Email invoice

[dbriddle]

Greetings,

Looking for information on which version of QB will e-mail invoices without having to subscribe to any other service.

I've looked through info on 2002, but I was unclear if it was part of an additional service.

Also, are emails sent as text or ?.

Thanks!

Dan

[dbriddle]

What version of QB do you have?

So you don't have to subscribe to any additional QB service?

Thanks

[BarbaraD]

I use QBPro 2001 and you can send Invoices via email from
this version - either from within the invoice or send later as a batch

[Jego]

QB2002 Basic - emailing invoices is no problem; no subscription.

Jego

[dfranks]

I use Pro 99 and have successfully emailed invoices using the Acrobat Reader which comes on most newer model computers. It's on your printer menu. Just choose the Acrobat Reader instead of your normal printer, then attach it to an email. I'll admit it takes a little longer but it's better than subscribing and paying a fee.

[NHite]

we just installed QBPro 2002 and can't email an invoice

it keeps taking us to the QBks payment services site which you supposively dont have to sign up with to email.....

Originally posted by qbtek.com
QB2002. Didn't subscribe to anything.

[Quicky]

To send an invoice by mail all you have to do is fom the invoice screen select send in upper left and chose email.

With 2002 you can sign up to send invoices with online payment options such as Paypal or Merchant account. Only real difference that I can see so far.

[earthship33]

just upgraded from qb2001 pro to qb2002pro...i want to just email the invoice (like i used to) w/out having to go through the online billing hoops, but can't get the e-mail to send without being forced to sign up...how can i disable online billing and *just* send the email invoice? any advice?

[Quicky]

You dont have to sign up for anything just hit the EMAIL NOW button.

[earthship33]

thanks quicky...if it were only that easy.

from the invoice i'm choosing send, e-mail and get the "edit email dialog box." my options then are "send now" or "send later" (no option for "email now."). if i hit "send now" QB launches a browser to the online billing system. if i bail out of that, i get the message:

"QuickBooks is unable to send your forms now for the following reason: QB cannot connect to the remote server because you closed the login window. Please Login to QB Business Services and try again."

can't get around it! maybe i need to call tech service...

[Most]

I have tried the e-mail invoice and I personally think it sucks. It looks so bad that I am scared customers would start calling in to complain. I suggested to Intuit to include a system that would create a pdf instead. (I have another quoting system that does this and it looks great!) You can purchase Adobe Acrobat and use it. Somebody said it is included with most machines but that is only the reader. The full version to write a pdf must be purchased separatley. You would have to create the pdf and then e-mail using your e-mail program. This may be too much work for some people. If you write to Intuit and recommend building in a pdf function maybe they will listen.

- Chris

[Duncan]

Originally posted by Most
I suggested to Intuit to include a system that would create a pdf instead.

The full version to write a pdf must be purchased separatley. You would have to create the pdf and then e-mail using your e-mail program. This may be too much work for some people. If you write to Intuit and recommend building in a pdf function maybe they will listen.

- Chris

I just tried it and got a pdf produced. QB2002Pro is only producing a v3 pdf rather than using the v4 writer I have on the computer so I am pretty sure QB has a built in writer?

However it is doing it, QB produces a poor pdf from a customised Invoice that looks fine on a printer but has various formatting errors when viewed as a pdf.

If I produce the pdf by printing to Adobe's pdf creator myself the pdf looks fine.

Guess I won't be doing it QB's way.

Duncan

[Most]

Thanks Duncan,

I'll take a look at QB Pro 2002. I only have 2001. It sounds like they must have taken my suggestion and added pdf functionality. If so it would be worth upgrading to 2002.

- Chris

[Duncan]

Originally posted by Most
Thanks Duncan,

I'll take a look at QB Pro 2002. I only have 2001. It sounds like they must have taken my suggestion and added pdf functionality. If so it would be worth upgrading to 2002.

- Chris

You need to have an e-mail package set up so that when you go e-mail Invoice in QB Pro, QB Pro will then automatically start your e-mail software. It fills in the customer's e-mail address and a subject line automatically and adds puts in the following text (depends on whether you select, basic i.e.

"Please find attached your Invoice. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us."

or extended:

"Please find attached your Invoice.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The attached file is in PDF format. To open it, you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader(R) version 3.0 or later installed on your computer. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, please visit http://www.adobe.com to download it at no charge."

However before you upgrade, check with Intuit about the pdf writer capability. I had a longer look at the options this morning and it does now look like it is using my own installed v4 pdf writer but has set a greyed out default of pdf v3.

It is really unclear. The help file keeps talking about e-mailing pdf's but doesn't say anywhere that you need your own pdf writer. Maybe QB Pro is actually being clever and detecting that I have Adobe's software myself and chooses to use my later version than whatever functionality it has built in itself.

Duncan

[Most]

Are you using a third party provider for this or are you just using QB Pro out of the box?

In QB Pro 2001 it creates a html e-mail. I tried it again and it looks better than I thought but pdf is the best way to go. This way you don't have the text of the e-mail included on the invoice.

I doubt if it is automatically using your installed writer (v. 4). If they did included pdf they used Adobe's pdf Software Developers Kit (SDK). This is the way Adobe allows companies to include the functionality into there own programs. In fact I will be looking into this soon because I need to generate invoices off of a web site I am creating.

I should upgrade to QB 2002 Pro anyways since I am one of their resellers. I didn't even know they had 2002 released until just the other day. I sold one to my mother-in-law's company.

Thanks again Ducan for all the information.

- Chris