Quickstart

Get up and running with the Billbora API in under 5 minutes. This guide will walk you through making your first API call and creating your first invoice.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you’ll need:

A Billbora account (sign up here)
Basic knowledge of REST APIs
A tool to make HTTP requests (curl, Postman, or your preferred programming language)

Step 1: Get Your API Credentials

Log into Billbora

Navigate to app.billbora.com and log in to your account.

Go to API Settings

In your dashboard, go to Settings → API → Credentials.

Generate API Key

Click Generate New API Key and copy the generated key.

Store this key securely - it won’t be shown again!

Step 2: Make Your First API Call

Let’s start by fetching your organization information:

curl -X GET \
  https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/organizations/me/ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json"

const response = await fetch('https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/organizations/me/', {
  method: 'GET',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  }
})

const organization = await response.json()
console.log(organization)

import requests

response = requests.get(
    'https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/organizations/me/',
    headers={
        'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    }
)

organization = response.json()
print(organization)

import { BillboraAPI } from '@billbora/sdk'

const client = new BillboraAPI({
  apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY'
})

const organization = await client.organizations.getCurrent()
console.log(organization)

You should receive a response like this:

Response

{
  "id": "org_1234567890",
  "name": "Your Organization",
  "subscription_tier": "growth",
  "subscription_status": "active",
  "created_at": "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z"
}

Great! Your API credentials are working correctly.

Step 3: Create Your First Client

Before creating an invoice, you need a client. Let’s create one:

curl -X POST \
  https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/clients/ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Acme Corporation",
    "email": "billing@acme.com",
    "phone": "+1-555-0123",
    "address": "123 Business Ave",
    "city": "San Francisco",
    "state": "CA",
    "postal_code": "94102",
    "country": "US"
  }'

const client = await fetch('https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/clients/', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    name: 'Acme Corporation',
    email: 'billing@acme.com',
    phone: '+1-555-0123',
    address: '123 Business Ave',
    city: 'San Francisco',
    state: 'CA',
    postal_code: '94102',
    country: 'US'
  })
})

const newClient = await client.json()
console.log(newClient)

client_data = {
    'name': 'Acme Corporation',
    'email': 'billing@acme.com',
    'phone': '+1-555-0123',
    'address': '123 Business Ave',
    'city': 'San Francisco',
    'state': 'CA',
    'postal_code': '94102',
    'country': 'US'
}

response = requests.post(
    'https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/clients/',
    headers={
        'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    json=client_data
)

client = response.json()
print(client)

const newClient = await client.clients.create({
  name: 'Acme Corporation',
  email: 'billing@acme.com',
  phone: '+1-555-0123',
  address: '123 Business Ave',
  city: 'San Francisco',
  state: 'CA',
  postal_code: '94102',
  country: 'US'
})

console.log(newClient)

Save the client ID from the response - you’ll need it for the invoice:

Response

{
  "id": "client_1234567890",
  "name": "Acme Corporation",
  "email": "billing@acme.com",
  "is_active": true,
  "created_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

Step 4: Create Your First Invoice

Now let’s create an invoice for your new client:

curl -X POST \
  https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/invoices/ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "client": "client_1234567890",
    "issue_date": "2025-01-15",
    "due_date": "2025-02-15",
    "line_items": [
      {
        "description": "Consulting Services",
        "quantity": 10,
        "unit_price": "150.00",
        "tax_rate": "10.00"
      },
      {
        "description": "Project Management",
        "quantity": 20,
        "unit_price": "100.00",
        "tax_rate": "10.00"
      }
    ],
    "notes": "Thank you for your business!",
    "terms": "Payment due within 30 days"
  }'

const invoice = await fetch('https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/invoices/', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    client: 'client_1234567890',
    issue_date: '2025-01-15',
    due_date: '2025-02-15',
    line_items: [
      {
        description: 'Consulting Services',
        quantity: 10,
        unit_price: '150.00',
        tax_rate: '10.00'
      },
      {
        description: 'Project Management', 
        quantity: 20,
        unit_price: '100.00',
        tax_rate: '10.00'
      }
    ],
    notes: 'Thank you for your business!',
    terms: 'Payment due within 30 days'
  })
})

const newInvoice = await invoice.json()
console.log(newInvoice)

invoice_data = {
    'client': 'client_1234567890',
    'issue_date': '2025-01-15',
    'due_date': '2025-02-15',
    'line_items': [
        {
            'description': 'Consulting Services',
            'quantity': 10,
            'unit_price': '150.00',
            'tax_rate': '10.00'
        },
        {
            'description': 'Project Management',
            'quantity': 20,
            'unit_price': '100.00',
            'tax_rate': '10.00'
        }
    ],
    'notes': 'Thank you for your business!',
    'terms': 'Payment due within 30 days'
}

