The short versionThis guide helps you inspect a generated recurring invoice in QuickBooks Online or Xero without making changes. It explains how to record the labels displayed on the invoice and use them to decide whether the next check concerns approval, delivery, or payment. It also distinguishes an individual invoice’s displayed status from recurring or repeating template choices that control future invoice creation.

You open a recurring-process invoice and see more than one label. Before you chase payment, first check what each label answers.

One invoice can carry three signals:

Approval shows whether internal review is pending or complete.
Delivery, where a product shows it, describes sending or viewing activity.
Payment shows whether money remains due.

These signals can point to different next checks. A pending approval points to an internal reviewer. A delivery issue may need a sending check. A payment label can show that a balance remains due.

Inspect one invoice without changing it

Open one existing invoice created by your recurring process. Inspect the individual invoice record.

Do not use controls that edit, approve, send, record payment, void, or delete the invoice. Record every label shown in status displayed on the generated invoice.

If several labels appear, record each one. They can answer different questions.

Do not use a recurring or repeating template choice as the invoice status. A template controls future invoice creation. It does not describe the invoice record you opened.

QuickBooks Online: separate the labels

Go to All apps > Sales & Get Paid > Sales transactions. Open an existing invoice created by your recurring process.

Record the exact labels shown on that invoice. The page layout and available labels can vary by company.

Payment labels

Open means payment is still due. Overdue means payment is past its due date. Paid means the invoice has been fully paid.

Partially paid means some money has arrived, but a balance remains. Deposited means the recorded payment is included in a bank deposit record. Not deposited means it is not included in one.

These labels answer the payment question. They do not show whether the invoice was sent or approved.

Delivery labels

Not sent means the invoice was created but not sent. Sent means the invoice was emailed to the customer.

Viewed means the customer opened the invoice. Undelivered or Delivery error means the sending attempt did not reach the customer as expected.

These labels describe sending or viewing activity. They do not show whether payment is due or internal review is complete.

Approval badges

If the invoice shows Pending Approval or Approved, record that badge separately from payment and delivery labels.

Pending Approval means internal review is not complete. Approved means that review is complete.

QuickBooks Online can show these badges when the company uses an invoice-approval workflow. Not every company or invoice shows these badges.

Keep template types out of this check

Do not record Scheduled, Reminder, or Unscheduled as the invoice status. They are recurring-template types.

Scheduled creates transactions on a schedule. Reminder creates them for review at regular times. Unscheduled lets someone create one when needed.

Xero: use the invoice status shown

Go to Sales > Invoices. Locate and open an existing invoice created by the repeating schedule.

Use the internal invoice record for this check. Do not use an online invoice link, because opening it can mark the invoice as Viewed.

Record the Xero status shown on the individual invoice. Use Xero’s wording. Do not try to match it to QuickBooks Online labels.

Draft means the invoice is still being prepared. Check whether it is ready for approval.
Awaiting approval means the invoice needs approval. Check the internal approval step.
Awaiting payment means the invoice is approved and payment is due. Check the payment follow-up.
Paid means the invoice has been fully paid. Payment follow-up is not needed for that invoice.

Do not use Save As Draft, Approve, or Approve for Sending as the current invoice status. Those repeating-template choices control how future invoices are created.

Use the result

Review the labels you recorded in status displayed on the generated invoice.

In QuickBooks Online, a pending approval badge means internal review is still needed. A delivery label describes sending or viewing activity. A payment label shows whether money remains due.

In Xero, use the displayed invoice status to identify the next approval or payment check. Do not add a delivery meaning that the displayed Xero status does not show.

One invoice can carry three signals: approval, delivery, and payment.

Official sources

Last verified: September 1, 2026