Import a client's invoices
This article explains how to import a client’s invoices into FreeAgent.
If you or your client doesn’t want to create each individual invoice manually, you can bulk upload several at once for them as a .CSV file.
Alternatively, you can add opening trade debtor balances against the contacts. When the customers have paid the money that they owe, the bank transactions can be explained as ‘Other Money In’ > ‘Receipt from Initial Debtor’, which will reduce the opening trade debtor balances.
Please note:
- FreeAgent’s invoice importer is currently only available to accountants or bookkeepers who are Practice Partners.
- You need to format the .CSV file before you can upload it into FreeAgent.
- You can upload a maximum of 1,000 rows on a single import. If you have more than 1,000 to upload, you'll need to split them over multiple imports.
- If an invoice is out of scope of VAT, the contact must be set to ‘Never’ charge VAT before uploading the invoice.
Before you start
Before importing your client’s invoices, it’s important to make sure the following details are in your client’s account:
- correct accounting dates (the client’s invoices must be dated on or after their FreeAgent start date)
- VAT registration details (if the client is registered for VAT)
- CIS subcontractor details (if the client is a subcontractor)
- contacts for the client’s customers and suppliers
- projects (if any of the invoices relate to a project)
- properties (if your client has an unincorporated landlord account)
1. Switch to the client’s account
Log in to your Practice Dashboard and select ‘Switch to’ beside the relevant client to access their account.
2. Navigate to the Invoicing area
Navigate to the ‘Work’ tab at top of the screen and select ‘Invoicing’ from the drop-down menu.
3. Download and fill in the invoices template
Select ‘Import invoices’.
You'll be prompted to download one of our invoice templates.
The simple template should cover most imports but if you have additional fields you would like to include, such as foreign currencies, projects and/or CIS deductions, you can add them using the column names from the table below, or use the complete template as your starting point.
How to fill in our invoices templates
The tables below shows you how to fill in the simple and complete templates.
Each Invoice must have at least one row but if you want to capture multiple line items in a single invoice, these should follow directly under the first row for that invoice. You won’t need to enter the total amount, as FreeAgent will calculate this based on the price of each line item and its VAT details (if applicable).
Please note that some fields, such as project, property, and category, must exactly match what they are named in FreeAgent.
Simple template
| Column name | What to enter | Example | Required? |
| Invoice details | |||
| mark_as | This can be either ‘Sent’ if you want the invoice to be uploaded with an Open status, or ‘Draft’ if you want the invoice to be uploaded in draft status and not included in accounts. It is case sensitive and must be capitalised. | Sent | If left blank, the invoice will be uploaded in ‘Draft’ status. |
| contact | The name of the FreeAgent contact this invoice is for. This will match to the organisation or first name and last name. It is not case sensitive and will pick the first match it finds. | Fez Consulting Ltd | Yes |
| dated_on |
The date of the invoice. This must be in DD/MM/YYYY format, regardless of the date format in your FreeAgent account. |
25/06/2026 | Yes |
| reference | Unique reference number for the invoice. | FC001 | Yes |
| payment_terms_in_days | The number of days from the invoice date that the invoice is due to be paid in. | 30 | Yes |
| property |
The property which the rental income relates to. It should exactly match the first line of the address in FreeAgent. Please note that this is for unincorporated landlord accounts only. |
11 Easy Breezy Lane | Yes for unincorporated landlord accounts only. |
| Line item details | |||
| description | Add a description of the line item. | Materials for work completed | Yes |
| quantity | The number of units you’re invoicing for. This must be a positive number. | 5 | If left blank, the quanity will default to 0. |
| price | The price per unit of the line item. Please note that the price for a credit note must be entered with a minus sign in front of it. | 20.25 | Yes |
Complete template
| Column name | What to enter | Example | Required? |
| Invoice details | |||
| always_show_bic_and_iban | Enter ‘true’ if you added either a BIC or IBAN number when you set up the bank account that relates to the invoice, and you want to include either (or both) of these numbers on the invoice. Otherwise, leave blank or enter ‘false’. | true | No |
| bank_account | The exact account name you’ve given the bank account in FreeAgent. If left blank, your primary bank account will be used. | Business Current Account | No |
| client_contact_name | To send the invoice to someone other than the person listed as the contact for that customer (e.g. if the listed contact is the purchase ledger clerk and you want to send the invoice to the finance manager). | Claire Ashcroft | No |
| comments | If you want to add any additional text to include on the invoice, such as notes relating to delivery, or additional address(es) if you need more than one address for either yourself or your contact to be displayed. | Deliveries are on a Tuesday | No |
| construction_industry_scheme_rate |
To add a CIS invoice, you need to select a CIS rate for the invoice as a whole. This is can be either ‘cis_gross’, ‘cis_standard’ or ‘cis_higher’ at the invoice level. Then, for each invoice item, if you want the line item to include a CIS deduction you must enter the same CIS band when entering the category. Please see example below. |
