When emailing an invoice to a client, you may want to send a copy to yourself, your sales department, individuals whom your clients request, and related personnel. QuickBooks Online makes this as simple as using the Cc or Bcc fields in its invoicing portal.

Cc vs. Bcc Fields on Invoices

The Cc and Bcc fields serve the same function. They both let you send a copy of the emailed invoice to other people in addition to the person or business receiving the invoice. The difference is how those extra email addresses appear, or don’t appear, on the email. Cc stands for “carbon copy,” a reference to handwritten copies made with carbon paper. When you use the Cc field to add the extra recipients, everyone who receives the invoice can see the email addresses in the Cc field. Bcc stands for “blind carbon copy.” When you enter the additional email addresses into the Bcc field, no one can see those email addresses. The recipients can’t tell that the invoice has been sent to other people.

To add a specific email address to every invoice you send out, go to your settings, and add the relevant email address. This automatically adds that address to the Bcc field of all invoices. Only use this option if you want every invoice you send to go to that person. To add multiple addresses, separate them with a comma. You can also insert additional emails into individual invoices if the extra recipient just needs to receive that invoice and not every invoice you generate through QuickBooks.

Reasons to Use the Cc and Bcc Fields

Some invoices only need to go to one person, but others may require multiple recipients. If only you handled invoicing and you worked with individual consumers, your invoices would likely just go to the customer with no need for those fields. But other situations call for multiple recipients. Examples of times to use the Cc or Bcc fields include:

• A client who runs a business wants the invoice to go to multiple departments based on their processes for handling accounts payable.
• Your internal invoice processing procedures call for multiple people to follow up, such as your accounts receivable clerk and the salesperson responsible for the sale.
• You want to protect the identity or email information of recipients for confidentiality reasons. For instance, you want to send a copy to your accounts receivable clerk while protecting their identity and email address. This also ensures clients don’t send messages directly to people who aren’t the correct points of contact. The Bcc field works best in situations that call for discreet information handling.
• You need to send the invoice to multiple people but want to keep the email looking neat. The Bcc function lets you hide email addresses so there isn’t a long list of recipients cluttering the message.

The Cc and Bcc functions on your emailed invoices can help you get a copy to all necessary parties. QuickBooks Online helps you create and send smart invoices that help you get paid 2x faster. Try it free today.