Billing types

What this does

Every job has a Billing Type, set on the estimate or work order form and carried onto its invoice. It tells the app who pays and whether the job produces revenue. Most jobs are Standard; the other five exist so that goodwill, warranty, and internal work can be tracked without inventing revenue.

The six types

Standard — normal customer-pay. The invoice posts revenue and receivables when issued.

Flat Rate — customer-pay with the total overridden rather than built from lines. Posts exactly like Standard.

No Charge — the work is tracked and the customer gets a document showing it, but nothing is billed. The invoice posts nothing to the ledger.

Internal — work on a shop-owned asset. Tracked for parts and labor, never billed, posts nothing.

Warranty — a third party pays. The invoice is created but revenue posting is deferred; nothing hits the ledger until the warranty claim is settled through accounting.

Prepaid — the job draws down a service block the customer bought earlier. Revenue posting is deferred to the block accounting; the invoice itself posts nothing at issue.

Choosing

Pick the type when you create the job if you know it; otherwise leave Standard and change it on the work order before invoicing. Changing it after the invoice has been issued does not re-post; void and re-issue if the type was wrong.

What happens in the books

Standard and Flat Rate: Dr Accounts Receivable, Cr Sales Tax Payable, Cr Revenue by line. No Charge and Internal: skipped, and the invoice records that it was skipped. Warranty and Prepaid: deferred, recorded with the reason, and picked up by the warranty or service-block process.

Common problems

A no-charge invoice shows a balance due. The document still totals the lines so the customer sees the value of the work. The balance isn't receivable and doesn't age.

I recorded a payment on a warranty invoice. Recording a payment forces revenue recognition on a normal invoice; on a deferred one the payment is allowed through and the deferral stands. Talk to whoever handles warranty claims before doing this.