QuickBooks Online Invoices

QuickBooks Online Invoice Management

Overview

Invoices are the primary billing mechanism in QuickBooks Online. For MSPs, invoices typically represent monthly managed services fees, project work, hardware procurement, or ad-hoc support. QBO supports line items with service/product references, automatic tax calculation, email delivery, payment links, and integration with online payment processing. Invoices track due dates via payment terms and automatically contribute to the customer's outstanding balance.

Key Concepts

Invoice Lifecycle

Status	Description	Balance Impact
Draft	Not yet sent	Adds to balance
Sent	Emailed to customer	Adds to balance
Partially Paid	Some payment applied	Reduced balance
Paid	Fully paid	Zero balance
Voided	Cancelled	Removed from balance
Overdue	Past due date	Adds to balance (flagged)

Line Items

Each invoice contains one or more line items. Line items reference Items (products/services) from the QBO Items list:

Line Type	Description	MSP Example
SalesItemLineDetail	Standard product/service line	Monthly IT services
GroupLineDetail	Grouped bundle of items	Managed services bundle
DescriptionOnlyLine	Text-only description line	Section headers
DiscountLineDetail	Discount applied	Multi-year contract discount
SubTotalLineDetail	Running subtotal	Subtotal before tax

MSP Invoice Types

Type	Frequency	Description
Recurring Monthly	Monthly	Managed services, monitoring, backup
Project-Based	One-time	Network upgrade, migration, deployment
Time & Materials	As incurred	Break-fix support, consulting hours
Hardware	One-time	Equipment procurement and markup

Field Reference

Core Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
Id	string	System	Auto-generated unique identifier
DocNumber	string	No	Invoice number (auto-generated if blank)
TxnDate	date	No	Invoice date (default: today)
DueDate	date	No	Payment due date (calculated from terms)
CustomerRef.value	string	Yes	Customer ID
Line	array	Yes	Array of line items
TotalAmt	decimal	Read-only	Total invoice amount
Balance	decimal	Read-only	Remaining unpaid balance
SyncToken	string	Required for updates	Optimistic locking token

Billing Fields

Field	Type	Description
SalesTermRef.value	string	Payment terms ID
BillEmail.Address	string	Email to send invoice to
BillAddr	object	Billing address
ShipAddr	object	Shipping address
CustomerMemo.value	string	Memo visible to customer
PrivateNote	string	Internal note (not visible to customer)
EmailStatus	string	"NotSet", "NeedToSend", "EmailSent"

Line Item Fields (SalesItemLineDetail)

Field	Type	Required	Description
Line.Amount	decimal	Yes	Line total (Qty x Rate)
Line.Description	string	No	Line item description
Line.DetailType	string	Yes	"SalesItemLineDetail"
Line.SalesItemLineDetail.ItemRef.value	string	Yes	Item ID
Line.SalesItemLineDetail.Qty	decimal	No	Quantity
Line.SalesItemLineDetail.UnitPrice	decimal	No	Unit price
Line.SalesItemLineDetail.ServiceDate	date	No	Service date

Tax Fields

Field	Type	Description
TxnTaxDetail.TotalTax	decimal	Total tax amount
TxnTaxDetail.TxnTaxCodeRef.value	string	Tax code ID
GlobalTaxCalculation	string	"TaxExcluded", "TaxInclusive", "NotApplicable"

Metadata Fields

Field	Type	Description
MetaData.CreateTime	datetime	Creation timestamp
MetaData.LastUpdatedTime	datetime	Last update timestamp

API Patterns

Query Invoices

GET /v3/company/{realmId}/query?query=SELECT * FROM Invoice WHERE CustomerRef = '123' AND Balance > '0'&minorversion=73
Authorization: Bearer {access_token}
Accept: application/json

Common Queries:

-- Unpaid invoices for a customer
SELECT * FROM Invoice WHERE CustomerRef = '123' AND Balance > '0'

-- All invoices in a date range
SELECT * FROM Invoice WHERE TxnDate >= '2026-01-01' AND TxnDate <= '2026-01-31' ORDERBY TxnDate DESC

-- Overdue invoices (past due date with balance)
SELECT * FROM Invoice WHERE DueDate < '2026-02-23' AND Balance > '0' ORDERBY DueDate ASC

-- Recent invoices
SELECT * FROM Invoice ORDERBY TxnDate DESC MAXRESULTS 25

-- Invoices by doc number
SELECT * FROM Invoice WHERE DocNumber = 'INV-1042'

Get Single Invoice

GET /v3/company/{realmId}/invoice/456?minorversion=73
Authorization: Bearer {access_token}

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $QBO_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  "https://quickbooks.api.intuit.com/v3/company/$QBO_REALM_ID/invoice/456?minorversion=73"

