# Create Invoices (https://docs.carlio.app/docs/invoices/create-an-invoice)

Raise an invoice for a customer, alone or from a deal, and generate its document



An invoice bills one customer for one or more lines. The dashboard generates the PDF document when the invoice is saved.

**Requirements:** permission to create invoices (**Raise Invoices**).

## Steps [#steps]

1. Open the invoice form from one of these places.
   * On the **[Invoices](https://carlio.app/dashboard/invoices)** page, select **New Invoice**.
   * On a deal page, select **Create Invoice**. The button appears while the deal has no invoice. The form opens with the customer, the ID number, the currency of the deal and one line for the car at the agreed price.
   * In the **Invoices** card of a customer page, select **Create Invoice** or **Add**. The form opens without prefilled data.
2. Open the **Customer** tab. Choose the customer in the **Customer** field. The field searches by name, ID number and country.
3. Check the **Customer ID Number** field. The dashboard copies the number from the customer record when a customer is chosen. The field is optional and can be changed for this invoice only.
4. Open the **Invoice** tab. Enter the lines.
   * Enter the **Item Name**, the quantity and the unit price. The quantity accepts decimals, for example 1.5.
   * Optional: link a car in the **Link a vehicle (optional)** field. The dashboard fills the item name and the VIN. It fills the unit price from the list price of the car only when the car is listed in the currency of the invoice.
   * Optional: enter a reference such as a VIN or a part number in **VIN or part number (optional)**.
   * Select **Add Line** for another line. An invoice has at most 50 lines. A single remaining line cannot be removed.
5. Enter the amounts under the lines.
   * **Discount**: an amount taken off the subtotal before tax.
   * **Shipping**: an amount added after tax. Shipping is never taxed.
   * **Tax**: choose **Percentage** or **Fixed amount**. Then enter the **Rate (%)** or the **Tax amount**. Leave the field empty for an invoice without tax.
6. Optional: open the **Payment** and **Details** tabs. The guides [Choose payment details for an invoice](/docs/invoices/choose-payment-details) and [Set the language, formats and text of an invoice](/docs/invoices/set-the-invoice-document) describe them.
7. Check the **Total** below the form. Select **Create Invoice**.

![The New Invoice form with one line, a discount and shipping, beside the live document preview](https://storage.carlio.app/public/docs/eb2d5441-b8ac-4f62-b494-9b575e677052.webp)

## Result [#result]

The dashboard shows the message "Invoice created" and opens the invoice page. The **Document** tab shows the generated PDF.

## How the total is calculated [#how-the-total-is-calculated]

1. Each line amount is the quantity multiplied by the unit price.
2. The subtotal is the sum of the line amounts.
3. The discount is subtracted from the subtotal. The result is never below zero.
4. The tax is calculated on the discounted subtotal. A fixed tax is the entered amount.
5. The shipping is added last.

The preview beside the form uses the same calculation as the document. On a narrow screen, the **Preview** button shows or hides the preview.

## Limits [#limits]

* A percentage tax rate cannot exceed 100 percent.
* A due date cannot fall before the issue date.
* An invoice needs a customer, an issue date and at least one line with an item name and a price. Otherwise the dashboard shows an error message and opens the tab that needs a change.
* A line without an item name or a price is ignored when the invoice is saved.

## Notes [#notes]

* The saved lines are copies. A later change to the list price of a car does not change an invoice that exists.
* When the document cannot be generated, the invoice is still saved. The dashboard shows "Invoice saved. The document could not be generated and will be retried on download." Selecting **Download** on the invoice generates the document again.
* Raising an invoice does not record a payment or a ledger entry.