Order or invoice at enrollment?

When a customer enrolls, Bookingleaf can create an invoice right away, take a card payment, or only create an order that you invoice later. We recommend the last one for most courses, and most schools do it that way.

Our recommendation: create an order, invoice later

Use your own payment choice, called Invoice. Then enrollment only creates an order. Nothing is invoiced until you do it.

• Invoicing is quick. Open the order and click Create invoice.
• You can fix things before the invoice goes out. If someone cancels, changes course or should get a discount before you've invoiced, you change the order. No credit note needed.
• You review the orders first. You catch a wrong price or the wrong customer before the family gets an invoice.

How to set it up

Every school starts with one payment choice of its own, called Order only. Give it a name the customer understands:

1. Go to Settings → Payments and invoicing → Payments.
2. Under Your payment choices, open Order only.
3. Enter Invoice in Name, and for example "You'll get an invoice from [school name] by email." in Description.
4. Save.

Then pick this payment choice under Payment on the sale, or in Payment policy on the course template. The customer sees the name and description at checkout.

When does an automatic invoice fit?

Automatic invoice creates the invoice as the customer orders. It saves you a click, but you can't review or fix the order first. A cancellation or change afterwards needs a credit note. It fits sales where the price is always the same and cancellations are rare.

When does card payment fit?

Card payment (Stripe) lets the customer pay the full amount by card at checkout. It fits drop-in lessons, events and camps, where you want payment before the lesson and don't want to send invoices for single purchases. Card payment needs Stripe set up under Settings → Payments and invoicing → Payments.

You can offer several on the same sale, for example Invoice and card. The customer then chooses at checkout.

Do parents want to choose between one invoice and instalments?

Use a question on the enrollment, not more payment choices. See One invoice or instalments.