How Do You Set Up Recurring Invoices in QuickBooks Online?

If you bill the same customer the same amount on a regular schedule, retyping that invoice each cycle is wasted effort. QuickBooks Online can build it once and reissue it on its own, monthly, weekly, or yearly, and even email it or charge the card without you touching it.

Below is who recurring invoices are for, the plan you need, the three recurring types QuickBooks offers, how to set one up, and what happens in your books once the money starts arriving on schedule.

Who are the recurring invoices for?

Any business that charges predictable, repeating amounts benefits. Think agencies on monthly retainers, membership organisations, landlords collecting rent, and anyone selling a subscription. The common thread is a fixed customer, a fixed amount, and a fixed cadence.

Predictable billing like this is the backbone of recurring revenue, and automating the invoice removes the one manual step that tends to slip. Miss a month of manual invoicing and you've simply not been paid for work you did.

Where it fits less well is variable billing. If the amount changes every cycle, based on usage, hours, or shifting scope, a fully automatic invoice can send the wrong number. QuickBooks has an answer for that, which comes up in the recurring types below.

What you need first

Recurring transactions aren't in every QuickBooks plan. You'll find the feature in Essentials, Plus, and Advanced. Simple Start doesn't include it, so if you're on that tier and want recurring invoices, an upgrade is the price of entry.

One more thing to get right before you start: the template you build repeats exactly as saved. Any mistake in the amount, the customer, or the tax setting will reissue every single cycle. Slow down on the first one.

The three recurring types

QuickBooks doesn't treat every repeat invoice the same way. When you set one up, you pick a type, and the choice decides how hands-off the billing really is.

Scheduled is the true set-and-forget option, ideal when the amount never changes. Reminder is the safety valve for billing that shifts a little each time, since you get a nudge to check and adjust before anything goes out. Unscheduled just saves you from rebuilding a common invoice without any automation attached.

How to set up a recurring invoice

The fastest route starts from an invoice you've already built, though you can start fresh too. Here's the flow.

1. Open or create the invoice. Select + New, then Invoice, and fill in the customer, line items, and terms. Or open an existing invoice you want to repeat.
2. Turn on recurring. Select Manage, then Scheduling, and switch on Make invoice recurring. On some layouts it's made recurring at the bottom of the invoice.
3. Name the template. Give it a unique, clear name so you can find it later in your recurring list.
4. Pick the type. Choose Scheduled, Reminder, or Unscheduled based on how automatic you want it.
5. Set the schedule. Choose the interval, the start date, and an end date if the billing stops. You can also create the invoice a set number of days in advance.
6. Turn on auto-send. For a scheduled invoice, switch on 'Automatically send emails' so it reaches the customer without you.
7. Save the template. It now lives under Settings, then Recurring Transactions, ready to run.

That's the whole setup, and it only needs doing once per customer. From here, QuickBooks does the reissuing.

Charging the card automatically with Autopay

Sending the invoice is one thing; getting paid without chasing is another. If you use QuickBooks Payments, Autopay closes that gap. Your customer enrols once, stores their payment details, and future recurring invoices charge automatically.

For the customer it's convenience. For you it's cash that arrives on time without a follow-up. Recurring invoices plus autopay is the closest QuickBooks gets to fully hands-off billing.

For anyone tired of dunning emails, it's worth the payment-processing fees. The mechanics of accepting those payments live in our guide to QuickBooks Payments.

Managing recurring invoices over time

A recurring invoice isn't something you set and never revisit. Contracts change, prices go up, and customers pause. All of it is handled from one place: Settings, then Recurring Transactions.

From that list you can pause a template when a customer takes a break, edit it when pricing or terms change, or delete it when the relationship ends. Editing matters most, because a stale template quietly keeps billing the old amount long after you agreed to a new one.

Build a habit of reviewing your recurring list every few months. It's where billing errors hide, an invoice still going to a churned customer, or a price that never got updated after a renewal.

What recurring billing does to your books

Automating the invoice is only half the story. Once those payments start landing, each one has to be recorded against its invoice and reconciled against the bank, cycle after cycle. Multiply that by a full book of subscribers and it becomes real bookkeeping work.

There's a second wrinkle for subscription businesses. If a customer prepays for a year, that cash isn't all revenue today. It's deferred revenue that you recognise month by month as you deliver the service, and getting that recognition right is what keeps your financials accurate.

This is where automation on the accounting side earns its keep. Finlens matches recurring payments to invoices, reconciles them, and handles the subscription revenue recognition behind recurring billing.

For any business running on subscriptions, that back-end automation is what keeps recurring revenue clean instead of a monthly reconciliation chore.

Conclusion

Recurring invoices turn a repeating manual task into something QuickBooks handles on its own. Build the template once, choose Scheduled for fixed billing or Reminder for amounts that shift, set the cadence, and let it run. Add Autopay through QuickBooks Payments, and the money collects itself too.

The one discipline worth keeping is a periodic review of your recurring list, since a stale template bills the wrong amount without complaint.

Beyond that, automated billing creates a steady stream of payments to reconcile and, for subscriptions, revenue to recognise over time. Automate the invoice, keep the books behind it current, and recurring billing becomes genuinely hands-off rather than a task that just moved downstream.

Frequently asked questions

How do I set up a recurring invoice in QuickBooks Online?

Open or create an invoice, select Manage, then Scheduling, and turn on Make invoice recurring. Name the template, choose a type, set the interval and start date, and turn on automatic emails if you want it sent for you. Save the template, and QuickBooks reissues it each cycle.

Which QuickBooks Online plans support recurring invoices?

Recurring transactions are available in QuickBooks Online Essentials, Plus, and Advanced. Simple Start does not include the feature. If you're on Simple Start and need recurring invoices, you'll have to upgrade to at least Essentials.

What is the difference between scheduled, reminder, and unscheduled recurring invoices?

Scheduled creates and can automatically send the invoice on your set schedule. Reminder prompts you on your dashboard to review and send it, which suits billing that varies slightly. Unscheduled just saves the template so you can send it manually whenever you need, with no automation.

Can QuickBooks automatically charge my customer for a recurring invoice?

Yes, using Autopay through QuickBooks Payments. Your customer enrols once and stores their payment details, and future recurring invoices charge automatically. This means the invoice sends and the payment collects without you chasing it, though QuickBooks Payments processing fees apply.

How do I edit or cancel a recurring invoice?

Go to Settings, then Recurring Transactions, to see all your templates. From there you can edit a template's amount or terms, pause it temporarily, or delete it entirely. Editing is important, since an unchanged template keeps billing the old amount after a price or contract change.

Will a recurring invoice send automatically?

Only if you set it to. A scheduled recurring invoice with automatically sent emails turned on will go out on its own. A Reminder type will not send automatically; it prompts you to review and send. An unscheduled template never sends until you choose to use it.

Can I set up recurring invoices for different amounts each month?

Fully automatic recurring invoices repeat the same amount, so they don't suit billing that changes each cycle. For variable billing, use the Reminder type, which prompts you to review the invoice each period so you can adjust the amount before sending it.

Do recurring invoices work with subscriptions?

Yes, recurring invoices are well suited to subscription billing. Keep in mind that if customers prepay for a longer period, the accounting side involves deferred revenue you recognise over time, so the bookkeeping behind subscription billing needs to keep pace with the invoices.