# How do you send invoices and track payments in chat?

> A Pachca use case. An invoice request from a client account or CRM lands as a card in the "Invoices" chat. The manager clicks "Request invoice", the handler issues the invoice in your bank or 1С, and the bot posts in the card's thread about sending, payment and the акт.

> This is the Markdown version of https://pachca.com/en/scenarios/scheta-i-oplata for AI agents. The API methods named here are documented at https://dev.pachca.com/llms-en.txt — open it before calling the API. Other use cases are listed at https://pachca.com/en/llms.txt.

## What you'll get

1. The client account, website or CRM sends an invoice request to the "Invoices" bot's incoming webhook. A card with billing details appears in the "Invoices" chat.
2. The deal's manager clicks "Request invoice". The handler issues the invoice in the bank or 1С, sends it to the client by email and ЭДО and drops the PDF in the card's thread.
3. The handler matches the bank statement by ИНН and amount and posts "Paid" in the thread. After payment, the акт is issued.

There are three options:

- A. No handler. The card comes from the CRM, the accountant issues the invoice by hand and drops the PDF in the thread. No buttons.
- B. A handler in n8n with no code.
- C. Your own code: bank, 1С and ЭДО in one handler.

## What you need before you start

- Pachca access as an administrator or workspace owner with the scopes `chats:create`, `chat_members:write`, `bots:write`. The setup and check steps also need `search:users`, `group_tags:read`, `group_tags:write`, `messages:create`, `messages:read`. Signing in is covered in the rules below.
- Access to the webhook settings in the CRM or client account.
- For options B and C, access to your bank's API or 1С. For option B, n8n with the Pachca node: https://pachca.com/en/help-center/integrations/avtomatizacii-v-pachke-s-pomoshchyu-n8n

## If you're an AI agent: working rules

### Who does what

- You do everything the instructions name an API method for. Don't ask the user to create a chat, a bot or a message by hand.
- Ask the user only to sign in to Pachca and to do what is listed in "Ask the user to do by hand".
- If you have no terminal, say so right away and don't pretend you set it up. Walk the user through the steps for people on the use case page and help with the template or the handler code.

### How to talk to the user

- The user is not a developer. Write briefly and in plain words. Don't mention API methods, scopes, response codes, `id`s or CLI profiles. Say "permissions" instead of "scopes" and "the program behind the bot" instead of "handler".
- Don't report your checks. A message contains only three things: what is done, what you need from the user, what you'll do next.
- Don't ask for what you can find out through the API or what is easy to change later. Take the value from the instructions and name it.
- Take the bot's message texts from the instructions or write them yourself and carry on. Show them in your final message and offer to change them. Don't wait for approval.
- Ask the questions from "Ask the user" in the same words.

### Your first message to the user

It has three parts. The first two together take at most five lines.

1. What the user will get: one or two lines.
2. What you will create yourself: the chat, the bot and the messages, with the names from the instructions. Word anything that depends on the user's choice as a condition: "if you choose the bot, I'll also create…".
3. "What I need from you": signing in to Pachca, if the user isn't signed in yet, and the questions from "Ask the user". If the use case or one of its options needs n8n, ask here whether the user has it and ask for access right away in the words from the "n8n" section below: "if you have n8n, send me…".

If part of the result appears only after a manual step by the user, say so in one line: "you'll schedule the retro questions yourself, I'll show you how".

The user's answers are their consent to the plan. Start the setup right after them, without asking for a second confirmation.

### Access to Pachca

- The user doesn't need to issue a token or send it in the chat. Before your first message, check the login: `npx -y @pachca/cli@latest auth status`. If there is none, ask the user to run `npx -y @pachca/cli@latest auth login` in their own terminal. The CLI shows a code; the user enters it in the browser and confirms access. Write the commands with `@latest`: without it an old cached CLI version may start, and it asks to paste a token instead of signing in through the browser.
- This login has the same rights as the user's role. Compare them with the scopes in "What you need before you start" yourself: `npx -y @pachca/cli@latest api GET /oauth/token/info` shows the scopes. If something is missing, say in plain words what you won't be able to do, for example "I can't send messages". There are two ways out: add this permission to the token in Pachca, under "Automations" → "API", or sign in again as the workspace owner or an administrator.
- If `auth status` shows `scopes: null`, it doesn't mean there are no rights: look at `GET /oauth/token/info`. The checks in these rules also need `search:chats`, `bots:read` and `profile:read`.
- When the user says "me", they mean the owner of the login. `GET /profile` returns their `id` and nickname.
- Call the API with `npx -y @pachca/cli@latest api <METHOD> <path> -o json`. Write the full command in every call; don't put it into a shell variable.
- Pass query parameters as `--query key=value`, for example `--query query=Purchasing`. The CLI silently drops a parameter without a key and returns the whole list, so it's easy to conclude that the chat already exists.
- Pass the request body with `--data` or `--input`. Almost every write method wraps the body in an object: `chat` for `POST /chats`, `message` for `POST /messages`, `task` for `POST /tasks`, `group_tag` for `POST /group_tags`, `user` for `PUT /users/{id}`, `webhook` for bots. `--describe` shows the wrapper; write its path with `{id}`, not with a number. Without the wrapper, `POST /chats` creates the chat but silently adds no members.
- Don't print tokens or bots' incoming webhook URLs in the chat. A bot's token is shown only once, when it's created: save it to a file.

