Services & Products

Guide 50: Services & Products

Create a reusable catalog of billable items for your invoices

Overview

Services & Products lets you build a catalog of the things you bill for -- consulting hours, project fees, physical products, or anything else. Create a service once, then pick it from a list whenever you add a line item to an invoice. OtterLedger tracks usage, remembers your most-used services, and keeps your invoicing consistent.

What you'll learn:

• Creating and managing services
• Understanding rate types (Hourly, Fixed, Per Unit)
• Using services on invoices
• Deactivating vs. deleting services
• Duplicating services for quick setup

Time required: 2-5 minutes per service

Prerequisites

• Invoicing feature enabled (Settings > Features)
• At least one income category set up (recommended, for auto-categorization)

Creating a Service

Step 1: Open Services

1. Click Sales in the sidebar
2. Select Services
3. Click New Service

Step 2: Fill In Service Details

Step 3: Choose a Rate Type

As you fill in the rate and type, a live preview shows the formatted rate (e.g., "$150.00 / hour").

Step 4: Save

Click Save. Your service is now available for use on invoices.

Service Examples

Managing Services

Viewing Your Catalog

The Services page shows:

• Summary cards at the top: total services, active count, inactive count, total usage across invoices
• Service list with name, rate, rate type, and usage count
• Detail panel when you click a service

Filtering and Sorting

Editing a Service

1. Click the service in the list
2. Click Edit
3. Update any fields
4. Click Save

Note: Editing a service does not change existing invoices. Invoice line items store a copy of the service data at the time the line item was added. Only new invoice line items will use the updated values.

Duplicating a Service

To quickly create a similar service:

1. Click the service you want to copy
2. Click Duplicate
3. A new service is created named "Copy of "
4. Edit the copy to adjust the name, rate, or other details
5. Save

This is useful for creating tiered pricing (e.g., "Standard Consulting" and "Premium Consulting") or product variants.

Deactivating vs. Deleting

Deactivating a Service

1. Click the service
2. Click Deactivate
3. The service disappears from invoice pickers
4. Historical invoices are not affected
5. You can Reactivate it later if needed

Deleting a Service

1. Click the service
2. Click Delete
3. Confirm the deletion

Important: You can only delete services that have never been used on an invoice. If the service has been used, deactivate it instead. This preserves the connection between the service and historical invoices.

Using Services on Invoices

When you add a line item to an invoice:

1. Click Add Line Item on the invoice
2. The service picker opens showing:
   • Recent services -- your 5 most recently used
   • All services -- every active service, searchable
3. Select a service
4. The line item is populated with the service's name, description, rate, and category
5. Adjust the quantity (hours, units, etc.) as needed
6. The total is calculated automatically

The service's Usage Count increments each time you add it to an invoice, so your most popular services rise to the top of the picker.

Tips & Best Practices

1. Start with your core offerings -- Create services for the 3-5 things you bill for most often. Add more as needed.

2. Use meaningful names -- "Web Development - WordPress" is more useful than "Service 1" when picking items on an invoice.

3. Set default categories -- Assigning an income category to each service means your invoices are automatically categorized for reports and tax.

4. Use codes for inventory -- If you sell products, the Code/SKU field helps you cross-reference with your own inventory tracking.

5. Deactivate seasonal services -- If you offer seasonal services (tax prep, holiday products), deactivate them during the off-season to keep your picker clean, then reactivate when the season returns.

6. Duplicate for variants -- Instead of creating similar services from scratch, duplicate an existing one and adjust the rate or description.

Troubleshooting

Q: I can't find a service when adding an invoice line item

A: Check that:

• The service is Active (inactive services don't appear in pickers)
• You're searching by the correct name
• The invoicing feature is enabled in Settings

Q: I changed a service's rate but my existing invoice still shows the old rate

A: This is by design. Invoice line items store a snapshot of the service data at creation time. Edit the invoice line item directly to update its rate, or the new rate will apply to future invoices.

Q: I can't delete a service

A: The service has been used on at least one invoice. Use Deactivate instead to hide it from future use while preserving the historical record.

Q: How do I see which invoices use a particular service?

A: Currently, the usage count shows how many times a service has been used, but there is no direct link to specific invoices. You can search invoices by the service name to find related invoices.

What's Next?

• Guide 13: Invoicing Basics -- Create and send invoices using your services
• Guide 14: Recurring Invoices -- Automate repeat billing
• Guide 15: Customer Management -- Manage the customers you invoice

Need help? Visit the OtterLedger community at github.com/openledger or check the FAQ.