I just downloaded the trial and I'm liking it so far except for the fact that I can't figure out how to select multiple projects and invoice them instead of invoiceing individual slips?
Example, I have multiple projects each month for clients - flyers, ads, catalogs, etc. I invoice them with all projects on one invoice at the end of each month. From what I can tell in Billings is that I will have multiple invoices to send to one client at the end of the month instead of one.
We currently only allow invoicing by slips (otherwise known as on a per-project basis). The best way to bill for multiple projects at once is to make a new "master project" and to move or copy all of the slips into that project, which you can then bill at once. You may wish to modify the invoice template so that it would indicate which project each slip applied to.
Cheers,
adam
Posts: 643 | Location: san francisco bay area | Registered: June 09, 2006
I'd second wanting to be able to have multiple projects on an invoice. I work on multiple projects for one client, and the client needs the invoice to show charges by those projects. This is a key capability for me. iBiz sort of has this, but not well implemented. I guess I could have multiple categories of slips within a project, but the invoice still doesn't subtotal by those. I know from Daylite that I can change invoice designs, but don't have the time, so I need the capability built in, or a third party solution such as with Daylite.
I would also vote for multiple projects on a single invoice. It's something I did when I was generating invoices by hand in M$ Word and it's something I'd like in Billings.
Rob Parker
Posts: 17 | Location: Philadelphia, PA USA | Registered: January 01, 2007
Thinking more about my request for multiple projects per invoice, I see a work-around which is to have a set of slips named to represent the projects, and I just keep adding time to each of these during the billing period. The downside is that it removes the usefulness of one level of organization (instead of clients - projects - slips, it becomes essentially clients - slips), and doesn't reflect my way of thinking about projects. But is works.
Originally posted by adam: We currently only allow invoicing by slips (otherwise known as on a per-project basis). The best way to bill for multiple projects at once is to make a new "master project" and to move or copy all of the slips into that project, which you can then bill at once. You may wish to modify the invoice template so that it would indicate which project each slip applied to.
I get the concept but I think it's quite odd that Billings allows for the highly useful organizational tool of putting slips into projects in the main window, but then doesn't let us bill them that same way in the invoice.
Ideally, I'd like to see an invoice that lists the time slips and their amounts for each project, subtotals each project and then totals them all at the end. It's useful for us, but it's also useful for a client, as they often will have different project managers, who have to account for their own budgets, but we don't want to send multiple bills, as that would drive accounting (theirs and ours) nuts. You're suggestion is an odd and potentially long work-around for something that seems pretty basic for all of us who have more than one project with a client (and the goal for any business is to encourage clients to do more and more projects with us). Dan Allison's work-around is useful, but the effect is to not use the project concept you took quite a while to program and build into Billings 2. At least, please give us the preference of invoicing multiple projects at once.
I'd love to see this feature too. I'm sure the majority of Billings users work on multiple projects for the same client and need to invoice them all together, a lot less hassle and less paper if you're printing a copy for the tax man! Having previously spent money on Studiometry, iBiz and iRatchet in search of the best fit for me, I think Billings ticks all the boxes except this one! Is there any chance this could be implemented at some point soon, please?
Posts: 9 | Location: Bury St. Edmunds, England | Registered: February 14, 2007
Seriously, this is a BADLY needed feature. I switched over to Billings from iBiz 3 without even realizing this wasn't possible. It seemed to me to be such a basic thing that I didn't even really think to check it out while evaluating. That's what I get for assuming.
As much as I like Billings interface and other features over iBiz I think I may have to switch back if this isn't implemented. Truly sucks but it's something I really need and the workarounds just don't cut it.
Somewhat related to this there should also be a total balance per customer shown without have to select all the projects together. iBiz has this listed right next to the clients name in the client pane of the app. Their (iBiz) interface sucks in a lot of ways compared to Billings but they definitely got some features like this right even if it's not as "pretty". Being a graphic artist and interface designer myself it will be very painful to have to go back to iBiz but it looks like it might be necessary.
Basically this post is me begging you to not make me go back to dealing with that ugly iBiz interface!
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dan Peterson,
I've been using Billings since version 1 and I've always used it for multiple projects per customer. Monthly projects were just that, months. I'd make a project called "April" and everything for the month is in there and invoiced accordingly. I've found that most bookkeepers wouldn't want to take in invoices for work that span across multiple months, especially if they span across fiscal quarters. Also, projects are often budgeted individually and often from separate departments within an organization. Invoicing for multiple projects could cause a headache in such cases. I have no reason to vote against this feature, but I can't really see any use for it, in my work anyway. Just my 2 cents.
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I agree with Dan and others who are very disappointed and surprised that Billings does not process slips across multiple Projects. I have tried TimeNet and iBiz and they both have shortcomings that Billings solves, but being able to organize work into Projects and not bill multiple projects just seems incomprehensible. I do things like "Updatges" and "Design" and I want to keep that work separate, but bill the client just once.
I hope the authors of this otherwise excellent program hear our plea.
click on project > double click invoice > click open invoice (auto opens in acrobat) > then I click email on each invoice inside acrobat (auto opens in mail program) > then I drag all pdfs to one email window.
