Integrated client billing

Highly flexible billing means you're always in tune with the needs of your customer and the needs of your business. Invoices can be raised based on cost plus and contract price, with costs shown as line detail or a schedule based on the estimate or a round sum amount. Uplifts can be applied on a fixed or variable percentage with phased or staged invoicing enabling applications for payment and retentions to be handled with ease. In every case, reports and alerts advise when billing is due or overdue so you're always in control.

Reminders to invoice

Invoices can be generated for any reason you stipulate, from specific dates and completion of stages to receipt of timesheets and accumulated costs vs. budget comparisons. In any event, you set the rules to trigger an alert and who it goes to. This accounting workflow can be extended to include multi-departmental or managerial authorisation on invoices raised and their subsequent approval before going out.

Credit Notes are requested, created and approved in the same way.

Flexible invoicing rules and retentions

You have complete control over the final invoiced value and the amount of information displayed.

Time and material projects are billed as an amalgamation of costs incurred on the project with or without a fixed or variable uplift. Fixed price and staged payment billing is supported with date-based triggers that prompt the raising of invoices. On submission of applications for payment, the system will automatically create invoices populated with these accepted values.

In each case, you have the opportunity to flag which cost transactions are relevant to the sales invoices raised and if necessary, write off costs that cannot be recovered through invoicing. With the flags on, values are shifted from WIP and automatically update the total value of costs that have been billed.

The customer invoice can display or hide the transactions being charged, as preferred. Displayed cost transactions can be sorted (and subtotalled) for example, by date, type and cost centre. Invoices can include multiple projects for the same customer if required.

Revenue recognition

The entire income recognition cycle is automated, based on the rules that you apply. The software caters for the following methods: percentage complete, cost to complete, hours to complete & specific values, enabling your project managers to supply the inputs needed to accurately represent your financial position. Nothing slows down your ability to invoice and collect cash but you only take recognition of the revenue when it is correct to do so.

Configurable formats

Invoice and credit note layouts can follow any number of pre-configured templates or be designed to meet the needs of groups and individual customers if required.

The format you choose can include full transaction detail of costs being re-charged, a series of sub- headings for different elements of the project or a round sum amount to match an agreed total. Centralised and distributed invoicing functions are both catered for.

See also:

• Procurement & supplier management