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ServiceM8 how-to

Can ServiceM8 put weekly recurring jobs on one monthly invoice?

Not natively. ServiceM8 works on one invoice per job card, so a weekly recurring job produces four or five invoices a month. To bill once a month, add a separate monthly billing job, invoice the fixed fee from Xero with a repeating invoice, or keep weekly invoices and send one Live Statement a month.

Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.

Not natively

No: ServiceM8 raises one invoice per job, so bill monthly with a separate billing job, a Xero repeating invoice, or weekly invoices plus a monthly Live Statement.

Step by step

  1. Decide the billing basis: flat monthly fee (options 1 or 2) or pay per visit (option 3).
  2. Option 1: turn on Recurring Jobs + Reminders in Settings, ServiceM8 Add-ons.
  3. Create two job templates in Settings, Job Templates: 'Weekly service' with the checklist and no items, and 'Monthly service fee' with the monthly charge.
  4. On the Dispatch Board click New Recurring Job, pick the client and the weekly template, set it to repeat weekly and set an end date for the contract.
  5. Create a second recurring job for the same client with the monthly template, set it to repeat monthly on your billing day, and use the Reminder or allocated option so it does not block a technician's diary.
  6. Each month, mark the weekly jobs Completed and approve them. Add any extra work to that month's billing job before you complete and approve it.
  7. Option 2: in Xero, create a repeating invoice for the monthly fee. In ServiceM8, right click the completed weekly jobs in Invoicing, Awaiting Approval and choose Approve job(s) without sending to Xero.
  8. Option 3: turn on the Automation add-on, enable Live Statements set to monthly, and tick Send Live Statements on the client's Billing Details tab.

Gotchas

  • Recurring jobs activate one week ahead by default. If the monthly billing job must exist earlier, raise the activation window in Settings, Preferences, Recurring Jobs (up to 12 weeks).
  • Approving a weekly job normally sends its invoice to Xero. With option 2, use Approve job(s) without sending to Xero, or the customer is billed in both systems.
  • A monthly fee does not follow the calendar: some months have five weekly visits. Agree a flat fee or bill the fifth visit separately.
  • Automatic card payment for recurring jobs only charges when the job is marked complete and the invoice has been sent.
  • Live Statements only list invoices on jobs that are Completed and either sent with the online invoice link or Approved.
  • Each weekly invoice is a separate Xero invoice. On Ignite, app created invoices may count toward the invoice limit.

What the official help article misses: It explains how recurring jobs are created and scheduled but says nothing about how they are billed. It does not mention that each occurrence is a separate invoice, or offer any route to one invoice a month. Read ServiceM8's article.

Why weekly jobs mean weekly invoices

The Recurring Jobs + Reminders add-on creates a new job card for every occurrence, based on a job template, and activates each one a week before its date by default (you can stretch that to 12 weeks). Each of those job cards is a separate job with its own number. ServiceM8's own FAQ is clear that it works on a "one job per job card, one invoice per job card" basis, and you cannot invoice several jobs out of one card.

So a cleaner on a weekly contract, a pool service or a weekly maintenance round ends up with 52 small invoices a year per customer. Some customers are happy with that. Many commercial customers want one invoice a month that matches their purchase order or contract.

Option 1: a monthly billing job

Keep the weekly recurring job for the work, but leave its billable items off, and create a second recurring job that repeats monthly and carries the charge. The weekly jobs give your team the schedule, checklist and photos. The monthly job is the invoice.

Trade off: the weekly jobs complete with no value. ServiceM8 does not send zero value invoices to Xero, which is what you want, but they still sit in your invoicing list and need approving out of the way. Extra work found on a visit has to be added to the monthly job by hand, or it is never billed. Visits per month vary (four or five), so this suits a flat monthly fee, not a per visit rate.

Option 2: a Xero repeating invoice

Xero can create and send the same invoice on a schedule, and pair it with direct debit so it is paid on the due date. ServiceM8 then only schedules the work. Approve the weekly jobs without sending them to Xero, so nothing is billed twice.

Trade off: the invoice and the work live in different systems. Anything extra done on site lives in ServiceM8 and has to be invoiced separately, and your ServiceM8 revenue reports will show nothing for this customer.

Option 3: weekly invoices, one monthly statement

Keep one invoice per visit, and switch on Live Statements for that customer so they receive a single link on the 1st of the month showing everything outstanding. Customers who pay by card can also opt in to automatic payment, which charges the saved card on each recurring invoice's due date.

Trade off: the customer still receives 52 invoices a year, and on Xero Ignite each one counts toward the plan's invoice limit. A rolled up invoice that pulls a month of visits into one bill needs a custom add-on built on the ServiceM8 API.

Sources

  1. ServiceM8 works on a one job per job card, one invoice per job card basis; you cannot separately quote and invoice multiple jobs out of the same job card. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  2. Recurring jobs are based on a job template and activate by creating a job card a default of 1 week before the recurrence date, adjustable to a maximum of 12 weeks in Settings, Preferences, Recurring Jobs. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  3. Zero value invoices are not sent from ServiceM8 to Xero. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  4. A completed job can be approved without sending it to Xero by right clicking it in Invoicing, Awaiting Approval and choosing Approve job(s) without sending to Xero. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  5. Xero offers automated repeating invoices that Xero creates and sends on schedule, and direct debit through GoCardless so recurring invoices are paid on the due date. Xero, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  6. With ServiceM8 Pay or Stripe, clients can opt to pay future recurring job invoices automatically; the card is charged on the invoice due date only if the job is complete and the invoice has been sent, with up to 3 retries 24 hours apart. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  7. Live Statements can be sent on the 1st of each month to ticked clients with outstanding invoices on Completed jobs. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  8. Xero's Ignite plan points businesses sending more than 20 invoices to the Grow plan, and transactions initiated by app partners may count toward the Ignite invoice limit. Xero, checked 25 Sep 2026.