Invoice bookipi: how it works and how to set it up

If you searched for invoice Bookipi, you are probably billing from your phone with a standalone invoicing app and wondering whether that still works now the business has grown. This article answers one question: when does phone-first invoicing in a separate app stop being enough, and how do you keep the convenience of invoicing on the move while the invoice lives next to the client record? We do not review any third-party app here. We cover the job, what to check, and how the levelpartner.ai platform handles invoicing from a phone.

The problem with a separate invoicing app

A standalone app is quick for a sole trader. You meet a client, tap out an invoice, send it. The trouble starts when more people are involved. The invoice sits in one app, the client's emails sit in someone's inbox, the deal sits in a spreadsheet, and nobody can see all three at once.

In a firm of 20 or 80 people, that split shows up as small, expensive mistakes. A salesperson promises a discount that finance never hears about. A client is chased for an invoice they paid last week. A renewal goes out at the old price because the app had no link to the signed proposal.

What to check before you decide

When you compare a phone invoicing app with invoicing inside your CRM, test these points with your own data, not a demo:

• Can someone other than the sender see every invoice for a client, in the same place as their emails and calls?
• Does a paid invoice update the deal or opportunity automatically?
• Can reminders run without anyone remembering to send them?
• Can you invoice from a phone without a laptop?
• Can you export everything if you leave?

If the answer to the first three is no, the app is a personal tool, not a business system. That is fine for one person. It is a risk once the team grows.

Before you start

• A payment processor connected in Payments.
• The platform's mobile app installed and signed in on each phone that will send invoices.
• Your products and standard prices saved, so mobile invoices use the same wording as desktop ones.
• An export of your client list and open invoices from the old app.

Setting up invoicing from your phone

1. Go to Contacts, click Import Contacts and upload the CSV exported from your old app.
2. Map each column to a field, review the mappings and start the import.
3. Go to Payments, then Products, and save your regular services with fixed descriptions and prices.
4. Recreate any invoices still unpaid, with the original numbers in the terms, so the client sees continuity.
5. In the mobile app, tap the hamburger menu, tap Invoices, then tap the + button and choose a one-time invoice.
6. Enter yourself as the Recipient, set the Start date and Due date, and add one item from the catalogue.
7. Tap Send and choose email in the bottom sheet.
8. Pay it with a card to confirm money reaches your processor.
9. Switch off reminders in the old app so clients are not chased twice.
10. Keep the old app read-only for one full billing cycle, then close it.

What changes for the team

The person in the field still invoices from their phone. The difference is that everyone else can now see it. Finance sees the invoice the moment it is sent. The account manager sees it in the client's history. A paid invoice can move the opportunity to won and trigger the onboarding email, which the guide to building an invoice workflow explains.

Time it takes and what it replaces

Moving a client list and open invoices across takes most firms half a day. After that, invoicing from the phone takes the same minute or two it did before. What it replaces is the reconciliation: the export, the spreadsheet, the questions to colleagues about who billed what.

The mistake most people make

Running both systems in parallel for months. Clients get two invoice styles, two sets of reminders and two links to pay. Some pay the wrong one. Pick a cut-over date, move the open invoices, switch off the old reminders, and tell clients in one short message.

When to stay with a phone app

If you are a sole trader or a two-person partnership, with no pipeline to manage and no team that needs to see invoices, a dedicated invoice app may be all you need. The value of invoicing inside a CRM comes from shared visibility and automation. If nobody else needs to see the invoice, you will not get that value.

Troubleshooting

Imported contacts are duplicated. The export used a different email format, or some clients had two records. Merge duplicates in Contacts before you raise any invoices.

Mobile invoices look different from desktop ones. Someone typed free-text line items. Use saved products so the wording matches.

A client paid an old invoice after the switch. That payment went to the old processor account. Record it manually on the platform invoice so the client's history stays complete.

Invoice numbers clash. Start the new numbering at a clearly different prefix or range. The guide to keeping invoices simple covers numbering.

Related reading

If you are weighing several invoicing tools, the checklist for comparing invoicing software sets out the questions in order of importance. For clients who prefer to pay by text, see paying by text message.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still send invoices from my phone?

Yes. The platform's mobile app lets you open a contact, raise an invoice and send it by email or text. The invoice appears on the contact for everyone with access.

Do I lose my invoice history when I switch?

Not if you export it first. Keep the export as a file and, for open invoices, recreate them on the platform with a note of the original number.

Will clients notice the change?

They will see a new invoice design and a new payment page. Send a short note before the first one so it does not look unexpected.

Is a CRM overkill for invoicing?

For one person, often yes. For a team where sales, delivery and finance all need the same client history, invoicing in the CRM removes the gaps between them.