Create Invoice

POST /v3/company/{realmId}/invoice?minorversion=73
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer {access_token}

Monthly Managed Services Invoice:

{
  "CustomerRef": {
    "value": "123"
  },
  "TxnDate": "2026-02-01",
  "SalesTermRef": {
    "value": "3"
  },
  "BillEmail": {
    "Address": "billing@acmecorp.com"
  },
  "EmailStatus": "NeedToSend",
  "Line": [
    {
      "Amount": 2500.00,
      "Description": "Monthly Managed IT Services - February 2026\nIncludes: 24/7 monitoring, patch management, help desk support (unlimited)",
      "DetailType": "SalesItemLineDetail",
      "SalesItemLineDetail": {
        "ItemRef": { "value": "1" },
        "Qty": 1,
        "UnitPrice": 2500.00,
        "ServiceDate": "2026-02-01"
      }
    },
    {
      "Amount": 150.00,
      "Description": "Cloud Backup Service - 500GB - February 2026",
      "DetailType": "SalesItemLineDetail",
      "SalesItemLineDetail": {
        "ItemRef": { "value": "2" },
        "Qty": 1,
        "UnitPrice": 150.00,
        "ServiceDate": "2026-02-01"
      }
    },
    {
      "Amount": 200.00,
      "Description": "Email Security Filtering - 50 mailboxes - February 2026",
      "DetailType": "SalesItemLineDetail",
      "SalesItemLineDetail": {
        "ItemRef": { "value": "3" },
        "Qty": 50,
        "UnitPrice": 4.00,
        "ServiceDate": "2026-02-01"
      }
    }
  ],
  "CustomerMemo": {
    "value": "Thank you for choosing our managed IT services."
  },
  "PrivateNote": "Monthly recurring invoice - auto-generated"
}

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QBO_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  "https://quickbooks.api.intuit.com/v3/company/$QBO_REALM_ID/invoice?minorversion=73" \
  -d '{
    "CustomerRef": { "value": "123" },
    "Line": [{
      "Amount": 2500.00,
      "Description": "Monthly Managed IT Services - February 2026",
      "DetailType": "SalesItemLineDetail",
      "SalesItemLineDetail": {
        "ItemRef": { "value": "1" },
        "Qty": 1,
        "UnitPrice": 2500.00
      }
    }]
  }'

Send Invoice via Email

POST /v3/company/{realmId}/invoice/456/send?minorversion=73
Authorization: Bearer {access_token}

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QBO_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
  "https://quickbooks.api.intuit.com/v3/company/$QBO_REALM_ID/invoice/456/send?sendTo=billing@acmecorp.com&minorversion=73"

Update Invoice (Sparse)

{
  "Id": "456",
  "SyncToken": "3",
  "sparse": true,
  "CustomerMemo": {
    "value": "Payment is now overdue. Please remit immediately."
  }
}

Void Invoice

POST /v3/company/{realmId}/invoice?operation=void&minorversion=73
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer {access_token}

{
  "Id": "456",
  "SyncToken": "3"
}

Delete Invoice

POST /v3/company/{realmId}/invoice?operation=delete&minorversion=73
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer {access_token}

{
  "Id": "456",
  "SyncToken": "3"
}

Get Invoice as PDF

GET /v3/company/{realmId}/invoice/456/pdf?minorversion=73
Authorization: Bearer {access_token}
Accept: application/pdf

Common Workflows

Monthly MSP Billing Cycle

async function generateMonthlyInvoices(billingMonth) {
  // Fetch all active MSP clients
  const customers = await qboQuery(
    "SELECT * FROM Customer WHERE Active = true AND Balance >= '0'"
  );
  const clients = customers.QueryResponse.Customer || [];

  const results = { created: [], errors: [] };

  for (const client of clients) {
    try {
      // Build line items from client's service agreement
      const lines = await buildServiceLines(client.Id, billingMonth);
      if (lines.length === 0) continue;

      const invoice = await createInvoice({
        CustomerRef: { value: client.Id },
        TxnDate: billingMonth + '-01',
        BillEmail: { Address: client.PrimaryEmailAddr?.Address },
        EmailStatus: 'NeedToSend',
        Line: lines,
        CustomerMemo: {
          value: `Services for ${billingMonth}. Thank you for your business.`
        }
      });

      results.created.push({
        customer: client.DisplayName,
        invoiceId: invoice.Id,
        total: invoice.TotalAmt
      });
    } catch (error) {
      results.errors.push({
        customer: client.DisplayName,
        error: error.message
      });
    }
  }

  return results;
}

Project Invoice

async function createProjectInvoice(customerId, projectDetails) {
  const lines = projectDetails.tasks.map(task => ({
    Amount: task.hours * task.rate,
    Description: `${task.description}\n${task.hours} hours @ $${task.rate}/hr`,
    DetailType: 'SalesItemLineDetail',
    SalesItemLineDetail: {
      ItemRef: { value: task.itemId },
      Qty: task.hours,
      UnitPrice: task.rate,
      ServiceDate: task.date
    }
  }));

  return await createInvoice({
    CustomerRef: { value: customerId },
    Line: lines,
    CustomerMemo: {
      value: `Project: ${projectDetails.name}\nWork completed ${projectDetails.startDate} - ${projectDetails.endDate}`
    },
    PrivateNote: `PSA Ticket: ${projectDetails.ticketNumber}`
  });
}

