Emailing Invoices

Wavebid's email feature allows users to email a PDF copy of invoices out to winning bidders after an auction. This article describes the process for creating and managing Invoice email templates, as well as the process for sending invoices via email, and adding a 'Pay Now' button to emailed invoices. For email troubleshooting information, see the 'Troubleshooting' section of the Integrating Email help article.

This article contains the following sections:

• Creating an Email Template
• Selecting an Email Template
• Emailing Invoices
• Pay Now Button
• Reporting
• Troubleshooting

 

Creating an Invoice Email Template

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The Invoice Email Template is a template for the email that is sent to winning bidders containing a link to their invoice.

Wavebid comes with a default Invoice Email Template. That default template will be used unless a custom email template is created.

Only Company Admin Role users can create an email template.

1. Navigate to My Links > Company > Accounting Settings > Admin Email Templates.
   • To edit an existing template, select it using the drop-down at the top of the page.
2. Select Invoice from the Type drop-down.
3. Enter a Name for the template.
4. Enter Notes, if desired.
   • Notes can be used to differentiate between various templates and are not visible in the email or on the invoice.
5. Click the Template field and type the body of the email. The field is HTML formatted, so the text can be resized and organized as needed.
   • If this field is left blank, the invoices sent to winning bidders will not contain any text, but will contain a PDF attachment of the invoice. 
6. Click on any of the Variable fields from the right side of the page to place them in the body of the email template.
   • These fields will automatically populate based on auction and customer data.
7. If the "Pay Now" button is being used on the invoice, the "Invoice URL" Variable must be added to the body of the Template to provide a link to the invoice. 
8. Links to other sites and documents can be included by clicking the small Link icon at the top of the Template field.
9. Once the email template is complete, click the Save button in the top right corner of the page.

Invoice emails will be sent with the invoice attached as a PDF. 

Example of an sent email:

 

Selecting an Invoice Email Template

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Company Level

An Invoice Email Template can be selected at the company level so that the same template is used for every event.

1. Navigate to My Links > Company > Profile.
2. Click on the Preferences tab.
3. Click on the Invoice tab on the left side of the page.
4. Select a template from the Default Email Template for Invoice emails drop-down.
5. Click the Disk icon in the top right corner of the page to save the changes.

Changes will only impact newly created events. For existing events, the template will need to be selected at the auction level.

 

Auction Level

To select a particular Invoice Email Template in an auction:

1. Navigate to the applicable auction from the Dashboard, then select Auction > Edit Settings.
2. Click on the Invoices tab.
3. Select the appropriate template from the Invoice Email Template drop-down on the right side of the page.
4. Click the Disk icon in the top right corner of the page to Save. Invoices can now be emailed.

 

Emailing Invoices

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Emailed invoices will be sent out to the customer's email address listed in Wavebid using the default template selected for the auction (unless a different template is selected using the Advanced Email Option).

Companies will want to Integrate Email in Wavebid prior to emailing invoices. If email is not integrated, the invoices will be sent from no-reply@wavebid.com. 

 

Emailing Invoices in Bulk

1. Navigate to the applicable auction from the Dashboard, then select Accounting > Invoices.
2. Click the Envelope icon in the top right corner of the Invoices page and select an email option.
   • Email All Invoices: Will email all invoices to bidders. 
   • Email Paid Invoices: Will email all fully paid invoices to bidders.
   • Email Unpaid Invoices: Will email all invoices that do not have payments applied or only have partial payments applied. 
   • Advanced Email: Will open a pop-up window that allows the user to select which email template will be sent. Selecting an email template here will override the email template selected at the auction level. Click the Ok button to send invoices.                                                              
3. A pop-up window will open. Click Yes, I'm Sure to send invoices.

 

Emailing Individual Invoices

1. Navigate to the applicable auction from the Dashboard, then select Accounting > Invoices.
2. Click on the applicable invoice to open it.
3. Click the Envelope icon in the top right corner of the page and select an email option.
   • Email Invoice: Will send the invoice to the bidder's email address on file. Selecting this option will email the invoice immediately.
   • Advanced Email: Will send the invoice to a different or additional email address.
     • Selecting this option will open a pop-up window. Enter each email address separated by a semicolon. Use the drop-down to select an email Template and click the Ok button to send the invoice.                                                   

 

Pay Now Button

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The 'Pay Now' button can be added to emailed invoices allowing winning bidders to pay directly with their credit card information. Companies must have one of Wavebid's supported Payment Gateways to activate this feature. 

1. From the Dashboard, navigate to My Links > Company > Profile.
2. Click on the Preferences tab and then the Invoice tab on the left side of the page.
3. Select the Default Payment Gateway from the drop-down. 
4. Check the Display the 'Pay Now' button on customer invoices box.
5. Select the Default Email Template for Invoice Emails from the drop-down.
   • Templates in this drop-down are populated from My Links > Company > Accounting Settings > Admin Email Templates. 
   • The selected Email Template must have the 'Invoice URL' variable included in the body of the Template.
6. Click the Disk icon in the top right corner of the page to Save.

When invoices are emailed via Wavebid, winning bidders will see a Pay Now button at the top of the invoice. Clicking the Pay Now button will direct the winning bidder to the integrated Payment Gateway for payment processing.

Please note, the 'Pay Now' button will not appear on invoices viewed in Wavebid. It will only appear on invoices accessed via the Invoice URL.

For more information, see How Can My Bidders Pay Online in Wavebid?

 

Reporting

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The Outgoing Email Report displays all of the emails sent out by the company. To access the report, navigate to My Links > Company > Reports > Emails Sent.

If an email failed to send, the information will appear in the Status column on the report.

For troubleshooting information, see the 'Troubleshooting' section of the Integrating Email help article.

 

Troubleshooting

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Pay Now Button Doesn't Appear on Invoices

There are three possible causes:

1. The 'Pay Now' button has not been enabled at the company level.
2. An Invoice Email Template has not been selected/applied at the auction level. 
3. The Invoice Email Template being used does not contain the 'Invoice URL' variable.
   • Users must click on the invoice link (generated by the 'Invoice URL' variable) in their email in order to access the web-version of their invoice, which contains the 'Pay Now' button.
   • If this URL is not included, the invoice will be attached to the email as a PDF, which will not contain a 'Pay Now' button.

Please note, the 'Pay Now' button will not appear on invoices viewed in Wavebid. It will only appear on invoices accessed via the Invoice URL.

 

 

Related Articles:

• Invoice Guide
• Integrating Email