Sending Invoices

The process for collecting payments from clients is as follows:

1. The project lead enters the billing information for the relevant time period in the Financial Planning spreadsheet.
2. A member of the Finance Working Group (WG) creates an invoice and sends it to the client using QuickBooks Online using the information from the spreadsheet.
3. The bookkeeper settles the invoice payment after it is received.

1. Populate Financial Planning Spreadsheet (Project Lead)

If this is the first time the client is being invoiced:

• Confirm with the client which currency they will be invoiced in, and in what country their financial institution is based.
• Work with the Finance WG to set up the right invoice template and cost centres.

Go to the Customer Invoices sheet of the Financial Planning spreadsheet and fill in the details for the invoice:

• Period: It should match the upcoming Service Period at the top of the sheet.
• Service Date: The end date of the provided service. If a client is billed monthly, this would list the last day of the billed month.
• Description
• Qty
• Rate (<currency>)
• Sales Tax
  • Notify the Finance WG that the invoice data is ready.

Access to the Financial Planning spreadsheet is controlled by the Finance WG.

2. Send Invoice in QuickBooks Online (Finance WG)

Go to Quickbooks Online.

If the client has not been set up:

1. Open the Customers & leads menu and select Customers.
2. Click New customer.
3. Enter the client details and click Save.

If the project has not been set up:

1. Open the Projects menu.
2. Click New project.
3. Enter the project details, including the correct client, and click Save.

To create an invoice:

1. Open the Invoicing menu and select Invoices.
2. Click Create invoice
3. Select the Project from the dropdown menu. QuickBooks will autofill all the client information.
4. Copy and paste all the line items from the Financial Planning spreadsheet:
   • Service Date
   • Description
   • Qty
   • Rate
   • Sales Tax
   • Leave the Class column blank
5. At the bottom of the page, click Customize to select the invoice template listed in the Financial Planning spreadsheet.
   • If a new template is required or the payment information needs to be changed:
     • Select the Content tab, click on the bottom section of the template preview to reveal the Add payment details and footer section.
     • Enter the applicable payment information, you can look at a previous invoices for examples.
     • Review the invoice preview, then click Done.
6. Click Preview and review the information. The calculated total must match the one from the Financial Planning spreadsheet.
   • If this is the first time the client is being invoiced, the invoice must be reviewed by the project lead before it is sent out.
7. Click Save and Send to send the invoice to the client.

3. Settle an invoice payment (Bookkeeper)

Once the client has paid the invoice, we can check the amount received in the appropriate account. The bookkeeper will settle the payment in QuickBooks.