Viewing Recurring Invoice History

Every time AccuArk generates an invoice from a recurring template — whether automatically on startup or manually via the Generate Now button — a log entry is recorded. The generation history provides a complete audit trail of every invoice produced by each template. This guide explains how to access the history, what information is available, how to interpret the results, and practical use cases for monitoring your recurring invoices.

How to Access the History

To view the generation history for a specific template:

1. Open Customers & Invoicing > Recurring Invoices to access the the Recurring Invoices screen management screen.
2. Select the template you want to review by clicking its row in the grid.
3. Click the View History button in the toolbar.

A dialog appears showing the complete generation log for the selected template, ordered with the most recent generation at the top. The dialog title includes the template name for context.

History Log Fields

Each entry in the generation history displays the following information:

Invoice ID

The ID number of the generated invoice, displayed as "Invoice #" followed by the number. This is the actual invoice record that was created in the invoices table. You can use this ID to locate and open the invoice in the invoice form for review, editing, or payment processing.

Generation Date

The date and time when the invoice was generated, displayed in the system's short date and time format. This shows exactly when the RecurringAccuArk processed this template and created the invoice. For automatic generation, this is the timestamp when AccuArk started and ran the auto-generation process. For manual generation via Generate Now, this is when the user clicked the button.

Auto-Emailed Status

If the template has auto-email enabled, each log entry shows whether the email was successfully sent. The display format includes "(emailed)" after the generation date if the email was sent successfully.

Email Status

If the email was not sent or failed, the status is shown in brackets. The possible email status values are:

• sent — the email was delivered successfully. This status is not shown in brackets because the "(emailed)" indicator already conveys this.
• no_email_on_file — the customer does not have an email address in their client record. The invoice was generated but could not be emailed.
• email_not_configured — the location's email settings are not configured or not enabled. This typically means the SMTP settings have not been set up for the template's location.
• failed — the email service attempted to send but encountered an error. This could be due to SMTP server issues, invalid email format, or network problems.
• error: [message] — an unexpected exception occurred during the email process. The specific error message is included for troubleshooting.

The Database Log Table

The generation history is stored in the generation log. Each record contains:

• id — unique identifier for the log entry.
• template_id — the recurring template that triggered the generation.
• invoice_id — the invoice that was created.
• generated_at — the timestamp of generation.
• auto_emailed — boolean flag (1 or 0) indicating whether the email was successfully sent.
• email_status — text field with the detailed email outcome.

The log also joins to the recurring_invoice_templates table to retrieve the template_name for display purposes.

Log entries are never deleted or modified after creation. They serve as a permanent record of every generation event.

Template-Level Counters

In addition to the detailed log, each template maintains two summary fields that provide a quick overview without needing to open the full history:

TotalGenerated

An integer counter that is incremented by 1 each time an invoice is generated from the template. This counter is displayed in the "Total Generated" column on the the Recurring Invoices screen grid. It gives you an at-a-glance count of how many invoices this template has produced over its lifetime.

LastGeneratedAt

A timestamp showing when the most recent invoice was generated. This is displayed in the "Last Generated" column on the management grid. If no invoices have ever been generated, this field is null and the grid displays "Never."

These counters are updated atomically in the same SQL statement that advances the Next Generation Date, ensuring they always stay synchronized with the actual generation events.

Common Use Cases

Verifying Invoices Were Generated on Schedule

If a customer reports they did not receive their regular invoice, check the template's history to confirm whether the invoice was actually generated. If the generation entry exists, the invoice was created and you can look it up by its ID. If no entry exists for the expected date, the application may not have been started on that day, or the template may have been deactivated or reached its end date.

Troubleshooting Failed Emails

If a customer received an invoice but not the accompanying email, the history log shows the email status for that specific generation. Common causes include:

• The customer's email address was removed or never entered (no_email_on_file).
• The location's email settings were disabled or misconfigured (email_not_configured).
• A temporary SMTP error prevented delivery (failed or error: message).

Identifying the specific status helps you resolve the issue — either by updating the customer's email address, configuring the location's email settings, or investigating SMTP server problems.

Tracking Billing History for a Customer

The generation history shows every invoice ever created for a customer from a particular template. This is useful for billing audits, contract reviews, or responding to customer inquiries about their invoice history. Each log entry links directly to the generated invoice by its ID.

Confirming Template Deactivation

After deactivating a template, you can verify that no new invoices were generated by checking the history. The last entry's generation date should be on or before the date you deactivated the template. If entries appear after the deactivation date, it may indicate the template was reactivated or that manual generation was triggered.

Monitoring Auto-Generation on Startup

If AccuArk was not opened for several days (for example, over a holiday weekend), multiple invoices may be generated in a batch when the application is next started. The history log shows all of these generations with the same generation timestamp, confirming that the backlog was processed correctly.

What to Read Next

• Creating a Recurring Invoice Template — Set up new templates that will begin generating invoices and producing history entries.
• Managing Recurring Invoice Templates — Access the management screen where the View History button is located.
• How Automatic Invoice Generation Works — Understand the process that creates the log entries shown in the history.