Does anyone else run into this problem when you are in the processing of sending out an invoice?

The problem I KEEP running into is I accidentally hit the Return key when I'm trying to write more detailed comments to include with the invoice. I hit the Return key because I want to add another paragraph to my comments to share specifics on the work done.

And as soon as I hit the Return key, the invoice is made and I no longer have ANY chance of amending it.

So my first issue could be fixed easily with a secondary popup window that confirms I'm reading to send the invoice and giving me an OUT if I still need to modify the invoice content.

Secondly, it sure would be nice if an invoice could be modified after it has been sent. There have been numerous times when I've either hit the Return key accidentally too early OR I have forgotten to add 30 days to due date field. It would be REALLY nice if I could have simply gone in and made those changes.

Has anyone else run into these annoyances? Please be sure to comment if you'd like these features so they can add them to future updates.

I like Billings but I'd actually "love" Billings if a remedy could be made on these two issues.

Christi

I agree 100% - it is vital to have the ability to change the invoice to fix 'finger trouble' at the operator's end.

I keep forgetting to select all the slips, or suddenly find that I've got an extra expense to add minutes after committing the invoice.

I've also had clients come back with comments like 'that's not what we agreed' or 'I thought you were billing us for something else'.

Now... IIRC, I did once manage to edit an invoice. Not sure how, it happened so quickly, but I believe I was trying to delete something.

Whatever - an invoice isn't final until it gets accepted by the client, and doing credit notes and the other thing that offsets your bill to a third party versus their bill to you (e.g. when freelancers hire freelancers to catch their overspill) is just too gosh darn hard to work out.

Let us un-invoice the invoice, change, twiddle, correct finger trouble, then re-issue under the same number.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE with sugar on top.

This issue is address in the next version. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

quote:

Originally posted by Eric Hochmeister:
This issue is address in the next version.

Wow, that was a quick response!

Is there a time frame on that?

FWIW, I am one of the world's worst invoicers - not getting around to billing for months on end to the frustration of my clients' accounts departments. Mainly because of the delicate prevarication required to shoehorn what should have happened into what actually happened and still end up at what one quoted for.

Billings could make model invoicers out of the unruliest paperwork hating creatives. 19 days into my demo, my clients are impressed by the new regime!

Matt,

Sorry, my last response was in regards to millca's request for 'hitting return in the comment field not causing the invoice to be sent'.

As per your request, which seems related to modifying an invoice which was already sent, we are evaluating this. I'm not sure if editing the original invoice is correct, but we're looking at it.

quote:

I'm not sure if editing the original invoice is correct, but we're looking at it.

Please do. Many of us work in the creative field - we don't sell widgets, we don't shampoo pets, we sell ideas. Sometimes, we have to ensure that the invoice fits the purchase order, and sometimes that requires retrospective twiddles.

On the other hand, many of us are forgetful, distracted, and overly eager - therefore it is vital we can undo converting slips into invoices so we can twiddle and re-issue under the same number.

I'm about to put every invoice I've issued into the Billings system, and in just preparing for this, I've uncovered mistakes, missed opportunities, expenses that weren't claimed, duplicate invoice numbers, missing numbers and so on.

Just take the simple process of converting slips to an invoice. I check all the slips, with the last little expense highlighted, convert to invoice, and I am irrevocably committed to invoicing my client £3.75 Postage and packing, yet not able to charge for £3,218.57 of video production without raising another invoice. Just because I forgot to select all rather than check all the boxes.

Then there's the times I've issued an invoice with mileage, and although I've claimed the miles I actually did, the agency says I can only claim miles from Hyde Park Corner (notional centre of London). The difference won't buy you breakfast, but I won't use a package that makes me revoke an invoice, offer a credit note, then makes me redo every part of that invoice except the minor tweak to mileage. I want to take the invoice back to slips, double click the mileage, change it from 46 miles to 18 miles, then re-issue using the same number. Heck, a point rev or adding 'a' is acceptable if necessary, but it just causes pain along the line.

Our hands are partly tied by legal requirements in many of the markets in which Billings is popular.

It's very easy to delete an invoice, recover its slips, make changes, and even step back the automatic invoice numbering.

>> Our hands are partly tied by legal requirements in many of the markets in which Billings is popular.

How, exactly, do the legal requirements of any particular locale have anything to do with a piece of software that tracks time?

I thought that the legal requirements would be imposed upon the business using a particular piece of software, not on the software vendor.

You, as a software vendor, can't control how the software is used.

Thanks,

S

What I meant was that we have to design our software so that its typical workflow, etc. is appropriate for its users and the markets they use it in. For instance, if Billings permitted (or worse, encouraged) easy perversion of standard accounting practices, or de facto practices in certain regions, it would be less effective--especially out of the box.

In this context, we are careful about letting people 'modify' invoices--this has ramifications for record-keeping as well, within the app--but do allow easy deletion and re-creation of invoices that need to be corrected.

Your thoughts are appreciated though, and completely valid. It's just that we do choose to impose certain limits, as almost all software vendors do, in order to create a good experience.

I'm with Matt and Millca here. So we can delete and re-make if we have finger trouble, (personally I struggle to understand the difference between doing this and ammending the invoice, except that its more painful) but what would be better in my opinion would be to be able to edit and then send as Matt suggests with a revision number.

This would actually help keep track of those times when a client (my experience as a video professional is exactly the same as Matt's) demands changes, as well as when I make a mistake, but also mean that those changes are reflected in the database, so come the time they pay you the wrong amount, its possible to have a discussion about what happened in the past and which invoice actually got paid.

I'm not coming from an accounts background but a creative one and I'm looking for something to make my life EASIER!

Agreed with Matt, Millca, and Phil.

We currently have to work around this limitation anyway, and it just adds room for error and wastes time. I don't consider this limit a good experience.

I haven't seen anyone comment that they prefer or require this behaviour. I haven't seen another small business invoicing program that works this way either. What industry are we talking about? What industry doesn't make mistakes or need to adjust something, even perhaps just adding a comment to a slip?

If invoices kept for record-keeping need to be locked down, then why not lock them manually, or only after a payment has been applied?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Andrew Vit,

Guys,

I might have misunderstood what your problem is here but if you have created an invoice you can always "un-create" it and go back to the project and its associated editable slips.

Just highlight the project, click on the account status tab (if not already selected), click on the invoice. Now press the delete key (yep - thats right!). You will now be asked if you want to really delete the selected item... press "delete". You will now be asked if you want to delete "this invoice and its slips?" but note there is a "make active" button as well as a "delete" button. Press "make active" and you will be back to where you were before you pressed that "send invoice" button - even if it was days/weeks ago. ie you have the project with its associated slips waiting to added to, edited or have the "send invoice" button pressed.

An almost unbelievably daft and un-intuitive way to go back to your slips after you've published an invoice - but a perfectly simple way non the less. (as long as you know about this!)

In other words if your client wants you to amend your invoice (like mine always seem to do), you can - very easily!

Note you will be publishing your invoice again after the tweak, so the invoice date etc will change.