Lock Client Files Behind an Invoice lets you restrict client access to specific documents until an invoice is paid in full. Once payment is complete, Financial Cents automatically unlocks access. Use this to hold completed deliverables, sensitive documents, or final reports until your client settles the balance.
This feature applies to Client Files: the shared document area in the client portal. For an overview of Client Files vs. Project Files, see Managing Your Documents: Client Files vs. Project Files.
Lock Files When Creating an Invoice
Navigate to Billing > Invoices and click Create Invoice, or click + Create in the top-left corner and select Invoice.
Select the client and fill in the invoice details: contacts, amount, due date, and payment settings.
Click Lock Documents to this Invoice to open the file picker.
Browse the client's files. This shows all files from the Client Files section for the selected client. ❗You can select individual files only. Folders cannot be selected.
Select the files to lock:
Click individual files to select them 1 at a time.
Hold Shift and click to select a range of files in bulk. Click the first file, hold Shift, then click the last file to select everything in between.
Click Confirm Selection to attach the selected files to the invoice.
Review the locked files list below the button. You can remove individual files or add more before sending.
Complete the rest of the invoice and click Preview & Send to deliver it to the client.
Selected files are locked immediately. Clients can see the files listed in the portal but cannot open or download them until the invoice is paid in full.
View Locked File Status
After locking files to an invoice, you can check their status from 3 places.
Files Table
Navigate to the client's Files section. A new Invoice column shows which invoice locks each file.
A closed, filled-in lock icon means the invoice has not been paid yet (file is still locked).
An open, unfilled lock icon means the invoice has been paid (file is unlocked).
Click the invoice number to go directly to that invoice.
Invoice Details Page
Open the invoice and look for the Locked Files card in the bottom-right corner. This card lists all files locked by the invoice. Click View More to see the full list if multiple files are locked.
Invoices Table
In Billing > Invoices, invoices that lock files show a paper icon next to the invoice ID. Hover over the icon to see how many files are currently locked behind that invoice.
What Your Client Sees
Clients are notified about locked files in 2 places within their portal.
Documents Tab
A card appears at the top of the Documents tab for each invoice that is blocking 1 or more files. If multiple invoices lock different files, your client sees 1 card per invoice. Each card includes a Pay to Unlock button that takes the client to the payment portal.
Billing Tab
In the Billing tab, outstanding invoices that lock files show a Pay to Access button next to the invoice, signaling that payment unlocks something.
What Happens After Payment
When the client pays the invoice in full, Financial Cents automatically unlocks the files. No manual action is required on your end.
⚠️Please note. Partial payments do not unlock files. The client must pay the full invoice balance before locked files become accessible.
After full payment:
The client can click a file name to preview it directly in the portal.
The client can click Download to save a copy to their local machine.
In the Paid Invoices section, a button lets the client view all files that are now available.
Remove a Locked File from an Invoice
You can remove individual files from an invoice's lock at any time.
Open the invoice and find the Locked Files card.
Click the remove button next to the file you want to unlock.
Confirm the removal.
ℹ️Heads up! Removing a file from the lock does not delete the file itself. It only removes the link between the file and the invoice. The file remains in Client Files as usual.
Use Cases
Completed tax returns or financials: Upload finished work and lock it until the engagement invoice is paid.
Sensitive documents: Restrict access to documents that should only be available to clients who are current on billing.
Project deliverables: Hold final files until a project completion invoice is paid.