Table of Contents

  1. Introduction

  2. What is a Recurring Invoice?

  3. Benefits of Using Recurring Invoices in Dolibarr

  4. Prerequisites Before Creating a Recurring Invoice

  5. Understanding Dolibarr’s Recurring Invoice Feature

  6. Enabling the Recurring Invoices Module

  7. Creating a Base Invoice Template

  8. Converting a Standard Invoice into a Recurring Invoice

  9. Setting Up Frequency and Duration

  10. Managing Invoice Numbering and Draft Handling

  11. Automating Invoice Generation via Cron Jobs

  12. Testing the Recurring Invoice Setup

  13. Monitoring and Modifying Active Recurring Invoices

  14. Stopping or Deactivating a Recurring Invoice

  15. Common Use Cases and Examples

  16. Best Practices for Recurring Invoicing

  17. Troubleshooting Common Issues

  18. Integration with Payments and Notifications

  19. Security and Audit Considerations

  20. Final Thoughts and Strategic Use of Recurring Billing

1. Introduction

Recurring billing is a cornerstone of many service-based and subscription-based business models. Whether you're billing clients monthly for a software service or annually for a maintenance contract, having automated invoicing is key. Dolibarr ERP & CRM supports recurring invoices out of the box, making it easy to automate billing workflows with minimal manual intervention.

This tutorial walks you through every step of creating and managing recurring invoices in Dolibarr.

2. What is a Recurring Invoice?

A recurring invoice is a predefined invoice that is automatically regenerated by the system at a set frequency (e.g., weekly, monthly, yearly). The content remains consistent unless manually changed, and new invoice instances are generated for each cycle.

3. Benefits of Using Recurring Invoices in Dolibarr

  • Saves administrative time

  • Reduces the risk of missed billing cycles

  • Improves customer satisfaction with predictable invoicing

  • Supports subscription models and retainers

  • Integrates with payment gateways for automatic collection

4. Prerequisites Before Creating a Recurring Invoice

Ensure the following before starting:

  • You have admin access

  • The Invoices module is enabled

  • Customer and product records are already created

  • Dolibarr cron jobs (scheduled tasks) are set up if you want automation

5. Understanding Dolibarr’s Recurring Invoice Feature

Dolibarr treats recurring invoices as templates. These templates contain:

  • Customer details

  • Product/service lines

  • Tax rates and totals

  • Frequency of repetition

  • Start and end dates (or infinite loop)

The actual invoices are generated periodically from these templates.

6. Enabling the Recurring Invoices Module

Go to:

  • Setup > Modules > Billing/Invoice

  • Enable "Recurring Invoices"

  • Configure related parameters, such as invoice prefix, draft behavior, and default due days

7. Creating a Base Invoice Template

  1. Go to the Invoices module

  2. Create a new invoice as you normally would

  3. Fill in the customer, items, pricing, payment terms, and tax fields

  4. Save the invoice (do not validate it yet)

You can use this invoice as a template for your recurring setup.

8. Converting a Standard Invoice into a Recurring Invoice

From the invoice screen:

  • Look for the "Create Recurring Invoice" or "Use as Recurring Template" button

  • Click the button to enter the recurring invoice setup interface

  • Assign a name to the template

9. Setting Up Frequency and Duration

You will now set:

  • Start date: when the first recurring invoice should be generated

  • Frequency: choose from daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly

  • Number of repetitions or End date: set the total number of invoices or a stopping point

  • Draft or automatic validation: decide whether each instance should be draft or auto-validated

10. Managing Invoice Numbering and Draft Handling

Each generated invoice will receive a unique invoice number. You can:

  • Configure numbering rules under Setup > Modules > Invoice > Numbering

  • Choose to keep invoices in draft mode or automatically validate them

11. Automating Invoice Generation via Cron Jobs

To fully automate:

  • Ensure the Dolibarr scheduled task (cron) is active

  • Go to Home > Admin Tools > Scheduled Jobs

  • Activate the "Generate recurring invoices" task

  • Set it to run daily or weekly

This process checks all active templates and generates new invoices accordingly.

12. Testing the Recurring Invoice Setup

You can test by:

  • Creating a recurring template with today's date as the start date

  • Manually triggering the cron task

  • Checking the invoice list for a newly generated invoice

13. Monitoring and Modifying Active Recurring Invoices

Recurring templates are managed from:

  • Invoices > Recurring Templates

From here, you can:

  • Edit frequency and end date

  • Change pricing or products

  • Pause or delete the recurring schedule

14. Stopping or Deactivating a Recurring Invoice

To stop generation:

  • Set an end date before the next generation cycle

  • Or deactivate the template from the template list

  • You can also delete the template entirely if no longer needed

15. Common Use Cases and Examples

  • Monthly software license billing

  • Quarterly support retainers

  • Annual service contracts

  • Weekly coworking space rental

Each scenario can be customized using frequency and duration settings.

16. Best Practices for Recurring Invoicing

  • Always test with a sample invoice

  • Keep invoice content generic and stable

  • Avoid using templates for one-off charges

  • Communicate clearly with clients about recurring terms

  • Monitor the generated invoices for anomalies

17. Troubleshooting Common Issues

  • No invoice generated? Check the cron task and start date.

  • Wrong pricing? Update the template.

  • Duplicates? Ensure template is not duplicated or overlapping.

  • Invoice not validated? Check automation settings.

18. Integration with Payments and Notifications

Dolibarr allows linking recurring invoices to:

  • Online payment methods (e.g., Stripe, PayPal)

  • Email notifications to customers

  • Reminders for overdue payments

This can be configured via the Payments and Notifications modules.

19. Security and Audit Considerations

  • Restrict recurring invoice template creation to admins

  • Use logs to track template changes

  • Ensure client emails are correct to avoid billing errors

20. Final Thoughts and Strategic Use of Recurring Billing

Recurring invoices in Dolibarr can significantly streamline your operations, especially for SaaS, services, and maintenance-driven businesses. By mastering this feature, you reduce repetitive tasks and ensure consistent revenue flow.

Always validate your setup with real data in a staging environment before deploying widely. Once integrated with cron jobs, payment gateways, and automated notifications, recurring invoices become a powerful tool in your financial workflow.