Billings#

Overview#

The articles in this section focus on how you invoice projects and their work packages. All project work can be billed via direct invoices or sales orders.

Sales & Receivables Setup#

Two fields have been introduced on the "KUMAVISION" FastTab in the "Sales & Receivables Setup", which affect the printing of sales documents (quotation or order confirmation).

Disable Delivery Date Print List#

On this page, you can specify whether the delivery date for G/L accounts, resources and items should not be printed in the sales order confirmation lines.

Create sales quotes and orders#

Sales documents are the foundation for customer-centered business transactions.

To transfer project sales to a quote or an order, open a work breakdown structure and choose New > Create Sales Document on the ribbon.

On each WBS line, you can select in the Copy to Sales Doc. field if you want to copy the line itself—as representing the total of detailed budgeting—or transfer individual budget lines and their prices.

You will need to decide this on a case-by-case basis. For example, some customers might not require invoices that describe more than a work package, whereas others might need to be billed for individual components or partial services.

If budget lines are transferred to a sales document, items stored on them are often copied automatically. Resources and resource groups, however, must be converted to billing-neutral resources before transfer.

If a WBS line is copied instead, the system will create a sales line that contains the billing base and number of the relevant work package. All sales documents are generated from customer information stored for a project. You can find this information in the sell-to, bill-to, ship-to, and payment terms fields on a project card.

You can add other customers to WBS—and budget—lines based on what option you chose in the Copy to Sales Doc. field on a WBS line. These customers then get their own documents so that you can offer and bill various kinds of services to different companies. Every customer entered this way will be included in invoice suggestions.

When you run the Create Sales Document function, you can also specify a document number manually if necessary (and possible for the number series).

Additionally, you can use the function to assign position numbers, calculate totaling lines, or release the newly created document immediately.

Furthermore, you can update an existing quote instead of creating a new document. In this case, the quotation lines are recreated, and you can archive the existing ones before the update.

Copy attachments to sales documents#

Attachments available for a project can be copied to a new sales document by selecting the Copy from Project to Sales checkbox on the Attached Documents page. To open the page, select the hyperlink for attachments on the right-hand side of a project card.

Link a sales document to a WBS#

There is another way in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central¹ to create and link sales documents. Many of these documents are generated before a project—and, consequently, a WBS—is set up. You can, however, link to them from a new work breakdown structure as described in the following.

1. Open a sales document.
2. Select a sales line or multiple sales lines.
3. On the ribbon, choose Line > Functions > Get WP For Current Line or Get WP for Selected Lines.

Based on what you chose in the Copy to Sales Doc. field, the function then creates a link at the work package or budget line level—or no link at all.

This means that what you can choose might vary. Sometimes, both WBS and budget lines might show up. However, a WBS line where values are copied at the budget line level cannot be linked to a line at the work package level and vice versa.

When you run an action to get work packages, all fields needed to set up the link to a sales line or to multiple sales lines are filled in automatically. This includes the Work Package Code field.

Some fields are also checked for discrepancies, such as differences in work types or pricing. If a discrepancy is found, you are asked to confirm that you want to copy the data.

A link can only be established if you entered a resource, an item, or a G/L account in the Type field on the sales line.

If you want to create an order from scratch, we recommend that you use the Create Sales Document action instead.

Link opportunities to projects#

Turn quotes into orders

To make an order out of a sales quote:

1. Open the project assigned to the relevant quote.
2. Choose Project > WBS Incl. Budget View.
3. Choose Create Sales Document on the ribbon.

This deletes the quote, although the document is archived if you turned on the Archive Quotes toggle in Sales & Receivables Setup.

A project that is still in the Quote status can be changed to Open when you run the function. The status on WBS lines referencing the quote then changes to Open as well.

If the quote was sent to a contact, not a customer, the contact is converted to a customer based on the customer template code that was used on the quote. The same customer is also entered on the project if it still contains the old contact information.

You can also copy only parts of a quote to an order.

1. Open the relevant quote.
2. Select the Ordered field on the lines you want to copy.
3. Choose Process > Make Order on the ribbon and select Only Lines on Ordered instead of Complete Quote.

The lines you didn’t select will remain in the quote so that they can be copied to another order later.

Alternatively, you can run the Attach to Sales Order (Project) action. This function doesn’t create a new order but adds lines ordered from the quote (or the entire quote) to an order already available for the project and linked to it on the header.

Transfer supplementary offer to existing project order#

A project follow-up quotation can be added to an existing sales order for the same project using the "Attach to sales order (project)" function. The prerequisites for this are that the quotation has been released and the target order is open.

The function attaches all sales quotation lines to the target order, deletes the quotation and changes the status of the associated WBS lines to "Order" if there is already a link to WBS lines in the quotation. If the quotation lines do not yet have any WBS lines in the target project, new WBS lines or budget lines can be created from the sales order after the transfer to the order. Further information can be found under: Create project from sales document.

Print Line and Print on Invoice#

Although you might not want to bill everything on an order at once, the system typically copies the content of the entire document to a posted invoice. However, you can prevent a posted invoice line with a quantity of 0 from showing up on printouts by clearing its Print Line checkbox, which you can select or clear manually even after you posted the invoice.

You can also use the Print on Invoice field on the unposted lines of a document, such as a sales order or invoice, to exclude from printing lines that are not part of the current bill before posting them. The checkbox is selected by default and can only be cleared on lines where the Qty. to Invoice field is set to 0.

What ultimately goes on a printout is specified on each posted document in the Print Line checkbox. The Print on Invoice field, on the other hand, gives you the option to specify, prior to posting, which lines you want printed.

Update sales documents#

Sales documents and project budgets might change frequently, for example, when you’re still negotiating with a customer about the price of a project. All you need to do then is to open the work breakdown structure to recalculate prices and create a new offer from a previous quote.

The process might get more complicated when a sales order is involved, as multiple sales lines might have been shipped or invoiced in the meantime—and can no longer be deleted. In that case, the easiest solution would be to make minor changes to the sales document and run a separate function to synchronize data with the project.

Set up synchronization#

1. Choose the search icon, enter Projects Setup, and then choose the related link.
2. Fill in the fields as described in the following table.

Specify synchronization data#

You then need to specify in the Sales Doc. Project Budget Change Matrix what you want to synchronize and how. For each document type, you can specify what you want the program to do when you run synchronization.

• Never
  Sales lines aren’t synchronized with the project; no messages are shown on screen either.
• Question
  You are asked if you want to make the change. If you choose No, your reply will be logged.
• Always
  Sales line changes immediately trigger the update function.

