BillMate is an invoicing SaaS designed specifically for Australian freelancers and sole traders. It handles the full invoicing workflow — from creating a professional Tax Invoice to collecting payment online — with built-in GST support and ATO compliance.

Key Features

Plans

Overall Workflow

BillMate walks you through a 6-step Welcome Guide when you first sign up. You can revisit any step at any time via Settings ⚙ in the navigation bar.

Step 1 — Business Details

Go to Settings → Business.

• Business Name — Appears on every invoice and PDF
• ABN (Australian Business Number) — 11 digits, formatted as XX XXX XXX XXX. Required for Tax Invoices.
• GST Registered — Tick this checkbox if your business is registered for GST. This enables GST calculation on invoices and unlocks the Tax Invoice header.

Step 2 — Contact Info

Go to Settings → Contact.

• Email — Displayed on the invoice and used as the reply-to address
• Phone — Optional, shown on PDF
• Address — Your business address, shown on PDF

Step 3 — Bank Details

Go to Settings → Bank.

• Bank Name — e.g., Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Westpac
• BSB — 6-digit branch number, formatted as XXX-XXX
• Account Number — Your business account number
• Account Name — Name on the bank account
• PayID — Optional. Accepts email address, phone number, ABN, or organisation ID

Step 4 — Invoice Settings

Go to Settings → Invoice. This tab contains three sub-sections:

• AI Template — Generate trade-specific invoice templates (see Section 3)
• Saved Items — Pre-register line items for fast invoice entry (see Section 4)
• Invoice Defaults — Set global defaults applied to every new invoice:
  • Invoice Prefix — Prepended to the auto-incrementing number (default: INV-). e.g., INV-0001
  • Payment Terms — Default days until payment is due. Options: 7, 14, 30, 60, or 90 days (default: 14 days)
  • Default Notes — Text automatically inserted in the Notes field of every new invoice. Great for payment instructions or thank-you messages.

Step 5 — Import Data

Go to Settings → Import.

If you have existing invoices, expenses, or customers from another platform, import them via CSV so your history is complete in BillMate from day one.

Step 6 — Online Payments

Go to Settings → Payments.

Connect your Stripe account to enable online card payments. Once connected:

• A Pay Now button is embedded in every invoice email
• Clients can pay by credit or debit card without logging in
• Payment status syncs automatically — the invoice is marked Paid once the transaction clears

BillMate uses Google Gemini AI to create a fully customised invoice template based on your trade or occupation. Instead of building fields from scratch, you get a ready-to-use template in seconds.

Go to Settings → Invoice → AI Template.

How to Generate a Template

1. Enter your occupation in the input field (e.g., Plumber, Electrician, Cleaner, Tutor, Carpenter, Bookkeeper)
2. Click Generate Template
3. AI creates a template in a few seconds — review the result
4. Click Save Template to apply it

What the AI Generates

Template Limits

• Maximum 5 templates per business
• Maximum 5 AI generations per day (resets at midnight AEST)
• Your first saved AI template is automatically set as the default template
• Default Items from the template are automatically added to your Saved Items library

Saved Items are a library of your regularly used services and products. When adding line items to an invoice, start typing and BillMate will autocomplete from your saved list — saving you time on every invoice.

Go to Settings → Invoice → Saved Items.

Adding a Saved Item

Click Add Item and fill in the fields:

Filtering Items by Template

If you have multiple AI templates, use the filter tabs to view:

• All Items — Every saved item across all templates
• Standard — Items not linked to any AI template
• [Template Name] — Items created by a specific AI template

Auto-Population from AI Templates

When you save an AI template, its Default Items are automatically added to your Saved Items library. You can edit them here to set the correct unit prices before your first invoice.

Go to Dashboard → Invoices and click the New Invoice button.

Step 1 — Select Template

If you have more than one template saved, a dropdown appears at the top. Select the template that matches the job. If you only have one template (or none), this step is skipped automatically.

Step 2 — Select Customer

• Search for an existing customer by name or email
• Click Add New Customer to register a new client on the spot — no need to leave the invoice form

Step 3 — Set Dates & Terms

• Issue Date — Defaults to today
• Payment Terms — Defaults to the value in your Invoice Settings (default: 14 days). Options: 7 / 14 / 30 / 60 / 90 days.
• Due Date — Calculated automatically as Issue Date + Payment Terms. Overdue status triggers when this date passes.

Step 4 — Add Line Items

• Click in the Description field and start typing to trigger the Saved Items autocomplete dropdown
• Enter Quantity, Unit Price, and select a Unit Type
• Tick Is Taxable if GST applies to this line (only visible if your business is GST-registered)
• Click Add Item to insert another line
• Drag and drop rows to reorder them as needed

Step 5 — Fill Custom Fields (AI Templates only)

If you selected an AI template, trade-specific fields appear automatically. Fill them in before saving:

• Custom Fields — Editable fields specific to the job (e.g., Job Site Address, Service Type, Vehicle Registration)
• Static Fields — Pre-filled fixed values from the template (e.g., licence number). Read-only on each invoice.

Step 6 — Review Totals

The totals panel on the right updates in real time:

Step 7 — Add Notes & Attachments

• Notes — Pre-filled with your Default Notes from Settings. Edit freely for each invoice.
• Photo Attachments — Attach photos or documents (e.g., before/after job photos, receipts, signed agreements). These are stored securely and can be downloaded from the invoice detail page.

Step 8 — Save or Send

• Save as Draft — Saves the invoice without sending. You can edit and send later.
• Send Invoice — Sends the invoice email to your client immediately and changes the status to Sent.
• Mark as Already Paid — Records the invoice as Paid without sending an email. Use this for jobs you've already been paid for in cash or bank transfer.

Every invoice moves through a set of statuses from creation to payment. BillMate tracks and displays the current status on each invoice card.

Status Flow

Actions Available on Invoice Detail Page

PDF Invoice

Click Download PDF on any invoice detail page. The PDF includes:

• Your business logo, name, and ABN
• Client name and address
• Invoice number, issue date, and due date
• All line items with quantity, unit price, and unit type
• Subtotal, GST breakdown, and total
• Custom fields from your AI template (if applicable)
• Notes and payment instructions
• Your bank details and/or PayID

Invoice Email

When you click Send Invoice, BillMate sends a branded email to your client containing:

• Invoice summary (number, amount, due date)
• A View Invoice button linking to the online invoice page
• A Pay Now button (if Stripe is connected) that takes the client directly to a secure checkout

When the client clicks View Invoice, the invoice status updates to Viewed automatically.

Sharing an Invoice

Click the Share button on the invoice detail page to share via:

• WhatsApp — Opens WhatsApp with the invoice link pre-filled
• SMS — Sends a text with the invoice link
• Email — Opens your default email client
• Copy Link — Copies the public invoice URL to clipboard

Invoice List

Go to Dashboard → Invoices to see all your invoices.

• Search — Filter by invoice number or customer name
• Status Filter — View All, Draft, Sent, Viewed, Paid, Overdue, or Cancelled
• Sort — By date, amount, or status
• Pagination — 10 invoices per page

Recording a Payment

When a client pays by bank transfer or cash, record it manually:

1. Open the invoice detail page
2. Click Record Payment
3. Enter the amount paid and payment date
4. Click Save

You can record partial payments. The invoice shows the outstanding balance until the full amount is received.

Recurring Invoices

Go to Invoices → Recurring tab to set up automatic invoice generation.

• Select an existing invoice as the base template
• Choose a frequency: Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly
• Set a start date (and optional end date)
• BillMate generates and sends the invoice automatically on schedule