How to create an invoice

Most invoices are generated for you from completed jobs. Sometimes, though, you need to raise one yourself — for a charge that sits outside the usual cycle, or for a client you bill directly.

Creating an invoice happens in two stages: first you create a draft with the client and dates, then you add the items it covers and finalise it.

Before you begin

You will need a user access level that allows you to create invoices.
Have the client, the dates and the jobs or charges you are billing for to hand.
The details you enter when creating the draft are final and cannot be edited afterwards. If you are unsure about any of them, save the invoice as a draft, then discard it and start again rather than finalising something incorrect.

Step one: create the draft

Select Finance in the left-hand menu, then Create Invoice.
Choose the Invoice Type, for example Agency Charge Invoice.
Confirm the On Behalf Of organisation — your agency.
Choose the Client Type, then the Client you are billing. The client list only becomes available once you have chosen a client type.
Check the Issued Date, which defaults to today, and set the Due Date according to the payment terms you have agreed.
Select Create Draft Invoice.

The invoice opens with its own invoice number, ready for you to add items. The details you have just entered are shown across the top so you can confirm them at a glance.

Tip: Set the due date from your agreed credit terms rather than guessing. It is the date the invoice will be chased against, and it cannot be changed later.

Step two: add your items

Every charge on the invoice is a line item under Item Details.

Select the Item field and choose what you are billing:

A job reference — the description, unit price and quantity are filled in for you from the completed job, including the worker, the job date and the hours
Custom Line Item — for anything that is not a job, which you describe and price yourself

For a custom item, enter a Description, the Unit Price and the Quantity.
Choose the correct option under Tax %, such as Vat Exempt or Vat Inclusive.
The Amount calculates automatically.
Select + Add Item to add another line, and repeat for everything the invoice covers.

To remove a line you have added, select the bin icon at the end of its row.

The totals in the corner update as you go, showing your Sub Total, the Tax and the Total. Check these against what you expect to bill before going any further.

Add anything the client needs to know in Client Notes — a purchase order reference, for example, or a note about a particular charge.

Please note: Where a line item is drawn from a job, the figures come from that job's completed timesheet. If a figure looks wrong, check the timesheet rather than overwriting the amount here.

Step three: save or finalise

You have two options at the bottom of the screen:

Save as draft — keeps the invoice as a work in progress. Nothing is sent, and you can come back to it. Drafts can be found by filtering the invoice list by the Draft status
Finalise Invoice — completes the invoice and sends it into the approval and payment process

Select View Audit Log at any point to see a record of what has been changed on the invoice and by whom.

What happens next

Once finalised, your invoice appears at the top of the invoice list, marked to show it was raised manually. From there it follows the same route as any other invoice, moving through Approval, Payment and Payout, which you can track from the progress icons on its row.

See How to find and manage your invoices for how to follow its progress, download a copy or raise a query.

If a job you need to bill does not appear in the Item list, check that the job has been completed and its timesheet submitted.