cis_gross | No |
| contact | The name of the FreeAgent contact this invoice is for. This will match to the organisation or first name and last name. It is not case sensitive and will pick the first match it finds. | Fez Consulting Ltd | Yes |
| currency | The 3-character ISO code for the currency the invoice is in. | GBP | If not provided, we will use your FreeAgent account's native currency. |
| dated_on |
The date of the invoice. This must be in DD/MM/YYYY format, regardless of the date format in your FreeAgent account. |
25/06/2026 | Yes |
| discount_percent | The amount of discount to apply to the invoice as a percentage. This needs to be entered without the % sign and will apply a discount across the entire invoice. If you need to add a discount to individual line items only, the discount would need to be added as its own line item. | 35 | No |
| is_credit_note | If the item is a credit note, the value should be ‘true’. Please note that this is case sensitive and you must enter the amount in the ‘price’ field with a minus in front of it. | true | No |
| mark_as | This can be either ‘Sent’ if you want the invoice to be uploaded with an Open status, or ‘Draft’ if you want the invoice to be uploaded in draft status and not included in accounts. It is case sensitive and must be capitalised. | Sent | If left blank, the invoice will be uploaded in ‘Draft’ status. |
| omit_header | Enter ‘true’ if you want to omit your logo and business address details from the invoice, otherwise enter ‘false’ or leave it blank. | false | No |
| payment_terms | Additional bespoke terms that are displayed below the due date. | 1st of the month | No |
| payment_terms_in_days | The number of days from the invoice date that the invoice is due to be paid in. | 30 | Yes |
| po_reference | If you want to add a purchase order reference. Please note that this can’t be added for invoices in an unincorporated landlord account. | PO-001 | No |
| project | The name of the project this invoice is for. This is case sensitive and must match exactly with the project's name in FreeAgent. | Business Strategy | If left blank, no project will be assigned to the invoice. |
| property |
The property which the rental income relates to. It should exactly match the first line of the address in FreeAgent. Please note that this is for unincorporated landlord accounts only. |
11 Easy Breezy Lane | Yes for unincorporated landlord accounts only. |
| reference | Unique reference number for the invoice. | FC001 | Yes |
| show_project_name | If you want to display the project name in the Other Information section, enter ‘true’. Otherwise, enter ‘false’ or leave blank. | true | No |
| Line item details | |||
| category |
If you've added a custom income category in FreeAgent, enter the name or nominal code. If the code begins with 0 or 00, make sure these are included. For CIS invoices, you must use the same CIS rate entered in the ‘construction_industry_scheme_rate’ rate field and not the nominal code. For example, ‘cis_standard’. |
Online Sales | If left blank, the line item will be allocated to the default Sales category in FreeAgent (code 001). |
| description | Add a description of the line item. | Materials for work completed | Yes |
| item_type |
The units you are invoicing for. You can leave blank if you want 'no unit' or choose between:
|
Hours | If left blank, ‘no unit’ will be selected for the item type on the invoice. |
| price | The price per unit of the line item. Please note that the price for a credit note must be entered with a minus sign in front of it. | 20.25 | Yes |
| quantity | The number of units you’re invoicing for. This must be a positive number. | 5 | If left blank, the quanity will default to 0. |
| sales_tax_rate | If your business is registered for VAT, enter the correct rate of VAT for the invoice line item. For example, ‘20’ or ‘0’. | 20 | If left blank and you’re not VAT registered, no VAT will be added added. If left blank and you’re VAT registered, the standard VAT rate of 20% will be applied to the line item. |
| sales_tax_status | Enter ‘Taxable’ if the line item should have VAT included, or ‘Exempt’ if the line item is exempt for VAT. Please note if an invoice is out of scope of VAT, the contact must be set to ‘Never’ charge VAT before uploading the invoice. | Taxable | Only for UK account types. This field will override the tax rate entered above. For example, if you enter ‘Exempt’ here and 20 in the field above, the line item will be added to the invoice as exempt from VAT with no VAT added. |
| second_sales_tax_rate | If you have a non-UK account type and have added a second Sales Tax rate in FreeAgent, enter the rate here. Please note that this field doesn’t apply to UK account types. | 5 | Only for non-UK account types. |
CIS invoice example
To import a CIS invoice, you need to make sure the ‘construction_industry_scheme_rate’ entered matches the line item ‘category’ as demonstrated below.
This will import an invoice that has three line items, two of which are the standard rate.
4. Import your client’s invoices
Once you've finished entering the invoicing data, save the template as a .CSV file.
Select the CSV file you want to import and then select ‘Upload’.
5. Review the imported invoices
Once the upload is complete, review your newly added invoices.
If you realise you've made an error, you can edit an invoice or filter the invoices by ‘Last import’ and undo the import.
You can delete invoices that are in ‘Draft’ status or are marked as sent if there’s no account lock in place. If there’s a payment attached to an invoice, you’ll need to remove the payment link before you can edit or delete it.