Scrap Metal · updated 2026-09-19

Why a scrap metal order says No charge and sends no invoice

A scrap job is usually free for the customer because your company is paid by the recycling center, not by the customer. Dumpster Controls has a payment state for exactly that: "No charge". It is not "unpaid", and it never turns into a bill.

  1. See where it comes from

    On the "Create New Order" page every scrap order starts with "No charge for this order" checked ("Scrap jobs usually are not billed. Uncheck to invoice the customer."). Creating the order with the box checked saves it with a $0 price and the payment state "No charge".

  2. Understand what does not happen

    No invoice is created, so there is no payment link and there are no automatic payment reminders. The order is never counted as unpaid or late on payment in Order History, on the Dashboard or in Finances, and it never enters your payout: with no payment there is nothing to pay out.

  3. Read it in Order History

    Expand the order. The payment area shows "No payment to collect" with a "No charge" badge: "This service is free for the customer, so there is nothing to collect on this order." Scrap orders add the note "Scrap metal income comes from the recycling center, not from the customer, and it is not tracked in Dumpster Controls yet." The "Payment Breakdown" card is hidden, and the mark as paid and resend invoice actions are not offered.

  4. Read it in Operations

    The order drawers on the Scrap Metal tab show a gray "No charge" badge where a regular order would show "Paid" or "Not Paid".

  5. Charge only when you mean to

    Uncheck "No charge for this order" before creating the order. The price fields, "Due Date" and payment method return and the order follows the normal invoice flow. A no-charge order cannot be flipped to paid afterwards; the only money that can appear on it later is an extra charge you add from Order History, which raises its own extra invoice and is the one thing that can make the order show as unpaid.

What happens next

Troubleshooting

Finances shows nothing owed and nothing received on the order. Is that a bug?

No. Nothing was charged, so nothing is owed or received. What the recycling center paid you for the metal is not shown in the app yet.

The customer asked for a receipt.

There is no invoice to send on a no-charge order. If the customer needs a document, create the order with "No charge" unchecked and a price, or add an extra charge for the agreed amount from Order History.

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