Invoice against a project balance

If you take a deposit up front, then track time for the hours spent on your project, here's a neat way to create the final invoice for the balance.

One of our great customers, Andy Marshall at Moogaloo, gave us this scenario, which applies to a lot of businesses.

Here's what happens.

  • You estimate how much you're going to charge your client for a project, for example £2,500, and bill them x% up front - say 40%.
  • So you'd issue your client with an invoice for £1,000.
  • Then you track your hours spent on the rest of the project.
  • At the end of the project, you find you've tracked only £2,300 worth of hours.
  • So you want to invoice your client for £2,300 - £1,000 = £1,300.

How can you do that neatly in FreeAgent?

1. Create an invoice including all unbilled time

When you create the balance invoice at the end of the project, choose to add unbilled time to it.

2. Add the deposit as a separate item

Add the deposit to the invoice as a new item, remembering to put the amount in as a minus.

KB-Pro-In-IAPB-01-Final.png

This invoice will then show your clients:

  • The full amount billed
  • That you remember they've paid you already for part of it

Neat, huh?

Thanks Andy!

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