The matrix also shows which kind of changes can be made:

• Delete a sales line
• Enter a new description on a sales line
• Alter a sales price (including line discounts)
• Reduce or increase quantities on a line

Requirements#

• The relevant sales line must be related to an active work breakdown structure.
• The project mustn’t be blocked.
• WBS lines mustn’t be blocked (even at the budget line level).
• A plausibility check for type and No. has been performed at the budget line level.
• In the case of line deletion
  Nothing must be posted to the line in the project.
• In the case of price changes
  The invoice currency must be identical to the currency on the sales document. You can ensure this by using the Create Sales Document function on the WBS.
  The unit stored on the sales line must also be identical to the unit used for the project. You can again ensure this by running the Create Sales Document function.
• In the case of quantity changes
  The quantity budgeted for the project must be the same as the quantity you plan to invoice. Otherwise, there would be no way to know whether you want to keep or offset the difference, set up a fixed usage/consumption quantity, or change the invoice quantity.|
• In the case of quantity changes on budget lines The unit of measure stored on budget lines must be identical to the unit shown on the sales document. To ensure this, run the Create Sales Document function from the WBS. Quantity changes on WBS lines require the same type of unit for usage/consumption and billing.
• In the case of quantity reductions on budget lines
  Reductions can only be equal to or lower than what has already been consumed. The quantity consumed consists of actual consumption, the in-stock quantity on the relevant budget line, and the quantity remaining on the associated purchase order.
• In the case of quantity changes on WBS lines
  A quantity change on a WBS line can only be made if no budget lines exist. Else, it would be unclear for what purpose the WBS line was changed.

What can be synchronized#

Sales Document Types#

• Quote
• Order

Changes#

• Deleting sales lines
• Replacing descriptions
• Altering prices or line discounts
• Reducing or increasing quantities

Project Levels#

• WBS lines of type work package
• Budget lines of any type

What cannot be synchronized#

• Insertions of new sales lines, as it would be unclear at which level. Also, to set up a new sales line, you would need to assign a WBS line or a work package.
• Deletions of sales documents, based on the assumption that you want to create new documents from a new project budget, not remove an entire project.
• Changes in structural elements, such as Begin-Total and End-Total lines.
• Insertions of new sales lines, as it would be unclear at which level. Also, to set up a new sales line, you would need to assign a WBS line or a work package.
• Deletions of sales documents, based on the assumption that you want to create new documents from a new project budget, not remove an entire project.
• Changes in structural elements, such as Begin-Total and End-Total lines.

Log#

The log shows successful and failed synchronization attempts, plus those canceled by a user. To see the log, open a sales document, a project, or a WBS and choose Related > Project > Sales Doc. Project Budget Change Log on the ribbon.

Invoice suggestions#

Invoice suggestions include all the data required to bill customers for expenses you incurred while working on projects for them. However, before you can make the most of these suggestions, you need to set them up properly.

A suggestion is always created from an active work breakdown structure. Each line of the WBS is processed according a billing type. You can select the Suspend Billing checkbox to block lines temporarily from appearing on an invoice.

Set up suggestions#

Suggestion templates#

To be able to use the invoice suggestion feature, you need at least one template:

1. Choose the Search icon, enter Invoice Suggestion Templates, and then choose the related link.
2. Choose New on the ribbon or fill in a line to create a new template.

We recommend that you set up a separate template for every project manager who performs billing. This ensures that only those working in a certain business unit can bill projects assigned to that unit.

Project data#

An invoice suggestion requires an active WBS, and WBS lines of type work package require a billing type. For more information about billing types, (see Work Breakdown Structure.

If the Billing Type field is left blank, a project is treated the same as if the field were set to No Billing. A type must be chosen on the WBS; the field found on suggestions is used for informational purposes only.

When you create a suggestion, the system determines for each line of an active WBS if the line has already been billed. For time and materials projects, this means a check on unbilled project ledger entries. For fixed-price projects, the sales budget needs to be invoiced in full. Each expense left to bill is then included in the suggestion, together with a link to the WBS line on which the expense is stored.

In the Rem. Total Price Calc. Base field on WBS lines, you can specify what you want to see in the Unbilled Work field. This field is used for informational purposes only; it has no impact on the suggestion.

Project ledger entries#

Project ledger entries are the basis for billing time and materials projects. They indicate project usage and tell you how much of that usage is billed to customers. They also tell you if you’re still in the middle of billing a customer or have posted a final invoice.

You can adjust the quantity that you want to bill during various stages of a project. For example, resources can adjust the invoice quantity down from the total number of hours worked as early as creating project time entries.

When these entries are then copied to the project ledger, the project manager can again revise the quantity.

The invoice quantity can also be changed for project ledger entries themselves provided they haven’t been billed or are already part of an invoice suggestion.

A quantity change can even be made on the invoice suggestion. However, if there is more to adjust than the quantity for billing, a function will need to be run.

To specify an invoice unit of measure that differs from the unit for reporting project progress, use the Work Type field on WBS lines. This way, times can be recorded in hours but billed in days.

You can specify conversions from one unit to another in the Units of Measure table so that values are calculated automatically when you post progress. If, for example, project ledger entries show the hours spent on a project, but the effort is typically billed per day, the entered quantity will be converted to the relevant unit for billing.

Sales orders#

Invoicing a WBS line usually requires a sales line. Because every WBS line contains a unique combination of work package, and phase, task, and step codes, these fields (as well as the Project No.) are also used to search for the sales line.

When you invoice time and materials projects, the budget remaining on a sales line must be large enough to bill and sales and project values, such as the invoice unit of measure, need to match. For example, if a quantity on a WBS line is given in hours, the quantity on the related sales line cannot be stated in pieces.

Open a suggestion#

1. Choose the Search icon, enter Invoice Suggestion, and then choose the related link.
2. Select a name to see the latest suggestions. These are deleted automatically when you choose the Create Suggestion Lines action on the ribbon.
3. Set filters if you want to create several types of suggestions. For example, you can use the Customer No. to filter for projects related to a certain customer or the Person Responsible filter to see only projects managed by a specific project lead.

Fields and functions#

Invoice suggestions have the following multi-level structure.

Level 0
The level at which suggestions are grouped by customer.

Level 1
The source type level, where suggestions for customers are grouped according to whether they originated with (sales and purchase) orders or projects. The current focus of this level is on suggestions for projects. Suggestions for order lines represent unbilled shipments and are used for informational purposes only.

Level 2
This level contains the projects for which suggestions are available.

Level 3
The fixed-price level. Based on the billing level, you see a WBS line or budget lines. For time and materials projects, only WBS lines can be found here.

Level 4
This level is for time and materials projects only. It contains the project ledger entries that have been suggested for billing. These can be changed before creating an invoice. For example, you might still want to adjust the invoice quantity.

The most important fields used on suggestions are described in the following table.

Based on the level chosen for a suggestion, suggestion lines store information about a WBS line or a project ledger entry. For a WBS line, the data includes:

• Budget values (Quantity, Unit Price, and Total Price)
• Entries billed (Quantity Invoiced and Amount Invoiced)
• The remaining budget amount (Remaining Total Price)
• Current billing information (Invoice Qty., Invoice Total)—for fixed-price entries
• The assigned sales line (Sales Order and Sales Line Cross-References)

The Quantity Invoiced is the result of dividing the Amount Invoiced by the Unit Price. This might be a theoretical quantity because the invoiced amount is determined based on the sales project ledger entries related to a WBS line.

