Statuses tell you where each invoice or estimate stands in your workflow — from the moment you start drafting to the moment payment clears. Paperlink provides a set of built-in system statuses that cover the most common lifecycle events, and lets you add custom statuses in between to match your team’s process.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.paperlink.online/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Invoice status lifecycle
Invoices move through the following statuses by default:| Status | Color | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Blue | The invoice is being prepared. All fields are editable. Always the first status. |
| Sent | Green | You have sent the invoice to the client. |
| Viewed | Violet | The client has opened the invoice via the shareable link. |
| Overdue | Red | The due date has passed without payment. |
| Rejected | Red | The client has declined to pay. |
| Paid | Green | Payment has been received in full. Always the last status. |
Estimate status lifecycle
Estimates follow a similar path, ending with Accepted rather than Paid:| Status | Color | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Blue | The estimate is being prepared. Always the first status. |
| Sent | Green | You have sent the estimate to the client. |
| Viewed | Violet | The client has opened the estimate via the shareable link. |
| Rejected | Red | The client has declined. |
| Accepted | Green | The client has approved. Ready to convert to an invoice. Always the last status. |
System statuses
The statuses listed above are system statuses. They are created by Paperlink and cannot be renamed or deleted. System statuses are marked with a System badge in the settings panel. You can change the color of any system status to match your brand or visual preferences, but the name is locked. Two statuses are also locked in position:- Draft is always first in the workflow order.
- Paid (invoices) or Accepted (estimates) is always last.
Add a custom status
You can insert custom statuses between Draft and the final status to fit your team’s workflow. Common examples: “Under Review”, “Partially Paid”, “Awaiting Signature”, or “Awaiting Approval”.Choose the document type
Find the Invoice or Estimate column, depending on which workflow you are customizing.
Add a new status
Click Add New Status, enter a name (1-50 characters), and pick a color from the 20-color palette.
Status names must be unique within the same document type. You can have a status named “Under Review” for both invoices and estimates, but you cannot have two statuses both named “Under Review” for invoices.
Reorder statuses
To change where a custom status appears in the workflow, drag it up or down in the list. Draft and the final status (Paid or Accepted) cannot be moved — all other statuses, both system and custom, can be dragged to any position. The order in the settings list determines the order in which statuses appear on the Kanban board and in status dropdowns throughout the app.Edit a status
Click the edit icon on any status to open the Edit Status dialog.- Custom statuses - you can change both the name and the color.
- System statuses - you can change the color only. The name field is disabled and shows the message “System status names cannot be changed.”
Delete a custom status
Click the delete icon to remove a custom status. Paperlink asks for confirmation before deleting.Kanban board view
Your invoices and estimates each have a Kanban board view, where each status is a column and each document is a card. You can drag cards between columns to update the status without opening the document. The Kanban board is useful for getting a quick picture of your outstanding work — how many invoices are waiting to be paid, how many estimates are pending client review, and which ones are overdue.Payment tracking
Payment tracking is separate from the status workflow and operates on three values:| Payment status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Unpaid | No payment has been recorded. |
| Partial | Some payment has been received but the full amount is outstanding. |
| Paid | The full invoice amount has been received. |
paidAmount field and recalculates whether the invoice is Unpaid, Partial, or Paid. Recording the final payment that brings the balance to zero automatically moves the invoice to Paid status.
Permissions
Only Admin and Owner roles can create, edit, delete, or reorder statuses. All team members can view statuses and move documents between them.See also
Create an invoice
Create an invoice — it starts in Draft status automatically
Create estimates
Understand the estimate approval workflow from Draft to Accepted
Team members
Manage roles to control who can customize status workflows