Setting up user preferences for billing

Show expandable text

Use the Billing tab of the User Preferences dialog to select how to bill your clients or engagements, how to display WIP during billing, and to specify rounding methods for billing at standard. You can also choose certain defaults for Detail Billing.

From the Setup menu, choose User Preferences, and then click the Billing tab.

Note: Your firm’s administrator can specify default user preferences when setting up new staff in the application (Setup > Firm > Preferences tab). Staff members with security privileges can later change these preferences if they want. To restore the firm’s defaults at any time, click the Reset to new Staff defaults for Firm link.

Settings

  • Default invoice date: The date you choose in this field will be the invoice date for each client displayed in Detail Billing. You can choose Today’s date, Period end date, or Last date used.

    Note: This date serves as a WIP cut-off date. Only WIP dated on or before this date will be available for billing.

  • Default WIP through: Choose a date from the drop-down list for the WIP that you want to bill. This date must fall on or before the invoice date. If you select Custom from the drop-down list, select a date from the drop-down calendar.

    Note: This date serves as an additional WIP cut-off date, further restricting the WIP available to bill on an invoice. Only WIP dated on or before this date will be available for billing.

  • Automatically apply open credits: Mark this checkbox to have the application automatically apply open credit amounts (receipts, credit memos, or write-offs) to a client’s invoice when you save the invoice. When you save the invoice, the application will apply the full credit amount, or a portion of the amount equal to the invoice if the invoice amount is less than the open credit amount. Oldest credits are applied first.

    Note: This checkbox is available only if you do not have the approval process enabled for billing. You can automatically apply open credits with Detail Billing, Quick Bill, Standard Bill, recurring bills, and integrated invoices.

  • Automatically display Apply Open Credits dialog: When this checkbox is marked, the Apply Open Credits dialog opens automatically when you save an invoice for a client with open credits in Detail Billing. In this dialog, you can manually enter the amounts to apply, or have the application automatically apply the credits.

    Note: This checkbox is available only if you do not have the approval process enabled for billing.

  • When you mark the Implied decimal on amounts checkbox, the application enters .00 after amounts that you enter. When the checkbox is not marked, the application inserts a decimal two places to the left of the number that you enter.
  • Mark zero invoices as printed: Mark this checkbox if you want to flag zero invoices as printed so that they are excluded from printing invoices and statements.

Selection

  • In the Bill by field, select either Clients or Engagements from the drop-down list. Your selection here determines whether the Billing screen shows client engagements or clients only.

    Note: If you are licensed for the Project Management module, you can also choose to bill by projects.

  • When you mark the Show WIP when selecting clients to bill checkbox, the Billing screen shows the WIP balances in the WIP Amt column. If you do not want to view this column during billing, clear this checkbox.
  • Automatically select subsidiary Clients when selecting parent Clients: If you have clients designated as subsidiary clients in a client family, they will be automatically selected when you select the parent client for billing when this checkbox is marked, even when the subsidiary clients are not shown in a list because of a filter or search.

    Note: To designate a client as a subsidiary of another client, mark the Subsidiary Client in Client family checkbox on the Billing and A/R tab of the Clients setup screen.

Detail Billing

Use the Start-up tab field to choose which tab you would like to be active whenever you open Detail Billing, either Summary or Time & Expenses.

Mark the Automatically check spelling checkbox to the application check spelling of input during billing.

Bill at standard rounding

  • You can choose to round your billing amounts when billing at standard. Options for rounding are:
    • No rounding: This is the default option.
    • Standard rounding: Any fraction of a rounding increment from .00 to .49 will be rounded down, and any fraction of .50 or greater will be rounded up.
    • Always round up: Any fraction of an amount will always be rounded up to the nearest rounding increment.
  • If you chose to round billing amounts, enter a dollar amount in the Rounding increment field.

Time & Expense Descriptions

Mark the checkbox for each of the following descriptions if you want to display them in the Time & Expense tab of Detail Billing.

  • Client
  • Engagement
  • Project
  • Staff
  • Activity
  • Comment
  • Biller Note

Click OK to save your preferences and exit the User Preferences dialog.

Related topics

Best practices for setting user preferences

Was this article helpful?

Thank you for the feedback!