Downloading Invoices & Payment History

Access your complete billing history and download invoices for accounting, reimbursement, tax documentation, and audit requirements—all from the self-service portal.


Why Download Invoices?

Common use cases:

  • Expense reports and reimbursements

  • Accounting and bookkeeping records

  • Tax documentation and deductions

  • Audit requirements and compliance

  • Budget tracking and forecasting

  • Vendor verification

  • Proof of payment for internal approvals

Best practice: Download and save invoices when they're issued. Don't rely on accessing the portal years later—keep your own organized archive.


Accessing Your Invoice History

Step-by-Step

1. Log into State Affairs

2. Access Account Overview

  • Click your profile icon (top-right) → Settings

  • You'll land on the Account Overview tab by default

3. Click "View Past Invoices"

  • Button is located in the billing summary section

  • Opens your complete invoice history

Note: Only Admins can access invoice history. Members cannot view billing information.


Understanding Your Invoice List

What You'll See

Your invoice history displays as a table:

Invoice #

Date Issued

Amount

Status

Download

2025034567

Jan 19, 2025

$2,250.00

Paid

📄 PDF

2024124532

Dec 19, 2024

$2,250.00

Paid

📄 PDF

2024114498

Nov 19, 2024

$2,250.00

Paid

📄 PDF


Column Breakdown

Invoice Number:

  • Unique identifier for each invoice

  • Format: Year + sequential number (e.g., 2025034567)

  • Reference this when contacting support about billing questions

Date Issued:

  • When the invoice was created and sent

  • Usually corresponds with your billing cycle

  • Helps identify which billing period it covers

Amount:

  • Total charge for that billing period

  • Includes all seats, states, and applicable taxes

  • May vary if you added/removed seats mid-period

Status:

  • Paid - Payment processed successfully

  • Pending - Awaiting payment processing

  • Overdue - Payment not received by due date

  • Failed - Payment attempt declined

Download:

  • Click to download PDF invoice

  • Opens in new tab or downloads to your computer

  • Same invoice you received via email when issued


Downloading a Single Invoice

Step-by-Step

1. Find the invoice you need in the list

Use the search or scroll to locate it by date or invoice number.

2. Click the PDF download icon in the Download column

3. Save the file to your computer

  • Desktop → Create folder: "State Affairs Invoices"

  • Or save to your accounting system's vendor folder

  • Or upload to your expense management platform

File naming: The PDF downloads as Invoice_[number]_[date].pdf

Example: Invoice_2025034567_Jan192025.pdf


Downloading Multiple Invoices

Need several invoices at once?

Current process: Download individually

  1. Click first invoice → Download → Save

  2. Click second invoice → Download → Save

  3. Repeat for each invoice needed

Pro tip: Open invoices in new tabs, then save all at once

  • Right-click each PDF icon → "Open in new tab"

  • All invoices load in separate tabs

  • Save each from browser's download bar

  • Faster than one-by-one

Future feature: Bulk download is on our roadmap. For now, individual downloads are required.


What's Included on Each Invoice

Invoice Header

Company information:

  • State Affairs billing address

  • Contact information

  • Tax ID/EIN

Your information:

  • Organization name

  • Billing address

  • Billing contact email

Invoice details:

  • Invoice number

  • Issue date

  • Due date

  • Payment terms


Line Items

Each invoice shows:

Description of services:

  • Seat type (News, Pro, or Enterprise)

  • State(s) covered

  • Number of seats

  • Billing period covered

Example line item: "State Affairs Professional - Indiana (3 seats) - Annual subscription for Jan 1, 2025 - Dec 31, 2025"

Pricing:

  • Price per seat

  • Quantity (number of seats)

  • Subtotal for that line item

Totals:

  • Subtotal (before taxes)

  • Tax (if applicable)

  • Total amount due


Payment Information

Bottom of invoice shows:

  • Payment method used (last 4 digits of card)

  • Payment date

  • Transaction ID

  • Payment status

If paid: "Paid on [date] via [card ending in 1234]"

If pending: "Payment due by [date]"


Understanding Payment History

Beyond invoices, you can see payment history in the Payment Portal.

Accessing Payment History

1. Go to Account Overview

2. Click "Payment Portal" button

Opens Stripe's secure payment portal in new window.

3. Navigate to "Payment History" or "Invoices" section

Depends on portal layout—look for transaction history.

4. View all charges and payment attempts


What Payment History Shows

More detailed than invoice list:

Successful charges:

  • Date and time of charge

  • Amount charged

  • Card used (last 4 digits)

  • Transaction ID

  • Receipt number

Failed charges:

  • Date of attempt

  • Reason for failure (declined, expired card, etc.)

  • Which card was attempted

Refunds:

  • Date refund issued

  • Amount refunded

  • Original transaction it relates to

This is helpful for:

  • Reconciling bank statements

  • Understanding why payment failed

  • Tracking which card was used when

  • Verifying refunds were processed


Troubleshooting Invoice Downloads

"I don't see View Past Invoices button"

Cause: You need Admin permissions. Members cannot access billing.

Solution: Ask your account administrator to either:

  • Download invoices for you

  • Promote you to Admin (if you need ongoing access)

  • Forward invoice emails (sent monthly/annually)


"PDF won't download"

Possible causes and solutions:

Popup blocker:

Browser issue:

  • Try different browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari)

  • Clear cache and try again

  • Use incognito/private window

Network issue:

  • Check internet connection

  • Try from different network (phone hotspot, home wifi)

File permissions:

  • Ensure downloads folder isn't write-protected

  • Try saving to desktop instead

Still not working?


"Invoice is missing from history"

Check:

  1. Are you looking at the right date range?

  2. Scroll through entire list—may be further down

  3. Verify invoice was actually issued (check email)

  4. Contact billing@stateaffairs.com if invoice should exist but doesn't appear

Common issue: Looking for invoice that hasn't been issued yet. Check "Next invoice date" in Account Overview.


"Download opens blank page"

Cause: PDF rendering issue in browser.

Solutions:

  1. Right-click PDF icon → "Save link as" → Save to computer

  2. Open saved file with Adobe Reader or other PDF app

  3. Update your browser to latest version

  4. Install/update Adobe Acrobat Reader


"Can't open downloaded PDF"

Possible causes:

No PDF reader installed:

  • Install Adobe Acrobat Reader (free)

  • Or use browser built-in PDF viewer

  • Or use Preview (Mac) / Microsoft Edge (Windows)

Corrupted download:

  • Download the invoice again

  • Try different browser

  • Check file size (should be 50-200 KB typically)

File association issue:

  • Right-click PDF → Open with → Choose PDF reader

  • Set PDF reader as default for .pdf files


"Invoice shows wrong amount"

First, verify:

  1. Check line items—did seat count change?

  2. Look for prorated charges (mid-period changes)

  3. Check if taxes were added

  4. Verify it's the correct billing period

If truly incorrect:

  1. Screenshot the invoice

  2. Note what you expected vs. what it shows

  3. Contact billing@stateaffairs.com with details

  4. We'll investigate and correct if needed


Regular Invoice Download Schedule

Set up a routine:

  • Download invoice immediately when issued

  • Make backup copy

  • Set reminder 30 days before next renewal

Don't wait until you need it. Download and file invoices promptly when issued.


Questions about invoices or billing? Contact billing@stateaffairs.com

Access invoices: Settings → Account Overview → View Past Invoices