Understanding financial options for invoicing (1 min 39 sec.)
WorkflowMax allows you to create, print and send several types of invoices to your clients.
To simplify your workflow, you can produce invoices by using the Invoice Manager, Client Manager, Job Manager and WIP Work In Progress in WorkflowMax is all uninvoiced staff time and disbursements recorded on client jobs. Manager.
The Job Manager allows you to create the widest variety of invoice types, but the other Managers provide different features, such as invoicing multiple clients or jobs at a time.
In May 2022, invoicing in WorkflowMax was extended to support folders on invoices. Currently, this feature can be switched on (‘New invoicing’) or off (‘Classic invoicing’) in the Invoice detail screen. Articles in this support centre relate to ‘New invoicing’. Articles on 'Classic invoicing' and folders are available in the old support centre. In WorkflowMax accounts created after this date, 'New invoicing' is the only option.
- Results of invoicing
In addition to creating invoices in WorkflowMax, invoicing:
- marks the time and costs on a job as invoiced
- removes the job from the estimated billings and WIP Work In Progress in WorkflowMax is all uninvoiced staff time and disbursements recorded on client jobs. Ledger as outstanding items to be invoiced
- populates the revenue against the job to give you an overall indication of profit
- allows you to write off any time and costs, which you don't have any intention of billing your clients. These will also be recorded against your job to create a full financial picture of your job
- allows you to map individual tasks and costs (at the line item level or job level) to specific accounts in your accounting system for a full General Ledger breakdown on revenue and expenditure. For an example of this, see Set up the Xero interface.
If you are connected to Xero, your invoices will appear there when approved in WorkflowMax. If you are using a file-based accounting system, you can choose to manually export a file of invoices on a weekly or monthly basis to import into your accounting system.
- Types of invoice
WorkflowMax allows you to create two main types of job invoices.
- Progress invoices are used to invoice your client for progress payments as work proceeds on a job. Deposit invoices are a type of progress invoice that you can use to invoice your client for a deposit or progress payment.
- A Final invoice is used only at the very end of a job when all work has been completed.
When a quote has been issued for the job, progress and final invoices can relate to the quoted amount, or to estimated time and costs. For flexibility, progress or final invoices for actual time and costs can be created for a job regardless of whether there was a quote or not.
Invoices for miscellaneous costs
You can also produce progress or final invoices for miscellaneous costs when you need to charge for costs that are not directly related to specific jobs.
Retention invoices
You can create retention invoices when you need to allow your client to withhold payment on an agreed percentage of the original quote until the work is completed to their satisfaction.
WorkflowMax allows you to produce retention invoices by using a combination of progress invoices and a final invoice.
For further details see Producing retention invoices.
- Controlling invoice content
As you create an invoice, WorkflowMax presents you with options that allow you to control the content of the invoice. The option you choose will depend on whether you want the invoice to be based on:
- Actual time and costs. The billable amounts are calculated from the actual time worked on the job's tasks at specific hourly rates, plus actual costs incurred for any disbursements. This option is available for progress and final invoices.
- Quoted/Estimated time and costs. The billable amounts are calculated from the total estimated time to be worked on the job's tasks at specific hourly rates, plus estimated costs for any disbursements. If the job is:
- based on a quote, the estimated values come from the quote - any time or costs later added to the job (but not included in the quote) are highlighted and can be included in your invoice if you wish.
- not based on a quote, the estimated values come directly from the job itself.
- Percentage of the quoted value of the job. The billable amount is calculated as a percentage of the total value of the quote that the job is based on. This option is available only when you create a progress invoice for a job based on a quote.
- Progress amount / deposit. The billable amount is a specific figure, typically for a progress payment or a deposit. This option is available only when you create a progress invoice from the Financial tab of a job.
- Adjusting the value of invoices
When you are creating an invoice, WorkflowMax allows you to adjust the value of the invoice – upwards or downwards. This lets you modify the amount you are billing your client in a specific invoice. For further details, see About adjusting an invoice.
- Invoicing multiple clients or jobs
When you create invoices in WorkflowMax, you can invoice multiple clients or multiple jobs at the same time.
- To invoice multiple clients at the same time, use the WIP Manager – convenient if you need to bill several clients at month end.
- To invoice multiple jobs at the same time, use the WIP Manager, Invoice Manager or Client Manager – convenient if you need to bill several jobs for the same client.
Multiple invoices can be produced for progress and final invoices only. For further details, see Types of invoice above.
- Related videos
- Free online course: Invoicing and financial
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Import/export
- Export an invoice to another application
- Import invoices from Xero (WorkflowMax Premium only)
- Re-export an invoice to Xero