Billing Records

Use Billing Records for bills that you send out for customer sales and project work.

BILLING RECORD BASICS
       When to Use | Entering Billing Records | Data Fields | Status Field
       Retainage | Miscellaneous Charges | Using Billing Records

BILLING RECORD BREAKDOWNS
       Breakdown Basics | Sales | Draw Schedules | Progress Payments
       Time and Materials | Allowances | Change Orders | Rentals

WORKING WITH BILLING RECORD RECORDS
       Entering Records | Changing Records | Deleting Records | Voiding Records
       Finding Records | Sorting Records | Fixing Mistakes

RELATED TOPICS
       Billing command | Customer accounts | Depositing Funds | Project Accounts | Sales

When to Use Billing Records

Use Billing Records to send bills to customers for sales or project work. Each record shows one billing cycle for one customer or project.  For project work, the Billing Record determines the amount of work that is ready for billing.

You will probably create most Billing Records with one of the Billing commands.

The only time you'll need to create a Billing Record directly is when you bill separately for finance charges or similar adjustments.

Entering Billing Records

You'll create most Billing Records with one of the Billing commands.  It automatically creates Billing Records with a breakdown table that itemizes the items for which you are billing.

To enter a simple Billing Record to charge for a finance charge, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Billing Records from the Bank menu.
  2. Click the New button, or choose New Record from the Edit menu.
  3. Fill in details about the billing record.
QUICK SETUP HINT-- It's easiest to create Billing Records with the Billing command.

Data Fields

Enter the following information for each Billing Record:

Account Type-- Choose the type of account that is being billed.
Account-- For sales billing, enter the Customer account to whom the bill is being made. For project billing, enter the Project account. For rental billing, enter the tenant.
Billed Item-- Choose the type of bill you are making.
NOTE-- The Billed Item field is not used when there is a billing breakdown.
Reference-- If you are billing for a Sale or Rental Transaction, enter the transaction here.
NOTE-- This field is used only when you enter Sale or Rental in the Billed Item field.
Gross Price-- Enter the amount that is being billed. If you are using a breakdown, the gross amount is calculated from the total of the breakdown items.
Sales Tax Rate-- Enter the sales tax that will be charged on this billing amount, if any.
NOTE-- Sales tax can only be added to project billing-- for sales billing, enter sales tax into invoices, instead.
Amount-- The total amount of this billing is computed automatically, including sales tax.

Date-- Today's date is automatically entered as the billing date. You may change it if you wish.
Record Number-- A billing record number is assigned automatically.
Terms-- Choose the payment terms that are used for this bill.
Message-- Choose the message that will be printed on the billing statement.
Comments-- If you'd like to make any comments about this billing record, enter them here.

Billed Items

The following types of simple billing items are available:
  • Sale-- To bill for a single Sales transaction
  • Rental-- To bill for a single Rental Transaction.
  • Misc. Charge-- For any type of charge that is owed to you.
  • Misc. Credit-- For any credits or refunds that you are giving.
  • Finance Charge-- For interest charges on overdue balances.

Billing Status

If a billing record has been created but not printed, it will have Entered as a status.
After a billing record is printed, its status will change to Billed.
NOTE-- If you deliver a bill without printing it, you can manually change the status to Billed.
When partial payment is received for a billing, its status will automatically change to Part Paid.
When full payment is received for a billing, its status will automatically change to Paid.
Goldenseal changes the status to Deposited when a bank deposit is entered for this item.
If the customer has protested this bill, and there is disagreement over whether it should be paid, change its status to Disputed.
To cancel a billing record, change its status to Void.

Bill Breakdowns

To bill for more than one item at a time or to bill for project work, enter a breakdown into the Breakdown popup at the left side of the window.
HINT-- When you use one of the Billing commands, Goldenseal automatically fills in the proper breakdowns.

