How to Automate Invoices in Airtable (with Typeflow)

Creating and sending invoices is an essential but time-consuming task for any business. If you're using Airtable to manage your clients and projects, you're already halfway to a more efficient invoicing system.

In this step-by-step tutorial, we'll show you how to automatically generate professional invoices directly from your Airtable data using TypeFlow - no coding required.

By the end of this guide, you'll have a fully automated invoice generation system that:

• Creates professional-looking invoices with your branding
• Automatically pulls client and project data from your Airtable base
• Saves hours of manual work each month
• Ensures accuracy by eliminating manual data entry

What Is Automated Invoicing in Airtable?

Automated invoicing in Airtable means using a connected tool, like TypeFlow, to automatically generate professional invoices from your data. As Airtable doesn't create documents on its own, this process uses triggers to pull information, fill a template, and generate the final invoice without manual work.

Why Automate Invoices in Airtable?

Automating your invoicing process in Airtable offers significant advantages beyond just saving time.

• Eliminate Errors: Automation ensures data is transferred perfectly from your Airtable base to your invoice every time.

• Save Time: Stop wasting 5-10+ hours per month on repetitive tasks and focus on growing your business.

• Ensure Consistent Branding: Every invoice uses the same professional, branded template for a consistent look.

• Get Paid Faster: Invoices go out the moment a project is completed, which helps shorten your payment cycle.

• Improve Client Experience: Clients receive timely, accurate, and professional invoices, building trust in your business.

• Scale Effortlessly: The same workflow can handle 10 or 1,000 invoices, allowing your operations to grow easily.

What you need to Automate Invoices in Airtable

Before we dive in, let's make sure you have everything you need.

Step 1: Set up Your Airtable base for invoicing

Before connecting to Typeflow, you'll need to make sure your Airtable base has all the necessary information for generating invoices.

Creating an Invoice-Ready Airtable Structure

A well-organized base is the foundation of any successful automation. Taking a few minutes to structure your tables correctly ensures that data flows seamlessly and prevents errors.

If you already have a client management system in Airtable, you can adapt it. If not, here's a simple structure to get started:

1. Create a "Clients" table with these fields:

• Client Name (Single line text)
• Contact Person (Single line text)
• Email (Email)
• Phone (Phone number)
• Address (Long text)

2. Create a "Projects" table with these fields:

• Project Name (Single line text)
• Client (Link to Clients table)
• Project Description (Long text)
• Project Status (Single select: In Progress, Completed, Invoiced, Paid)
• Start Date (Date)
• End Date (Date)

3. Create a "Line Items" table with these fields:

• Description (Single line text)
• Project (Link to Projects table)
• Quantity (Number)
• Rate (Currency)
• Amount (Formula: {Quantity} * {Rate})

Add an "Invoices" table with these fields:

• Invoice Number (Auto-number or Formula)
• Client (Link to Clients table)
• Project (Link to Projects table)
• Issue Date (Date)
• Due Date (Date)
• Status (Single select: Draft, Sent, Paid, Overdue)
• Line Items (Link to Line Items table)
• Subtotal (Rollup: SUM of {Line Items}→{Amount})
• Tax Rate (Percent)
• Tax Amount (Formula: {Subtotal} * {Tax Rate})
• Total (Formula: {Subtotal} + {Tax Amount})
• Notes (Long text)
• Invoice PDF (Attachment - this is where TypeFlow will store your generated invoice)

If you want to copy the base, click here!

Step 2: Create Your Invoice Template in Google Docs

TypeFlow uses Google Docs as a template engine, making it incredibly easy to design professional invoices without learning a new system.

1. Open Google Docs and create a new document

2. Design your invoice template with your company logo, contact information, and styling

3. Add placeholders for dynamic data using double curly braces: {{placeholder}}

Here's an example of an invoice template:

The template includes a special variable {{loop_0}} that will be used to loop through the line items. This variable will allow you to access to fields in the line items table.

Save your template in Google Docs with a clear name like "Invoice Template".

Step 3: Connect TypeFlow to Your Airtable Base

If not already done, Now it's time to connect TypeFlow to your Airtable base:

1. Sign in to your TypeFlow account

2. Visit this link to integrate Airtable with Typeflow: Integrate Airtable with Typeflow

3. Select "Connect to Airtable"

4. Authorize TypeFlow to access your Airtable account

5. Select the base and table you want to use (in this case, your Invoices table)

Step 4: Configure Your Invoice Generation Workflow

Once connected, you'll need to configure your flow in Typeflow:

1. Sign in to your TypeFlow account

2. Click "Start a new automation workflow"

3. Select "Google Docs"

4. Pick your template

Now connect TypeFlow to your Airtable base:

1. Select your Airtable base from the dropdown menu

2. Choose the specific table where you want to generate your PDF (in your case the Invoices table)

3. Set up the attachment field where generated PDFs will be saved

Pro Tip

If you want to adjust the currency formatting of your invoice, you can use adjust your locale settings and check the locale format. It will return the currency formatting of your locale.

4. Map Airtable fields to your template variables

Pro Tip

No need to add rollup fields to have access to fields from another table!

