Invoice and email delivery issues

Symptom: you sent an invoice but the client says they did not receive it.

Fix steps: (1) Confirm the client email address in the Clients section — typos are the most common cause. (2) Ask the client to check their spam or junk folder. (3) Open the invoice and check the activity list: it shows each email, the recipient and the from address. (4) If you use your own mail server, check its Sent folder, and select “Save & send test email” under Invoice settings → Delivery to confirm the credentials still work. (5) If the invoice went out through numwisely, delivery can take a few minutes — ask the client to check again.

Symptom: the test email or an invoice send fails with “Your mail server rejected the login”.

Cause: most commonly caused by: wrong password (especially after a recent password change); using your main account password instead of an app-specific password; or wrong SMTP host address.

Fix: (1) For Gmail: generate a new App Password in your Google Account security settings and use that instead of your Gmail password. Your normal Gmail password will not work. (2) For Outlook: ensure SMTP AUTH is enabled in your Microsoft 365 admin settings. (3) Verify the host address exactly matches your provider's documentation.

Symptom: the send dialog says your mail server rejected the email and the invoice stays unsent.

Cause: your own mail server refused it — wrong password, a from address your account may not send as, or the server could not be reached. numwisely doesn’t quietly send it from another address instead.

Fix: follow the reason shown, then select “Save & send test email” under Invoice settings → Delivery. If you would rather have invoices go out through numwisely when your server fails, turn on “Send through numwisely instead” (verified businesses only).

Symptom: clients find invoices in their spam or junk folder.

Cause: email providers classify incoming messages as spam based on sender reputation, authentication record alignment, and content analysis.

Fix: (1) Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC DNS records for your sender domain. Without these, most modern email providers will flag or reject your messages. (2) Keep your sending domain reputation clean — do not send to invalid or bouncing addresses repeatedly. (3) Use a consistent from name and address — changing these frequently is a spam signal. (4) For Gmail delivery specifically, ensure the from address matches the domain with configured authentication records.

Symptom: a client on a schedule says they didn’t get this period’s invoice.

Cause: schedules only prepare drafts — each draft is sent when you review and send it. A draft can also be missing because the run had a problem.

Fix steps: (1) Open the schedule. If drafts are waiting, select Review and send. (2) Check the Runs tab for the period: a problem shows its reason, for example a client without an email address. (3) If the period was skipped or missed while the schedule was paused, use Create drafts now. (4) If a send failed, the row says why; fix it and send again.

Symptom: the client received the invoice email but the PDF attachment is missing, empty, or corrupted.

Cause: PDF generation failure during the send process.

Fix: open the invoice and use Download PDF to check the file. Once an invoice has been sent, the PDF that was sent is stored and reused for resends and reminders. If the PDF can’t be created at all, simplify a large or complex custom template, or contact support with the invoice number.