The same is true for the Invoice Qty., the result of dividing the remaining budget (remaining total price) by the unit price. The quantity at the WBS line level is filled in only for fixed-price entries. For time and materials projects, work is billed at the project ledger entry level.

For a project ledger entry, the data stored includes:

• Consumption/usage values (Quantity, Unit Price, and Total Price)
• Current billing information (Invoice Qty. and Amount Invoiced)—for time and materials entries

The invoice quantity can be used to determine the quantity you want to bill to the customer for time and materials projects. The following formula applies: Invoice Qty. * Unit Price = Total Price (of an entry).

For a project ledger entry, a FactBox lists the type (that is, internal or external) and the contents of comments made. External comments—that is, those for which the Print on Customer Doc. checkbox is selected—can later be printed on proof of performance documents.

Actions#

Create Suggestion Lines#

Creates new invoice suggestions. You can find the function on the ribbon itself or by choosing Actions.

Set meaningful filters when you run the function, for example, to include only a single project, every project that is under the management of a specific project lead, or all projects assigned to a certain customer.

If you’re working with the team role feature, you can also use the Responsible for Billing field to filter for team members in charge of billing. Who is included in this case, however, doesn’t depend on whether the Invoice Suggestion field is selected—as this field allows all members to create suggestions—but whether the correct role is assigned in the project (that is, the team member is marked as Responsible for Billing).

A filter set on the Performance Date field affects both the ledger entries that you want to bill and the related payment plan lines.

With the Project Ledger Entry Type and the No. filters on the request page, you can specify what ledger entries to include on a time and materials invoice, for example, those set up for a certain item. Filtering also works if you don’t fill in the No. Filter field so that you can create one invoice for all related resources or item ledger entries.

The WBS Line Status Filter field, which has the options Both, Quote, and Order, can be used to specify the WBS lines that you want copied. Typically, these are in the Order (Open) status.

If you turn on the Delete Invoice Entries from Sales Orders toggle on the page, all invoice entries that haven’t been posted yet to a project that the function is filtered to are removed from the associated sales document before an invoice is created.

Turning on the toggle therefore returns the project ledger entries prepared for billing those entries to the suggestion and might be useful, for example, if you want to restart invoice creation and ensure that all unbilled time and materials entries are included on the new document.

Comments#

Shows detailed information about the current invoice suggestion, including whether it has an invoice currency different from the currency used for the project ledger entries, the payment plan, or the sales order.

The Comments page also shows employees who tried to bill projects but couldn’t. For the comments to appear, you must turn on the Check Team at Time Posting toggle in Projects Setup.

Close Entries before Billing#

Closes project ledger entries without making them part of an invoice. This is only useful for time and materials entries that aren’t billed or visible to customers.

Edit Project Ledger Entry#

Choose this action if you want to change a project ledger entry related to the suggestion. For more information, (see Edit Ledger Entries

Switch Order#

Replaces an order (or order line) that was assigned automatically with another order (or order line). The project number, work package, and phase, task, and step codes (that is, the WBS line relations) must be identical.

This function is only intended for service (resource) lines invoiced based on time and materials. The function filters for activities posted so that the time spent on a budget activity cannot be billed to a sales line related to another activity. In short, you need a neutral sales line or one with the same line activity number.

Delete Sales Order Ref.#

Deletes a relation automatically entered by the suggestion so that you can include a project ledger entry in a direct invoice.

Increase Sales Line#

Raises the order quantity for entries that are billed based on time and materials and don’t have enough quantity left on a certain sales line.

By raising the quantity, you can use the line to invoice the entire project effort.

When you run the function, you see a page that shows the current order quantity, the order amount that remains, and the invoice quantity stored on the sales line. You can then overwrite the value in the Order Quantity field.

If an order has already been released, you can choose Open Order to reset the order status. When you exit the dialog, the order is released again.

Report by Sales Order#

Shows you the result of billing per sales order, that is, the page provides an overview of what remains of an order after the current billing cycle.

Project Documents#

Shows the documents related to a project.

Create Invoices#

Creates invoices and readies them for posting or prepares orders for billing. This process generates unposted invoice entries.

When you run the function, all unbilled project ledger entries are entered in a new invoice suggestion. A suggestion should be as specific as possible to avoid time-consuming corrections; this also means that ledger entries should be prepared for billing in time.

Key project ledger fields related to suggestions are described in the following table.

Related#

Show WBS#

Opens the work breakdown structure of the project that you want to bill.

Card#

Opens the card of a resource, an item, or a G/L account depending on what type of project usage or consumption is shown on the suggestion line.

Show Project Ledger Entry#

Shows the project ledger entry from which the selected suggestion line was created.

Project Ledger Comment#

Shows a note about the project ledger entry (if one is available).

Edit suggestions#

When you open a suggestion, you can change certain information yet again.

Change quantity#

You can, for example, change the Invoice Qty. field of a project ledger entry. This field can be revised multiple times throughout the billing process.

You don’t need to do more than go to the field and replace its value. If you set the quantity to 0, the project ledger entry is still suggested for posting. If you then send a detailed invoice to a customer, the line will show up on the invoice as well.

Edit ledger entries#

To change other billing-related fields besides the Invoice Qty. (the work package especially):

1. Open an invoice suggestion and select a line.
2. Choose Actions > Edit Project Ledger Entry on the ribbon.
3. You are then asked if you want to edit the project ledger entry related to the line and have the entry included in the suggestion again. Choose Yes.

You can now edit the fields described in the following table.

To replace the work package, choose Change Work Package on the ribbon. You are then asked to confirm your choice.

This is because changing the package might alter the unit cost (as the new package might have another work type), the project account (used to control costs), or any of the dimensions. After you assigned a new package, the WP Modified By/On/At fields are filled in automatically.

Choose OK to close the page. Changes in description, invoice quantity, or unit price are then copied to the relevant suggestion line.

To delete a project ledger entry, clear the Billable checkbox on a line. The next time you open the suggestion, the entry will be gone. If you cleared the checkbox by mistake, reopen the entry on the Project Ledger Entries page to correct the error.

In fact, all project ledger fields that you can edit on a suggestion can also be changed on this page. When you swap out a work package here, you see a message that the line referencing the old package on the suggestion will be deleted.

As changes to project ledger entries might also change WBS line relations and package positions on a suggestion, you then need to recreate the invoice suggestion to copy entries with changed work packages to the right lines.

If you open an entry via the Edit Project Ledger Entry function but choose Cancel to exit the page, you see a message that the line related to the entry has been deleted from the suggestion. You then need to recreate the suggestion if you want to include the entry again.

Delete individual lines / Delete level#

You can use Ctrl+Del to delete lines from a suggestion at the project ledger entry level. If you then reopen the suggestion, the lines are again suggested for billing because the related entries are still open.

If you want to delete entries at a higher level—for example, to remove an entire project— use the Delete Level function.

