Documentation

Accept an invitation with the token from its link (signed in with the invited email).

LotsTech admins: abuse reports from emails and portal pages, newest first.

LotsTech admins: suspend (or unsuspend with suspend: false) a business: sending, editing and its portal stop; reading and export stay.

Apply the customer's available credit (overpayments, credit notes) to an invoice.

Set up columns, labels, titles, tax groups and declarations for a region: us_freelancer, us_sales_tax, eu_vat, uk_vat, india_gst, india_export_lut. Tax groups are created only from tax_rates you give (ask the owner; never guess). A starting point to check with their accountant.

Archive a business: billing for it stops, nothing is deleted, sent links keep working. Owner only.

Archive (or restore: true) a customer. Nothing is deleted.

Cancel a pending invitation.

Check a template (html body + css) without saving: forbidden content, unknown placeholders, missing required data, and warnings.

Turn an estimate into a draft invoice.

Create a business (the entity that sends invoices). Each business is one paid unit: it uses a plan slot or LotsTech Credits (new accounts get free credits). Ask the person for the real legal name, address, email and registration IDs; never invent them.

A checkout link for a plan (starter, pro, business; monthly or annual) or a credits top-up (amount_usd, minimum 10). Show the link; the person pays in their browser.

Draft a credit note. With invoice_id it defaults to that invoice's balance and is applied to it when issued; the rest becomes customer credit.

Add a customer. Ask for details you do not have; never invent addresses or tax IDs. Returns what is missing.

Save a statement to print on documents, e.g. "Supply meant for export under LUT without payment of IGST" or "Reverse charge applies".

Draft an estimate (quote). due_date is "valid until". The customer can accept it in the portal; convert_estimate turns it into an invoice.

Draft an invoice. Totals are computed exactly (discounts before tax, several taxes per line). It stays a draft: show the totals to the person and ask before send_document.

Save a product or service with its price, code (SKU, HSN/SAC), unit and default tax.

Repeat an invoice on a schedule (document_id), e.g. a monthly retainer. Line text may use {period}, {month}, {year}. mode draft (review first) or send (automatic).

Save a tax from rates the owner gives you (never guess a rate): one component (name + rate) or several (components), e.g. "GST 18% intra-state" = CGST 9 + SGST 9, or "Sales tax" = State 6.25 + County 2.

Save a custom template after it passes check_template. Use it with template "custom:<id>".

Delete a draft that was never sent.

Remove a recorded payment (kept for history, no longer counted).

Copy a document into a new draft, optionally for another customer or as another type.

Everything about the business as JSON, with PDF links valid 7 days. Owner only.

Money owed by age (current, 1-30, 31-60, 61-90, 90+ days), per currency and customer.

Your LotsInvoice plan or credits, businesses in use, rates and plans to choose from.

Get one business with its settings and what is still missing (next_steps).

One customer with open balance, available credit and recent documents.

One document with lines, totals, versions, payments and activity (viewed, reminders, portal notes).

A download link (valid 1 hour) for the PDF. Drafts render on demand, marked DRAFT.

A preview link (HTML, valid 1 hour), or the HTML itself with include_html.

Payments received by method, per currency.

The customer's portal link (view and download documents, pay, accept estimates), optionally to one document.

Revenue (excluding tax) by month and by customer, per currency.

Numbering, titles, defaults, payment options, reminders, layout (columns, custom fields, blocks, labels), theme and signature.

A customer statement: opening balance, invoices, credit notes, payments and closing balance per currency.

What needs attention: unpaid and overdue invoices, money received this month, drafts, open estimates and upcoming recurring invoices.

Tax charged by tax and rate, per currency (invoices minus credit notes).

One custom template with its html and css, to edit it.

How to write a custom template: the safe template language, every data path, an example view and the built-in layout source to start from.

Add a customer from a LotsCRM contact you can read (name, email, phone, primary company).

Import customers from CSV text (header row first; up to 1,000 rows). Columns are matched by name (name, email, phone, address, city, state, zip, country, currency, tax id) or by mapping. Try dry_run first.

Import items from CSV (name, description, code/SKU/HSN, unit, price). Up to 2,000 rows.

Invite someone (a partner, bookkeeper) as editor or viewer. Emails an accept link valid 7 days. Owner only.

Leave a business you were invited to.

List the businesses you can invoice from, with your role, settings and whether the sender email is confirmed. Start here.

List or search customers (name, contact, email).

Saved declarations (fixed statements printed on documents).

List invoices, estimates and credit notes. Filters: type, status (comma list), customer_id, from/to (issue date), overdue, search (number).

Saved products and services.

People with access to this business, and pending invitations (owner).

Recorded payments, newest first.

Recurring invoices and their next dates.

Saved taxes. A tax has one or more components applied together.

Built-in designs, custom templates and regional presets.

Issue a draft without emailing it (you delivered it yourself): assigns the number and locks it.

Pause a recurring invoice.

Render a template (template key, or unsaved html/css) with sample data at 1 to 200 lines; returns HTML.

Record money received for an invoice (partial allowed). Overpayment becomes customer credit. LotsInvoice does not move money.

Send the business email confirmation link again. Sending documents needs a confirmed email.

Restore an archived business (needs plan room or credits).

Resume a recurring invoice.

Change a sent invoice or estimate: a new locked version with a reason (the number stays). Not for paid or void documents: use a credit note.

Revoke every earlier portal link for this customer and make a new one.

Email the document with its PDF and portal link (from LotsInvoice, replies go to the business). A draft gets its number and is locked. Ask the person before sending.

Email a payment reminder now for a sent, unpaid invoice.

Set the next document number (only forward), e.g. to continue from another tool.

How customers pay, shown on invoices, emails and the portal: a pay link (Stripe Payment Link, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, Square), bank details, Zelle, UPI (India, with a QR code), check address, instructions. LotsInvoice never handles the money.

Change the default template and look: template (classic, modern, minimal, bold, compact, formal, studio, executive, ledger or custom:<id>; ledger is the full-page grid Indian tax invoice), color, accent, font (inter, plex, serif, mono), density (compact, normal, comfortable), logo_position, logo_size, paper (letter, a4), accent_style (bar, band, none).

Update business details. Changing the email sends a confirmation link.

Update a customer. Documents already sent keep the details they were sent with.

Update or archive a declaration.

Edit a draft (any document field; lines replaces all lines). Sent documents: use revise_document.

Update or archive (archived: true) an item.

Change a member's role or remove them (remove: true). Owner only.

Change a recurring invoice (name, mode, end_date, max_count, next_date, template).

Change settings. Give only what changes, under settings: numbering {invoice:{prefix,padding,reset}}, titles {invoice:"Tax Invoice"}, defaults {notes,terms,footer,estimate_valid_days,template,line_treatment,second_currency}, reminders {enabled,offsets,subject,message}, layout {columns:[{key,label,visible,type}], custom_fields:[{key,label,scope,visible}], blocks:{tax_summary,words,signature,…}, fields:{due_date,po_number,reference,place_of_supply}, labels:{…}, words_system, show_registration_ids}, theme {color,accent,font,density,logo_position,logo_size,paper,accent_style}, signature {name,title,image_url}.

Rename, change components, or archive (archived: true). Sent documents keep their taxes.

Update (re-checked) or archive a custom template. Sent documents keep their version.

Upload the logo, a signature image or a company seal (stamp) image (PNG, JPEG, WebP or GIF, 1 MB max, base64) and save it on the business.

Void a sent invoice or credit note (keeps its number). Not when payments or credits are recorded.