Your First Month on Eazy-Biz: What to Set Up and Track

You have signed up. Now what?

The first month with any new tool decides whether it sticks. Set it up properly and it saves you time every week. Skip the setup and you end up back in Word documents and spreadsheets by month two.

This guide breaks your first 30 days on Eazy-Biz into four short weeks. Each week has a few jobs, most of which take under an hour. By the end you will have your details saved, your quotes and invoices in one place, and a clear picture of what your business earned and spent.

The short answer

In your first month on Eazy-Biz:

1. Week 1: Set up your account. Save your business details, logo and banking details once.
2. Week 2: Send real work. Create your first quote and invoice, and add any unpaid invoices you already have.
3. Week 3: Track your money. Capture expenses, log payments and set up anything that repeats.
4. Week 4: Review. Check the numbers, chase what is overdue and set a weekly routine.

Before you start: what to have ready

Gather these first. It makes Week 1 much quicker.

• Your business name, as your clients know it.
• Your business address, email and phone number.
• Your logo, as an image file.
• Your company registration number, tax number and VAT number, if you have them.
• Your bank name, account holder, account number, account type and branch code.
• A list of invoices clients still owe you, and quotes still waiting for an answer.
• Receipts for this month's business expenses.

Week 1: Set up your account

Setup is the boring part, but it is what makes every quote and invoice after it fast and accurate.

Fill in your profile

Go to Settings, then Profile. Add your Company Name, Business Type, Company Email and Phone Number.

Use the name your clients know you by. If you trade as "Protea Plumbing" but are registered as "J Naidoo Holdings", use the trading name here and put the registered name with your registration number.

Add your business and banking details

Next, open Business in Settings. This is the most important page in the app. Fill in:

• Business Address and Business Logo.
• Registration Number and Tax Number, if you have them.
• VAT Number, only if you are registered for VAT.
• Banking Details: bank name, account holder, account number, account type and branch code.

These details fill in automatically on every new quote and invoice, so you never retype them. Check the account number twice. One wrong digit means a client's payment goes nowhere, and you find out weeks later.

Not sure if you need to register for VAT? From 1 April 2026, registration is compulsory once your taxable turnover passes R2.3 million in 12 months. Our guide to the VAT registration threshold explains the rules.

Choose your template

The first time you create a quote or invoice, you pick a template. Choose one now and use it for everything. Clients recognise your invoices faster when they always look the same.

The Free plan includes two templates, Standard includes five and Pro includes all eight. If you are unsure which suits you, read how to choose an invoice template.

Optional: invite your team and connect payments

If someone else helps with your admin, add them under Settings, then Team. You choose which parts of the app each person can use, such as Invoices, Quotes or Finances. Standard includes five seats and Pro includes fifteen.

If you take card or online payments through Payfast, Peach Payments or Yoco, connect your account under Gateways. Your transactions then show in one place under Payments.

Week 1 checklist

• Profile complete
• Business address and logo added
• Banking details added and checked
• VAT number added, if registered
• Template chosen
• Team members invited, if needed

Week 2: Send your first quotes and invoices

Now use it for real work. The fastest way to learn the app is to send something to a client.

Create your first quote

If a client asks for a price this week, send it from Quotes. Your first quote is numbered QT-001, and your business details are already filled in. Add the client under Bill To, list each item clearly, and set how long the price is valid.

When the client says yes, change the quote's status to Accepted. On Standard and Pro, Eazy-Biz then creates a draft invoice with the client details and line items already filled in. Our quote-to-invoice workflow guide walks through it step by step.

Send your first invoice

When the work is done, create the invoice from Invoices. Your first is INV-001, and each new one continues from the last number.

Before you send it, check three things:

• Due date. It defaults to 14 days. Change it to match what you agreed.
• Tax rate. It defaults to 15%. If you are not VAT registered, set it to 0.
• Line items. "Website maintenance, October 2026" is clearer than "Services rendered".

Click Preview, read it the way your client will, then Create Invoice and download the PDF. For the full walkthrough, see how to create and send your first invoice.

Already have your own numbering? You can type your own invoice number. If your last invoice in your old system was INV-148, start at INV-149 so your numbers keep running in order.

Bring across what is still open

You do not need to move years of history. Just add the things you still need to act on:

• Unpaid invoices. Re-create each one with its original number and date, and set it to Pending or Overdue.
• Open quotes. Re-create any quote still waiting for an answer, and set it to Pending.

Keep old, paid invoices in an archive folder. You still need them for SARS, but they do not need to clutter your day-to-day list. Our guide to organising client details, quotes and invoices covers this in more detail.

Set up recurring invoices

If you bill some clients the same amount every month, such as a retainer or a monthly service fee, set it up once under the Recurring tab on the Invoices page. That is one less invoice to remember each month.

Week 2 checklist

• First quote sent
• First invoice sent
• Unpaid invoices from before added, with the right status
• Open quotes added
• Recurring invoices set up for regular clients

Week 3: Start tracking your money

Invoices show what you have billed. To know whether you are making money, you also need what came in and what went out.

Finance tracking is included on the Standard and Pro plans. Everything in this week happens under Finances.