Close entries before billing#

Excludes from consideration entries that aren’t billed and won’t ever be with the help of an invoice suggestion.

This means that these entries will no longer show up when you reopen a suggestion.

This action has the same effect as if you manually cleared the Billable checkbox for project ledger entries. If you cleared a checkbox by mistake, open the relevant entry and re-select the checkbox.

Billing procedures#

On each suggestion line, you can choose one of three checkboxes to specify how you want a line copied to invoices. For these options to be available, the line must meet certain requirements as described in the following.

Entries that you want to bill with the help of sales lines need to have the Prepare for Billing or Invoice on Order checkbox selected on the related suggestion lines. Based on how you plan to bill the project, you need to select the checkbox at the fixed-price or time and materials level.

Prepare for Billing#

Fixed price#

If you want to bill an entry based on a fixed project price, select Prepare for Billing at the fixed-price level. Whether project ledger entries already exist doesn’t matter. Entries can be billed (even partially) at any given time. The only requirement is for a sales line to be linked to the relevant WBS line.

Time and materials#

Select the Prepare for Billing checkbox at the project ledger entry level to focus on actual project usage. Selecting or clearing the field on work package lines also selects or clears the same field on related project ledger entries automatically.

However, the checkboxes on work package lines aren’t relevant to billing; only those at the project ledger entry level are.

A resource’s invoice unit must also match the unit of measure stored for the relevant time and materials entries. This ensures that no item is billed on a sales line that contains a quote for resource working hours. Additionally, the line quantity cannot be 1, as this is a common value for flat rate payments.

Invoice error codes

Lines that show an error code cannot be selected for billing (if no error was found, the Invoice Error Code field shows 0). The six possible codes are:

1. No valid sales line could be found.
2. The type stored with the project ledger entry doesn’t match the type found on the sales line.
3. What is left on the sales line is insufficient. You need to increase the quantity. (You can use the Increase Sales Line action to do this.)
4. Fixed-price positions require the same unit of measure on the sales line and the WBS line.
5. The fixed price has already been invoiced in full. (The only option left is to close the line by issuing a final invoice.)
6. The sales order reference was deleted manually.

Impact on orders#

Prepare for Billing requires both a sales order cross-reference and a sales line cross-reference on invoice suggestion lines.

This is because the following changes are made to the referenced sales order when you create an invoice from a suggestion where the Prepare for Billing checkbox is selected:

• An invoice entry is added to an order line for each project ledger entry that you want to bill.
• The total invoice quantity is entered in the Qty. to Ship and Qty. to Invoice fields. On lines that have no invoice entries, the fields are set to 0 to prevent accidental billing.

To view a new invoice entry for a prepared line, open the related order, select the line, and choose Line > Related > Invoice Entries on the ribbon. The number of the entry is shown in the Assigned Project Ledger Entry field.

You can then again update individual entries on the sales order.

Impact on project ledger and invoice entries#

No more than a single invoice entry can be applied to a project ledger entry billed based on time and materials. It is for this reason that we recommend you make necessary quantity and value adjustments as early as possible, that is, on invoice suggestions.

As mentioned earlier, time and materials entries are considered settled when invoice entries are assigned to them, even if only partial quantities have been billed.

When you post a shipment and an invoice from a sales order, the invoice entries on the sales lines are copied to the newly posted invoice. Additionally, each now-posted invoice entry is linked to a time and materials entry.

Posting invoices also creates project ledger entries with filled-in Applies-to Sales fields. These fields show the number of posted and applied entries—that is, billed project ledger entries—linked to a project ledger entry originating in sales.

Unlike time and materials entries, project ledger entries generated in sales can relate to multiple posted invoice entries, as a sales project ledger entry often applies to more than one time and materials entry.

To see a list of the posted invoice entries, use the lookup in the Posted Invoice Entry or Applies-to Sales field. The relevant time and materials entry can then be found in the Assigned Project Ledger Entry field. The Sales Project Ledger Entry field shows the number of the series that you set up for creating project ledger entries in sales.

A posted invoice entry can be opened from the billed time and materials entry or the sales project ledger entry (and vice versa).

Delete invoice entries from order#

If necessary, you can use the Delete Invoice Entries action on the ribbon of a sales order to remove invoice entries from the order and reopen the related time and materials entries for transfer to a new invoice suggestion.

Invoice on Order#

This option is based on the same program logic as Prepare for Billing. The difference is that the quantity that is invoiced on the relevant sales order is posted as shipped immediately and the shipment is copied to an unposted invoice document.

Unposted invoice entries are then available on the document lines. However, an unposted invoice doesn’t mirror the structure of a sales order. Instead, it contains only the lines you want to bill, which means you see only those that have been shipped automatically. Additionally, structural elements and order fields used for informational purposes aren’t copied to the invoice.

Besides the lack of billing information compared to the first method, this option has the distinct disadvantage that if you need to recreate an invoice due to a billing error, you must first delete the unposted document. Only in this way will the associated project ledger entries be removed as well.

A further issue compounding the problem is that the deletion of invoice entries doesn’t affect the original shipment document, nor does it remove the quantity already posted. This quantity—considered shipped but not invoiced—will instead be copied to a new invoice created from another suggestion.

Changing the invoice quantity can then lead to unwanted results. If you raise the quantity, a second shipment needs to be posted so that more than one is shown on the invoice, which might look confusing on printouts. If you reduce the quantity, only some of what has been posted as shipped might be needed so that the remainder is kept and copied to a new suggestion.

The easiest way to deal with this is to delete the invoice document. This way, all shipments are canceled before you open a new suggestion.

All other requirements for fixed-price and time and materials billing are the same as described earlier.

Impact on documents at invoice creation#

When you run the Create Invoices function, you are first informed that sales lines still need to be shipped (unless none are available).

You can now decide to post the lines as shipped or exit the page. Choose Cancel to leave for the invoice suggestion. Choose OK if you want to post the lines and create a sales invoice.

You are then asked if you want to edit the invoice. Choose Yes to open the unposted document.

By using the lookup in the Invoice Entry field, you can see all unposted entries related to the invoice. The underlying order also shows the invoice quantity as shipped.

With the shipped quantity copied to the invoice, each invoice line has been assigned to a posted shipment line. It is for this reason that you cannot raise invoice quantities if you use this option—you simply cannot bill more than you delivered to a customer.

Impact on project ledger and invoice entries#

The impact on invoice entries, posted invoice entries, project ledger entries, and applied entries is the same as if you had selected the Prepare for Billing option.

Create direct invoices#

If no sales line exists for a project ledger entry, a suggestion line can be billed with the help of a direct invoice. Afterward, posting a shipment will no longer be possible.

Direct billing is often used to pay for travel expenses, that is, for time and materials entries that aren’t related to sales lines. Although typically part of a project agreement, a rate for these kinds of expenses isn’t included in the budget (even the sales budget), as this is often considered unhelpful.

Entries you want to bill in this way must have the Direct Invoice checkbox selected.

