This video walks through the process of Generating & Sending Invoices
Video Transcript:
In this article, we'll walk through how to generate invoices and send them to your clients. You'll learn how to create invoices from individual pre-bills, process invoices in bulk, and manage printed or emailed invoices from start to finish.
Invoices can be generated individually from a single pre-bill or, more commonly, in bulk. Both processes begin by navigating to Pre-Bills from the left-hand navigation menu. On the Pre-Bills page, each pre-bill appears as a single line item in the grid. Once a pre-bill is converted into an invoice, it no longer appears on this page.
You can take action on an individual pre-bill without opening it. Click the ellipsis icon in the Actions column to access billing options. From there, you can generate an invoice, email the invoice to the client, or generate and print a copy. You can also edit the pre-bill number, delete the pre-bill - which returns all time and expense entries back to WIP - or view the pre-bill's history.
For a full review or to make additional edits, click the pre-bill number to open it. Inside the pre-bill, action options appear at the top of the screen. The Generate Invoice dropdown includes nearly the same options available in the Actions menu, allowing you to generate, send, or print the invoice directly from within the pre-bill. You can also delete the pre-bill here. Once a pre-bill is generated, it is removed from the list and the next pre-bill automatically opens, making it easy to work through pre-bills one at a time.
More commonly, invoices are generated and sent in bulk. To do this, start from the Pre-Bills list page and filter the list to show only pre-bills with an Approved status. Select All Filters, set Status to Approved, and apply any additional filters as needed. After applying the filters, you can save them by clicking Save Filters, giving the filter set a name, and saving it. The saved filter will then appear as a quick-access button, allowing you to reapply it with a single click in the future.
Once filtered, select the pre-bills you want to process or use the top checkbox to select all. Then open the Bulk Actions dropdown. The Update Invoice and Due Dates option allows you to adjust the invoice date and term days, which automatically updates the due date.
Selecting Generate and Send will generate the invoices and email them to the client as PDF attachments. A dialog box opens with client-specific settings already populated. The system pulls in all email addresses associated with the client, and you can select one or multiple recipients. You also have the option to add a new email address, which will be saved to the client record for future use.
The Summary Type determines what information appears in the body of the email. Matter Summary is best for matter-based billing and includes details about the current invoice as well as any past-due balances. Client Summary is used for client-based billing and displays totals across all matters for that client. Invoice Summary includes only details related to the attached invoice and can be useful if you prefer not to highlight past-due balances. None sends a simple email with minimal text indicating that the invoice is attached.
After reviewing the recipients and summary type, select Send, confirm by clicking Yes, and the system will generate and email the invoices to the selected clients.
The Generate Invoice option finalizes the pre-bills and posts the invoices to the system without emailing them. This is useful when you plan to print invoices or when generating invoices for internal purposes, such as write-offs that will not be sent to the client. Once generated, these invoices can be viewed from the Invoices tab or within the client or matter billing ledgers.
To print invoices, navigate to the Invoices page from the left-hand menu. This page allows you to view and manage all client invoices in one place. From here, you can review aging balances, track billed and unbilled amounts, apply filters, and take action on individual or multiple invoices, including printing.
When preparing invoices to print, it's recommended to filter the list to invoices dated today or within a defined date range. This helps narrow the list and makes invoices easier to locate. Select All Filters, set the Invoice Date to today, and apply any additional filters such as status, client, originator, manager, matter, originator, or manager. You can also use the dropdown next to the search field to filter invoices by client name or number, or by matter name or number.
Once filtered, select individual invoices or use the top checkbox to select all. Then open the Bulk Actions dropdown. From here, Download Invoice PDFs downloads each invoice as a separate PDF within a ZIP file that can then be printed individually. Print Invoice PDFs generates a single PDF with each invoice on its own page, ready for printing.
This process gives you a flexible way to handle invoice generation and delivery. Whether you're working with individual pre-bills, processing invoices in bulk, emailing clients, or preparing printed copies, the system provides tools to manage each step efficiently.