In you can progressively invoice a client for an agreed total amount, on a (task or cost) line by line basis.
Scenario: You have agreed to perform for your client a job which contains multiple tasks and costs, and you wish to bill those individual task and cost lines progressively, rather than all at once.
Example: You have quoted your client $20,000.00 (excluding tax), made up of:
- Task A - Stage 1 - $7000
- Task B - Stage 2 - $5000
- Cost A - Materials - $8000
Each month, as the job progresses, you wish to invoice out part of the amounts for each of the three line items, which will represent actual progress to date.
Step 1: Create a quote
If you want to successfully progressively invoice out individual line items, you MUST change the Pricing Mode from the default Calculated Price to Fixed Price before you issue the quote. Once you've done this you will have the option to accept the calculated values, or override those values with another amount in the Fixed Price column.
Create a Fixed Price quote with the three line items.
- Task A - Stage 1 - $7000
- Task B - Stage 2 - $5000
- Cost A - Materials - $8000
You will need to issue and accept the quote to create a job based on that quote.
If you need more information on how to create a quote, see Create a quote or estimate from scratch.
Step 2: Create your first progress instalment
When you are ready to invoice your first instalment:
- Open the job and select Job Actions > + New Progress Invoice.
- On the New Progress Invoice screen, make sure that the Invoice Type is set to Quoted/Estimated Time and Costs.
- Click Save. The Invoice Information screen is displayed.
Because you selected the Fixed Price Pricing Mode at the quote stage, your invoice will default to the Fixed Price Pricing Mode.
- On the Invoice Information screen, change the amounts shown in the Fixed Price column to the amounts that you wish to invoice.
For example, at the end of the first month, you have almost completed Task 1, just started Task 2 and purchased roughly half the materials; so you might choose to invoice as follows:
- Task A - Stage 1 - $6000 (of $7000)
- Task B - Stage 2 - $1000 (of $5000)
- Cost A - Materials - $4000 (of $8000)
- Save & Approve the invoice and send it to your client.
Step 3: Create your next progress instalment
When you are ready to invoice your second instalment, repeat steps 1–3 of Step 2 above.
On the Invoice Information screen, you'll see that the remaining balances are:
- Task A - Stage 1 - $1000
- Task B - Stage 2 - $4000
- Cost A - Materials - $4000
Un-billed balances will be available for billing only if you have used Fixed Price Pricing Mode in the quote and all invoices. Using Calculated Price Pricing Mode at any stage will cause the remaining un-invoiced balances to be written off, so there will be nothing left to invoice.
Repeat steps 4–5 of Step 2 above, using the amounts you wish to invoice for.
Step 4: Repeat Step 3 until you are ready to issue your Final Invoice
You need to complete the billing sequence with a Final Invoice (for housekeeping purposes - see below), so don't keep issuing progress invoices until there is nothing left to invoice.
Step 5: Create your final progress instalment
Raising a final invoice will:
- Remove the job from the invoice list (Estimated Billings section on the job's Financial tab).
- Set the job's Status to Completed and move the job to the All Jobs archive.
When you are ready to invoice for your last instalment:
- Open the job and select Job Actions > + New Final Invoice.
- On the New Final Invoice screen, make sure that Invoice Type is set to Quoted/Estimated Time and Costs.
- Click Save. The invoice generated will display the remaining un-invoiced balances for each line item.
- Save & Approve the invoice and send it to your client.