An invoice maker for PC used to mean desktop software: install it, keep the data file on one machine, back it up and hope that machine never fails. This article answers a specific question for a firm that bills from desktops: should you install software or bill from the browser, and how do you set up a branded invoice template on the levelpartner.ai platform so anyone on any Windows or Mac machine produces the same invoice?
Installed software versus the browser
Installed invoice software ties your billing to a device. If the person who runs it is off sick, nobody else can send an invoice. If the file corrupts, you restore from the last backup and re-enter what was lost. Licences are counted per machine, so a new starter waits for IT.
Browser-based invoicing removes that dependency. You sign in on any PC, the invoice and the client record are in one place, and the history is shared. What you give up is offline working. If your office internet fails, you cannot invoice until it returns, though the mobile app on a phone hotspot covers most gaps.
For a firm of 10 to 250 staff, the shared record usually wins. Billing is a team activity once you have more than one person agreeing work with clients.
Before you start
- A current browser on each PC that will raise invoices.
- A user login for each person, with permissions set in Settings.
- Your logo as a high-resolution file, your registered address and tax numbers.
- Your standard payment terms and the wording you want at the foot of every invoice.
- A payment processor connected in Payments.
How to set up your invoice defaults
- Sign in from your PC's browser and go to Payments, then Invoices & Estimates.
- Click Settings and open Business Information to add your logo, name, phone number, address and website, then click Save.
- Open Title, Terms and Layout and write your invoice title and standard terms, including bank details, then click Save.
- In the same section, click Customize Layout, set the pay button colour and the business fields to show, and click Save changes.
- Open Payment Settings, set the number of days until an invoice is due and click Save.
- Go to Payments, then Products, and save the services you bill most often.
- Click + New, choose New invoice, add a product and click Save.
- Use the three dots next to Save and choose Preview to check the result in a new tab.
- Download the invoice as a PDF and print one copy to check the layout on paper.
If you bill in both pounds and dollars, give each product a price in each currency you use. A product's currency cannot be changed once it is saved, so add a second pricing option rather than editing the first, and the tax line stays right.
Using it day to day from a PC
Once the defaults are saved, a team member picks the client, adjusts the lines and sends. The client gets an email with a link to a hosted invoice page and a PDF if they want one. Because the invoice settings carry the branding and terms, nobody needs to remember the footer wording or hunt for the logo.
Keyboard users will find the browser faster than most desktop tools for repeat billing: search the contact, start the invoice, tab through the fields. If your team prefers to type invoices quickly for small one-off charges, the guide to raising an express invoice shows the shortest route.
Say the consultancy runs an installed invoicing program on the finance manager's PC with a weekly backup. Two people can raise invoices and everyone else emails requests, about 90 a month. If browser templates let eight partners raise their own invoices from any office machine, most of those emails would have no reason to exist. Fewer than 10 a month would be a realistic aim. The figures are invented.
What it replaces and the time it takes
Templates replace the Word or Excel invoice copied and renamed each month, and the installed program sitting on one PC. Building two or three templates takes an hour. After that, each invoice takes a couple of minutes.
The mistake most people make
Copying the old desktop layout field for field. Desktop invoices often carry boxes nobody reads: a "ship to" address for a services firm, a column for discount on every line, a reference field left blank. Strip the template to what your client needs to approve and pay. The guide to what a simple invoice should contain lists the essentials.
When not to move
If you invoice fewer than a handful of clients a month, all from one person, and you have no need for shared records, installed software you already own may be good enough. Also hold off if your accounting system already generates invoices and your team is happy there. Running two systems that both issue invoices is worse than either one. The guide to invoicing with your accounting software alongside the platform explains how to decide which one issues invoices.
Troubleshooting
The logo looks blurred on the PDF. The file is too small. Upload a larger PNG with a transparent background.
The PDF breaks across two pages. The footer text is too long. Move detailed terms to a linked page and keep the footer to two or three lines.
A colleague cannot see invoices or products. Their user role lacks the Payments permissions. Adjust them in Settings under My Staff.
Totals look wrong in a different currency. The product was saved in another currency. Add a pricing option in the right currency instead of overriding the amount by hand.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to install anything on my PC?
No. You sign in through a browser. The mobile app is optional, for people who invoice away from a desk.
Can I still print invoices?
Yes. Download the invoice as a PDF and print it, or send the PDF to clients who require a paper copy for their records.
Does it work on a Mac as well?
Yes. Anything in a current browser behaves the same on Windows and Mac, so mixed offices use one set of templates.
What happens to my old invoices?
Keep an export or archive of them from the old software. For open invoices, recreate them on the platform so reminders and payments run from one place. If you also want to compare tools first, see the invoicing software checklist.