When you create an invoice suggestion based on project ledger entries with and without sales lines, the direct invoice lines, that is, those without shipments, are added to an invoice after the order lines. If the current billing process includes only direct invoice lines, however, a new invoice will be created.

If you want to bill various kinds of suggestion lines at the same time, use the Create Invoices action after selecting all lines. If done separately, that is, if you mark Invoice on Order lines and create an invoice before you mark other lines for direct billing and run the function again, lines not related to a sales order aren’t added to the unposted invoice, even if you started the process from the same invoice suggestion.

During processing, project ledger entries are aggregated on a single direct invoice line if their Type, No., and Unit of Measure Code fields match. One invoice entry is created per line to close a project ledger entry.

Impact on project ledger and invoice entries#

A direct invoice includes one invoice entry for each line to bill.

When you post the invoice, the system then creates one posted invoice entry per line to establish a link between the time and materials entries on one side and the project ledger entries in sales on the other. It also applies the posted invoice entry to the other two entries.

Negatives invoice amounts#

If the total amount on an invoice is negative, the system creates a credit memo instead, as negative invoice amounts cannot be posted to projects in the app.

Budget line billing#

You can incorporate budget line activities into sales lines to create more detail-rich sales documents and invoices based on an invoice suggestion.

The invoice suggestion function checks the Billing Integration field on each WBS line to determine the level at which to invoice the relevant project.

If billing level = budget line…

WBS lines that are billed by time and materials are copied to a suggestion grouped by line activity, with unbilled project ledger entries shown underneath. For fixed-price projects, a suggestion doesn’t show WBS lines but the budget lines that need to be invoiced.

Regardless of whether you bill a WBS line or its activities, project sales are always visible on the WBS line when you post an invoice. Revenues from line activities (if you bill at this level) can then be seen on the budget lines.

Ledger entries and application#

In project billing, ledger entries of type sales offset ledger entries of type usage. That is, you bill customers for the time spent on a project by creating sales project ledger entries.

An exact match between both types of entries is exceedingly rare. Usage entries are typically combined and billed on a single sales line. This means that the number of entries and the quantities often differ on invoices created from a project.

As explained earlier, you can use invoice entries to post the application of project ledger entries automatically (on a suggestion) or do so manually. The following paragraphs are only meant to sum up again how you achieve this.

Project ledger entries#

With the help of invoice entries, project usage—that is, time and materials— entries are closed by project ledger entries created in sales.

Invoice entries#

Invoice entries link project ledger entries billed based on time and materials to sales project ledger entries.

Unposted invoice entries#

Unposted invoice entries are created when you use the Invoice Suggestion function to prepare a sales order for billing or set up a direct invoice.

To see a list of all invoice entries, use the Invoice Entries function on a sales order or a direct invoice. In the sales order or direct invoice, the billing items can be viewed by calling up the "billing items." Additional project items can be added to the unposted billing items in the sales line by selecting "Add item." It is also possible to change the billing quantity there. This revision changes the "Quantity to Deliver" and "Quantity to Invoice" when the page is closed with "OK." A check is carried out to ensure that the remaining order quantity is still sufficient (the total billing quantity of the unposted billing items is checked against the still open quantity in the sales line). If the remaining quantity is insufficient, the order quantity can be automatically increased to provide enough remaining quantity for the invoice.

Posted invoice entries#

A posted invoice entry represents the main link between usage entries and sales project ledger entries, as it is assigned to both a time and materials entry and a ledger entry posted alongside an invoice in sales.

If you post an invoice from a sales order or from a direct invoice, all unposted invoice entries disappear and posted entries are created and transferred with an Entry No. to project ledger entries billed based on time and materials. No more than one invoice entry can be applied to this type of project ledger entry.

One project ledger entry in sales is then posted per line to bill. However, as multiple time and materials entries are typically aggregated on one line, the posted invoice entries create a 1-to-n relationship between sales project ledger and time and materials entries.

To see the project ledger entries, open a project card and choose Related > Ledger Entries on the ribbon. To see a list of all posted invoice entries, use the lookup in the Posted Invoice Entry field.

Applies to sales#

Shows for a sales project ledger entry the number of applied project ledger entries that were billed based on time and materials.

Check against qty. to invoice#

If you turned on the Qty. to Invoice vs. Invoice Entry Check toggle in Projects Setup, the total amount stored for the (unposted) invoice entries must match the value shown in the Qty. to Invoice field on the relevant sales line.

The purpose of this check is to prevent proof of performance documents from listing quantities that differ from those billed to the customer.

Manual application#

Entries are applied automatically when you use invoice suggestions. However, you can do so manually as well.

Example
A customer is billed a flat rate for travel expenses. At the time of billing, the cost of the hotel that you stayed in hadn’t been posted yet to Business Central. A few days later, the invoice is posted to the project and a project ledger entry is assigned to close the ledger entry in sales.

To post application manually, you need to run the Apply Entries function from either a usage or a sales project ledger entry. Running the function opens a dialog page where you can then choose from all open time and materials or sales project ledger entries.

Select the relevant entry in the Set Applies-to ID field on the page. As more than one instance of project usage can be assigned to a sales project ledger entry, you can assign multiple time and materials entries to an entry here. Apply the entries by pressing F9.

Like automatic application, manual application closes the time and materials entries and creates posted invoice entries. These are linked to the posted invoice via the project ledger entries in sales, which means that manually created invoice entries also show up on posted sales invoices.

Reverse application#

Project ledger entries can be unapplied at any time. This reopens the time and materials entries.

To delete a relation between entries, select a posted invoice entry, and then choose Unapply Entries on the ribbon.

Invoice entry relations deleted by users are identified by the following description: “Unapplied manually on... by...”

To be able to track the changes users make, the values in the Assigned Project Ledger Entry and Sales Project Ledger Entry fields are copied to the Old Project Ledger Entry and Old Sales Project Ledger Entry fields. However, after using the Unapply function, data regarding work packages and budget line activities can no longer be restored.

Entry type for G/L account posting#

The type of a posted document also determines the type of project entry created for it. Typically, sales documents create entries of type Sale and purchase documents entries of type Consumption. You can, however, change the type, if necessary.

1. Choose the Search icon, enter General Journals, and then choose the related link.
2. Select an account, and then choose Related > Account > Card on the ribbon.
3. On the Projects FastTab, in the Project Entry Type field, choose one of the options described in the following table.

The original type is then replaced on the relevant document and in the general journal. You can make use of this feature in situations such as the following:

• During purchase: Negative revenue is billed by a supplier.
• During sale: Foreign taxes need to be included on an invoice.

Print duration on invoices#

To meet legal requirements, an invoice must indicate a delivery date. For invoicing services, delivery usually extends over a period. This period is determined based on the invoice entries for services billed by time and materials.

For invoice printouts to show periods in the format you want, use the Performance Date Formatting field in Projects Setup.

When you open a project card, you will then see the period in the specified format on the Project Billings FastTab. You can again change the format there.

