alternative-payments-invoicing

# Alternative Payments Invoicing ## Overview Invoices are the billing records in Alternative Payments. Each invoice belongs to a customer, carries one or more line items, and has a due date. Once an invoice exists you can fetch a **hosted payment link** (a URL the customer visits to pay) and a **PDF link** (a signed download of the invoice document). Separately, **payment requests** are standalone hosted payment links that are not tied to a stored invoice — useful for ad-hoc charges and follow-ups. The key posture: hosted payment links and payment requests let the **customer** choose to pay. Generating a link does **not** charge a card or move money — it simply produces a URL. This integration never executes a direct charge. See [Alternative Payments API Patterns](../api-patterns/SKILL.md) for why `POST /payments` (direct charge) is excluded by design. ## Anti-triggers - **The invoice as an accounting document** — these invoices are collection artefacts with no GL coding, tax treatment, or aging; use `xero-invoices` or `qbo-invoices`. - **Whether the invoice was paid and where the money settled** — use `alternative-payments-payments`. - **Charging a card or bank account directly** — no such tool exists here by design; a hosted link is the only collection mechanism, and the reasoning is in `alternative-payments-api-patterns`. ## Core Concepts ### Invoice Status | Status | Description | Payable | |--------|-------------|---------| | `open` | Issued and awaiti...