By Marcus Ellison, accounts-receivable software support lead with 9 years of experience managing recurring billing and overdue-invoice workflows

Last reviewed: July 22, 2026

Wave users can create repeating invoices under Sales & Payments > Recurring Invoices, choose when each invoice is generated, and decide whether it is sent automatically or handled manually. Automatic payment is a separate setting that requires an eligible payment method and customer authorization.

This independent guide is not affiliated with Wave.

Review the scheduler first. Skip duplicating invoices until you know whether the recurring schedule already generated the next document.

What Wave Recurring Invoices Do

A recurring invoice is a reusable billing template that creates new invoices on a schedule. It is useful for retainers, memberships, maintenance agreements, rent, subscriptions, and other work billed at predictable intervals.

Wave lets the business control the frequency, starting date, ending conditions, invoice content, delivery method, and available payment options. The recurring-invoice scheduler determines when documents are generated and how long the schedule continues.

That does not mean every recurring invoice is charged automatically.

Three events can remain separate:

1. Wave generates the invoice.
2. Wave sends the invoice to the customer.
3. The customer pays it, or an authorized payment method is charged.

A schedule may generate invoices that the business must send manually. Another schedule may send them automatically but still require the customer to pay each one. Automatic payments add another layer.

Know which mode is active.

Choose the Correct Wave Route

What you need	Wave starting point
Create repeating billing	Sales & Payments > Recurring Invoices
Change schedule dates	Recurring invoice scheduler
Update products or prices	Edit the recurring invoice
Turn on automatic charging	Get Paid > Edit > Switch to automatic payments
Stop future invoices	End the recurring invoice
Send one generated invoice manually	Recurring invoice or invoice actions
Remind a customer about a normal invoice	Send a reminder
Set future reminder defaults	Invoice customization settings
Review one customer’s balances	Customer invoicing summary
Treat an uncollectible balance	Invoice write-off workflow

Wave currently places recurring invoice creation under Sales & Payments > Recurring Invoices, followed by Create a recurring invoice.

Do this first: open the recurring template. Skip editing a generated invoice when the real problem belongs to the schedule that will continue producing future documents.

Build the Recurring Invoice Carefully

The recurring invoice setup begins with the client-facing document. Wave allows the business to edit the invoice title, business information, logo, customer, products or services, prices, taxes, notes, and other billing details before defining the schedule.

Check the template as though it were ready to reach the customer today.

Review:

• customer name and email;
• product or service;
• quantity;
• rate;
• taxes;
• currency;
• invoice title;
• payment terms;
• accepted payment methods;
• saved email message;
• schedule start date.

A recurring error repeats.

A one-time typo in a normal invoice affects one document. A wrong tax rate or old service price in a recurring template can appear on every invoice generated afterward.

Priority one is the template amount. Skip activating the schedule until one sample invoice matches the contract.

Understand the Scheduler

Wave’s scheduler controls how frequently the invoice is generated, when the schedule starts, when it ends, and how long it remains active. The scheduler appears during the second stage of recurring-invoice creation.

The exact setup should mirror the billing agreement.

A monthly service beginning August 1 should not start on July 22 merely because that is the day the template is created. A contract billed on the final day of each month needs a different setup from one billed every four weeks.

Those schedules are not equivalent.

Before saving, compare:

• contract start date;
• service period;
• invoice generation date;
• payment due date;
• frequency;
• final billing date;
• whether the schedule ends after a number of invoices or on a date.

An invoice generated before service begins may create confusion even when its due date is later. One generated after the contract ends can become a genuine billing error.

Use the written agreement. Skip choosing the nearest convenient date.

Automatic Sending and Automatic Payment Are Different

A recurring invoice can be configured around document delivery, but automatic payment requires its own setup.

Wave’s current automatic-payment instructions direct the user to open Sales & Payments > Recurring Invoices, select the template, open Edit in the Get Paid section, and choose Switch to automatic payments. The customer must have or authorize an eligible payment method for that recurring arrangement.

This distinction solves a common complaint: “The recurring invoice went out, but the customer was not charged.”

The schedule may be working correctly while automatic payments are not enabled.

Check:

• whether the template is set to send;
• whether automatic payments are active;
• which payment method is authorized;
• whether the customer changed or removed that method;
• whether the latest generated invoice succeeded or failed.

Do not assume a card used on one ordinary invoice automatically authorizes recurring charges. The authorization must belong to the recurring-payment arrangement supported by Wave.

What Happens When an Automatic Payment Fails

Wave’s recurring-payment guidance states that when an automatic payment fails, the customer must pay that generated invoice manually. Wave does not keep retrying that same failed invoice indefinitely; the saved method is attempted again when the next recurring invoice is generated.

That is easy to misread.

A failed charge this month can leave this month’s invoice unpaid even though next month’s automatic charge may still be attempted. The old balance does not disappear.

Open the generated invoice and confirm:

• payment status;
• remaining balance;
• latest payment attempt;
• customer email;
• available payment methods;
• whether a reminder was sent.

Do not create another invoice for the same billing period. Send the existing invoice through the supported payment route and preserve its failed-payment history.

