Hi. I've been demoing Daylite & Billings. Daylite is a definite purchase. No doubt there. But I can't get enough usefulness out of Billings yet to make me purchase it. I'd love to find solutions to these problems so Billings would work for me.

A brief overview. I record and mix records. Typical process: artist contacts me and asks if I'd do it, if I'm free, what it'd cost. I respond with yes I'll do it, my available dates, my fixed daily rate (NEVER hourly) and my estimated material costs ($75 per reel of tape). My only other cost depends on what recording studio we rent. I email them the different studio costs and my recommendations. The other studio cost doesn't end up on my invoice or estimate, just in an initial email then they pay that studio directly.

In Daylite I make an "appointment" for the day we'll work and click "repeat" and select the day we'll stop. Most projects are 3-7 consecutive days. Let's say this project is 7 days. Great. So then when Billings gets this project it sees all 7 days as "quantity: 7" Then I can make sure the Slip is on Quantity, put my daily rate in the Rate and it's fine. Then I make a custom template and change QTY to Number of Days and it looks fine.

problem: in this scenario the invoice will not show all dates worked even though they were set in Daylite, just the start date. So it'll only read QTY: 7 Start Date June 3, 2007. Not June 3rd - June 10th.

problem: in the appointment in Daylite I'd like to make a record of what songs were worked on and have this appear on the invoice so they see what day we worked on what. Would all this be solved if I didn't use the "repeat" function when scheduling? If I made an individual appointment and noted in there what was worked on?

problem: where do I account for selling them reels of tape? If I make a Slip in Billings for a Quantity then select both that Slip and the Dates Worked Slip for an estimate they both have a number in the QTY area, which I labeled Number of Days. That just looks silly. Sending two invoices seems silly too.

problem: if in Daylite I made this action a Task instead of Appointment, it shows up in Billings as timed, not as Quantity. So then I have to double check everything or the estimate will be crazy expensive. I would do this for an Opportunity or potential project since I can define what I'll be doing but not tie it to a date.

problem: I don't understand how to send an Estimate with the total estimated cost for a project that shows the final payment's due date, a 50% deposit amount and that deposit's due date. Then receive the deposit, note it, then have the final invoice sent automatically account for this.

thanks very much or any help & insight,
Bill