Billing worksheets > Generate worksheet [in-depth guide]
Guide contents: Steps to generate billing worksheets | Next steps
Typically, your accounting department generates billing worksheets. These worksheets are broken up depending on how you set up the system. On each client, you can specify how invoices should be grouped (one per project, client, division, product, parent client) as well as other default options. Each project is identified by how it should be billed (time & material, fixed fee, or Retainer). These two components tell the system how to generate a billing worksheet. If you have specified an invoice grouping option other than 'one per project', the system will create a separate worksheet for each project & one master billing worksheet that ties the detailed worksheets together for one invoice. The system determines what should be billed or marked as billed during the generation process based on the project settings. When the billing worksheet is generated, it is assigned to the project's account executive for review.
Steps to generate billing worksheets
From Menu > Billing > Today billing: top left corner, click on +Generate icon
This will bring you to the search screen. Select the appropriate filter options:
Through date: include transaction dates on or prior to the date selected
Notes regarding Retainers and Through Date:
- The Through Date will capture Retainers to bill which have a Last Bill Date that is more than 29 days ago.
- Its best to enter the last day of the following month to be sure and capture all retainers to bill for next month.
- If you enter a Through Date that exceeds the Last Bill Date, times the number of remaining periods and frequency, then the Retainer will not appear.
Review date: date when approval of worksheet will be considered late and notifications sent
Through date looks at: invoice date or posting date. NOTE: for transactions that do not have a posting/invoice date the transaction date will be used. Ex. misc cost, expense reports, purchase orders.
Production transactions: select the appropriate categories to be included in billing
- Time: add unbillled approved time entries.
- Expenses: add misc cost, approved vendor invoices (this includes vendor invoices created from expense reports).
- Expense reports: add approved expense reports (does not include vendor invoices created from expense reports).
- Purchase orders: add approved purchase order lines. NOTE: This includes closed order lines that are not connected to a vendor invoice unless Open Orders Only is checked.
- Include T&M zero amounts: for time & materials projects > if the transaction has gross = 0, include in the worksheet. NOTE: If the project has no open transactions, it will NOT be included.
- Mark T&M zero as billed: for time & materials projects > when generating worksheets, mark transactions with gross = 0 as 'mark as billed'.
- Include FF zero unbilled: for fixed-fee projects > if there are no transactions on the project, generate a worksheet.
- Open orders only: when checked only open order lines will be included. Any closed order lines that are not connected to a vendor invoice will be excluded.
Media transactions: select appropriate media order types. Vendor invoices will be part of the above expenses selection.
- Insertion orders: add approved insertion order lines. This includes closed order lines that are not connected to a vendor invoice unless Open Orders Only is checked.
- Broadcast orders: add approved broadcast order lines. This includes closed order lines that are not connected to a vendor invoice unless Open Orders Only is checked.
Project options: select appropriate filters to limit worksheet results. Typically all are left set to ALL.
- Company: default= All > allows selection of single GL Company
- Client ID: default= All > allows an any of selection of client ids
- Parent Client: default= All > allows for selection of single parent company
- Account Manager: default= All > allows for selection of single Account Manager
- Project Manager: default= All > allows for selection of single Project Manager
- Billing Manager: default= All > allows for selection of single Billing Manager
-
Approver Is: Account Manager/Project Manager/Billing Manager
Based upon the selection, the initial approver of the billing worksheet will be set to the appropriate setting from the project. Primary/Master worksheets will be set via the appropriate setting on the client record. - Campaign: default= All > allows selection of single Campaign
- Billing Group: default= All > allows selection of single Billing Group
- Project Status: default= All > allows for an any of selection of Project Status
- Project Billing Status: default= All > allows for any of selection of Project Billing Status
- Include Overhead Clients: default= unchecked > when checked, will include overhead client projects in the worksheet create process.
Once selections are made, click on Search at top of the page
This will then display a list of all projects, etc, that fit the selected search parameters.
The screen is divided into 5 possible tabs based on the project billing settings
- Time & materials = Projects that have their billing method set to 'time & materials'
- Fixed fee = Projects that have their billing method set to 'fixed fee'
- Campaign = Campaigns set to 'bill by campaign'
- Campaigns fixed fee = Campaign set to 'bill by campaign' and 'bill campaign budget' checked
- Retainer = only retainer name is displayed. Projects that have their billing method set to 'retainer'
check the box to the left of each line or the Select all box at the top of the grid
Once all selections have been made, click Generate
NOTE: to aid in selection, the screen groupings can be collapsed or expended, by clicking on the Collapse All/Expand All button at top of page
When you return to the Today billing screen, you will see 'worksheets in review' with the number of worksheets that have been created or are currently in this status.
NOTE: When billing by campaigns, the unbilled amount is calculated differently on fixed fee vs. time & material projects.
- Fixed fee project: Unbilled amount is calculated as budget amount - invoiced amount.
- Time & material project: Unbilled amount is calculated as unbilled Amount.