Review Workflow
Submit draft invoices for internal review, find review queues, approve drafts, request changes, edit returned drafts, generate official PDFs, and send invoices.
Overview
Invoice review helps your team check draft invoices before they are sent to a client. A creator can prepare the invoice, submit it for review, and receive approval or feedback from someone with invoice management access.
Review state is separate from invoice status. A reviewed invoice is still a draft until someone with invoice management access generates or sends it.
Review States
Draft invoices can move through four review states:
| Review state | What it means | What usually happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Not submitted | The draft has not been sent for internal review yet | Finish editing the draft, then save it or submit it for review |
| Pending review | The draft is waiting for a reviewer | A reviewer approves it, requests changes, or sends it if they also want to finish the workflow |
| Approved | A reviewer has confirmed the draft is ready | A user with invoice management access can generate, send, or manually mark the invoice delivered |
| Changes requested | A reviewer has returned the draft with feedback | The creator edits the draft and submits it again |
Only draft invoices show active review indicators in the invoice list. After an invoice is created or issued, the review decision remains in the invoice activity history rather than acting as the current table status.
Submitting a Draft for Review
Use Submit for review when the invoice is ready for someone else on your team to check.
- Open Financials > Invoices
- Create a new draft or open an existing draft
- Review the client details, dates, line items, notes, terms, and live preview
- Choose Submit for review from the editor or from the invoice detail Actions menu
- The draft moves to Pending review
Submitting for review does not send the invoice to the client. It only flags the draft for internal review.
Finding Review Queues
Use the invoice library filters to find invoices that need review attention.
Open Financials > Invoices, then use the review filters:
- Pending review - Drafts waiting for a reviewer
- Approved - Drafts that are ready to send
- Changes requested - Drafts that need edits before they can move forward
- Not submitted - Drafts that have not entered review yet, available in advanced filters
You can combine review filters with search, status, document type, due state, issue date range, ownership, and sorting.
Reviewing an Invoice
Reviewers should open the invoice detail page and check the invoice the same way a client would read it:
- Confirm the client, attention contact, and billing email
- Check talent and booking context
- Review issue date, due date, payment terms, and invoice currency
- Confirm the invoice document currency and any booking/rate-card source-currency exchange-rate details
- Check each line item, fee, discount, tax amount, and total
- Review notes and terms
- Check the live preview, and generate a PDF preview only when an artifact-level review is needed
If a draft includes booking/rate-card amounts converted into the invoice currency, reviewers should confirm the warning state is clear. A draft can be saved with a stale or missing exchange rate, but generated PDF preview, Generate, and Send remain blocked until rates are refreshed or the invoice currency is corrected.
When the draft is ready, choose Actions > Approve review and leave an optional note for the creator. Approval notes can be up to 500 characters. Approval means the invoice is ready to send, but it does not send the invoice and does not override permissions.
When the draft needs work, choose Actions > Request changes and enter feedback. Change-request feedback can be up to 500 characters, so the note should explain what needs to change clearly enough for the creator to revise the invoice without a separate conversation.
Editing Returned Drafts
When changes are requested, open the invoice detail page and read the feedback in the review card or activity history. Then choose Actions > Edit draft, update the invoice, check the preview again, and submit it for review when it is ready.
Draft invoices can be edited. Invoices with an official PDF cannot be edited as drafts.
Sending After Review
Generating and sending are separate from approval. A draft must still be handled by someone with invoice management access.
If you have invoice management access, use Actions > Generate Invoice when you only want to create the official PDF. NowRep stores the PDF, moves the invoice to Created, and sends no client email. A created invoice is not receivable yet. Use Actions > Send Invoice to compose client email delivery; NowRep attaches the official PDF, includes a secure 14-day link, and moves the invoice to Issued after a successful send. Use Mark as Sent only when the invoice was delivered outside NowRep; no email is sent, and the invoice becomes receivable.
If you created the invoice but do not have invoice management access, approval tells you the draft is ready, but you still need someone with invoice management access to generate, send, or manually mark it delivered.
Who Can Do What
Invoice actions depend on the account's Billing Module and your role permissions:
| Permission | Review workflow access |
|---|---|
| invoices.read | Open Financials, view invoice lists, open invoice details, and read review history |
| invoices.create | Create drafts, save drafts, edit drafts when allowed, duplicate drafts, and submit for review |
| invoices.manage | Approve submitted drafts, request changes, generate and send invoices, mark manual delivery, and perform invoice management actions |
Users with invoices.create but not invoices.manage can prepare and submit drafts, but they cannot approve, request changes, generate or send invoices, record manual delivery, record payments, void invoices, or create credit notes.
Where Feedback Appears
Review feedback appears in the invoice detail page and invoice history:
- The invoice detail page shows the current review state
- Approval notes and change-request notes appear with the invoice's review information
- Review decisions are recorded in the activity/history sheet
- Review activity remains available after the invoice is created or issued
Because feedback is stored with the invoice history, reviewers should write notes that are clear enough for future audit and handoff purposes.
Practical Tips
- Submit after checking the live preview for client-facing details and layout.
- Use Request changes for corrections that affect the client-facing invoice.
- Keep feedback specific: mention the field, line item, date, amount, or note that needs attention.
- Remember that Approved means "ready for delivery," not "issued."
- Use review filters at the start of the day to see what needs a reviewer, what is ready to send, and what has been returned.
Related Pages
- Invoice Library - Find saved invoices and review queues
- Invoice Detail Workspace - Open details, edit drafts, and review activity
- Creating Invoices - Fill out and submit invoice drafts
- Line Items and Preview - Check charges, totals, live preview, and generated PDF artifacts
- Invoice Actions - Send, record payments, void, credit notes, and duplicate invoices