Line items that know what they are
Work order, quote, and invoice line items can do two things plain text rows could not: pull a part or chemical from your catalog (priced as quantity × unit price), and carry sales tax through a per-line Taxable switch. When the work order becomes an invoice, each line's tax is charged automatically.
- Work orders on the web: the Create Work Order form, the Edit Pricing dialog on a work order's page, work order templates, and Edit & Approve on Field Work Orders Review.
- Work order quotes on the web builder (not maintenance or project quotes).
- Invoices on the web: Create Invoice (both From Work Order and Custom Invoice) and Edit Invoice.
- The technician mobile app: Create Work Order, Create Quote with the Work Order job type, Update Work Order, a work order's Line items in Job setup, and Create Invoice. See "On the mobile app" below.
Add parts and chemicals from your catalog
- 1In the line items section, click Add from catalog.
- 2Type in Search parts and chemicals. Results are grouped under Parts and Chemicals, and each row shows the price (chemicals per unit, e.g. "/Gallon"), the stock ("12 in stock" or "Out of stock"), and the tax ("7.5% tax" or "No tax").
- 3Click an item, or press Enter on the highlighted one. It is added as a new line and the list stays open ("Added Skimmer Basket") so you can add several in a row. Press Esc or click away to close it.
- The list is your company catalog from the Parts and Chemicals pages. Archived items are not listed. Out-of-stock items can still be added.
- An empty catalog says "Add parts and chemicals under Inventory to pick them here."
- Heritage supplier products are not in this list, only items in your own catalog.
Catalog lines vs. plain lines
- Catalog lines show a Part or Chemical badge and price as Qty × Unit price = Amount. The line starts at quantity 1 and the item's Customer Price. Change either box for this line (fractions like 2.5 are fine); it never changes the catalog item itself.
- A quantity-priced line needs both boxes filled on work orders, work order templates, field work order review, and quotes. Clear the quantity or the unit price (or leave the line at $0) and the row says "Enter a quantity and unit price". Saving is blocked with "Enter a quantity and unit price on every line priced by quantity" until you fill them in or remove the line.
- Plain lines (the ones you add and type yourself) have a title and a single price box, and keep their usual rules. Plain lines have no quantity field.
- On the web, the optional description stays tucked behind an Add details button until you need it. Rows that already have details open expanded.
Mark a line item taxable
Every line item, catalog or plain, has a Taxable switch. Turn it on and a rate box (%) appears, filled with your Default tax rate from Invoice Settings → Sales tax. Change the percentage if that line needs a different one. A live preview shows what the line adds, e.g. "+$27.00 tax".
- Catalog lines start at the item's own rate. A part or chemical with a Tax Rate is added already taxable at that rate; an untaxed item is added with the switch off.
- No default rate set? The box starts empty and a Set a default rate in Invoice settings link appears next to it. Type a percentage, or set a default so the switch fills it in next time.
- The box accepts up to 100%. Labor, installation, and service call lines can be taxable too: taxability is chosen line by line.
- Tax is calculated per line on that line's own amount at its own rate, never as one percentage across the whole job.
Charging tax needs Pool Founder's own invoicing. A few older accounts still bill through the legacy Stripe invoice flow, and there the Taxable switch and the tax rows are not shown and no tax is ever charged.
Totals, discounts, and deposits
Under the line items, the totals read Subtotal, Discounts, your tax row (named by the Tax label on invoices setting, "Sales tax" by default), and Total. The tax row only appears when a line is taxed.
- Discounts reduce the tax. A discount is spread across the line items in proportion to their amounts, so the taxed lines carry less tax afterwards. On an invoice, each discount row shows how much tax it removes: "Reduces tax by $4.50". That includes a discount you add while editing an invoice, on the web or in the mobile app.
- Deposits are never taxed. The Require Deposit box says so: "Deposit is calculated on the subtotal before discounts and tax." The deposit invoice carries no tax, and the deposit credit comes off the pre-tax subtotal on the final invoice.
- When a taxed job also requires a deposit, the totals add a note: "Tax is charged on the final invoice."
Where the tax shows up before invoicing
- Work order page: the Pricing card lists each line with its badge, quantity ("2 × $450.00"), and "Taxable 6%", then a tax row above the Total. The big Total card reads "Includes $54.00 Sales tax". The pencil on the Pricing card opens Edit Pricing.
- Copy from Job and work order templates keep every field: quantity, unit price, catalog link, and tax rate.
- Quotes: the quote page, the quote email, and the customer portal show the tax row as "Sales tax (estimated)" and a Total that includes it. Hide grand total hides the tax row from the customer (email and portal) along with the subtotal, discounts, and total. See quotes.
- Accepting a quote: Create Work Order carries each line's quantity, catalog link, and tax rate into the new work order.
Invoicing a work order with taxable lines
- Tax is charged automatically. Create Invoice, Invoice All, and Add to Next Maintenance Invoice all keep each line's rate, so the invoice charges the same tax the work order showed. See work order billing.
- An invoice line with a quantity other than 1 reads with the count, e.g. "Pool Pump ×2". On the invoice page, catalog lines are badged Part or Chemical.
