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Before your first invoice goes out, set invoicing up once: the name your clients see, your brand colors, your usual payment terms, the tax you charge and how your invoices are numbered. Every new invoice starts from these settings. This guide sets up invoicing for Northwind Coffee Roasters: its name and colors, Net 30 terms, a tax rate for its café clients in Washington, invoice numbers that continue from 1001, and an invoice design in its colors.
Until you connect a payment processor, every Commerce page shows Payment processor not connected at the top. You can still set everything up, send invoices and record payments you receive by check or transfer; your clients can’t pay online yet.
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The notice at the top of Commerce pages

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Open the Commerce settings

Click Commerce in the left rail, then Settings at the bottom of the Commerce menu.
The bottom of the Commerce menu: Revenue by client, Invoice details, Tax summary and Settings, with Settings outlined

Settings, at the end of the Commerce menu

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Add your name, colors and terms

1

Your name, and where replies go

On the Branding tab, type your business name in From name. It is the sender name on your invoice emails and the name at the top of your invoices.Under Where customer replies go, type the address that should receive your clients’ replies in Default reply-to. The boxes under it send replies about invoices, estimates or contracts somewhere else.
The Branding tab outlined, From name Northwind Coffee Roasters outlined, From email empty, and Default reply-to wholesale@northwindroasters.com outlined

Northwind's name and reply address

Leave From email blank unless the address is on a domain you have verified for sending. With it blank, invoices are sent from invoices@ on your verified domain (see the Email tab), or, until you have one, from Hiveku’s invoice address, always with your From name on them.
2

Your colors, terms and footer

Type your brand colors as color codes, such as #B35624, in Primary color and Accent color. They color your invoice emails and the page where clients view and pay, and a new invoice design starts in your Primary color.Pick your usual Default payment terms: new invoices start with them. Add the line you want at the bottom of your invoices in Footer / legal text. Then click Save branding.
Primary color #B35624 and Accent color #7A3A14, Default payment terms Net 30, the footer text, and the Save branding button, outlined

Colors, Net 30 and a footer

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Set your tax and invoice numbers

1

Your default tax and your numbering

On the Defaults tab, set the Default tax rate (%) and the Tax label printed on your invoices. Northwind is in Oregon, which has no sales tax, so its default stays at 0.Type an Invoice prefix and the Next invoice number. The line under the number shows what your next invoice will be called. Hiveku adds a dash and the year, so type the prefix without a dash. Then click Save defaults.
The Defaults tab outlined, Invoice prefix NW outlined, Next invoice number 1001 with After saving, the next invoice will be NW-2026-001001, outlined, and Save defaults outlined

Invoices that continue from 1001

2

A different rate for some states

Under Tax by state, type the State, the Rate (%) and a Label, then click Add rule. A client whose billing state matches the rule gets that rate instead of your default. Leave State blank for a rate that covers the whole country. Here Northwind adds Washington, where some of its café clients are.
Tax by state with State WA, Rate 6.5 and Label WA sales tax outlined, and the Add rule button outlined

A rate for clients in Washington

The rule appears in the table. Its Applies switch turns it off and on.
The tax rules table with WA, WA sales tax, 6.50% and the Applies switch on, outlined

The Washington rule

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Design your invoice

1

Start a template

Click Invoices in the Commerce menu, then Templates at the top right, then New template. The new template opens in its design editor.
Invoice templates with two templates in the list and the New template button outlined

New template, on Invoice templates

2

Choose the look

Type the template’s name at the top. Under Theme, Accent color starts as your Primary color. It colors the word Invoice and the total, and the table header too when Tint table header with accent is on. Pick a Font if you like. The preview on the right changes as you go, and the template saves by itself.
The template editor: name Northwind standard, Saved, Preview PDF, and under Theme the Accent color #B35624, the Font Lora (serif) and Tint table header with accent, outlined, with the preview showing an orange INVOICE and table header

The Northwind look

3

Name the columns

Under Line-item columns, switch columns on or off and rename them. Here the Rate / Unit price column is called Price.
Line-item columns with the Rate / Unit price column renamed Price and outlined, and the preview's table showing PRICE, outlined

Rate becomes Price

4

Tell clients how to pay

Under Sections, switch on Payment instructions, then write them under Footer & payment. The same editor has Header, which shows your logo and business contact, and Labels, which renames words such as Bill to and Balance due.
Sections with Payment instructions switched on and outlined, the Payment instructions text under Footer and payment outlined, and the same text in the preview, outlined

Payment instructions, on the invoice

5

Make it your default

Switch on Default at the top. Invoices you start from Blank invoice use this design.
The editor's top bar: Northwind standard, the Default switch on and outlined, Saved, and the Preview PDF button outlined

Default, and Preview PDF

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Check the PDF

Click Preview PDF. The PDF opens in a new tab, with sample lines and your own logo, business name, address and footer. The preview beside the controls uses a sample address and no logo, so check the PDF to see your own.
The PDF preview: the Northwind logo and name, INVOICE in orange, sample client and lines with an orange table header and a Price column, Sales Tax, the total in orange, Pay online, and the Northwind footer line

The Northwind design, as a PDF

The logo is your account logo, which you set under Settings > General. The address is your account’s mailing address, under Mailing address on the Settings tab of Email Marketing. Back on Invoice templates, your template is marked Default.
The templates list with Northwind standard marked DEFAULT, outlined, above Office coffee service (monthly) and Wholesale order

Northwind standard, the default

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See it on a new invoice

Click Invoices, then New invoice. Invoice # shows the number the invoice will get when you save it, and Payment terms and Due date start from your default terms. Nothing is created until you click Save draft, Save as sent or Save & send.
New invoice with Start from Blank invoice outlined, Invoice # NW-2026-001001 outlined, and Payment terms Net 30 with Due date 11/20/2026 outlined

NW-2026-001001, due in 30 days

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Good to know

  • Changes apply to new invoices. A new rate or tax rule is used on invoices you make afterwards. Invoices already made keep the rate they were made with.
  • Tax-exempt clients are never charged tax. Mark a client tax exempt on their CRM record, and no rate applies to them.
  • Moving from another app? Set Next invoice number to the number after your last invoice there. Numbers already used are skipped, so two invoices never share a number.
  • More: Invoices covers every invoice setting, and Payments covers connecting a processor.