Key takeaways
- Create an invoice by typing a sentence such as "Invoice Northwind 4,000 EUR for October, due in 14 days", by dropping in a contract or purchase order, or by filling in the form. Nothing is saved until you create it.
- Payment details come only from your own receiving accounts in the invoice's currency, so an invoice can't carry anyone else's bank details. You can offer bank transfer, stablecoin, or both.
- Each invoice gets its own page, a PDF and an email. A bank payment that names the invoice number and pays the exact amount marks it paid automatically.
- An issued invoice can't be edited: cancel it and duplicate it to make a corrected one.
The short answer
In AlignPay, open Invoices and start a new one. Describe it in a sentence, drop in a contract or purchase order, or fill in the form yourself. Pick or add the client, choose how they can pay, and check the live preview. Then Create and send: the client gets an email with a link to the invoice's own page and a PDF, and payments that match the invoice mark it paid.
Step 1: Draft it
Type what you'd tell a colleague: "Invoice Northwind 4,000 EUR for October, due in 14 days". Or drop in a contract or purchase order. AI fills in the form and its preview, and lists what it assumed underneath.
- It asks when it needs to. If something that changes the invoice is missing or ambiguous, such as who pays, the currency or the price, it asks up to three short questions, with options to tap.
- Prices are checked. Every figure is compared with the words you typed and the document you dropped in, and a price it had to work out is named and marked for you to check.
- Nothing is saved yet. You can stop a draft, and Undo puts the form back as it was.
Step 2: Choose the client
Pick a client from your saved list or add one as you go. Their name, email, address and tax ID go onto the invoice. Clients are shared across your team, and editing a client later never changes an invoice you've already issued.
Add a PO number if the client gave you one, and your logo once, in Settings, for every invoice after.
Step 3: Choose how they can pay
Switch on one or both ways to get paid:
- Bank transfer, to one of your business's own receiving accounts in the invoice's currency. Only accounts that can receive money right now are offered.
- Stablecoin, to your own account's address: USDC on Solana for a USD invoice, EURC on Solana for a EUR invoice.
The invoice prints each way side by side, with the account details or the address to copy. It can't carry anyone else's details, because the server builds them from your accounts.
Step 4: Send it
Create and send emails the invoice to your client, with a link to its own page and a PDF. Replies go to you. Sending it again sends a reminder. Create without sending saves it so you can share the link yourself.
An issued invoice can't be edited. To correct one, cancel it and use Duplicate to start a new one from it.
Step 5: Get paid
| Payment | What happens |
|---|---|
| A bank payment with the invoice number in its reference, for the exact amount and currency | The invoice is marked paid |
| A bank payment with the number but another amount, or the exact amount with no number | Shown to you as "Is this the payment?" |
| A stablecoin deposit of the exact amount to the invoice's address | Shown to you as "Is this the payment?" |
Money received in USD lands in your USD Global Account, and in EUR in your EUR Global Account. Pounds and dirhams are converted and arrive in your USD Global Account. If your business also holds bank balances with Align, money paid into one of those stays in its currency. See USD and EUR Global Accounts.
What isn't there yet
Recurring invoices, automatic reminders, partial payments and separate VAT rate lines aren't available yet.
Sources
- Align, Invoicing
- Align, Virtual accounts
Common questions
- Which currencies can I invoice in?
- USD, EUR, GBP and AED, as long as your business has a receiving account in that currency, because the invoice prints your own account details. For stablecoin payments, a USD invoice can be paid in USDC and a EUR invoice in EURC, both on Solana.
- How are invoices numbered?
- You can type your own number, using letters, digits, spaces and - / . _. Left empty, Align numbers it by date and count, such as INV-20261028-0021, and the count never restarts.
- Can I add VAT?
- Tax goes on its own line on the invoice. The invoice can carry your customer's tax ID and a PO number, which you need for the reverse charge on cross-border B2B services in the EU. Separate VAT rate lines aren't available yet.
- How do I know a customer has paid?
- A bank payment whose reference names the invoice number and pays the exact amount, in the invoice's currency, marks the invoice paid. A payment with the number but another amount, or the exact amount with no number, is shown to you as 'Is this the payment?' to confirm. Stablecoin payments carry no reference, so a deposit of the exact amount to the invoice's address is always offered to you to confirm.
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and providers' terms change; check the sources linked above and take advice on your own situation.