Skimmer Billing FAQ - Invoicing

Frequently Asked Questions about generating invoices with  Skimmer Billing

Where can I learn about Skimmer Billing features and how to get started?

Skimmer Billing is available for all Skimmer subscribers. Learn how to setup and use Skimmer Billing by visiting the Skimmer Billing Tutorials Page. If, after viewing the videos, you have further questions, you can reach out to our Support team via email (support@getskimmer.com) or phone (480-718-2158).

What can you do with Skimmer Billing?

  • Generate invoices for completed pool service, dosages, installed items, and work orders
  • Bill all customers, customers by tag, or specific customers in just a few steps
  • Quickly review and adjust invoice details such as names, descriptions, rates, and taxables for invoice line items, and exclude any items not to be billed
  • Generate and bulk email invoices with an embedded payment link for customers, allowing customers to view a detailed online invoice
  • Accept payments from credit/debit cards, digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, or US bank accounts
  • Allow customers to opt into AutoPay for recurring pool service from an invoice, or opt a customer in from Skimmer on their behalf
  • Securely store multiple payment methods on file, and designate the method of choice for AutoPay
  • Automatically send payment receipt confirmations for any successful payment
  • View status and balance of all invoices and payments in real-time from the invoice and payments dashboards including dollars due, overdue, outstanding, in draft, expected, and received
  • Add offline payments for cash & check, and manually create invoices for one-off needs
  • Configure how pool service, dosages, installed items, and work order line items are generated by default
  • Create tax rates and tax groups and bulk apply those to service locations
  • Customize your invoice and payment receipt email templates
  • Generate reports on all invoices sent, paid, outstanding, all payments, payouts, and tax liabilities

Coming soon:

  • Automatically generate and email recurring invoices
  • Advanced alerts and notifications
  • Enhanced reporting, exports, and imports

Can Skimmer Billing calculate and include taxes in my invoices?

Yes, it can! Check out this tutorial video to learn how you can set up and apply tax settings to your customer invoices.

How do I know what tax rate to use?

Some states and taxing authorities may require you to charge taxes where the service is performed. We encourage you to check with your specific taxing authorities to understand tax rules or consult with a tax accountant. If you would like to look up a tax rate for a customer's address, check out the free Avalara Sales Tax Calculator and Rate Lookup Tool.

Can I bill ahead for service but bill in arrears for chemical dosages?

While Skimmer Billing is not specifically set up to do this automatically, there are two methods you can use to accomplish it manually. Please keep in mind that the process would need to be done manually each month (the dates below are meant to be examples, and the process can be applied to any months). Also note that if you're billing per stop, and you bill ahead for four stops but only end up performing three (as an example), you'll need to balance that out with your client.

METHOD ONE

February 1

1 - Create a manual invoice for the “future” service to occur in February.

2 - Create a line item.

3 - Name the item “February Service.” Per stop = enter rate and estimated quantity of stops. Per month = enter rate and quantity. 1

4 - Send the invoice.

5 - Perform the service in February.

March 1 ( The following month AND for any existing customers, take the following steps):

1 - Run the invoice generator for service in February.

2 - Generator finds February service.

3 - Edit the pool service line item as “March Service” even though it’s February’s service.

4 - Uncheck "include dates in description."

5 - Treat the chemicals as-is.

METHOD TWO

If your customer’s service rate is set to Per Month, when you finish at least one route stop for that customer (October, for example), perform these steps:

1 - On the Invoice Generator, select the time frame that includes that date you completed the route stop (October, in this case).

2 - Then edit details such as the Default Pool Service line item to relabel it for the month of November. Or you can keep the line item description generic (for example, Monthly Pool Service).

3 - You will also need to turn off "show service dates.” Taking these steps will allow you to generate an invoice with the service rate applied.

Here's a video where you can view a live demonstration.

A few things to note:

If a customer was not serviced within the date range you selected, you will not be able to use the Invoice Generator to create an invoice for that customer. You would have to keep track of what customers have not received service yet, and manually create an invoice for those customers.

If chems are not included in the service, then a pool owner’s invoice will always have the price of chemicals from the month prior to the one they are being billed for. Ex: billing ahead for the month of November for customers you serviced in October would create invoices that have chemicals from the month of October.