Handbook / The money
Invoices and payments
An invoice is a document with a due date. A payment is a fact against it.
Invoices can be raised from scratch, from an accepted estimate, from an approved change order, or as a progress invoice for a percentage of the contract. Sending one generates the PDF, files it against the client, attaches it to the email and gives the client a link they can open on their phone.
An invoice
Overdue is not a status you set. It is worked out from the due date and what is still outstanding, so it can never be stale. The overdue reminder can be sent to everything that qualifies in one action.
Payments
Recorded against the invoice with a date, a method and a reference. The status follows the money - a part payment moves it to partial, a full one to paid - so nobody is setting a status by hand and getting it wrong. A payment receipt can be emailed straight back to the client.
Undoing things
| What happened | The way back |
|---|---|
| Wrong amount before sending | Edit it while it is a draft. |
| Changing the lines after a payment | Refused. Void it and reissue - the money that came in was against the document as it stood. |
| Deleting an invoice with payments | Refused. Void it. |
| Payment recorded wrongly | Delete the payment. The invoice status recalculates immediately. |
| Sent to the wrong address | Send it again to the right one. The document is unchanged. |
Access: Billing management.