Before charging a client for worked hours related to a project, make sure of the two following points in the project settings, click on the gear next to the project title.
1. In the Info tab, the project’s status is either “In progress” or “Completed”.
2. In the Settings tab, an invoice method is selected. For a reminder of each invoice method’s meaning, you can consult the article How to set an invoice method for a project.
How to invoice a client for work done within a project?
You can generate an invoice from 2 different ways:
1. From the Grid view
From the project grid, click on the options menu and select Invoice project.
2. From the list view
Select your project in the list and click on the options menu and select Invoice project.
The Invoice project selection screen will pop-up as the next step before creating the invoice. In this screen, you will need to specify what you want to see included on the invoice depending on the invoice method initially selected.
This is the first step to start creating an invoice. Simply fill in the popup with the pending information, according to the instructions below:
1) Assign an Invoice Number: Start by adding a unique number to your invoice for tracking and reference purposes.
Remember: this is an intelligent feature, which in practice means that the system will identify the prefix you choose and automatically number the sequence accordingly. For example, if your first invoice was "ABC - 001", your next one will be "ABC - 002" and so on. If you want to disable this feature, you can do so in your Organization settings by clicking on the tool icon and then on "Settings".
2) Select a Client: Choose the client you are billing from your client list.
3) Fill in Project-Specific Details (If Applicable): If the invoice pertains to a specific project, complete the following fields:
Project Date Range: Specify the date range that includes the project(s) you are billing for this client.
Projects: If there are projects for this client within the specified date range, they will be displayed. Click to select the project related to the invoice. You can select more than one project if necessary.
4) Include Time Entries and Billable Expenses (Optional): You have the option to include time entries and billable expenses related to the selected project(s) on the invoice.
5) Set Item Description Display Mode: Choose how you want the items to be displayed on the invoice. Options include:
Detailed: Each item is listed with full details.
Grouped: Similar items are grouped together.
Single Line: Items are summarized in a single line.
6) Create the Invoice: Click the "Create" button to finalize and save your invoice.
That's it! You have now pre-configured your invoice and will be redirected to the invoice editing page.
NOTE: The Create button in this case also serves to save this invoice as a draft. Regardless of whether you complete the next step or not, your invoice will be created as a draft and can only be modified or deleted with the security profile required for these activities.
How to complete an invoice
Once entered, the invoice will be displayed on your screen.
1) Take a moment to look at the Invoice Action Tab strip:
This tab shows the invoice status and available actions such as preview, export, send, duplicate, set as recurring, log a payment, delete, etc.
2) Fill in the Invoice Header:
Complete the essential fields in the invoice header, including:
Invoice date
Due date
Sales representative
Purchase order number
Discount amount (as a percentage)
Invoice description
NOTE: You can edit the title of your Invoice by clicking on the pencil icon next to the title. If you have options created, you can select between them and, if not, you can create new options and even set one to be the default.
3) Add Services and Products:
To Add a Service/Product: Click the "+" button. You can add a new item or link a service/product from a specific project.
To Rearrange: Click and drag a service/product line to change its order.
To Delete: Hover over a line and click the delete icon that appears on the right.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: Even if a line is deleted, the time entry related to that line is still linked to the invoice, and it is not possible to invoice this time entry at another time.
To unlink your time entries from the invoice, follow the steps below:
Go to this invoice's project > Go to the project's "Time entries" tab > Click on the More options’ icon (3 dots) next to the time entry you want to unlink > Click on the "Unlink invoice" option.
NOTE: The layout of the invoice (including grid columns) and default settings like payment terms and customer notes are determined by your invoice template.
4) Finalize Your Invoice:
Once all details are filled in, choose to either Save the invoice for later adjustments or Save and Send it directly to the client.
How to send an invoice
When you are done editing your invoice and click on Save and send, this popup will appear:
Some fields will be pre-filled, but you can edit them and, once all the information is correct, click the Send button.
NOTE: If you don't want to invoice something yet, but want to make an estimate, you can do so according to this help page.