Invoices

This guide outlines how to use the Checkbook API to send and pay invoices. In addition to sending and paying invoices via the API, invoices can be managed on the Checkbook dashboard and recipient experience.

Create an Invoice

Things you need

amount: The amount of money being requested

description: A description for the invoice

name: The recipient’s name

recipient: A way to contact the recipient (e.g. a phone number or an email address)

Request:


curl -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: d6aa2703655f4ba2af2a56202961ca86:dXbCgzYBMibj8ZwuQMd2NXr6rtvjZ8" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Michael Scott",
    "recipient": "michael@dundermifflin.com",
    "description": "Office bagels",
    "amount": 10.00
  }' \
  https://demo.checkbook.io/v3/invoice

Response:


{
  "amount":10.0,
  "date":"2025-04-29 08:15:05",
  "description":"Office bagels",
  "id":"09b52a34b067480d800af56b5f44e16b",
  "name":"Michael Scott",
  "number":"3105",
  "recipient":"michael@dundermifflin.com",
  "status":"UNPAID"
}

Note

When creating an invoice, you can provide the optional account field to specify which account the paid invoice will credit. Otherwise, it will go into the default bank account on file.

Pay an invoice

Once an invoice has been sent, the recipient can pay the invoice programmatically.

Things you need

amount: The full amount of the invoice

id: ID of the invoice to pay

Request:


curl -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: {publishable key}:{secret key}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "id": "09b52a34b067480d800af56b5f44e16b",
    "amount": 10.00
  }' \
  https://demo.checkbook.io/v3/invoice/payment
'

Response:


{
  "amount": 10,
  "date": "2025-04-29 08:15:05",
  "id": "8c466ab329cb4cdcb7d264a86f221dff",
  "name": "Michael Scott",
  "status": "IN_PROCESS"
}

The IN_PROCESS status indicates success. Checkbook will automatically move the funds on your behalf and the payment will settle in 3-4 business days.

💡

Tip

If you don’t pay the exact amount for the invoice, you may receive an error indicating Invoice not found. Additionally, the same invoice cannot be paid multiple times.