Invoice_gen (v1.0)

A desktop invoice generator focused on speed, repeatability, and clean PDF output for solo professionals and small service businesses.

✅ Status: v1.0 is now generated successfully.

Download

• Windows (latest): Download Windows build
• macOS (latest): Download macOS build
• Linux (latest): Download Linux build
• All release assets: Latest release page
• CI runs/artifacts: GitHub Actions

Tip: Use Latest release links for stable downloads. Use Actions artifacts for testing/preview builds.

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Why this app exists

Invoice_gen is designed for people who need to create professional invoices quickly without maintaining complicated accounting software.

It emphasizes:

• reusable profile data,
• fast invoice form entry,
• practical date controls,
• and a straightforward output/history workflow.

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Key features

Profiles & defaults

• Provider, recipient, and payment profiles stored locally.
• Add, edit, delete, and set defaults for common selections.
• Form-level “Set default” actions for repeat invoice fields.

Smart invoice date controls

• Relative and absolute invoice date modes.
• Relative picker includes quick offsets from -7 to +7.
• Relative display style is semantic + explicit date (example: yesterday (2026-02-22)).
• Absolute mode displays a fixed YYYY-MM-DD date.

Session date/time

• Calendar picker plus explicit HH:MM selection.
• Quick “Use selected” flow for clean date confirmation.

PDF output quality

• Clean invoice layout with sender/recipient, metadata, line items, totals, and payment details.
• Non-billed preparation line is automatically omitted if extra/prep hours are 0.
• Files are saved under recipient/year folders for organization.

History workflow

• Recent invoices shown as actionable cards.
• Card actions: Open, Delete file, Remove from list.
• Refresh resyncs against filesystem changes.
• History is constrained to:
  • last 14 days, and
  • maximum 15 entries displayed.

UI & usability

• Dark-friendly input styling.
• Clear tooltips throughout primary form and profile dialogs.
• Optional auto-open PDF after generation.
• Optional donation panel with QR and website link.

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Project structure

• app.py — main desktop UI and workflow orchestration.
• pdf_generator.py — invoice PDF layout and render logic.
• storage.py — local data read/write for profiles/history/defaults.
• invoice_generator_template.py — invoice templating support file.
• data/seed_profiles.jsonl — versioned seed profile examples.
• %APPDATA%/Invoice_gen/* (Windows) or platform-equivalent app-data dir — user-local runtime data (profiles/history/defaults).
• invoices/ — generated PDF output tree.

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Quick start

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
python app.py

Dependencies include customtkinter, reportlab, Pillow, and tkcalendar.

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Data and persistence

Seed data (committed)

• data/seed_profiles.jsonl

Local data (not committed)

Stored in the per-user app data folder (not the EXE temp extraction path):

• profiles.local.jsonl
• history.local.jsonl
• defaults.local.json

Generated files

• ~/Documents/Invoice_gen/invoices/<recipient>/<year>/<invoice-number>.pdf

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Donations (optional)

This software is free to use.

If it helps you, optional support is welcome:

• place QR.png in one of these locations (first match wins):
  1. user app-data folder (.../Invoice_gen/QR.png)
  2. next to the executable
  3. bundled in the EXE via PyInstaller --add-data
• use the in-app website link (https://moorearcanum.com/).

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Licensing summary

This repository uses a custom license (see LICENSE).

In plain language:

• You may use, copy, and modify this software for free.
• Donations are optional.
• If you want to sell this software, bundle it into paid software/services, or use it in a commercial paid offering, you must obtain prior written permission and agree royalty terms with the author.

For exact terms, read the full license text.

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Packaging notes

Windows EXE (onefile, with bundled seed data + QR + startup splash)

pip install pyinstaller
pyinstaller --name InvoiceApp --onefile --windowed \
  --splash "Loading.png" \
  --add-data "data/seed_profiles.jsonl;data" \
  --add-data "QR.png;." \
  app.py

macOS app bundle

pip install pyinstaller
pyinstaller --name InvoiceApp --windowed \
  --add-data "data/seed_profiles.jsonl:data" \
  --add-data "QR.png:." \
  app.py

Note: PyInstaller splash support is primarily used for onefile startup UX on Windows.

Outputs appear under dist/. For reproducible builds, use InvoiceApp.spec.

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How to use (quick wiki)

1) First launch setup

1. Open the app.
2. Add at least one Provider profile.
3. Add at least one Recipient profile.
4. Add at least one Payment profile (Domestic/International/PayPal).

2) Generate your first invoice

1. Select Provider, Recipient, and Payment profile.
2. Fill service details (category/title/hours/rate).
3. Choose session date/time.
4. Choose invoice date mode:
   • Relative (today ± offset), or
   • Absolute (fixed date).
5. Click Generate Invoice PDF.

3) Find output files

• PDFs are saved under:
  ~/Documents/Invoice_gen/invoices/<recipient>/<year>/...

4) Use history panel

• Use Open to view PDF.
• Use Delete file to delete disk file + remove from list.
• Use Remove from list to keep disk file but remove history entry.
• Use Refresh to resync with filesystem.

5) Defaults and persistence

• “Set default” buttons save your preferred values.
• Profiles/history/defaults persist in platform app-data (not temp extraction folders).

6) Donation QR behavior

QR.png is resolved in this order:

1. user app-data folder
2. next to executable
3. bundled asset
4. project root (source mode)