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# Finance Overview

# Finance Overview

The Finance module helps you manage invoicing, payments, products, and financial tracking. Create professional invoices, accept payments, and track your revenue.

## What is Finance?

The Finance module provides:

- **Invoicing**: Create and send professional invoices
- **Payment Processing**: Accept payments via Stripe
- **Product Catalog**: Manage your products and services
- **Payment Tracking**: Monitor invoice status and payments
- **Recurring Invoices**: Set up subscription billing
- **Financial Reports**: Track revenue and outstanding amounts

## Key Concepts

### Invoices

Invoices are bills you send to clients for products or services.

**Invoice Components:**
- **Invoice Number**: Unique identifier (auto-generated)
- **Client**: Contact or company being billed
- **Date**: Invoice date and due date
- **Line Items**: Products or services with quantities and prices
- **Subtotal**: Sum of line items
- **Tax**: Tax amount (if applicable)
- **Total**: Final amount due
- **Status**: Draft, sent, paid, overdue, cancelled
- **Payment Link**: Stripe payment link (if enabled)

### Products

Products are items you sell - services, physical products, or digital goods.

**Product Information:**
- **Name**: Product or service name
- **Description**: What the product includes
- **Price**: Unit price
- **SKU**: Stock keeping unit (optional)
- **Category**: Product category
- **Taxable**: Whether product is subject to tax

### Payments

Payments are received funds for invoices.

**Payment Information:**
- **Invoice**: Which invoice was paid
- **Amount**: Payment amount
- **Method**: Payment method (Stripe, check, cash, etc.)
- **Date**: Payment date
- **Status**: Processed, pending, failed
- **Transaction ID**: Payment processor reference

### Recurring Invoices

Automatically generated invoices on a schedule.

**Recurring Settings:**
- **Frequency**: Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly
- **Start Date**: When to begin
- **End Date**: When to stop (optional)
- **Template**: Invoice template to use

## Main Features

### Invoice Management

- Create invoices from scratch or templates
- Add multiple line items
- Apply taxes and discounts
- Send invoices via email
- Track invoice status
- Accept online payments
- Generate PDF invoices
- Export invoice data

### Product Catalog

- Create product/service catalog
- Set prices and descriptions
- Organize by categories
- Use products in invoices
- Track product usage
- Update prices globally

### Payment Processing

- Stripe integration for online payments
- Payment link in invoices
- Automatic payment recording
- Payment notifications
- Refund processing
- Payment history

### Financial Tracking

- View all invoices
- Filter by status (draft, sent, paid, overdue)
- Track outstanding amounts
- View payment history
- Export financial data
- Generate reports

## Navigation

**Access Finance:**
- Click **"Finance"** in left sidebar
- Or go to `/finance` in browser

**Finance Sections:**
- **Dashboard**: Overview, recent invoices, stats
- **Invoices**: All invoices list
- **Products**: Product catalog
- **Payments**: Payment history

## Common Workflows

### Creating and Sending an Invoice

1. **Create Invoice**: Go to Finance → Invoices → New Invoice
2. **Select Client**: Choose contact or company
3. **Add Line Items**: Add products or custom items
4. **Set Dates**: Invoice date and due date
5. **Review**: Check totals and details
6. **Send**: Email invoice to client
7. **Track**: Monitor payment status

### Setting Up Recurring Billing

1. **Create Invoice Template**: Set up invoice with recurring items
2. **Enable Recurring**: Set frequency and dates
3. **Save**: System generates invoices automatically
4. **Monitor**: Track recurring invoice status

### Processing a Payment

1. **Client Pays**: Via Stripe link or manually
2. **Payment Recorded**: Automatically or manually
3. **Invoice Updated**: Status changes to "Paid"
4. **Notification**: You receive payment notification

## Integration with Other Modules

Finance integrates with:

- **CRM**: Link invoices to contacts/companies
- **Scheduling**: Require payment for bookings
- **Projects**: Bill for project work
- **Proposals**: Convert proposals to invoices
- **Email**: Send invoices via email

## Getting Started

1. **Create Products**: [Managing Products](https://help.swellsystem.com/en/article/managing-products-1gfwqpa/)
2. **Create Invoice**: [Creating Invoices](https://help.swellsystem.com/en/article/creating-invoices-e045z0/)
3. **Set Up Payments**: [Payment Processing](https://help.swellsystem.com/en/article/payment-processing-60tmp6/)
4. **Recurring Billing**: [Recurring Invoices](https://help.swellsystem.com/en/article/recurring-invoices-16ghcky/)

## Tips

- **Use Products**: Create product catalog for faster invoicing
- **Set Due Dates**: Always set realistic due dates
- **Send Reminders**: Follow up on overdue invoices
- **Track Payments**: Monitor payment status regularly
- **Use Templates**: Save invoice templates for common scenarios
- **Accept Online Payments**: Enable Stripe for faster payment

## Next Steps

- [Creating Invoices](https://help.swellsystem.com/en/article/creating-invoices-e045z0/) - Generate and send invoices
- [Managing Products](https://help.swellsystem.com/en/article/managing-products-1gfwqpa/) - Build your product catalog
- [Payment Processing](https://help.swellsystem.com/en/article/payment-processing-60tmp6/) - Accept payments
- [Recurring Invoices](https://help.swellsystem.com/en/article/recurring-invoices-16ghcky/) - Set up subscriptions