Turn logged hours into an invoice
To turn logged hours into an invoice, choose File ▸ Draft Invoice… on the Mac. Pick the client and period, check the lines and press Create. nokko writes one Markdown file, and you save the PDF from the Invoices view.
For Mac · Last checked
Open the draft
Before you start, attach the client to the work, make sure a rate exists, and fill in your own details. Clients and rates covers all three.
| Start from | The draft opens with |
|---|---|
| File ▸ Draft Invoice… | Last month, all clients |
| Draft Invoice… in the Invoices view | Last month, all clients |
| Draft Invoice… in the Time view | The range, client and tag on screen |
| Draft Invoice… on a client | That client, from the day after its last invoice through today, or from its oldest unbilled hour if it has no invoice yet |
A period never runs past today, so This month drafted on the 14th ends on the 14th.
Choose the client and period
- Set From and To under Hours.
- Pick the Client. Use New… if the client does not exist yet.
- Pick a Tag if only some of the work is for this invoice.
- Tick Split lines by day if the client wants one line per task per day.
You get one line per top-level task, with its hours summed, grouped under each board. Changing any of these settings rebuilds the list from your files. Edits to logged lines are lost, and lines you added by hand stay.
Edit the lines
- Untick a line to leave it off.
- Click a description to reword it for the client. The task in your board does not change.
- Type over a rate to change it on this invoice only. Hover to see where it came from.
- Add Line adds hours you type yourself, at the client's rate.
- Add Flat Line adds a fixed sum with no hours, for fixed-price work.
Logged hours are fixed on this sheet, and you can change them in the Invoices view after creating the invoice. They show as decimals rounded to two places, so 25 minutes is 0.42. Hover over them to see the logged time. With no logged time at all, the sheet still works: add your lines by hand.
Check the invoice details
The Invoice section is filled in for you and every field can be changed.
| Field | Starts as |
|---|---|
| Number | The next free number, such as INV-2026-007 |
| Issued | Today |
| Payment due | Today plus Payment due after in Settings ▸ Billing, or 14 days |
| Language | The language in Settings ▸ Billing |
| Currency | The client's currency, otherwise the one in Settings ▸ Billing |
| VAT % | The rate in Settings ▸ Billing, or empty for no VAT |
The foot of the sheet shows the totals and the file's path. Numbering, VAT and languages explains each of these in detail.
Press Create, or see why you cannot
Create stays off until the problem is fixed. The sheet names each of these problems. It also stays off, with no message, when no line is ticked, so tick a line or add one.
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 line has no rate. | Type a rate on the line, or set a default in Settings ▸ Billing. |
| The number is empty. | Type a number. |
| INV-2026-007 already exists. | Choose a number no other invoice uses. |
| The period ends after the issue date. | Move To back, or Issued forward. |
| VAT % is not a plain number. | Type 21, or leave it empty. |
Two more messages warn you and let you continue. 1 logged span in this period is not on this invoice means you left time out, and it will count as billed anyway. INV-2026-006 already covers part of this period means those hours may be billed twice.
After Create, nokko opens the invoice in the Invoices view. ⌘Z removes the file straight away if you change your mind.
Where the invoice lives and what it looks like
If every line comes from one space, the file goes in that space's Invoices/ folder. Otherwise it goes in Invoices/ at the top of the workspace. The file name is the invoice number.
---
type: invoice
number: INV-2026-007
invoice-status: draft
client: Halden Coffee
period-start: 2026-10-01
period-end: 2026-10-31
issued: 2026-11-04
payment-due: 2026-11-18
currency: EUR
vat: 21
language: en
---
# Invoice INV-2026-007
## From
Your Company Ltd.
## To
Halden Coffee Roasters Ltd
## Items
| Description | Hours | Rate | Amount |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Homepage hero | 3.25 | 75.00 | 243.75 |
| Hosting setup | | | 120.00 |
## Totals
| | |
| --- | ---: |
| Subtotal | 363.75 EUR |
| VAT 21% | 76.39 EUR |
| Total | 440.14 EUR |Empty cells for hours and rate mark a flat line. A ## Payment details section follows the totals when you have filled in that box in Settings.
Review it and mark it Sent or Paid
The Invoices view shows the list, an editing form, and the page. The preview uses the same pagination as the PDF, so what you see is what prints. Change anything in the form and the file and page follow when you leave the field.
An invoice is Draft, Sent or Paid. Set this with the control at the top of the form, or right-click the invoice and choose Mark as Sent or Mark as Paid. It changes one line, such as invoice-status: sent.
The status is your own record. nokko does not send anything, and you email the PDF yourself. Delete Invoice in the same menu moves the file to the Trash.
Save a PDF
- Select the invoice in the Invoices view.
- Click Save PDF…. The name starts as
INV-2026-007 — Halden Coffee.pdf. - Choose a folder and save.
The PDF goes where you choose, and nokko adds nothing to your workspace. Print… (⌘P) opens the system print dialog. Both first save anything still being typed in the form. If you later change the invoice, save the PDF again.
What happens to the hours
Your ⏱ lines stay exactly as they were. Nothing is marked or moved. nokko decides what is billed by looking at dates: a day counts as billed for a client when one of that client's invoices has a period containing it. A Draft claims its period just as a Paid invoice does.
- Hours left off the invoice but inside its period read as billed.
- Days between two invoices, or after the last one, stay unbilled.
- Deleting an invoice makes its days unbilled again.
- An invoice you withdraw by typing
invoice-status: cancelledorvoidin its file stops claiming its period.
Invoices and the iPhone
On iPhone
The iPhone does not make, show or edit invoices. Hours you log there are written to the same files and reach the Mac by sync, ready to bill. The Time tab lists each client's uninvoiced hours under Not Invoiced Yet, without money.
Questions
- Can I make an invoice in nokko without tracking time?
- nokko's draft sheet works with no logged time at all. Choose File ▸ Draft Invoice…, pick the client, then use Add Line for hours you type yourself or Add Flat Line for a fixed sum. The invoice is the same Markdown file, and the PDF looks the same as one built from tracked hours.
- Does nokko email invoices to my clients?
- nokko does not send invoices. Save PDF… writes a file to the folder you choose, and you attach it to an email yourself. Marking an invoice Sent only changes the invoice-status line in its file, so it is your own record of what has gone out and what has been paid.
- Can I change hours on an invoice after creating it?
- nokko lets you edit every line in the Invoices view, including hours, rates and descriptions, and the totals update. Your ⏱ lines stay as they were, so the invoice and the Timesheet can then disagree. That is often what you want, for example when you bill less than you logged.