This is awesome Gareth! Ive been going in circles trying to figure out a structure for my invoices. Never thought of Line Items table as an option and using the roll up field. This is Gold!
I was hoping this would show how to get a PDF from the data in Airtable some how. Right now I have a zap that sends from Airtable to Wave for invoice drafting, but I'd like to consolidate to one place.
This is amazing, thank you so much! I've build some test invoices by following your video and it worked well (I did had to play up a bit to understand that I will always have to create a new invoice number first, then go to line items and select that invoice and add lines, etc.), but now I would like to send it as an attachment with my company logo, etc. How do we do that? You mentioned automations, is that an automation case (sorry for my ignorance)?
Gareth, thanks so much for this! I followed along on my new invoicing base and built it with you from the ground up, worked like a charm! (It sure beats using a spreadsheet program with no relationships!) *subscribe*
Awesome, thank you! We have been discussing building these templates and making them available for sale on our site to help folks get up and running even faster. Appreciate your feedback here and glad to be of help!
@@GarethPronovostYou’re welcome. And today I’m going to the next step with your Google Drive integration via automation video. Nice. Cheers to a fellow Canadian! (Pretty sure…hope I’m right…)
HI Gareth. This is great. I'm new to Airtable and I wonder if this process can be streamlined by use of a form? It seems very clunky to enter data in the line items table, then switch to the invoice table to chose those rows, before creating the invoice! Also, when creating a new line item/s and subsequent invoice, I still get the line items from all previous invoice creation events to choose from, which makes it very messy. TIA. :)
Hi! Yes, you can build a form to faciliate the workflow, but I'd suggest a robust form software instead of the native forms in Airtable. This is because you'll require more complicated form features, like dynamic linking and advanced conditional visibility. Your number of line items will also be flexible, so this will add more complication. I'd recommend checking out Fillout for a form tool, we've done many recent videos on them to help you get started!
Thanks for a nice and explanatory video. Adding line items in a separate table and then matching with order head information in another table is a bit tedious, especially if you have large volumes of data (thousands of orders, line items, etc). Is it possible to create an interface where one can input all the order and line item information in the same interface, and with connected tables?
You could build an interface for this, however the forms in Airtable only allow you to create records in one table per form. I'd suggest building a custom, 3rd-party form using Fillout.com or another form software. Then you can add multiple layers to the form that create multiple records in different tables at once.
Gareth, in many cases one is starting with data for both invoices (i'll call the parent table) and invoice items (I'll call the child table). when you link two tables in Airtable is the primary field of the child table what it links to or does it simply try to establish a link using that data as a guide to it. Meaning that if I create a link using the child table's primary field and then alter, completely change that primary field does it have any effect on the established link I created? Thanks!
Good question - the link is from one record to another record. What you SEE is the name of the record, which is granted by the primary field. So if you alter the name of a record in the future (by changing the primary field) it will NOT break the link between existing linked records - it will only update the visible name of those records.
How about using Qb or Xero or many other accounting software that cost peanuts? I love airtable but using it for something complex like accounting (yes, just invoicing is not enough for a business) is like trying to create a bicycle from wood.
I totally agree that Airtable should not replace QB or Xero - every business should actually use accounting software to track finances. However, tracking what invoices you need to create, when they are due, etc. can be a great use case for Airtable. This video is all about the data schema to get you there and in future videos we will show how you can integrate this with QB or Xero to automate the creation of invoices, bills, etc. 🙌
I'd use a professional invoicing tool such as InvoiceBerry in combination with Zapier. The workflow would be Airtable -> Zapier -> InvoiceBerry. It will not only create the invoice for you, but also auto-send it and you can integrate it with Stripe or Square to accept online payments, too. The downside is that you'd add two more tools to your workflow, but the advantage is that you don't have to email the invoice manually and you can accept online payments. If you send more than 5-10 invoice per months it's definitely worth it.
yes but cost of services changes and it will alter all your previous invoices once you update the price. plus where is the result? we need an invoice to show and print
Changing rates are managed by an additional table, a junction table, that allows you to create new rates without overwriting past data. You can print the invoice from Airtable's Page Designer feature, or use a 3rd party tool like Documint to generate PDFs automatically 👌
Excel is not as robust as a relational database, so a software like Airtable needs to be built out differently. Yes, you can create the invoice as a PDF in a number of ways, including automation and some add-on tools
This is a nice idea however here in France, invoices are not supposed to be altered after being sent as administration is have a eye on your acounts. Therefore, though the idea is charming, I doubt it can be used here.