- Parts are not billed twice. If a technician logs a part at completion that is already a part line on the work order, that quantity is not charged again. Only the extra quantity bills as its own parts row, and the Create Invoice screen notes the rest, e.g. "1 × Skimmer Basket already on the work order".
- Chemicals and parts logged at completion keep the tax rate of their catalog item, as before. A discount on the work order does not reduce the tax on those completion rows.
- Create Invoice and Edit Invoice have Add from catalog too, for anything you add at billing time. See create and manage invoices.
Line items never change your stock
Adding a part or chemical to a quote, work order, or invoice does not take it out of stock, and invoicing the work order does not either. Chemical stock goes down only when a technician logs the chemical on a visit completion or you record a Remove. Part stock only changes through the Add and Remove entries on the part's page. See parts inventory.
On the mobile app
- Create Work Order, Create Quote (Work Order job type), and Update Work Order have Add Line Item and Add from catalog buttons. Add from catalog opens a sheet with Search parts and chemicals: tap an item to add it (the sheet stays open), then tap Done.
- Rows show the Part or Chemical badge, quantity × unit price, a Details (optional) box, and the Taxable switch. With no default rate, the switch shows "Enter a rate. To fill it in automatically, set a default rate in Invoice settings on the web." A quantity-priced line missing its quantity or unit price blocks saving: "Enter a quantity and unit price on every line priced by quantity, or remove the line."
- Edit Invoice on mobile keeps each line's tax, has a Tax % box per line, and shows "Reduces tax by $X" under each discount, but has no Add from catalog. The mobile Create Invoice screen has a Taxable switch on every line and Add from catalog, like the web custom invoice.
- An existing work order's line items are edited on mobile from its Job Details: Job setup → Pricing → Line items, with the same Taxable switch and Add from catalog. It needs the "Edit jobs" and "Manage work orders" permissions.
- See field work orders and mobile invoices and quotes.
QuickBooks
Taxed lines (including discount rows that reduce tax) go to QuickBooks as taxable with the tax total, catalog lines use the part's or chemical's QuickBooks item, and work order quotes sync as Estimates with their estimated tax. Each item's QuickBooks Taxable flag follows whether it has a tax rate here, in both directions. See QuickBooks sync.
What sales tax does not do
These do not exist in Pool Founder: tax-exempt customers (taxability is set per line and per catalog item, never per customer), rates based on the customer's address or jurisdiction, Stripe Tax or any automatic calculation, tax on maintenance service rates, priced maintenance tasks (task charges on a maintenance invoice are never taxed), maintenance quotes, project milestones, or change orders, charging it on accounts still on the legacy Stripe invoice flow, Heritage supplier products in the catalog picker, stock changes from line items, PDFs of quotes or work orders, quantity on plain line items, Add from catalog on the mobile Edit Invoice screen, and editing a work order's discounts or deposit in the mobile app.
Frequently asked questions
Can I charge sales tax on a work order line item?
Yes. Every work order line item has a Taxable switch. Turn it on and the rate box fills with your Default tax rate from Invoice Settings → Sales tax (or type a rate). Parts and chemicals added with Add from catalog start at their own tax rate. When you invoice the work order, each line's tax is charged automatically.
Does a discount reduce the sales tax?
Yes. A discount on a work order, quote, or invoice is spread across the line items in proportion to their amounts, so taxed lines carry less tax. On an invoice each discount row shows "Reduces tax by $X.XX". It does not reduce the tax on chemicals and parts logged at visit completion, and deposits are never taxed.
How do I add a part from my inventory to a quote?
On a work order quote, click Add from catalog in the line items section, search "Search parts and chemicals", and click the part (or press Enter). It is added as a Part line at quantity 1 and its Customer Price, with its own tax rate, and the list stays open for more. Adjust the quantity or unit price on the line.
Does adding a part to a quote or work order take it out of stock?
No. Line items never change stock, including when the work order is invoiced. Chemical stock goes down only when a technician logs the chemical on a visit completion or you record a Remove, and part stock only changes through the Add and Remove entries on the part's page.
A tech logged a part at completion that was already on the work order. Will the customer pay for it twice?
No. When the work order has a line linked to that part, the logged quantity is netted against it and only any extra bills as a separate parts row. Create Invoice shows a note like "1 × Skimmer Basket already on the work order".
Can I mark a customer tax exempt?
No. There is no tax-exempt setting on a customer. Tax is chosen per line item (the Taxable switch) and per catalog item (its Tax Rate), so for an exempt customer leave the Taxable switch off on their line items. Chemicals and parts billed from visits still carry their catalog rate, so clear the Tax % on those rows with Edit Invoice.
Can the tax rate come from the customer's address?
No. Pool Founder does not calculate tax by address or jurisdiction and does not use Stripe Tax. The rate is the one on the line: your Default tax rate, the catalog item's rate, or whatever you type.
Can I charge tax on a maintenance quote or a project milestone?
No. The Taxable switch is on work order quotes, work orders, and invoices only. Maintenance service rates, maintenance quotes, project milestones, and change orders are not taxed. Chemicals and parts billed on a maintenance invoice still use their own catalog tax rate.