Invoice statuses
Draft, sent, overdue, paid, void—learn what every invoice status means and exactly what to do next at each stage.
Why status discipline matters
Invoice status tells you what to do next. Without it, unpaid bills blend with finished ones and overdue balances hide until cash gets tight.
In AI Invoice Generator’s History, statuses help you filter, follow up, and restore mistakes without losing the story of each bill.
Agree internally on what each status means so you and any collaborators take the same next action.
Draft — still editing
Draft means the invoice is not ready or not yet sent. Use drafts to prepare line items, check totals, and confirm PO numbers before the client sees anything.
What to do next: finish details, proofread payment instructions, then send. Do not let drafts pile up after work is already delivered—billing delay starts here.
If a draft is abandoned, delete or void intentionally so it does not clutter your mental unpaid list.
Sent / unpaid — waiting on payment
Sent or unpaid means the client has the bill and the due date clock is running. Monitor these weekly.
What to do next: schedule pre-due and post-due reminders. Confirm the invoice reached the billing contact if the amount is large or the client is new.
If the client requests changes, update promptly and resend. A disputed unpaid invoice should be flagged so you do not send tone-deaf reminders.
Overdue — past the due date
Overdue means the due date has passed without full payment or an agreed arrangement. This status should trigger your collection cadence automatically in your workflow—even if software does not auto-email.
What to do next: start reminder sequence, call if needed, and escalate on your defined timeline. Do not reset psychologically to “it’s fine.”
Track how long items stay overdue. Chronic overdue volume is a terms and client-mix problem, not only a reminder problem.
Paid, void, and deleted
Paid means settled. Archive it, issue a receipt if needed, and reconcile the deposit. Paid invoices still matter for records, taxes, and disputes.
Void or canceled means the invoice should not be collected—perhaps issued in error or replaced. Keep an audit trail rather than pretending it never existed.
Deleted items in History may be restorable depending on your product workflow—use deletion for mistakes, not as a substitute for marking paid or voiding properly.
A simple status checklist
Draft → finish and send. Unpaid → remind near due. Overdue → follow-up sequence. Paid → receipt + reconcile. Void → note reason. Partial → record remaining balance and plan.
Review statuses every week for 10–15 minutes. That habit alone improves cash flow for many freelancers.
What to do next: open History today and assign a next action to every non-paid invoice.
Key takeaways
- Status tells you the correct next action
- Do not let drafts sit after work is delivered
- Unpaid invoices need scheduled reminders
- Overdue needs follow-up, not hope
- Paid invoices still matter for records and reconciliation
- Void with a reason instead of silently recycling numbers