response = requests.post(
    'https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/invoices/',
    headers={
        'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    json=invoice_data
)

invoice = response.json()
print(invoice)

const newInvoice = await client.invoices.create({
  client: 'client_1234567890',
  issue_date: '2025-01-15',
  due_date: '2025-02-15',
  line_items: [
    {
      description: 'Consulting Services',
      quantity: 10,
      unit_price: '150.00',
      tax_rate: '10.00'
    },
    {
      description: 'Project Management',
      quantity: 20,
      unit_price: '100.00', 
      tax_rate: '10.00'
    }
  ],
  notes: 'Thank you for your business!',
  terms: 'Payment due within 30 days'
})

console.log(newInvoice)

You should receive a response with your new invoice:

Response

{
  "id": "inv_1234567890",
  "invoice_number": "INV-001",
  "status": "draft",
  "client": {
    "id": "client_1234567890",
    "name": "Acme Corporation"
  },
  "issue_date": "2025-01-15",
  "due_date": "2025-02-15",
  "subtotal": "3500.00",
  "tax_amount": "350.00",
  "total_amount": "3850.00",
  "currency": "USD",
  "line_items": [
    {
      "description": "Consulting Services",
      "quantity": 10,
      "unit_price": "150.00",
      "tax_rate": "10.00",
      "total": "1650.00"
    },
    {
      "description": "Project Management",
      "quantity": 20,
      "unit_price": "100.00",
      "tax_rate": "10.00", 
      "total": "2200.00"
    }
  ],
  "public_url": "https://invoice.billbora.com/inv_1234567890",
  "pdf_url": "https://invoice.billbora.com/inv_1234567890/pdf",
  "created_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

Congratulations! You’ve successfully created your first invoice.

Step 5: Send the Invoice

Now let’s send the invoice to your client:

curl -X POST \
  https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/invoices/inv_1234567890/send/ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "email": "billing@acme.com"
  }'

const response = await fetch('https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/invoices/inv_1234567890/send/', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    email: 'billing@acme.com'
  })
})

const result = await response.json()
console.log(result)

response = requests.post(
    'https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/invoices/inv_1234567890/send/',
    headers={
        'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    json={'email': 'billing@acme.com'}
)

result = response.json()
print(result)

const result = await client.invoices.send('inv_1234567890', {
  email: 'billing@acme.com'
})

console.log(result)

The invoice will be sent via email, and you’ll receive a confirmation:

Response

{
  "message": "Invoice sent successfully",
  "sent_to": "billing@acme.com",
  "sent_at": "2025-01-15T10:35:00Z"
}

What’s Next?

Authentication Guide

Learn about our hybrid authentication system for frontend applications

Frontend Integration

Integrate Billbora with React, Vue, or your preferred frontend framework

Webhooks Setup

Set up real-time event notifications for invoice and payment updates

Payment Processing

Accept payments directly through your application using Stripe integration

Common Next Steps

Set up webhook notifications

Configure webhooks to receive real-time updates about invoice status changes, payments, and other events:

curl -X POST \
  https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/webhooks/ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://your-app.com/webhooks/billbora",
    "events": ["invoice.paid", "invoice.overdue", "payment.received"]
  }'

Accept payments

Enable your clients to pay invoices online by setting up Stripe integration:

curl -X POST \
  https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/invoices/inv_1234567890/payment-link/ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Create recurring invoices

Set up subscription billing for recurring services:

curl -X POST \
  https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/recurring-invoices/ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "client": "client_1234567890",
    "frequency": "monthly",
    "line_items": [...]
  }'

Generate reports

Access revenue reports and analytics:

curl -X GET \
  "https://api.billbora.com/api/v1/reports/revenue/?period=monthly&start_date=2025-01-01" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Need Help?

API Reference

Complete API documentation with all endpoints

Community

Get help from other developers

Support

Contact our support team

Tip: All examples in this guide use placeholder IDs. Replace them with the actual IDs returned by your API calls.

​Quickstart

​Prerequisites

​Step 1: Get Your API Credentials

​Step 2: Make Your First API Call

​Step 3: Create Your First Client

​Step 4: Create Your First Invoice

​Step 5: Send the Invoice

​What’s Next?

Authentication Guide

Frontend Integration

Webhooks Setup

Payment Processing

​Common Next Steps

​Need Help?

API Reference

Community

Support

Quickstart

Prerequisites

Step 1: Get Your API Credentials

Step 2: Make Your First API Call

Step 3: Create Your First Client

Step 4: Create Your First Invoice

Step 5: Send the Invoice

What’s Next?

Common Next Steps

Need Help?