Batch Send Unsent Invoices

async function sendUnsentInvoices() {
  const unsent = await qboQuery(
    "SELECT * FROM Invoice WHERE EmailStatus = 'NeedToSend' AND Balance > '0'"
  );
  const invoices = unsent.QueryResponse.Invoice || [];

  for (const invoice of invoices) {
    const email = invoice.BillEmail?.Address;
    if (email) {
      await sendInvoice(invoice.Id, email);
    }
  }

  return { sent: invoices.length };
}

Overdue Invoice Follow-Up

async function getOverdueInvoices() {
  const today = new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0];
  const result = await qboQuery(
    `SELECT * FROM Invoice WHERE DueDate < '${today}' AND Balance > '0' ORDERBY DueDate ASC`
  );
  const invoices = result.QueryResponse.Invoice || [];

  return invoices.map(inv => ({
    invoiceNumber: inv.DocNumber,
    customer: inv.CustomerRef.name,
    amount: inv.TotalAmt,
    balance: inv.Balance,
    dueDate: inv.DueDate,
    daysOverdue: Math.floor((Date.now() - new Date(inv.DueDate)) / 86400000)
  }));
}

Error Handling

Common API Errors

Code	Message	Resolution
6000	Business Validation	Check line item amounts and required fields
6140	Duplicate DocNumber	Use a different invoice number or let QBO auto-assign
610	Object Not Found	Verify CustomerRef, ItemRef, or Invoice ID
5010	Stale Object	Re-fetch SyncToken and retry
2050	Invalid Reference	Check CustomerRef, ItemRef, SalesTermRef values

Validation Errors

Error	Cause	Fix
CustomerRef required	Missing customer	Add CustomerRef.value to request
Line required	No line items	Add at least one Line item
Invalid ItemRef	Bad item ID	Query Items for valid IDs
Amount mismatch	Qty x UnitPrice != Amount	Ensure Amount = Qty * UnitPrice

Error Recovery Pattern

async function safeCreateInvoice(data) {
  try {
    return await createInvoice(data);
  } catch (error) {
    const fault = error.Fault;
    if (!fault) throw error;

    const errorCode = fault.Error?.[0]?.code;

    if (errorCode === '6140') {
      // Duplicate DocNumber -- remove and let QBO auto-assign
      delete data.DocNumber;
      return await createInvoice(data);
    }

    if (errorCode === '610') {
      // Invalid reference -- log details for debugging
      console.log('Invalid reference. Verify CustomerRef and ItemRef values.');
      console.log('Detail:', fault.Error[0].Detail);
    }

    throw error;
  }
}

Best Practices

1. Use service items - Create Items for each MSP service (monitoring, backup, help desk)
2. Include service dates - Set ServiceDate on line items for accurate revenue recognition
3. Set EmailStatus - Use "NeedToSend" for automatic email queuing
4. Include descriptions - Detailed line descriptions help clients understand charges
5. Use payment terms - Set SalesTermRef to calculate due dates automatically
6. Track by sub-customer - Invoice sub-customers for per-service-line reporting
7. Add CustomerMemo - Include helpful notes visible on the invoice
8. Use PrivateNote - Store internal references (PSA ticket numbers, project codes)
9. Void instead of delete - Voiding preserves audit trail
10. Batch monthly invoicing - Generate all monthly invoices in a single workflow

Endpoint Reference

Operation	Method	Endpoint
Create	POST	/v3/company/{realmId}/invoice
Read	GET	/v3/company/{realmId}/invoice/{id}
Update	POST	/v3/company/{realmId}/invoice
Delete	POST	/v3/company/{realmId}/invoice?operation=delete
Void	POST	/v3/company/{realmId}/invoice?operation=void
Send	POST	/v3/company/{realmId}/invoice/{id}/send
PDF	GET	/v3/company/{realmId}/invoice/{id}/pdf
Query	GET	/v3/company/{realmId}/query?query=...

Related Skills

• QBO Customers - Customer management
• QBO Payments - Payment application to invoices
• QBO Reports - A/R Aging and revenue reports
• QBO API Patterns - API reference