Pre-Invoices Workflow

After you turn on and configure the Pre-Invoices feature, you are ready to create pre-invoices and enter cash receipts and regular final invoices for them.

The following table shows the typical workflow, key information, and an example for processing pre-invoices and their associated cash receipts and regular invoices.

Step	Description	Where in Vision	Example
1	Turn on pre-invoicing processing for a project and enter pre-invoice billing information.	Billing > Billing Terms On the Fees tab, set the fee method to Current unit or fee. On the Pre-Invoice tab: Select the Process Pre-Invoices check box so that Interactive Billing and Batch Billing will create a pre-invoice when you access them. Specify the pre-invoice template to use for the pre-invoice. Only the General, Fees, Misc, and Pre-Invoice tabs are enabled and apply to pre-invoices. Enter information on these tabs for the pre-invoice, including the fee amount on the Fees tab.	You select the Current unit or fee fee method, the Process Pre-Invoices check box, and a pre-invoice template in Billing Terms for a project. You enter $20,000 in the Fee field on the Fees tab.
2	Create a pre-invoice and send it to a client.	Billing > Interactive Billing or Billing > Batch Billing In Interactive Billing, create and accept the pre-invoice or in Batch billing, process a final run type for pre-invoices. When you finish creating pre-invoices, clear the Process Pre-Invoices check box so that Interactive Billing and Batch Billing will revert to creating regular invoices.	In Interactive Billing, you generated and accepted pre-invoice 1 for $20,000.
3	Repeat steps 1 and 2 as needed to create more pre-invoices.	See steps 1 and 2.	You repeated steps 1 and 2 to create pre-invoice 2 for $30,000.
4	Enter a cash receipt for a partial or full payment that a client makes for a pre-invoice.	Transaction Center > Transaction Entry > Cash Receipts The pre-invoice receipt offset account (typically a liability account) that you entered on the Miscellaneous tab in Configuration > Billing > General is credited when a cash receipt is posted for a pre-invoice. If you use phases and tasks (WBS2 and WBS3), the cash receipt is applied to the phase and task that is entered on the Pre-Invoice tab in Billing Terms for a project.	The client paid pre-invoice 1, and you entered a cash receipt for $20,000 for it in Transaction Entry.
5	Create and send a regular final invoice to a client.	Billing > Interactive Billing or Billing > Batch Billing Before you do this, be sure that the Process Pre-Invoices check box is cleared on the Pre-Invoice tab in Billing Terms for the project. Enter information for the invoice in the project's billing terms. The regular invoice does not have to use the Current unit or fee fee method. You can include the unpaid pre-invoice fee amounts in the Fee field in the Fees tab. Vision automatically cancels all unpaid pre-invoices when you create a regular invoice. Vision will deduct any paid pre-invoice fee amount that has been paid since the last regular invoice was generated from the regular invoice fee total.	You create a regular invoice whose fee total is $50,000, with an amount due of $30,000: $50,000 — You entered this amount in the Fee field on the Fees tab in Billing Terms. This amount includes the paid and unpaid pre-invoice fee amounts ($20,000 + $30,000 from the two pre-invoices). <$20,000> — This is the amount of pre-invoice 1 that the client paid. It is deducted automatically from the fee amount. The unpaid pre-invoice 2 for $30,000 is canceled automatically by Vision when you created the final regular invoice.