Hey man- you make a lot of good videos and Id like to share an opinion. I have searched far and wide for good videos and come to yours often HOWEVER- I find that I get confused often... This video is a GOOD example why. "Creating invoices from Airtable" I think its awesome you put so much thought, and info into the videos but its just to much sometimes. This video is how to invoice.... something I need LOTS of help with for my business...but i again got frustrated trying to follow you...WHY ? Because you talk SO MUCH about setting up a new database everytime you do a video instead of 'building upon "like the last lesson. Id also say that in doing so (starting from scratch) you kinda tend to 'ramble' in that you present soo much info sooo fast AND so many scenerios... options. I got so frustrated watching this, I want to learn invoice/invoice form setups for Airtable so bad, and I just got lost....its easy for a listener to get confused... maybe its my ADHD lol...but seriously, your hard to follow, hence why I shut off a lot of your vids and look for ones I can follow easier..... I KNOW your successful on here and make great vids- I only was pointing this out because your channel is a great one but you know Airtable so well you fly thru stuff and leave a lot of us dazed n confused.... Anyway- thanks for all the videos, your helpin a lot of business guys like me Im sure... even though I still cant invoice and send out PO's lol BTW, this is only meant to be constructive mild criticism - not really criticism, just a 'hey, have ya thought about this" :)
Appreciate the feedback! We consider it important to start with the database in most videos because the journey our viewers take with our content is never linear. That said, we're always open to new ideas. 🙌
Learn how to use Airtable in this *_free crash course_* : 👉👉 garethpronovost.com/airtable-crash-course 👈👈
This is awesome Gareth! Ive been going in circles trying to figure out a structure for my invoices. Never thought of Line Items table as an option and using the roll up field. This is Gold!
Glad it was helpful!
I really admire how you can explain, sometimes complex concepts, in such a natural way!
Great as always!
Thank you very much!
I was hoping this would show how to get a PDF from the data in Airtable some how. Right now I have a zap that sends from Airtable to Wave for invoice drafting, but I'd like to consolidate to one place.
that's coming soon - first we had to build the structure (this video) but we'll add more to this playlist soon!
@@GarethPronovost looking forward to the PDF part!
Same
@@GarethPronovost Fantastic!
Automate that page designer?
great info. just what i was looking for. Thanks!
Awesome, happy to help!
This is amazing, thank you so much! I've build some test invoices by following your video and it worked well (I did had to play up a bit to understand that I will always have to create a new invoice number first, then go to line items and select that invoice and add lines, etc.), but now I would like to send it as an attachment with my company logo, etc. How do we do that? You mentioned automations, is that an automation case (sorry for my ignorance)?
Oh, I found another video of yours on Airtable invoicing to Google Drive, better get on with it! Thanks
Gareth, thanks so much for this! I followed along on my new invoicing base and built it with you from the ground up, worked like a charm! (It sure beats using a spreadsheet program with no relationships!) *subscribe*
Awesome, thank you! We have been discussing building these templates and making them available for sale on our site to help folks get up and running even faster. Appreciate your feedback here and glad to be of help!
@@GarethPronovostYou’re welcome.
And today I’m going to the next step with your Google Drive integration via automation video. Nice.
Cheers to a fellow Canadian! (Pretty sure…hope I’m right…)
HI Gareth. This is great. I'm new to Airtable and I wonder if this process can be streamlined by use of a form? It seems very clunky to enter data in the line items table, then switch to the invoice table to chose those rows, before creating the invoice! Also, when creating a new line item/s and subsequent invoice, I still get the line items from all previous invoice creation events to choose from, which makes it very messy. TIA. :)
Hi! Yes, you can build a form to faciliate the workflow, but I'd suggest a robust form software instead of the native forms in Airtable. This is because you'll require more complicated form features, like dynamic linking and advanced conditional visibility. Your number of line items will also be flexible, so this will add more complication. I'd recommend checking out Fillout for a form tool, we've done many recent videos on them to help you get started!
Thanks so much @@GarethPronovost. I've just signed up to Fillout. It does look great. Another leraning curve now - but that's fine! 🤪
Thanks for a nice and explanatory video. Adding line items in a separate table and then matching with order head information in another table is a bit tedious, especially if you have large volumes of data (thousands of orders, line items, etc). Is it possible to create an interface where one can input all the order and line item information in the same interface, and with connected tables?
You could build an interface for this, however the forms in Airtable only allow you to create records in one table per form. I'd suggest building a custom, 3rd-party form using Fillout.com or another form software. Then you can add multiple layers to the form that create multiple records in different tables at once.