One invoice. One period.

Schedule Payment Reminders

Wave supports scheduled invoice reminders for eligible accounts. Its current settings allow reminders at selected points 3, 7, and 14 days before or after an invoice’s due date. Wave notes that reminder defaults apply to future invoices and existing invoices that have not yet been marked as sent.

The due date controls the reminder timeline.

An invoice issued on July 1 with a July 31 due date should not receive an overdue reminder on July 4. Check the due date before blaming the reminder system.

Wave also states that the general invoice-reminder setting does not apply to recurring invoices. Recurring billing must be reviewed through its own workflow rather than assuming ordinary invoice defaults govern it.

That detail is frequently missed.

Do not turn global reminders on and assume every recurring template now follows them. Open the recurring setup and check how those generated invoices are handled.

Send a Manual Reminder

For a normal invoice, Wave’s documented route is:

Sales & Payments > Invoices > open the invoice > Send a reminder

When an invoice was sent outside Wave, it must first be marked as sent before the reminder control becomes available. The subject, message, and additional recipients can then be reviewed before sending.

This solves another real friction.

A business can create an invoice in Wave, download it, and email it through another service. Wave may still regard that document as unsent until Mark as sent is selected. Without that status, reminder behavior can differ from what the user expects.

Update the status honestly. Skip marking a draft as sent merely to activate reminders when the customer never received it.

Customize Reminder and Invoice Messages

Wave allows default email message templates to be customized separately for invoices, estimates, recurring invoices, customer statements, payment reminders, and payment receipts. These template controls are available in Wave’s browser version.

Separate templates prevent one generic message from appearing in every context.

A payment reminder should identify the invoice and balance without sounding like a new bill. A recurring-invoice message may refer to the billing period or service. A receipt should confirm payment rather than request action.

Check the merge fields and final wording before saving a default.

Avoid language claiming an invoice is overdue when reminders may also be scheduled before the due date. The same default can be reused across many customers, so overly specific wording can create false statements.

Keep it factual:

• invoice number;
• due date;
• outstanding amount;
• supported payment link;
• business contact route.

Do not ask customers to send payment credentials by reply.

Find Overdue Invoices by Customer

Wave’s customer invoicing summary appears above the invoice list after a customer is selected through the customer filter under Sales & Payments > Invoices. It brings together invoice information and related customer activity, including reminders and customer statements.

Use it when one customer has several open documents.

A customer may have:

• one overdue invoice;
• one invoice not yet due;
• one failed recurring payment;
• one partial payment;
• one credit or adjustment;
• several reminder messages.

Sending a blanket notice for the combined amount can be misleading when only part of that balance is overdue.

Review each due date. Skip describing the full account balance as late unless every included invoice has actually passed its terms.

When to Stop a Recurring Invoice

A recurring schedule should be ended when the agreement has finished, the customer canceled, pricing must be rebuilt under a new template, or future invoices should no longer be generated.

Stopping the recurring invoice affects future documents. It does not automatically erase invoices already generated from that schedule.

Inspect existing invoices after ending it.

A generated invoice may still be valid for work already performed. Another may need to be corrected or voided according to the business’s accounting process. Do not delete historical documents solely to make the recurring list look clean.

The practical sequence is:

1. Confirm the contract end date.
2. End future generation.
3. Review invoices already created.
4. Collect valid balances.
5. Correct only genuine billing errors.

Write Off an Uncollectible Invoice Carefully

Wave documents a direct write-off workflow for an invoice that has become uncollectible or will only be partially collected. This records bad debt rather than pretending the customer paid.

A write-off is an accounting action, not a reminder setting.

Before using it, confirm that the business has completed its collection process and that the treatment is appropriate under its accounting method and tax rules. The Internal Revenue Service distinguishes between different bad-debt circumstances, and deductibility can depend on whether income was previously recognized and other facts.

Use an accountant for material balances.

Do not mark an invoice paid to remove it from the overdue list when no payment was received. That overstates cash collection and weakens the customer history.

Wave Recurring Invoice FAQ

Where do I create a recurring invoice?

Under Sales & Payments > Recurring Invoices.

Does a recurring invoice charge the customer automatically?

Not by default. Automatic payment is a separate setting and requires an eligible authorized method.

Why was the invoice created but not sent?

The schedule may be configured for manual delivery, or the template’s sending settings may need review. Open the recurring invoice rather than creating another document.

Will Wave retry a failed automatic charge?

Not repeatedly for that same invoice. The customer must pay the failed invoice manually, while the saved method may be attempted again on the next recurring invoice.

Can Wave send reminders before the due date?

Yes. Eligible reminder settings include selected points 3, 7, and 14 days before or after the due date.

Do normal reminder defaults control recurring invoices?

No. Wave says the general invoice-reminder setting does not apply to recurring invoices.

Why is the reminder button missing?

The invoice may not be marked as sent. Wave requires an invoice sent outside the platform to be marked as sent before its manual reminder control is available.

Can I change the default reminder email?

Yes. Wave provides separate browser-based message templates for reminders, invoices, recurring invoices, statements, and receipts.