GUARANTEED GREAT IDEAS! Billing Tips From Real Clients & Profits Users Bill early, bill often. Cash flow is one of the reasons, but there are more. "It keeps the billing from piling up. The work is fresh in our minds, so we're keenly aware of our billing options and what we promised our clients." - Erin Buettgen, Markstone Inc Get AEs involved. AEs know their jobs and what amounts clients expect to see, or not see, on an invoice. Give them the right reports to review a job's key aspects, like estimate, billings, unbilled, and status. "We use Job List by AE because it's concise; easy to reference at staff meetings; and a new page prints for each AE, so it's easy to distribute." - Mike McBride, Harris Creative Use billing status codes. Billing status codes let accounting print their own job reports showing only jobs they need to consider. By using billing status, they don't interfere with production's job lists or traffic reports. "It helps pinpoint the right jobs for WIP reports which helps me know at a glance what to contemplate for this month's billing." - Maria Orsini, Cundari Group Keep things clear. Even the easiest-to- read invoice might confuse clients, so help them understand what you've done and why. "Give clients good descriptions for tasks (on invoices) to summarize what was done. It eliminates most questions from clients." - Ginger McNab, Pointe Hilton Don't wait to post costs. A job can be billed any time, whether it's finished or not. Since some billings are based on costs to date, the trick is to enter job costs quickly. "Keep all posting current, so when jobs are billed, no costs get left out." - Cynthia Hobbs, Marketing by Design

Q. I'm looking for an invoice, but I don't know the exact number. How can I find it?

Invoices can be found by client, date, or job number. The Find dialog box lets you choose how Clients & Profits searches for invoices. Entering a client number lists all its invoices. You can re-sort them by clicking on various column headings. Find the invoice you want, then double-click on it to show the actual invoice.

Q. How do I credit a client?

Simply add an A/R invoice with a negative amount. If a credit invoice has a job and task, the credit amount will appear on job reports.

Q. Can invoices be faxed directly from Clients & Profits?

Yes. With a fax modem or server, it's no different than printing to a laser printer. On a Windows-based PC, open the Print Manager then select the fax driver. On a Mac, open the Chooser and select the fax. When an invoice is printed, you'll be prompted for the client's name and fax number. Invoices selected for printing can only be sent to one fax number, so be sure to print invoices one at a time -- or only invoices for the same client.

Q. Can I e-mail invoices to clients?

Not easily. Invoices are highly formatted, which e-mail programs can't handle well.If an invoice is pasted into an e-mail message, its text won't be very readable.A better, but more complicated, solution is to use Adobe Acrobat. Each invoice would be saved as an Acrobat file, which is attached to the e-mail message. When your client receives the e-mail, they'll download the enclosures. They'll need the free Acrobat Player to read and print the invoices.

Q. Can I print multi-part invoice forms?

No, however Clients & Profits can print multiple copies of an invoice on plain paper (or letterhead). Most shops use laser or ink-jet printers, which can't handle multi-part (i.e., NCR) forms. To work around this hardware limitation, you can enter up to five "distribution names" for each client invoice. When the invoice is printed, a separate copy will print for each name. (The distribution name even appears at the bottom of the page.)

Q. Can I customize invoices?

Yes. You control how the printed invoice looks. You can choose different fonts; scan in the company logo; set top, left, and bottom margins; group and sort tasks in any order; and roll-up tasks that shouldn't appear on printed invoices.

Q. Can I show billed costs to a client?

Sure. Clients & Profits automatically tracks which costs are billed on an invoice. The Invoice Detail report shows an invoice's billed costs, which can be printed as an option with the invoice. Clients see only gross amounts, not net costs or hourly rates.