Clients & Invoicing
Everything about the business side of client work — who they are, what you bill them for, and what they've agreed to — lives here, separate from any single project's day-to-day delivery.
Client Directory
Every client, service, and payment status in one place.
Invoicing
Turn approved work into a client invoice without leaving Shipmark.
Milestone-Based Payment Schedules
Set it up once, and invoices draft themselves as work is completed.
Client Agreements: Quotations & Project Closures
Get a proposal formally agreed before the work — and a clean summary after it.
Additional Work Items
Bill work the client never explicitly asked for — server setup, DevOps, QA.
From completed milestone to paid invoice
Checklist step completed
Linked to a payment schedule entry.
Draft invoice created
Automatically, the moment the step completes.
You review & send
Nothing reaches a client without your manual send.
Client pays
Tracked as paid, pending, or overdue.
Client Directory
Every client, service, and payment status in one place.
Why it exists
Domain renewals, hosting bills, and payment status are easy to lose track of across a dozen clients. A dedicated directory means nothing quietly lapses.
When to use it
Any client relationship you're maintaining infrastructure or billing for — separate from any single project.
- 1
Add a client
Name, contact details, and optionally link one or more of your existing projects to them.
- 2
Track services
Domains, hosting, SSL, and email, each with its own renewal date.
- 3
Track payments
Paid, pending, overdue, or partial, with running totals.
- 4
Get alerted
Shipmark notifies you before a renewal or payment comes due — no manual checking required.
Pro Tip
Invoicing
Turn approved work into a client invoice without leaving Shipmark.
Why it exists
Re-typing completed work into a separate invoicing tool is wasted effort and an easy place to make mistakes. Generating it from data already in Shipmark removes both.
When to use it
Whenever billable work is ready to send — a batch of completed requirements, logged hours, a tracked service, or a one-off.
- 1
Open a client's Invoices tab
Pick a project to bill completed requirements and logged work.
- 2
Or switch to Service mode
Bill a tracked service, like an annual hosting renewal, instead.
- 3
Add a custom line
For anything one-off that isn't tracked elsewhere.
- 4
Review, then send
Shipmark emails a branded PDF straight to your client.
Pro Tip
Milestone-Based Payment Schedules
Set it up once, and invoices draft themselves as work is completed.
Why it exists
Manually remembering to bill every milestone is exactly the kind of task that gets forgotten during a busy week. Automating the drafting step removes that risk entirely.
When to use it
Any project billed in stages rather than one lump sum at the end.
- 1
Set a contract value
On the project, from its Settings tab.
- 2
Add schedule entries
Each bills a fixed amount or a percentage of the contract value.
- 3
Link an entry to a checklist step (optional)
Completing that step automatically drafts the invoice.
- 4
Review before it ever reaches a client
Every draft still needs your manual send — nothing is emailed automatically.
Pro Tip
Client Agreements: Quotations & Project Closures
Get a proposal formally agreed before the work — and a clean summary after it.
Why it exists
A Quotation gives a client something concrete to say yes to before work (and billing) begins. A Project Closure gives them a clear, shareable record of everything delivered once it wraps.
When to use it
Quotation: before starting billable work. Project Closure: any time, including mid-project — it's fully optional and repeatable.
- 1
Build a Quotation
Select approved requirements and/or additional work items, add notes and terms.
- 2
Send it
The client gets a branded PDF and a link to review it.
- 3
Client responds
Agreed or Declined, with their name recorded as proof.
- 4
Or send a Project Closure any time
Auto-pulls completed requirements, invoices, and project dates into one summary for the client to acknowledge.
Pro Tip
Additional Work Items
Bill work the client never explicitly asked for — server setup, DevOps, QA.
Why it exists
Not all real, billable work starts as a client requirement. Additional Work Items let you record and bill it without needing an approval step that doesn't fit.
When to use it
Work you did and want to bill, but that never went through the Scope Tracker as a requirement.
- 1
Add an item
Title, description, and an estimated cost — from a project's Payments tab.
- 2
Include it on a Quotation or Invoice
It stays available for both until it's actually billed.
Pro Tip
Best practices
- Link payment schedule entries to checklist steps wherever the two naturally match — it's the difference between remembering to bill and never having to.
- Send a Quotation before starting any milestone-billed project — it's required before the first payment can be marked reached anyway.
- Use a Project Closure at natural project ends, even for ongoing retainer clients, as a clean record of what shipped in that phase.
Frequently asked questions
Related guides
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