# Turning Off Automatic Invoice Sending

Source: https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/finance/invoicing/invoice-batches/turning-off-automatic-invoice-sending

> Stop Astalty emailing PDF invoices when an invoice batch is finalised, so you can review or adjust each invoice before sending it yourself.

## Overview

By default, finalising an [invoice batch](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/finance/invoicing/invoice-batches) emails the PDF invoices straight away - plan-managed invoices go to the Plan Manager, and self-managed invoices go to the Participant. Once that has started it cannot be stopped.

**Invoice Sending Behaviour** lets you turn that off for a batch. Astalty still generates every invoice when you finalise, but emails none of them, leaving you to review, adjust and send each one when you are ready. It is worth doing when you want to apply a payment, check a Plan Manager's claim references, or have someone sign off on a batch before anything reaches a recipient.

> **NDIA-managed invoices are never emailed**
>
> Automatic sending only ever applies to plan-managed and self-managed invoices. NDIA-managed charges are claimed through the [Bulk Upload File](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/finance/invoicing/invoice-batches/bulk-upload-file) rather than emailed, so turning automatic sending off changes nothing for them.

## Before You Start

> **Advanced Settings needs the Professional or Premium plan**
>
> The **Advanced Settings** option is available on the **Professional** and **Premium** plans, and during a trial. **Lite**-plan accounts cannot change **Invoice Sending Behaviour** for an individual batch. Each new batch uses your organisation's saved automatic-send default, which can be set to keep invoices from sending automatically. The Account Owner can review your options on the [Billing](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/billing) page or contact <support@astalty.com.au>.

## Turning Off Automatic Sending for a Batch

1. Open **Finance → Invoice Batches** and click into the draft batch.
2. Open the **Actions** menu at the top right, next to **Finalise Batch**, and select **Advanced Settings**.

![A draft Invoice Batch, B-90012, with the Actions button highlighted next to Finalise Batch and its menu open, and an arrow pointing to Advanced Settings above Add Comment.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/turning-off-automatic-invoice-sending-actions-menu.png)

3. Under **Invoice Sending Behaviour**, untick **Send invoices automatically**.
4. Click **Update Invoice Batch**.

A warning appears as soon as you untick the box, confirming that *"Invoices will not be sent automatically and you will need to send them manually one at a time."*

![The Update Invoice Batch drawer with Send invoices automatically unticked and highlighted under Invoice Sending Behaviour, a warning that invoices will not be sent automatically and you will need to send them manually one at a time, and an arrow pointing to Update Invoice Batch.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/turning-off-automatic-invoice-sending-drawer.png)

Once you save, the batch's Charges list reads **Automatic invoices are disabled, so finalising will not send them.** so anyone else opening it knows before they finalise.

![A draft Invoice Batch, B-90013, with an arrow pointing to the note Automatic invoices are disabled, so finalising will not send them under the Charges heading, beside the Actions and Finalise Batch buttons.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/turning-off-automatic-invoice-sending-disabled-label.png)

> **Change this before you finalise**
>
> Invoice Sending Behaviour can only be changed while the batch is still a draft - **Advanced Settings** is not available on a finalised batch. If you finalise with automatic sending left on, Astalty begins emailing invoices immediately and this cannot be undone or stopped.

## Finalising a Batch With Automatic Sending Off

Finalise the batch as you normally would. The confirmation asks you to confirm that *"PDF invoices will not be sent automatically"*, and the button reads **Confirm** rather than **Confirm and Send**.

Every invoice is still created and appears on the batch and the **Invoices** page, but it has no recipient email recorded yet.

## Sending the Invoices Yourself

There is no bulk send in Astalty, so invoices have to go out one at a time:

1. Open the invoice, either from the batch or from **Finance → Invoices**.
2. Open the **Actions** menu on the invoice summary card.
3. Select **Send**.
4. Click a suggested recipient, or type any email address.
5. Click **Send**.

Astalty confirms with *"This invoice has been sent."* The recipient and delivery status are then recorded on the invoice, so you can tell at a glance which invoices in the batch you have already sent. See [Invoices](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/finance/invoicing/invoices) for how to read that.

For future unpaid-invoice reminders, Astalty uses the automatic invoice email's **To** recipients, excluding those marked permanently failed or cancelled. If none remain, it uses the **To** recipients from manual sends, with the same exclusions. Manual recipients are also offered for optional void notifications when there is no eligible automatic **To** recipient. This can include queued or temporarily failed emails; inclusion does not confirm delivery.

## Turning Automatic Sending Back On

Follow the same steps and tick **Send invoices automatically** again, as long as the batch is still a draft. Turning it back on does not send anything by itself - the invoices go out when you finalise.

## Every New Batch Starts From Your Organisation's Default

Invoice Sending Behaviour is set per batch, and every new draft batch starts from your organisation's default. New accounts default to sending automatically, so you need to turn it off on each batch you want held back.

That organisation-wide default isn't self-service - there is no toggle for it in **Settings → Invoices**. If you would prefer every batch to default to *not* sending, contact <support@astalty.com.au>.

> **This is separate from invoice reminders**
>
> Automatic sending controls the invoice email itself. Follow-up reminders about unpaid invoices are configured separately - see [Invoice Reminder Email](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/settings/invoices-settings/invoice-reminder-email).