Capture your expenses

Open Expense Capture and add each business expense from this month. Choose a category, such as Software, Office, Equipment, Travel, Marketing or Utilities, and attach the receipt.

Do it now, while the receipts are still in your wallet or inbox. A month of receipts takes twenty minutes. A year of them takes a weekend, usually the one before your tax return is due.

Tip: Keep business and personal spending in separate bank accounts if you can. It makes capturing expenses far quicker, because everything in the business account belongs in Eazy-Biz.

Set up recurring expenses

Rent, software subscriptions, insurance and phone contracts come off every month. Add them once under Recurring Expenses so your monthly costs are always complete, even in the weeks you forget to check.

Log payments as they arrive

When a client pays, two things should happen:

1. Mark the invoice Paid in your Invoices list.
2. Log the money under Payments Received, with proof of payment attached if you have it.

Ask clients to use the invoice number as their payment reference. Matching a deposit on your bank statement to the right invoice then takes seconds instead of guesswork.

Week 3 checklist

• This month's expenses captured, with receipts
• Recurring expenses added
• Payments received logged
• Paid invoices marked Paid

Week 4: Review your month and track what matters

By now you have a month of real data. This is where Eazy-Biz starts paying you back.

The five numbers to check

Open your Dashboard and the Reports tab under Finances. Look for these five numbers:

What to track	Where to find it	What it tells you
Total invoiced	Dashboard	How much work you billed this month
Revenue	Dashboard (paid invoices)	How much clients actually paid
Pending and overdue	Dashboard and Invoices	How much clients still owe you, and how late it is
Expenses by category	Finances, Overview	Where your money goes
Profit	Finances, Reports	What is left after expenses

Do not worry if the first month looks odd. You may have invoiced a lot that has not been paid yet, or paid a big once-off expense. One month is a starting point. The second and third months show you the trend.

If the profit and loss report is new to you, read how to read a simple profit and loss report. And if your bank balance tells a different story to your profit, this guide explains why.

Chase what is overdue

Filter your Invoices list by Overdue. For each one, send a short, friendly reminder with the invoice number, the amount and your banking details. Most late payments are forgotten, not refused.

For a simple chasing routine, see how to track unpaid invoices without a spreadsheet.

Look ahead

Two more things are worth a look at the end of your first month:

• Forecasting. The Forecasting tab under Finances projects your cash flow 30, 60 and 90 days ahead, using what you are owed and what you regularly spend.
• Tax deadlines. The Tax Center shows upcoming SARS deadlines. If you work for yourself, mark the provisional tax dates now. Our provisional tax guide explains how the payments work.

Set your weekly routine

The setup is done. What keeps Eazy-Biz useful is fifteen minutes a week. Pick a regular time, such as Friday afternoon, and work through this:

1. Update quote statuses. Mark anything accepted, declined or expired.
2. Invoice finished work. Every completed job should have an invoice.
3. Mark payments. Compare your bank statement with your Pending invoices.
4. Chase overdue invoices. Send a reminder for anything past due.
5. Capture expenses. Add this week's receipts.

Week 4 checklist

• Five numbers checked
• Overdue invoices chased
• Forecast and tax deadlines reviewed
• Weekly routine in your calendar

Common first-month mistakes

Most problems in the first month come from a few small things:

• Charging VAT when you are not registered. The tax rate starts at 15%. If you are not a VAT vendor, set it to 0 on every invoice.
• Leaving invoices on Draft. A new invoice starts as Draft. Once you have sent it, change it to Pending, or your totals will be wrong.
• Not marking invoices paid. If you forget, your overdue list fills up with clients who have already paid, and you risk chasing them by mistake.
• Capturing expenses at year end. Little and often is far easier, and you are less likely to lose receipts.
• Writing client names differently. "Harbour & Pine" and "Harbour and Pine Studio" look like two clients. Pick one spelling so search finds everything.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to set up Eazy-Biz?

Most people finish the basic setup in under an hour. That covers your profile, business details, logo and banking details. Adding your open invoices and quotes takes longer, depending on how many you have.

Can I use Eazy-Biz on the Free plan in my first month?

Yes. The Free plan includes 15 invoices and 15 quotes a month, two templates and PDF downloads. Expense tracking, reports, forecasting and automatic quote-to-invoice conversion are on the Standard and Pro plans.

Do I need to move all my old invoices into Eazy-Biz?

No. Add any invoices that are still unpaid and any quotes still waiting for an answer. Keep older, paid invoices in an archive for your records, since SARS generally expects you to keep them for five years.

Can I keep my existing invoice numbers?

Yes. You can type your own invoice number. Start from the next number after your last invoice so your sequence carries on without gaps.

What should I track in my first month?

Track five numbers: total invoiced, revenue received, what is pending or overdue, expenses by category and profit. Together they show what you billed, what you collected, where your money went and what you kept.

Can someone else help with my admin in Eazy-Biz?

Yes. On Standard and Pro you can invite team members under Settings, then Team, and choose which parts of the app each person can use.

Start your first month with Eazy-Biz

A new system only helps if you use it. Spend the first week setting it up properly, the next three using it for real work, and you will end the month knowing exactly where your business stands.

Get started with Eazy-Biz and set up your account today.