Billing caps#

When you invoice a project by time and materials, you might see work hours exceed the number of billable hours a customer has agreed to. Typically, this means you either cannot bill some of the work or you need to put in a change request.

However, many agreements contain a clause that, up to a point, grants exceptions to scheduled quantities.

For work packages#

You can set a cap for time and materials billing as early as creating work packages.

In project templates#

You can then make use of the cap when you create a project template. When you enter a work package on a project template line, the billing cap values are copied to the line alongside other work package fields.

On WBS lines#

Likewise, when you set up a new work package line, an available billing cap is copied automatically from the package to the line. The same is true when you create a WBS from a template. You can also set up or change billing caps on WBS lines later.

Dimensions#

The dimensions that are added to a payment plan line are typically identical to those on the invoice line that you want to create from it later.

Among the sources dimensions might be copied from is the WBS line to which revenue is posted. This line is then crucial to determining what dimensions the system needs to enter on the invoice document.

You can, however, also change dimensions on a plan line and have the system copy these changes to the invoice line you set up from it.

On invoice suggestions#

Billing caps mainly inform those who create customer invoices. FactBoxes show the total billing limit and the amount remaining until that limit is reached.

Example:
An invoice suggestion includes a time and materials work package with a 10% cap. The package has the following data:

The work package has the following data:

Based on a USD770.00 billing limit, this means:

Mark for cap#

When you use a suggestion to invoice a work package, the related project ledger entries are marked for billing regardless of the limit you specified. You can, however, see in the Remaining Amt. to Cap field at what point the limit will be exceeded.

For an invoice quantity to match the cap, you need to choose the Billing Cap action on the ribbon. This adds up the ledger entries from the top until you reach the limit specified. The entry that would have otherwise exceeded the cap is then reduced in quantity. All subsequent entries are set to 0.

Example:
As before, USD210 remain until the cap is reached. The following project ledger entries are now marked for billing:

The entries add up to USD450 in total. After running the Billing Cap function, you see the following reductions in quantity to match the cap:

The calculation might result in rounding differences, shown in the Rem. Amount to Cap field.

Manual override#

The person in charge of billing can edit project ledger entries manually to exceed the cap on purpose. However, the quantity available on the related sales order would need to be adjusted in this case see [Invoice Error Code](ProjectAccounting.md#Handling-according-to-expenditure and Invoice Error Text

Manual billing#

If you don’t mark WBS lines but individual project ledger entries for billing, a cap will have no effect. Only the Remaining Amt. to Cap field will be updated.

Sales credit memos#

When you run the Copy Document action from a blank credit memo to correct an already posted sales invoice, you can turn on a toggle on the request page to also copy the invoice entries from the posted invoice to the new document.

If you created the credit memo because you need to correct and re-send an invoice, we recommend that you keep the invoice entries as they are. If the credit memo represents a discount, however, they should be deleted before posting.

If you use the entries to post a sales credit memo, the applied project ledger entries are unapplied but not deleted (only their relations are).

Unapplied entries can be identified by their Unapplied Description field being filled in (on the posted invoice document). The description reads: “Reopened by Credit Memo [no. of posted memo]).”

The Assigned Project Ledger Entry and Sales Project Ledger Entry fields are then cleared, and their values copied to the Old Project Ledger Entry and Old Sales Project Ledger Entry fields for tracking purposes.

The posted invoice entries are also included on the credit memo. With the Old Project Ledger Entry and Old Sales Project Ledger Entry fields now referring to unapplied entries, their values will be the same as the values on the unapplied invoice (see above).

The Sales Project Ledger Entry field, on the other hand, will contain the project ledger entry that the system created when you posted the credit memo. Only the Assigned Project Ledger Entry field will remain empty, as no posted invoice entries are applied to time and materials entries.

Correct a posted sales invoice#

Besides running the Copy Document action from the credit memo ribbon, you can choose one of the following actions on the posted sales invoice itself to correct billing issues in different ways, with each using the invoice entries set up for the source document.

For more information, see Correct or cancel a posted sales invoice - Business Central | Microsoft Learn.

Correct#

Creates a credit memo with the invoice entries from the posted invoice and posts the new document automatically, resulting in a complete reset of the billing process.

Also creates an unposted invoice with the existing entries so that the bill that was just canceled can be recreated. The new invoice can then be edited (that is, you can change sales prices on it, add lines to it, or delete lines from it, for example) and posted.

Cancel#

Copies the invoice entries from the posted invoice to a new credit memo and posts the new document automatically. This results in a complete reset, after which billing can (again) be restarted.

Create Corrective Credit Memo#

Creates a credit memo with the invoice entries copied from the posted invoice. The result is the same as if you had run the Copy Document action and turned on the Copy Project Invoice Entries toggle on the request page there.

This function also resets everything, which means billing can be restarted after the credit memo is posted.

Payment plans#

A payment plan provides a schedule for project billings, that is, it records times of cash inflow. Payment plans are used on invoice suggestions and in cost control.

To work with payment plans, you must set up the feature. A plan can cover a whole project or single WBS lines. You choose your preferred option in the Payment Plan Level field on a project card.

You can then run the Payment Plan function on a WBS to set up the plan. Depending on the plan level, the system will use the sales budget stored for the entire project or for individual WBS lines to schedule payments.

For projects#

If you set the payment plan level to Project, payment plan lines refer to an entire project and no source work package can be selected. The net amount stored for the plan is calculated automatically from the sales budget set up for the project.

For WBS lines#

If the payment plan level is set to WBS Line, you must select a source work package. As the plan lines now refer to a specific line on the WBS, a net amount is determined automatically based on the portion of the sales budget stored there.

Not every WBS line needs to be part of the payment plan if you want to use the plan only for invoice suggestions and need to bill periodically for an item or a service.

For example, an expensive piece of equipment might have been budgeted on a WBS line. You then create a plan for this one line together with the customer, whereas the rest of the project will be billed based on effort.

Unlike a payment plan for an entire project, this option requires that you specify a source WBS line in the Source Work Package field or choose the Get Source Work Package action when you create a plan. The net plan amount is then calculated from the WBS line budget with the help of the Pmt. Plan Amount % field.

Fill in a payment plan#

Fill in the fields of a plan as described in the following table.

On invoice suggestions#

Plan lines for which you selected the Copy to Suggestion checkbox are given priority on invoice suggestions. If a suggestion contains open payment plan lines, the typical billing process used for projects and WBS lines is interrupted.

