Set up Finances

Finances keeps track of your business money: what comes in, what goes out, who owes you and what you owe. It sends quotes and invoices your customers can pay online, and it shows simple reports you can share with your accountant.

Finances is a record-keeping tool for your own reference. It isn't official accounting software: it doesn't calculate taxes for any country or file anything with a government. Your accountant prepares the official books from your exports.

Open Finances for the first time

Finances is in the sidebar under Business. The first time an Administrator opens it, the setup steps start. People who aren't Administrators see "Finances isn't set up yet" until it's done.

Each step has Next and Back. You can change everything later in Finances → Settings.

Step 1: Your business

These details show on your quotes and invoices.

1. Check the Business name (1). It starts with your site's name. Use your legal business name if your invoices need it.
2. Fill in the Email, Phone and Address you want customers to see.
3. Type the Tax or registration number label (for example EIN, TIN or VAT number) and the number itself (2). It's shown on invoices only when it's filled in.
4. Leave Logo empty to use your site's logo from Design Settings.
5. Click Next (3).

Step 2: Currency and year

1. Choose your Main currency. Reports are in this currency. You can still record money and send invoices in other currencies.
2. Choose the month Your business year starts in (January for most businesses).
3. Choose how Dates look like and how Numbers look like on invoices and reports.
4. Click Next.

Step 3: Kind of business

Choose Services, Shop, School, Agency or General. Finances fills in a starter list of categories that suits it (for example Rent, Advertising, Software and subscriptions). You can rename, add and hide categories at any time.

Step 4: Accounts

Accounts are where your money is: your bank account and your cash. Start with these two. You add e-wallets (PayPal, GCash, Wise and so on) and cards later in Finances → Accounts.

1. Change the names if you like, for example Business checking and Petty cash.
2. Type each Opening balance: what the account held on the day you start.
3. Check the On date. Records before this date don't count.
4. Untick an account you don't need. You need at least one.
5. Click Next.

Step 5: Invoices

1. Type the Invoice title. "Invoice" is the default; some businesses use "Billing statement" or "Statement of account".
2. Type what the Number starts with (INV- by default) and the Next number. If you already sent invoices from another system, continue its numbering.
3. Set the Payment terms (days). The due date is this many days after the invoice date (14 by default).
4. Add a Footer note if you like, for example how to pay you by check or bank transfer.
5. Tick Add "This is not an official tax invoice" to every invoice and quote if invoices in your country must be registered with the tax office. Finances doesn't register invoices with any government.
6. Click Next.

Step 6: Taxes

This step is optional. If you charge a tax, type its name and rate, for example Sales tax and 8.81, and choose Tax is added on top or Prices include the tax. You can add up to three here, and more later in Settings → Taxes.

Tax lines are kept on records and invoices for your reference. Finances doesn't work out what you owe the government.

Step 7: Past records

This step shows only when Store, Courses or Affiliates is on. Finances can bring in money you already received through PageShift: paid Store orders, course fees paid offline and affiliate payouts.

1. Tick Bring in past records and choose the date to start From.
2. The table shows how many records there are and their total.
3. Click Next.

Records keep their own dates, and nothing is ever added twice. From now on, new ones are added automatically. See Records from Store, Courses, Affiliates and Team.

Step 8: Finish

Read the notice, tick I understand and click Finish.

The Overview opens with "Finances is ready." Its Get started box links to your first tasks: add something you paid for, make your first invoice, import a bank statement and add your other accounts.

The Overview

The Overview tab is the home of Finances. It shows:

• Needs your attention: overdue invoices, bills due this week, recurring records to confirm, records with no category yet, and accounts you haven't checked in 30 days. Each line is a link.
• Cards for Money in this month, Money out this month, Profit this month, Cash in all accounts, Owed to you and You owe.
• A chart of The last 12 months, your Accounts with their balances, Top expenses this month, Overdue invoices and Bills due soon.

The main Dashboard also has a Finances card with this month's figures. See Use the Dashboard.