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Invoice Creation Modes — Wizard & Expert

docs101 provides two ways to create invoices: a Guided Wizard that walks you through the process step by step, and an Expert Dashboard that shows all fields on a single screen. Both modes produce the same result — a fully compliant invoice ready to send.

You can set your preferred mode under Settings > Preferences and switch between modes at any time during invoice creation.

Setting the Preference​

  1. Navigate to Settings > Preferences
  2. Under Invoice Creation Mode, select one of two options:
    • Guided Wizard — Step-by-step flow with three phases (default for new users)
    • Expert Dashboard — All fields visible on one screen
  3. Click Save

Your preference applies to all future invoices. You can still switch modes on a per-invoice basis using the mode toggle link in the invoice creation header.

Wizard Mode (Guided)​

The Wizard breaks invoice creation into three phases. Each phase focuses on one task, reducing errors and making the process approachable for new users.

Phase 1: Customer Selection​

The first phase is about choosing who to invoice.

  1. Search for an existing customer — Type the customer name to search, then select from the results
  2. Or create a new customer — Click New Customer to create one directly within the Wizard, without navigating away
  3. Select an address — Choose the billing address for this invoice

After selecting a customer, Smart Default Chips appear below the address, showing the defaults that will be applied to this invoice:

  • Address — The selected billing address
  • Payment Terms — Inherited from the customer profile (e.g., Net 30)
  • Currency — The customer's default currency (e.g., EUR)
  • Template — The customer's assigned invoice template
  • E-Invoicing — The detected invoice format (ZUGFeRD/Factur-X or PDF)
Customer Defaults

These chips reflect the defaults stored in the customer profile. Set them up once per customer under Customers > [Customer] > Edit to save time on every future invoice.

Click Next to proceed to Phase 2.

Phase 2: Line Items​

The second phase is where you add the products or services to invoice.

  • Inline table — Add positions directly in a table row. Fill in Title, Quantity, Unit, Net Price, Tax Treatment, and VAT Rate
  • Running total — The footer shows a live-updating subtotal, VAT, and gross total as you add positions
  • Product Catalog — Click Add from Catalog to select from your saved products

Keyboard shortcuts for faster entry:

ShortcutAction
TabMove to the next field
EnterSave the current position and start a new row
EscapeCancel the current row
Tax Rate Auto-Determination

When you add the first position, docs101 automatically recommends a tax treatment and rate based on your company profile and the customer's data. See Tax Rate Auto-Determination below for details.

Click Next to proceed to Phase 3.

Phase 3: Review & Finalize​

The final phase lets you review everything before creating the invoice.

  • PDF Preview — A live preview of the invoice as your customer will see it
  • Summary Cards — Key invoice details at a glance (customer, total, payment terms, due date)
  • Validation Checklist — docs101 checks for completeness and compliance issues (e.g., missing bank account, invalid VAT structure)

If the validation checklist shows warnings, resolve them before finalizing. Once everything looks correct, click Finalize to create the invoice.

Finalize Is Irreversible

Finalizing moves the invoice from Draft to Open status. After finalization, positions and core fields can no longer be edited.

Expert Mode (Dashboard)​

The Expert Dashboard shows all invoice fields on a single screen — customer, positions, settings, and totals are all visible and editable at once.

  • Inline editing — Click any field to edit it directly, or use the side drawer for detailed position editing
  • Same validation — The same compliance checks from the Wizard run here as well, shown as inline warnings
  • Full control — All fields are immediately accessible without navigating between phases

The Expert Dashboard is ideal for experienced users who want speed and full visibility over all invoice fields simultaneously.

Switching Between Modes​

You can switch modes during invoice creation without losing your work:

  • A mode toggle link appears in the header of both modes (e.g., "Switch to Expert" or "Switch to Wizard")
  • When switching to the Wizard, Smart Phase Detection determines which phase to show based on your progress:
    • No customer selected → Phase 1
    • Customer selected, no positions → Phase 2
    • Positions added → Phase 3
  • When switching to Expert, all fields are shown on one screen with your current data preserved

Customer Defaults in the Wizard​

When you select a customer in Phase 1, the Wizard automatically inherits defaults from the customer profile:

DefaultSourceCan Override?
Payment TermsCustomer profileYes, in Phase 3 or Expert
Invoice TemplateCustomer profileYes, in Phase 3 or Expert
CurrencyCustomer profileYes, in Phase 3 or Expert
Invoice FormatAuto-detected from company + customer countryYes, while in Draft
Set Up Customer Defaults

Configure defaults once per customer under Customers > [Customer] > Edit. This ensures consistency across all invoices for that customer and speeds up the Wizard flow.

Tax Rate Auto-Determination​

When you add the first position to an invoice, docs101 automatically recommends a tax treatment and VAT rate based on three data points:

  1. Your company profile — Country, VAT registration status, small business exemption
  2. Customer data — Country, contact type (B2B/B2C), VAT ID presence and validation status
  3. Existing positions — If the invoice already has positions, the same tax treatment is recommended for consistency

The recommendation appears as the pre-selected value in the Tax Treatment and VAT Rate fields — in both Wizard and Expert mode.

Always Verify the Tax Recommendation

The automatic tax recommendation covers common scenarios (domestic sales, EU reverse charge, exports) but cannot account for the nature of your product or service. Reduced VAT rates, exempt services (medical, education, financial), and zero-rated supplies depend on what you are selling — information only you have. Always review the pre-selected tax treatment before finalizing.

For the full list of tax treatments and when each applies, see Tax Treatments & VAT Rates.