The following rules apply when you use payment plans on invoice suggestions:

1. The Copy to Suggestion field must be selected on the plan lines.
2. The scheduled posting date can be used as a filter so that the system suggests only partial invoices with even amounts.
3. Plan lines must relate to a valid WBS line. If there is no valid line, the plan lines will show an error message and cannot be copied to a suggestion.
4. Only a final invoice can close a payment plan.
5. If there are open plan lines, standard project billing is suspended, and the next amount due (filtered by posting date) is suggested instead.
6. Payment plans are always billed by direct invoice and not on an order.
7. Actual billing takes place with the final invoice. Depending on how you set this up, WBS lines will be suggested based on time and materials or fixed-price billing. The invoice is then created from associated sales orders. A credit memo is applied to any partial invoice.
8. This procedure can be used for an entire project or for specific WBS lines, as specified in the Payment Plan Level field on the project card.
9. If a plan relates to specific WBS lines, standard billing will be used for all lines not connected to a plan.
10. If a plan relates to an entire project, a WBS line can be removed from the plan by selecting the Ignore Payment Plan checkbox so that it is suggested for billing immediately.

Regarding rules 9 und 10, suggestions for billing a project might also include (besides payment plan lines that are due) WBS lines that aren’t related to a payment plan. Plan lines are always billed by direct invoice (see rule 6).

If standard lines are marked for direct billing on one and the same suggestion, the system will create two different direct invoices, one for payment plan lines and another for the remaining lines.

This facilitates the retracing of calculation steps if final invoices are used. If you don’t work with them, you can turn on the No Separate Pmt. Plan Invoices toggle in Projects Setup to ensure that suggestion lines aren’t separated.

On credit memos#

Full credit#

If a credit memo fully settles a posted invoice created from a payment plan, that is, if the entire amount on a plan line has been offset by a memo, the line is treated as if it had never been billed.

You can then delete, change, or recopy the line to billing unchanged.

Partial credit#

If a credit memo only partly settles the amount on a posted invoice created from a payment plan, that is, only part of the line amount is offset by the memo, the line is adjusted so that the amount on the line matches the amount on the invoice, minus the value of the credit memo.

In cost control#

To create project account entries for cost control, a project budget is used. This budget is distributed onto accounts according to the account setup you specified when you turned on the cost control feature across projects.

The difficulty when budgeting project effort is how to estimate revenue on budget lines. The time spent on a project often doesn’t translate into immediate sales but will show up later, on a fixed-price invoice.

A payment plan can rectify this problem by providing you with reasonable estimates of cash inflow in cost control. To use the feature, you must choose Payment Plan in the Sales Project Acc. Entries From field on a project card.

When you now run the Update Project Account Entries batch job, a payment plan rather than the project budget will be used to determine sales accounts. Finding an account is then a matter of matching it to the (target) work package to which you want to post revenue.

Milestone billing#

Overview#

Milestones can be billed in multiple ways. Additionally, you can create milestone invoices per project or WBS line and invoice work at a fixed price or by using a special billing method for each work package (that is, WBS line).

For a project#

The following paragraphs explain plan-based milestone billing for an entire project.

Project setup#

WBS milestones#

Lines for billing an entire project by milestones must be of the work package type, as they are later used to store revenue from plan invoices. For lines to be processed on an invoice suggestion, their billing type must be set to Fixed (Price).

Milestone lines are highlighted in color.

For work packages specified as milestones, certain restrictions apply. The packages can neither have budget lines, nor can quantities and prices be changed. A milestone line isn’t used for budgeting but is an element of time scheduling.

Work packages#

To assign a milestone line to a work package, select a line, and then choose Line > Milestone Definition in the WBS Lines section. You can choose only work packages that haven’t already been set as milestones.

Milestone plan#

To set up or update payment plan lines for milestone lines, choose (Advance) Payment Plans > Update Project Milestone Plan in the WBS Lines section.

With work packages already assigned to milestones on the payment plan, plan lines are then created from the total prices and ending dates on the associated milestone lines.

Work breakdown structure#

On the WBS, milestone lines are highlighted in color.

Payment plan#

Payment plan lines where the Copy to Suggestion checkbox is selected can be used on invoice suggestions. As the payment plan applies to an entire project, individual WBS lines aren’t included in the suggestion. With a project set to Milestone Billing, the invoice suggestion also includes only lines for which Milestone Reached is selected.

Milestone Reached#

When a milestone is reached, the work status on the WBS milestone line changes to Finished or Accepted (other statuses aren’t possible in milestone billing).

The Milestone Reached field on the related payment plan line is also filled in, making that line available for billing on an invoice suggestion.

WBS lines without payment plan#

If you don’t want to bill work packages based on a payment plan, as some expenses need to be invoiced regardless of whether milestones are reached, select the Ignore Payment Plan checkbox on the relevant WBS line(s).

Invoice suggestions#

A suggestion only includes plan lines on which the Milestone Reached checkbox has been selected.

Final invoice#

A final invoice isn’t strictly necessary. If you want to use one to bill actual expenses on WBS lines, select Final Invoice in the Planning Type field. The WBS lines are then included in a suggestion after every line on non-final invoices has been billed.

On the final invoice, the WBS is suggested for billing as if no plan existed. Each WBS line is also processed based on its billing type.

Additionally, invoices created from the payment plan are added as credit memos to the invoice.

For a WBS line#

The following paragraphs explain plan-based milestone billing for a WBS line.

Project setup#

Work breakdown structure#

No milestones are needed on the WBS, as the project as such isn’t billed by milestones.

Work packages that you want to bill according to a milestone payment plan require that Milestone be selected in the Billing Type field.

Payment plan#

Payment plans for individual lines are created manually. As you no longer specify plans for entire projects, the focus will be on work package relations, that is, for which source work package you want to create a plan line.

As the same work package is invoiced, source and target packages are identical. You can use the Pmt. Plan Amt. % field to establish a relation to a package. The value in this field is calculated from the total price shown on the related WBS line.

Milestone billing creates partial, fixed-price invoices at multiple stages of a project. The total price from the WBS line thus needs to be included in the payment plan, and the planning type must be set to Invoice.

For inclusion in suggestions, the Copy to Suggestion checkbox needs to be selected on the plan lines (done automatically). With the Milestone billing type chosen on the WBS line, a plan line is only included in a suggestion if the Milestone Reached field is selected. This must be done manually and corresponds roughly to the release of an invoice.

Invoice Suggestion#

To release a milestone for billing, select the relevant checkbox.

Without payment plan#

A milestone plan can also be created from a WBS without the use of a payment plan. When a milestone is reached, the related work package is then billed according to its billing type.

Project setup#

No setup is needed on the project card.

WBS milestones#

Not unlike the method described earlier, milestones are planned on the WBS. But this time, the Billing Type field needs to be blank, as work packages—not milestones—are billed.

Work packages#

To assign a milestone line to a work package, select a line, and then choose Line > Milestone Definition in the WBS Lines section.

You can choose only work packages that haven’t already been set as milestones.

Suspend Billing#

If you don’t want to bill work packages related to a milestone until that milestone is reached, select the Suspend Billing checkbox on each work package line to prevent invoice suggestions from including the package prematurely.

When WBS lines are assigned to a milestone line of the blank type, you are asked if you want to exclude these WBS lines from billing. This way, billing takes place when the milestone is reached.

Milestone Reached#

When a milestone is reached, its Work Status field is set to Finished. The system then checks if the Suspend Billing checkbox is selected on related WBS lines, as these can now be released for billing with the help of a dialog.