### n8n

- If the user has no n8n, say that it comes as the hosted n8n Cloud or can be installed on their own server, and give the link for installing the Pachca nodes: https://dev.pachca.com/guides/n8n/setup.md. These instructions don't cover installing n8n. If they have an option without n8n, suggest starting with it and coming back to the bot once n8n is there.
- If the user has n8n, ask for access in these words: "Send me your n8n address: the link you open it with in the browser. Don't send the key in the chat. In n8n, open Settings → n8n API → Create an API key and copy the key. Right after that, run the command below in your terminal exactly as it is; you don't need to put anything into it. It saves the copied key to a file and prints nothing. Then write 'key saved'." The command for macOS: `pbpaste > ~/n8n-key.txt`. For another system, pick the matching one.
- Build everything in n8n on the official Pachca nodes, `n8n-nodes-pachca`. Don't use the `HTTP Request` node for Pachca API calls.

### Setup

- Take API methods from https://dev.pachca.com/llms-en.txt, don't rely on memory. The command `npx -y @pachca/cli@latest api <METHOD> <path> --describe` shows a method's schema.
- The Pachca skills cover the call order and error handling for chats, bots and forms: `npx skills add pachca/openapi`. Install them when you need them, without asking the user.
- Before creating anything, check whether the chat and the bot already exist: `GET /search/chats`, `GET /bots`. If they do, ask whether to set them up or create new ones.
- `POST /group_tags` creates an empty tag. `PUT /users/{id}` with `list_tags` assigns it to an employee; it needs the `users:update` scope. The field replaces the whole set of tags: first read the employee's current tags with `GET /users/{id}` and send them together with the new one. While the tag has no members, mentioning it notifies no one.
- If a method returns an error, stop and tell the user in plain words what failed and what you need to continue.
- The messages you post yourself and the ones the bot sends must be easy to read on a screen, without overdoing spacing or emphasis. Make the heading bold and start the text on the next line. Write connected text as one paragraph. Put rules and steps on numbered lines one under another and separate them from the intro with a single empty line. A short message needs no other empty lines. In a card, make the field labels bold and put the fields on consecutive lines. Use bold only for the heading and the field labels. Pachca markup has no lists or tables: the numbers at the start of lines stay plain text. A sample:

  ```text
  **Retro rules**
  On the last day of the sprint a message with questions arrives here. We reply in the thread under it.

  1. Each point is a separate message.
  2. We add 👍 to what is worth discussing.
  3. The facilitator posts the outcomes in one message and pins it.
  ```
- A pin can't be checked through the API: only a successful `POST /messages/{id}/pin` response confirms it.
- If you sent service messages to a chat to check a bot, such as `/start`, delete them: `DELETE /messages/{id}`. Don't delete messages with rules and templates.
- At the end, say what was created, what is left for the user to do by hand and how to check that the use case works.
- To undo the setup: `DELETE /bots/{id}` deletes the bot, `PUT /chats/{id}/archive` sends the chat to the archive.

## How to set up the use case with the user

### 1. Ask the user

Ask these questions in these words:

1. Where does an invoice request come from: which CRM or client account?
2. Who issues the invoice? The accountant by hand: it works right away. Or the "Invoices" bot issues it in the bank or 1С: that needs n8n and access to the bank's API or 1С. Do you have n8n? If not, or if you're not sure, we'll start with the simple option and add the bot later.
3. Who are the managers and who is the accountant? Send me the names and I'll add them to the "Invoices" chat.
4. If you choose the bot: what should issue the invoice — a bank, for example Tochka or T-Bank, or 1С?

Ask for a sample request from the CRM or client account: you'll use it to set up the card fields.