1. Pick the linked record field from your main table
2. Click the three dots and select "Configure Linked Fields"
3. From there select the field you want to access

And if you need to access a field from a lower table, you can do the same process!

5. For the line items, select your linked Line Items field

5. Identify any attachment fields you want to include

6. Verify field accessibility and permissions

7. Optionally set a custom filename format like "Invoice-{{Invoice_Number}}-{{Client_Name}}"

Step 5: Automate Invoice Creation and Delivery

Method 1: Button-Triggered Invoice Generation

To make invoice generation even easier, you can add a button directly in your Airtable base:

1. In TypeFlow scroll to the bottom of the page and click on " Classic Implementation"

2. Copy the URL, it should look like this: "https://app.typeflow.us/api/generate-doc?record_id="&RECORD_ID()&"&table_id=xxx&flow_id=xxx"

3. Go to your Airtable table Invoices and add a new button field

4. Paste the URL from TypeFlow to the URL Formula

Now whenever you want to generate an invoice, you can click the button in Airtable and it will generate the PDF for you.

Method 2: Fully Automated Invoice Generation

For this one you can use Airtable Automation if you have a paid account, or if you don't have a paid account you can use Make.

In this example, we will use the Airtable Automation. For the purpose of this article, we will trigger the PDF genration whenever the field Status, for any invoice, is equal to "Ready".

1. Go to Automation in Airtable

2. Click on "Add a trigger" and Choose When a Record matches a condition

3. Select the table you want to trigger the automation on (in this case the Invoices table)

4. Select the field you want to trigger the automation on (in this case the Status field)

5. Select the condition you want to trigger the automation on (in this case "is")

6. Select the value you want to trigger the automation on (in this case "Ready")

7. Now choose a record that matches the condition

8. Now click on Add an advanced logic or action

9. Pick Run Script. A new popup appears.

10. Go back to TypeFlow and select Automation in Airtable. Copy the script.

11. Paste the script in the popup.

12. In the left-side of the popup, do not forget to configure the variable input, record_id. You need to select Airtable Record ID from the dropdown. See the image.

13. Test your script, and see if it works. Adjust if needed (most of the time the error comes from the record_id variable - see step 12).

14. Now name your automation and save it.

15. Create a new automation, we will use it to send the PDF to the client.

16. Add a trigger. We will use the When a Record matches a condition trigger.

17. This time, the trigger is when the Invoice PDF is generated.

18. Add another action, to send the PDF to the client via email.

19. Test your automation and make sure it works.

20. Add another step to update the status of the invoice to "Sent".

Now your flow is ready. Test it carefully to see if it works well.

How to Track and Manage Invoice Status in Airtable

Generating an invoice is only half the battle. Use Airtable's features to track each invoice from creation to payment.

Here are a few powerful ways to manage your invoice status:

• Status Field: Your 'Status' single-select field (e.g., Draft, Sent, Paid) is your command center. Keep it updated.

• Filtered Views: Create views in your 'Invoices' table to see what matters most, such as 'Unpaid Invoices' or 'Overdue Invoices'.

• Automated Reminders: Set up an Airtable Automation to send a reminder when an invoice becomes 'Overdue'.

• Conditional Coloring: Apply color-coding to your 'Status' field to visually identify overdue (red) and paid (green) invoices instantly.

• Interface Dashboards: Build a simple dashboard in Airtable Interfaces to get a high-level overview of key metrics like total amount overdue.

Best Practices for Automated Invoicing in Airtable

To ensure your invoicing system runs smoothly long-term, follow these key best practices.

Testing your Automation

Before going live, always test your workflow thoroughly:

Before running large-scale exports, always:

1. Start with 2-3 sample records to validate your template and data mapping

2. Check field mapping for accuracy, especially with formulas and linked records.

3. Ensure all dynamic content, like line items and dates, renders correctly.

Ongoing maintenance

Keep your system healthy with these regular checks:

• Consistent Naming: Use a clear naming convention for fields and tables to prevent your automation from breaking.

• Workflow Organization: Use Airtable Views to organize invoices by status (e.g., 'Ready to Send', 'Overdue').

• Regular Backups: Regularly back up your Airtable base using snapshots to protect your data.

• Simple Documentation: Keep a brief document explaining how your automation works for your team.

• Unique Invoice Numbers: Set up a numbering system that prevents duplicate invoice numbers.

• Log Reviews: Periodically check your Airtable automation run history to catch any silent errors.

Troubleshooting Common Invoice Automation Issues

If your automation isn't working as expected, check these common culprits:

• Incorrect Data in PDF: Verify your names in the template match your Airtable field names exactly, including case.

• Automation Not Triggering: Double-check that your trigger conditions in Airtable Automations perfectly match your test record's data.

• PDF Not Attaching: Confirm the attachment field in your TypeFlow setup is correctly mapped to the attachment field in Airtable.

• Line Items Not Looping: Ensure the special variable is used correctly in your template and the linked record field is properly configured.

• Contact support

TypeFlow Pricing for Invoice Automation

At TypeFlow, we think generating PDFs with Airtable data should be simple and affordable. Our pricing model is designed to be transparent and flexible, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes.