider's specific procedures and policies.
After you have done that, create a new invoice with the refund amount posted so your analytics are correct.
Crediting Members
In Cobot, you can issue credit to a member instead of providing a refund. This credit is stored on the member's account and is automatically applied to their next invoice.
When to use a credit
Use a credit when:
A member has overpaid an invoice
You want to offer a discount or compensation on a future invoice
You prefer to apply a balance forward rather than issuing a refund
Credit balances are tracked in the member’s profile and reduce the amount owed on future invoices.
Handling overpaid invoices
If an invoice is overpaid, Cobot marks it as unpaid to prompt a follow-up action. This does not mean the payment is missing—it indicates that the payment amount is higher than the invoice total.
You can resolve this by either:
Issuing a refund for the overpaid amount, or
Adding a manual credit to the member’s account to apply toward future invoices
How to add credit to a member’s account
To add a credit to a member’s account:
Go to the member's profile
Scroll to the Credits section
Click Add Credit
Enter the amount and a note for reference
Save
The credit will now be visible in the member’s profile and automatically applied to upcoming invoices.
IMPORTANT NOTES
Adding a credit here does not affect any existing invoices. It will only reduce the total due on future invoices.
When to use a correction invoice instead
Correction invoices are used to fix errors in issued invoices, such as incorrect amounts or services. They allow you to reverse part or all of a previous invoice while maintaining a clear accounting trail.
To correct an existing invoice:
Go to Manage » Invoices
Open the invoice you want to correct
Click Correct Invoice
Adjust or remove the incorrect items
Save the correction invoice
IMPORTANT NOTES
Editing the original invoice directly does not issue a refund, apply a credit, or create a correction record.
If the original invoice was paid and you need to credit the member for an overcharge, you should also manually add a credit to their account as described above.
Always use the Correct Invoice button to ensure accurate records when editing Invoices.
Deactivating All Automated Invoice Generation
If you want to make it so invoices are not generated by Cobot at all, contact support and we will deactivate them for you.
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