Master Your Billing: A Deep Dive into Automated Service Contract Invoicing

For any professional service company offering service or LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations) contracts, managing invoicing can often be a complex task. From ensuring the accuracy of calculations to maintaining consistent communication with clients, the demands are numerous. What if you could simplify this entire process, making it more efficient, precise, and professional? Our automated service contract invoicing system is designed to do just that, and it's particularly useful for the lift industry or any other company that conducts regular service or inspection visits.

 

Let's take a closer look at how this powerful system empowers businesses to take complete control of their billing, transforming a potentially complicated task into a seamless operation.

 

The Guided Setup: Your Path to Perfect Invoicing

 

Setting up your invoice schedule should be intuitive, not intricate. Our system offers a guided setup, where all calculations are performed automatically based on the parameters you define. This means less manual effort, fewer errors, and more time for you to focus on your core business.

 

 

Here’s a breakdown of the key settings you'll encounter:

 

• Initial Invoice Date: While it initially mirrors the contract's start date, flexibility is key. You can adjust this as needed, with a smart safeguard in place: for contracts older than 28 days, the first invoice date must fall within 28 days of the current date. This ensures your initial invoice always aligns with your active billing period.

• Order Number: A simple yet crucial detail. Enter the client's order number here, and it will be prominently displayed on the invoice, ensuring easy reconciliation for both parties.

• Repeat Cycle: Define the rhythm of your billing. Our system operates on an annual cycle, allowing you to select standard intervals like monthly, quarterly, or annually. Set it once, and the system handles the rest.

• Nominal Code: Essential for financial tracking. A Nominal Code is mandatory for invoice creation. If not yet configured, these must be established before an invoice schedule can be fully set up, ensuring your accounting is always in order.

• Skip Invoice Quantity (Advanced Option): This intelligent feature is invaluable for contracts already in progress. If a contract is partway through its payment cycle and some invoices have already been issued, this option allows you to omit those initial invoices from the new schedule. This ensures the total amount due accurately reflects the remaining balance, preventing double-billing and confusion.

 

Precision at a Glance: The Calculations Panel

 

Once your settings are configured, the Calculations Panel provides a transparent overview of the values the system will use to generate invoices. These figures are derived directly from your settings and cannot be edited manually, guaranteeing data integrity. Any adjustments are made by simply updating your selections in the settings panel.

 

This panel includes:

 

• Contract Price: The total value of the contract, as recorded in the main contract manager.

• Total Number of Invoices: The exact count of all invoices the system will generate over the contract's term.

• Next Invoice Date: Clearly displays the date of the next upcoming invoice.

• Final Invoice Date: Shows the date when the very last invoice will be issued.

• Invoice Value: For schedules with multiple invoices, this shows the equal value of each instalment.

• Final Invoice Value Adjustment: A clever feature that automatically adjusts the final invoice's value if the total contract price isn't perfectly divisible by the number of invoices, ensuring the full balance is always accounted for.

 

Streamlined Billing for Comprehensive Coverage: Site-Wide Invoicing

 

For professional service companies managing multiple products or services at a single location, our 'Invoice for entire site' feature is a game-changer. Rather than creating separate schedules for each product, you can generate a single invoice covering everything on that site.

While this option simplifies billing, it doesn't limit your flexibility. You can still set up individual schedules for specific products if needed. In such cases, a clear notification will be displayed on those product schedules, confirming that they are already covered by a site-wide invoice. This prevents accidental duplicate billing while maintaining the option for granular control.

 

Crafting Your Message: The Invoice Text Editor

 

Professional invoices don't just bill; they communicate. Our Invoice Text Editor allows you to fully customise the narrative that accompanies your charges.

 

• Hashtag Power: The system uses dynamic hashtags (e.g., #RecurDateStart#, #ContractDocID#) that automatically populate with relevant contract and billing cycle data when the invoice is generated. You have full control to remove unnecessary tags or edit the text around them to fit your brand voice.

• Itemised Line Details: This concise single line appears with pricing, typically showing the current billing cycle dates – ideal for recurring services. Keep it short and to the point.

• Invoice Details Panel: For more elaborate explanations, this panel allows you to add detailed context. By default, it provides contract number, name, and term, but you can expand upon this to clearly articulate the invoice's purpose.

 

From Creation to Communication: Sending Your Invoices

 

The final step is getting those invoices to your clients promptly and professionally.

 

• Creating the Invoice(s): Once you're confident in your settings, a click of the 'Save' button initiates the process. A quick confirmation dialogue ensures everything is intentional before the initial invoice is generated.

• Viewing & Managing Invoices: All created invoices are neatly displayed in a grid at the bottom of the dialogue. Future invoices generated by recurring schedules will automatically appear here too, offering a complete historical record.

• Sending Options: Upon creation, invoices are initially marked as 'Unsent'. You have two seamless options:

  1. Click the invoice in the grid to navigate to its details page and manually send it.

  2. Utilise the 'Email Button' to open our email automation dialogue.

 

Automated Email Communication: 'Email To' and 'Email From'

 

Our system extends automation to your client communication, ensuring invoices reach the right people, from the right sender.

 

• Contacts / Email To: Any contacts associated with the site or managing agent will appear in a dropdown list. Green-highlighted contacts are active and selecting them automatically populates the 'Email To' field. Alternatively, you can manually enter multiple email addresses, separated by a semicolon.

• Email From: This defaults to your logged-in user email. However, you can easily select a different sender if company policy dictates, or if you use specific company email addresses for invoicing correspondence.

• Email Dialogue: The default email text provides enough detail for the recipient to quickly understand the email's origin and purpose. Like the invoice text, this dialogue uses dynamic hashtags for customisation. Remember that any edits here will apply to all subsequent recurring invoices.

 

Intelligent Delivery: Auto Send and Send Now

 

Finalise your dispatch strategy with these powerful options:

 

• Auto Send: Tick this checkbox, and the system will automatically send the invoice as soon as it is created – perfect for set-and-forget recurring billing.

• Send Now: For immediate dispatch of a specific invoice, click 'Send Now'. The invoice will be placed into the email scheduler and sent to the recipient within 10 minutes, providing prompt delivery.

 

Elevate Your Business

 

Efficient billing is the backbone of a successful service company. Our automated service contract invoicing system offers a comprehensive, intelligent, and professional solution designed to save you time, eliminate errors, and enhance your client relationships through clear, consistent communication. Embrace the future of invoicing and let automation empower your business.