Line Items and Preview
Understand invoice line item types, booking-rate seeding, taxes, agency fees, totals, live preview, generated PDF previews, and stored PDFs.
Overview
Line items are the charges that make up the invoice. The editor recalculates totals as you add, edit, or remove lines, and the preview updates alongside your changes.
Line Item Types
The editor supports three main line item actions:
| Action | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Add line | A standard charge with quantity, unit amount, category, and optional tax in the invoice currency |
| Add percentage | A percentage-based charge or discount calculated from standard line totals |
| Add agency fee | A percentage line prefilled as an agency fee |
Standard Lines
Standard lines are best for direct charges, such as day rates, usage fees, expenses, equipment, crew, or other billable work.
Each standard line includes:
- Description
- Category
- Quantity
- Unit amount
- Optional unit label
- Optional tax rate
Negative unit amounts are allowed for discounts.
Percentage Lines
Percentage lines calculate from standard lines. If you do not select specific base lines, the percentage applies to all standard lines. Select individual base lines when a fee or discount should apply only to part of the invoice.
Percentage values can be positive or negative. Use positive percentages for fees and negative percentages for discounts.
Agency Fees
The Add agency fee action creates a percentage line with the agency fee category. If your account has a default agency fee percentage, that value is used automatically.
Categories
Line item categories help describe what each charge represents:
| Category | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Day rate | Talent day rates or booking fees |
| Usage / Licensing | Image, media, or campaign usage |
| Equipment | Gear, studio, or production equipment |
| Crew | Crew labor or production support |
| Expense | Reimbursable costs |
| Agency fee | Agency commission or service fee |
| Discount | Negative adjustments |
| Other | Charges that do not fit another category |
Tax and Totals
Each line can include a tax rate. The invoice tax mode controls how tax is shown:
| Tax mode | What it means |
|---|---|
| Tax exclusive | Tax is added to listed prices |
| Tax inclusive | Tax is included in listed prices |
The preview shows subtotal, tax, and total due. When no tax applies, the tax row is still shown with a dash so the PDF remains clear.
Booking-Seeded Lines
When an invoice is linked to a booking, the editor can add booking-derived line information. These lines are marked with a Linked booking badge so you can tell which charges came from booking context.
Invoices started from a booking-board talent card can also seed lines from the talent's booking rate card. Set the rate card on the booking-board card before creating the invoice when you want the draft to start with the primary rate, additional charge lines, rate type, and supported source currency.
You can still edit or replace seeded lines before saving the draft.
Currency choices come from NowRep's supported invoicing currency list. The invoice currency is the client-facing document currency. Booking or rate-card currency remains source reference details; if it differs from the invoice currency, the editor shows an exchange-rate warning before save and converts client-facing units and totals into the invoice currency.
Document Currency and Exchange Rates
The invoice currency controls the totals shown to the client. Manual lines inherit the invoice currency. Booking-derived lines can retain their booking or rate-card source currency as conversion reference details.
For converted drafts, NowRep resolves an exchange rate for each booking/rate-card source currency into the invoice currency. Saved drafts store the exchange-rate snapshot, rate-source metadata, and the converted line totals used for subtotal, tax, total due, invoice detail, and generated output. If you edit the draft later, NowRep recalculates the snapshot from the edited invoice details.
If NowRep cannot resolve a needed exchange rate from the cache or provider, the form warns immediately. Draft save is allowed, but generated PDF preview, Generate, and Send are blocked until rates are refreshed or the invoice currency is corrected.
Live Preview
The preview pane shows the invoice paper as you work. It includes:
- Account branding, logo, address, and contact details when available
- Draft invoice identity
- Bill-to details
- Issue date, due date, and currency
- Client-visible line items
- Totals
- Notes and terms
The live preview is designed for fast editing feedback. It updates while you create or edit a draft, including currency and total changes.
Generated PDF Preview
Use the generated PDF preview when you want to review the actual PDF output before creating the official PDF or sending an invoice. The live preview remains the normal editing preview for saving drafts and submitting for review.
The generated preview uses the PDF generation path and resolves the same currency conversions without writing new cache rows. Editable-state PDF previews are marked DRAFT / NOT ISSUED. After you make edits, the previous generated PDF preview becomes stale. Generate it again when you need an artifact-level check of the updated invoice.
Invoice numbers stay provisional while previewing and are finalized when the invoice is saved.
Stored PDFs
After Generate Invoice or Send Invoice creates the official PDF, NowRep stores it with the invoice. Open the invoice detail page to check generated PDF status or open the stored PDF when your role allows it. Send and resend email delivery reuse that stored PDF and do not regenerate it. Opening, downloading, or printing a stored PDF gives you access to the official artifact; it does not send, resend, or finalize the invoice again.
Created and issued invoices are not edited as drafts. If a generated but undelivered invoice needs correction, void it when no payments exist and create a replacement. If an issued invoice needs correction, use the available void or credit-note workflow.
Tips
- Add standard lines before percentage lines so there is a base for percentage calculations.
- Set booking-board rates before creating booking-board invoices when you want rate seeding.
- Use categories consistently so future reporting and filtering will be easier.
- Use generated PDF preview for artifact checks before creating the official PDF or sending an invoice.
- Use notes for client-facing context and terms for formal billing language.
Related Pages
- Invoicing Overview - Current invoicing capabilities
- Invoice Library - Find saved invoices and start new drafts
- Creating Invoices - Fill out and save invoice drafts
- Invoice Detail Workspace - Review details and stored PDFs
- Review Workflow - Submit drafts for review after checking totals and the live preview