“Just invoice me” is not a system. Neither is “here’s my wallet.” You have three honest inbound tools. Using the wrong one is how money stalls in Slack.
The decision tree
Payment request (locked link)
Use when this job is unique: a one-off amount, a memo, a person who shouldn’t browse your whole menu. They open the link, pay the number you set, it credits your balance. That’s closer to Pay + Collect’s “get paid once” than a storefront.
Service catalog / service page
Use when you sell the same thing more than once: sessions, packages, retainers, API SKUs. Humans book & pay on /s/@you. Agents settle the same offerings. Price lives in one place.
Classic invoice PDF
Use when a company AP department requires their format. Then still attach a Vybe pay link or catalog URL so the human who has to click isn’t hunting an address. The PDF is compliance theater. The link is how you get paid.
If you’ll sell it again, put it on the catalog. If it’s once, lock a request. If they need a PDF, don’t let the PDF be the only rail.
Picker checklist
- Will you quote this exact amount again? → Catalog offering
- Is this a custom project with a weird number? → Payment request
- Does AP need a PDF? → PDF + link, never PDF + hex
- Could an agent buy this? → Catalog + Collect on
- Are you paying a person, not getting paid? → That’s Pay, not this article
What not to mix
Don’t put send in Wallet. Don’t put a one-off request on the service page as a fake SKU you’ll delete tomorrow. Don’t run three prices for the same critique. Collect is money in. Pick the inbound object, publish it, stop restating the price in chat.