Gareth, in many cases one is starting with data for both invoices (i'll call the parent table) and invoice items (I'll call the child table). when you link two tables in Airtable is the primary field of the child table what it links to or does it simply try to establish a link using that data as a guide to it. Meaning that if I create a link using the child table's primary field and then alter, completely change that primary field does it have any effect on the established link I created? Thanks!
Good question - the link is from one record to another record. What you SEE is the name of the record, which is granted by the primary field. So if you alter the name of a record in the future (by changing the primary field) it will NOT break the link between existing linked records - it will only update the visible name of those records.
How about using Qb or Xero or many other accounting software that cost peanuts? I love airtable but using it for something complex like accounting (yes, just invoicing is not enough for a business) is like trying to create a bicycle from wood.
I totally agree that Airtable should not replace QB or Xero - every business should actually use accounting software to track finances. However, tracking what invoices you need to create, when they are due, etc. can be a great use case for Airtable. This video is all about the data schema to get you there and in future videos we will show how you can integrate this with QB or Xero to automate the creation of invoices, bills, etc. 🙌
I think each are powerful in their own ways and using them both integrated is the best outcome.
I'd use a professional invoicing tool such as InvoiceBerry in combination with Zapier. The workflow would be Airtable -> Zapier -> InvoiceBerry. It will not only create the invoice for you, but also auto-send it and you can integrate it with Stripe or Square to accept online payments, too. The downside is that you'd add two more tools to your workflow, but the advantage is that you don't have to email the invoice manually and you can accept online payments. If you send more than 5-10 invoice per months it's definitely worth it.
Agreed! We will be sharing this video soon! 💪
@@GarethPronovost Awesome! Happy to collaborate on that video and offer a discount for InvoiceBerry to your subscribers!
In the invoice number how is it possible to have an increment to automatically give the next number to the next invoice?
You can build a formula that adds the autonumber assigned to the record to a string. For example, invoice # xxxx-001, xxxx-002, etc
@@GarethPronovost Perfect !
yes but cost of services changes and it will alter all your previous invoices once you update the price. plus where is the result? we need an invoice to show and print
Changing rates are managed by an additional table, a junction table, that allows you to create new rates without overwriting past data.
You can print the invoice from Airtable's Page Designer feature, or use a 3rd party tool like Documint to generate PDFs automatically 👌
Awsome Thank you@@GarethPronovost
How is this different from Excel ? any there is any way to extract the invoice as a PDF format ??
Excel is not as robust as a relational database, so a software like Airtable needs to be built out differently. Yes, you can create the invoice as a PDF in a number of ways, including automation and some add-on tools
Thank you for your reply, it's kind of you
This is a nice idea however here in France, invoices are not supposed to be altered after being sent as administration is have a eye on your acounts. Therefore, though the idea is charming, I doubt it can be used here.
Ahh man, your videos are a great help for getting to the penny drop moment. You should be more popular.
Thanks for watching!
Part 2 ua-cam.com/video/4-y2Bbv2XMY/v-deo.html&ab_channel=GAPConsulting
Hey man- you make a lot of good videos and Id like to share an opinion. I have searched far and wide for good videos and come to yours often HOWEVER- I find that I get confused often... This video is a GOOD example why. "Creating invoices from Airtable" I think its awesome you put so much thought, and info into the videos but its just to much sometimes. This video is how to invoice.... something I need LOTS of help with for my business...but i again got frustrated trying to follow you...WHY ? Because you talk SO MUCH about setting up a new database everytime you do a video instead of 'building upon "like the last lesson. Id also say that in doing so (starting from scratch) you kinda tend to 'ramble' in that you present soo much info sooo fast AND so many scenerios... options. I got so frustrated watching this, I want to learn invoice/invoice form setups for Airtable so bad, and I just got lost....its easy for a listener to get confused... maybe its my ADHD lol...but seriously, your hard to follow, hence why I shut off a lot of your vids and look for ones I can follow easier..... I KNOW your successful on here and make great vids- I only was pointing this out because your channel is a great one but you know Airtable so well you fly thru stuff and leave a lot of us dazed n confused.... Anyway- thanks for all the videos, your helpin a lot of business guys like me Im sure... even though I still cant invoice and send out PO's lol BTW, this is only meant to be constructive mild criticism - not really criticism, just a 'hey, have ya thought about this" :)
Appreciate the feedback! We consider it important to start with the database in most videos because the journey our viewers take with our content is never linear. That said, we're always open to new ideas. 🙌