Time and money

Billing and invoices

Set how often invoices are drafted, raise one by hand, check and issue drafts, and see what clients owe.

Updated Time and moneyLast checked

Billing turns approved time into invoices. You set how often Orin OS drafts invoices, raise one by hand when you need to, check each draft and issue it, and follow what clients still owe.

Before you start

  • You need permission to see billing to open the page, and permission to manage billing to change the frequency, raise, issue or correct invoices.
  • Only time that has been approved and has a rate is billed. Unapproved or unpriced hours are left out and stay available for a later invoice. See Timesheet and Hourly rates.

Steps at a glance

Raise and issue invoices

  1. Step 01

    Open Billing

    Select Billing in the menu. The Invoices tab lists every invoice, drafts included, newest first, with its date, number, client, amount and payment status. Drafts show Not issued in place of a number. The icons on each row view, download, email and record a payment. Search covers every column, and Export downloads the list.

    The Billing page listing invoices with Billing frequency and Raise an invoice buttons at the top
    1: Billing frequency. 2: Raise an invoice.

  2. Step 02

    Set the billing frequency

    Select Billing frequency. Choose the Frequency, from Daily to Yearly, and the day it Runs on. Tick Draft invoices automatically if you want Orin OS to draft invoices on that cadence; each run bills the period just ended and only ever creates drafts for you to check.

    Under Exceptions, give a client its own frequency, or select Hold to stop it being billed automatically until you select Resume. If there are no exceptions yet, select Set an exception to see every client.

    The Billing frequency window with Frequency, Runs on, the automatic drafting tickbox and a list of client exceptions
    Every change here saves as you make it. Select Done to close.

  3. Step 03

    Raise an invoice

    Select Raise an invoice to bill outside the schedule. Choose one client, or leave All clients, and set Invoice up to, which starts at the end of last month. Everything approved and unbilled up to that date is included, grouped by task.

    Leave Issue automatically off to check the drafts first, then select Raise drafts. Orin OS reports how many invoices it raised, which clients had nothing to bill, and how many hours it left out because they were not approved, carry no rate, or are overtime waiting on approval.

    The Raise an invoice window with Client, Invoice up to, and an Issue automatically tickbox
    With Issue automatically ticked, the button becomes Raise and issue, and each invoice is numbered and emailed straight away.

  4. Step 04

    Check and issue the draft

    Open a draft from the list. It shows the invoice as the client will see it: who is billed, the period, each line of work with hours, rate and VAT, and the totals. Use the eye button to preview the PDF and the download button to save it.

    When it is right, select Issue this invoice. Issuing takes the next number in your sequence, emails the invoice to the client's contact and cannot be undone. If the draft is wrong, select Delete draft; its work goes back to unbilled and no number is used.

    A draft invoice open for review, with Delete draft and Issue this invoice at the bottom
    1: Issue this invoice. The result of issuing was not captured, because it emails the client.

    An issued invoice can be emailed again from its row's send icon, which asks who to send it to. Its window also offers Credit note, and under more actions, Write off and, if you take payments online, Withdraw pay links.

  5. Step 05

    Follow what is owed

    The Ageing tab shows each client's outstanding balance by how long it is past its due date, from Current to Over 1 year. Drafts and voided invoices are not counted.

    The Ageing tab with outstanding balances by client in age bands
    Outstanding balances, aged from each invoice's due date.

    The On hold tab lists clients skipped by automatic billing, with the reason, the date and the cadence they return to.

    The On hold tab listing a client with its reason and hold date
    Clients on hold. Resume them from Billing frequency.

When it has worked

An issued invoice shows its number and a payment status of Unpaid, and joins the Ageing tab once due. Its work leaves Work in progress. Recording what the client pays is covered in Getting paid.

Common questions

A draft invoice counts as billed. Is that right? Yes. Raising a draft takes its work out of the unbilled pile so it cannot be invoiced twice. Delete the draft to put the work back.

Why was a client skipped? It had no approved, priced work up to the date, or it is on hold. The run's summary says which.

Can I see one client's invoices? Yes, on the client's Billing tab, which also raises invoices for that client.

What does Part paid mean? Some money has been recorded against the invoice and a balance remains.

Getting paidRecord payments against invoices, and let clients pay online by card through Stripe.Work in progressBillable time nobody has invoiced yet, by task, with its value and how long it has been waiting.

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