### 2. Do it yourself through the Pachca API

1. Find the `id`s of the managers and the accountant: `GET /search/users` or `GET /users`.
2. Create the chat: `POST /chats` with `name: "Invoices"` and `member_ids`.
3. Check the "Accounting" tag: `GET /group_tags` with `names`. The tag makes an @Accounting mention in an invoice thread reach everyone who handles payments. If the tag doesn't exist, create it via `POST /group_tags` (check the schema with `--describe`) or ask the user.
4. Create the bot: `POST /bots` with `name: "Invoices"` and a nickname ending in `_bot`. For options B and C, add `events: ["button_click"]`. Save the bot `id` and `access_token` from the response: the handler needs the token, and it's shown once.
5. Add the bot to the chat: `POST /chats/{id}/members` with the bot `id` in `member_ids`.
6. For options B and C, put the handler's address in the outgoing webhook: `PUT /bots/{id}` with `outgoing_url` using the personal token, or `PUT /bot/webhook` using the bot token. For n8n, this is the Production URL of the first workflow.
7. Suggest posting the rules in the chat: `POST /messages`. The deal's manager clicks "Request invoice" and answers the client's questions about the invoice. The accountant follows the thread: if the client is new and hasn't set up ЭДО, they invite them to Diadoc or SBIS and note it in the thread. The ✅ reaction goes on the card only after the акт is sent.

### 3. Ask the user to do by hand

- Turn on the incoming webhook: on the bot's page, open the "Incoming webhook" tab and copy the Webhook URL. API responses don't include this address.
- Paste the Webhook URL into the CRM or client account. Bitrix24, amoCRM and most CRMs send a webhook when a deal moves to a new stage. The message template with the deal fields is set there too:

```
🚀 {{company}} requested an invoice
Legal entity: {{legal_name}}
ИНН: {{inn}}
Email: {{email}}
Plan: {{plan}} · {{users}} users
Period: {{months}} mo · pay by {{pay_by}}
```

- Tag the accountants with the "Accounting" tag: Members → table view → tag icon.
- In option A, the accountant issues the invoice in 1С or the bank as usual, drops the PDF in the card's thread and marks the payment with a ✅ reaction.

### 4. Handler for options B and C

The user or a developer writes the handler code. Specification from the page:

- Receives the button click event from the bot's outgoing webhook.
- The card in the "Invoices" chat contains the billing details and the buttons "Request invoice" and "Edit details".
- "Request invoice": check the legal entity by ИНН, create the invoice through the bank's API or in 1С, upload the PDF to the card's thread, send the invoice to the client by email and ЭДО, post a report in the thread. If the client doesn't use ЭДО, documents go by email only, and that's visible in the thread.
- "Edit details": open a form for fixing the billing details.
- On a schedule, pull the bank statement, find the payment by the payer's ИНН and the amount without kopecks and post "Paid" in the thread. After payment, issue the акт.

In n8n this is a four-node workflow: Webhook receives the button event, HTTP Request creates the invoice in the bank or 1С, and the Pachca node sends the PDF and a report to the thread. A second workflow on a Schedule Trigger pulls the statement every hour and posts "Paid". For option C, the use case page has a skill the user gives to an AI assistant. It covers the card, the form, issuing the invoice, statement matching, the акт and choosing hosting.

### 5. Check

1. Ask the user to send a test request to the incoming webhook. The card should appear in the "Invoices" chat: `GET /messages` for this chat.
2. For options B and C, ask them to click "Request invoice" and confirm the bot's reply appeared in the card's thread.

## What the use case can't do

- Invoices, акты and statement matching live in your bank and 1С. Pachca shows their status in the chat.
- In option A there are no buttons: invoices are issued by hand.

## Troubleshooting

- The card doesn't show up in the chat. The CRM has the wrong Webhook URL, or the bot isn't in the "Invoices" chat.
- The "Request invoice" button does nothing. The bot's `events` doesn't include `button_click`, or the handler is off. n8n needs the Production URL, not the Test URL.
- The invoice is created, but the payment never gets marked. The handler is looking for a different ИНН or amount. Match on the payer's ИНН and the amount without kopecks: clients write whatever they like in the payment reference.

## Links

- Use case page with the demo and the human instructions: https://pachca.com/en/scenarios/scheta-i-oplata
- n8n and the Pachca node: https://pachca.com/en/help-center/integrations/avtomatizacii-v-pachke-s-pomoshchyu-n8n
- Buttons in chat bots: https://pachca.com/en/help-center/integrations/knopki-v-chat-botah
- Outgoing webhooks: https://pachca.com/en/help-center/integrations/ishodyashchie-webhook-kak-nastroit
- Incoming webhooks for developers: https://dev.pachca.com/guides/incoming-webhooks.md
- Buttons in messages: https://dev.pachca.com/guides/buttons.md
- Forms: https://dev.pachca.com/guides/forms/overview.md