Invoice suggestions#

The rest follows standard billing procedures for WBS lines based on billing types.

For multiple WBS lines#

This billing method is different from the rest in that it only uses a milestone line to provide you with a convenient solution for billing more than one WBS line with the same payment plan.

If the billing type specified for the group line wasn’t set to Fixed (Price) but to Milestone, the typical milestone billing process would be run for the payment plan, and the subsequent invoice suggestion would only include plan lines on which the Milestone Reached checkbox has been selected.

Project setup#

WBS milestones#

A milestone line intended for grouping must be of the work package type, as it is later used to store revenues from plan invoices. For the line to be processed on an invoice suggestion, its billing type must be set to Fixed (Price).

If the billing type had been set to Milestone instead, the payment plan linked to the selected WBS line would be considered a milestone plan and be used accordingly (as explained earlier). Milestone lines are highlighted in color.

For work packages specified as milestones, certain restrictions apply. You can neither create budget lines nor enter quantities or prices for them. A milestone line isn’t used for budgeting but is an element of time scheduling.

Work packages#

To assign a milestone line to a work package, select a line and then choose Line > Milestone Definition on the WBS Lines FastTab.

You can only choose packages that haven’t been turned into milestones yet.

You must then select the Suspend Billing field on each WBS line linked to the milestone line so that those lines are excluded from billing (as they should be billed through a payment plan).

Payment plan#

To set up payment plan lines for the milestone line, you need to run the Update Payment Plan action.

You can then specify the number of plan lines onto which you want to evenly distribute the total price shown on the associated WBS lines.

The plan must be edited after creation. At the very least, you need to specify the required posting dates. Usually, however, you also need to adjust invoice amounts and edit their descriptions.

Work breakdown structure#

On the WBS, milestone lines are highlighted in color.

Payment plan#

Plan lines on which the Copy to Suggestion checkbox has been selected can be included on invoice suggestions.

WBS lines without payment plan#

As the Suspend Billing checkbox isn’t selected on WBS lines that you don’t want grouped with the help of a milestone line, you can bill those lines the usual way.

Invoice suggestions#

A suggestion only includes plan lines assigned to the milestone line. The associated WBS lines were excluded from invoicing through the Suspend Billing checkbox.

Statement of services rendered#

For time and materials entries, a statement of the services rendered is typically sent alongside an invoice. This statement includes invoice entries from posted or prepared invoices. Proof of performance documents can already be printed when you are about to bill an order so that you can make invoice corrections before posting. This eliminates the need for revising invoices not accepted by a customer.

To print service statements alongside invoices:

1. Open a sales order.
2. On the Project Billings tab, turn on the Print Attachment toggle.

Even if the toggle isn’t turned on, you can still print a statement manually. This field and all other fields used for printouts can already be preset on a project card.

The fields are later copied to posted invoices as well. You cannot change them there, but you can overwrite them on the request page associated with a statement.

Performance periods on invoices#

You can have the period of performance, or a standard note about services rendered, printed on sales invoices in different languages.

Format periods#

To specify the formatting of invoice periods on printouts:

1. Choose the Search icon, enter Projects Setup, and then choose the related link.
2. In the Performance Date Formatting field, select an option described in the following table (includes two printout examples each):

The performance period is entered on sales headers automatically when you choose to bill a project based on time and materials. This type of billing requires invoice entries, each of which contains a date of performance. All these dates taken together then constitute the performance period.

Print translations#

To print notes about services rendered in the language spoken by a customer:

1. Choose the Search icon, enter Document Text Translation, and then choose the relevant link.
2. On each line, select a code in the Language Code field for a language that you want to use on printouts, and fill in the fields described in the following table.

Set periods on sales documents#

On sales headers and unposted invoices, you can change the Performance Date field whenever necessary.

Billing by time and materials fills in a period automatically based on the dates of the invoice entries that are created when you prepare a bill. These dates will also be updated when you add or delete entries on invoice suggestions.

Posting an invoice will copy the contents of the Performance Date field to the posted sales invoice.

If the Performance Period field is used to print the period of services rendered on pro forma and (posted) invoices but the period is left blank, the system will print a default note instead. Both are printed below all services listed on a bill.

Billing requests#

After a sales invoice or credit memo has been prepared, it is typically sent to an organization’s billing department, as the person who prepared the document is most often not authorized to post it in the system.

With the Billing Request feature, project365 provides you with the means to simplify and standardize this process.

Create a billing request#

To make a request:

1. Open a sales document.
2. On the ribbon, choose Home > Create Billing Request.
3. Specify a description for the request, if necessary, and choose OK.

A new entry is then added to the Billing Requests (Sales) page. Your decision of whether to specify a description manually doesn’t affect the creation of this entry.

Change a request description#

You can also specify or change a request description later.

1. Open a sales document.
2. On the ribbon, choose Home > Update Billing Request Description.
3. Fill in the fields as necessary.

Open a request#

To see a sales request:

• Open a sales document.
• On the ribbon, choose Related > Billing Request > Billing Requests.

The page is then filtered to the request created for this document. To see all requests, you can:

• Go to your role center and choose Sales > Sales Billing Requests at the top.
• Use the general search function to look for the Billing Requests (Sales) page.

The requests shown there represent a to-do list for your organization’s billing department, as the documents that you created them for have been released and can now be posted by running the Show Document action from the page.

When the status of a request line is changed to In Progress, the user who is editing the line is entered as the Person Responsible for it. You can see this status on the associated (unposted) document as well.

The request status can additionally be shown as part of the sales order, sales invoice, or sales credit memo list by unhiding the Billing Request Created and Request in Progress fields on the relevant page (via the Personalize function).

If a request is no longer needed, for example, because it shouldn’t be posted after all, it can also be deleted or archived at any time.

You can also check the status of the billing request in the lists for orders, invoices and credit notes. To do this, it is necessary to show the fields "Billing Request Created" and "Billing Request In Progress".

Billing Requests Archive (Sales)#

You can use the Archive Request action on the ribbon to move requests that are no longer required to the Billing Requests Archive (Sales) page.

However, sooner or later, even active requests will be archived—without user involvement. This is the case when the related sales invoice or credit memo is being posted, for example.

When requests are archived by the system, the number and the posting date seen on the related document are added automatically to the archived record.

Project sales entries#

Project ledger entries of type Sale are used to record project revenue. They’re created when you post sales documents.

For a project billed based on time and materials, one sales entry closes one or more entries of type Time & Materials. You can see the number of closed T&M entries and the quantity that was billed for them in the Applies-to Sales and the Sales Adjmt. Quantity fields.

Line discount amounts and percentages are also shown; an invoice discount, on the other hand, is distributed evenly among the sales entries so that it can be applied to each Line Amount field in equal proportions.

See the following for examples:

Example 1 – Line discount on a project ledger entry

Example 2 – Invoice discount

Ledger entry 1

Ledger entry 2