Import from email works with almost any system that sends invoices by email, such as practice management systems, CRMs and desktop accounting software.
✅ If your system emails invoices as attachments (PDF, JPEG or PNG), and you can BCC or forward those emails, you can use Import from email. Adfin also needs your customer's email address, either on the email or printed on the invoice.
In short:
Adfin gives you a private email address.
You copy it in on the invoice emails your system already sends.
Adfin reads each invoice and chases it for you.
Using Xero, QuickBooks or Actionstep? You don't need this, as those integrations bring your invoices in automatically.
Step 1: Switch it on
Go to Settings, then Import from email (under Invoice).
Switch on Receive invoices by email.
Copy Your private address, for example watson-services-df52a8@in.adfin.com.
You'll also see Import from email under Source data on the Collection agents page, alongside your other ways of bringing invoices in.
Step 2: Choose who can send to it
Adfin only accepts emails from your Allowed senders. Your own business domain is added for you. Add the address or domain your system sends invoices from:
System | Add to Allowed senders |
CCH Central | Your business domain |
Zoho Books | [email protected] (click the Zoho Books logo to add it) |
Sage 50 | Your business domain |
Uptick | uptickhq.com (click the Uptick logo to add it) |
Gmail or Outlook | Your business domain, or your exact address if it's a personal one |
Any other system | The address it sends invoices from (send yourself a test invoice to check) |
To add one, type it in the Allowed senders field, press Enter, then click Save changes. Personal domains such as gmail.com can't be added as a whole, so add the exact address instead.
Hover over a logo next to Allowed senders to see the setup steps for that system.
💡 Tip: Where you can, add your system's exact sending address rather than a whole domain, so only it can send to your address.
Step 3: Choose how invoices are handled
Further down the same page are three settings. Do this before you copy Adfin in, so your first invoices are handled the way you want.
Setting | Default for a new inbox | The other option |
Who sends the invoice? | Adfin. Adfin sends the invoice, then reminders. | My accounting system. Adfin only sends reminders. |
What your customer receives | Original PDF, exactly as your system created it. | Adfin invoice, created from the details Adfin read. |
When a new invoice arrives | Send automatically. Starts straight away with your defaults. | Wait for approval. Saved as a draft until you approve it. |
Click Save changes when you're done.
💡 Tip: Switch to Wait for approval for your first week, so you can check each invoice was read correctly before anything is sent.
⚠️ Avoid sending the invoice twice. If your system already emails the invoice to your customer, change Who sends the invoice? to My accounting system.
Step 4: Copy Adfin in from your system
Add your Adfin address as a BCC on your system's invoice email template, so it's included every time. Here's how in each system:
CCH Central
Go to File, then Maintenance, then Assignment/Billing Setting.
Open Mailing/Communication Templates and click your invoice template to open the Template Layout Designer.
Add your Adfin address in the Bcc field and click Save.
Zoho Books
Go to Settings, then Customisation, then Email Notifications.
Under Sales, open Invoice Notification, then Default Invoice.
Add your Adfin address in the Bcc field and click Save.
Sage 50
Go to Customers, then Invoice List. Select an invoice, click Print, pick your email layout and click Edit.
Go to Report, then Email Settings. Add your Adfin address under Bcc and click OK.
Go to Report Properties, give the layout a new name and click OK, then File, Save As, Save.
Go to Settings, then Invoice & Order Defaults, then Email, and choose your new layout next to Invoice.
Uptick
Go to Control Panel, then Templates & Reports, then Email Templates.
Open the Invoice template and click Customise.
Add your Adfin address in the Bcc field and click Save. No Bcc field? Ask [email protected] to add it for you.
Gmail
Use this if your invoices arrive in your Gmail inbox.
Go to Settings, then See all settings, then Forwarding and POP/IMAP, and add your Adfin address as a forwarding address. Gmail asks for it to be confirmed, so get in touch and we'll help.
Create a filter for your invoice emails, for example has:attachment subject:invoice, and choose Forward it to your Adfin address.
Outlook (Microsoft 365)
Use this if your invoices arrive in your Outlook inbox.
Ask your IT admin to allow forwarding to outside addresses. Microsoft 365 blocks it by default.
Go to Settings, then Mail, then Rules. Add a rule with the condition Has attachment and the action Forward to your Adfin address.
💡 Forwarded invoices don't include your customer on the email, so make sure their email address is printed on the invoice.
Any other system
Most systems that email invoices let you copy someone in. To set it up:
Find where your system sets up its invoice emails. It's often called Email templates, Invoice emails or Email settings.
Add your Adfin address in the Bcc field, and set it as the default so every invoice email includes it. Use Cc only if there's no Bcc, as your customers will then see the address.
Check which address your system sends from, and make sure it's on your Allowed senders list (Step 2).
Send a test invoice to yourself, then check it appears in the Invoices received by email card in Adfin.
No Bcc or Cc option? Forward the invoices from your inbox as in the Gmail and Outlook steps above, or ask your software provider to add your Adfin address as a permanent Bcc. If you're stuck, get in touch and we'll help.
⚠️ Turn off your system's own reminders, or your customers will be chased twice.
How Adfin handles each email
What arrives | What Adfin does |
One invoice attached | Creates one invoice |
Several invoices attached | Creates one invoice for each attachment |
Several invoices in one PDF | Can't split them, so send each invoice as its own file |
Other attachments, such as terms and conditions | Skips them |
No attachment | Reads the invoice from the email text, then waits for your approval |
An invoice number Adfin already has | Skips it, so you don't get a duplicate |
An email from a sender not on your list | Ignores it |
An email over 40 MB, including attachments | Can't receive it |
Adfin never replies to emails sent to your address.
What happens next
If you chose Wait for approval, here's how to send an invoice that has arrived:
Click the Invoices received by email card in the sidebar. Check the customer, invoice number, amount and dates Adfin read, change any that are wrong, then click Review invoice.
Choose Customer defaults to collect it the way you usually collect from that customer, or Invoice only settings to set it up differently. The preview shows what your customer will receive.
Click Send now. To approve it without sending it yet, use the arrow next to it and choose Approve & Save, or choose Keep as draft to come back to it later.
If you chose Send automatically, invoices start with your defaults. Any that Adfin can't start, for example without a customer email address, wait for your approval.
Each invoice that arrives this way shows Invoice received by email in its Activity tab.
Common questions
An invoice hasn't appeared. Look in the Invoices received by email card in the sidebar first. If it's not there, check the sender is on your Allowed senders list and the invoice was attached, not linked. Still missing? Get in touch and tell us when you sent it.
I resent a corrected invoice but it didn't update. Adfin skips invoice numbers it already has. Open the invoice in Adfin and use Edit on its Details tab instead.
My customer got the invoice twice. Set Who sends the invoice? to My accounting system.