The following breakdowns are available for Billing Records:

Sales Bills

To create bills for several customers, follow these steps:
  1. Choose Billing from Bank menu, and choose Sales from the submenu.
  2. Select the customers that are ready to bill now, and click the Create Bills button.
  3. Goldenseal will create Billing Records with a Sales breakdown that itemizes the unpaid sales for each customer.
To create a bill for all sales from a single customer, follow these steps:
  1. Choose Billing Records from the Bank menu.
  2. Click the New button, or choose New Record from the Edit menu.
  3. Enter Customer into the Account Type popup menu.
  4. Enter a customer into the Account field.
  5. Enter Sales into the Breakdown popup menu.
  6. Goldenseal will automatically fill in a list of all unpaid sales for this customer.

Enter the following information in each column of a sales billing record:

Bill-- Turn on the checkmark to bill for this sale now.
Ref Number-- Goldenseal fills in the reference number for each sale.
Description-- Goldenseal fills in a description for each sale.
Date-- Goldenseal fills in the date of each sale.
Bill Date-- Goldenseal fills in the billing date of each sale.
Amount-- Goldenseal fills in the amount of each sale.
Previously Paid-- Goldenseal fills the amount already paid for each sale.
Adjustment-- Enter any discounts or finance charges for each sale.
Amount Due-- Goldenseal calculates the amount currently due for each sale.

Printed Bill Statements

To print a billing statement for a customer, choose Print Form from the File menu, then choose Billing Statement in the Form Type field.

Itemized Sales

To find and print the Sales transactions covered by a customer bill, follow these steps:
  1. Choose billing records from the Income menu.
  2. Find the record that lists the sales you'd like to include.
  3. Choose Detail Transactions from the View menu.
  4. Goldenseal will open the Sale transaction window and show the listed transactions in the found set.
  5. To print the invoices, choose Print Form from the File menu, choose Billing Invoice in the Form Type field, and choose Found Records in the Record Range field.

Draw Schedule Bills

To create bills for several draw schedule projects, follow these steps:
  1. Choose Billing from Bank menu, and choose Draw Schedule from the submenu.
  2. Select the projects that are ready to bill now, and click the Create Bills button.
  3. Goldenseal will create Billing Records with a Draw Schedule breakdown that itemizes the progress for each phase of the project.
To create a bill for a single draw schedule project, follow these steps:
  1. Choose Billing Records from the Bank menu.
  2. Click the New button, or choose New Record from the Edit menu.
  3. Enter Project into the Account Type popup menu.
  4. Enter a project into the Account field.  The project must have Draw Schedule as a Project Type.
  5. Enter Draw Schedule into the Breakdown popup menu.
  6. Goldenseal will automatically fill in a list of project phases.

Enter the following information in each column of a draw schedule billing record:

Bill-- Turn on the checkmark to bill for this phase now.
Phase-- Each project phase is listed here.  Goldenseal gets them from the project Draw Schedule.
Contract-- Goldenseal lists the contract amount for each phase.
Percent Done-- Enter a percentage done, if a phase is only partly complete.
HINT-- If you enter a percent done, Goldenseal calculates the value done.
Value Done-- Enter a dollar value for the amount completed for a phase.
HINT-- If you enter a value done, Goldenseal calculates the percent done.
Previous-- Goldenseal lists the amount of any previous draw billing.
Current-- Goldenseal shows the amount that has been completed in this bill.
Bill Now-- Goldenseal shows the amount that you are billing for in this bill.

Progress Payment Bills

To create bills for several progress payment projects, follow these steps:
  1. Choose Billing from the Bank menu, and choose Progress Payment from the submenu.
  2. Select the projects that are ready to bill now, and click the Create Bills button.
  3. Goldenseal will create Billing Records with a Progress Payment breakdown that itemizes the progress for each category or location in the project.
To create a bill for one progress payment project, follow these steps:
  1. Choose Billing Records from the Bank menu.
  2. Click the New button.
  3. Enter Project into the Account Type popup menu.
  4. Enter a project into the Account field.  The project must have Progress by Category or Progress By Location as a Project Type.
  5. Enter Progress Payment into the Breakdown popup menu.
  6. Goldenseal will automatically fill in a list of categories or locations. Enter the percentage completion for each item, and Goldenseal will calculate the amount to bill this period.

Enter the following information in each column of a progress payment billing record:

Bill-- Turn on the checkmark to bill for this phase now.
Phase-- Each project category or location is listed here.
Contract-- Goldenseal lists the contract amount for each phase.
Percent Done-- Enter a percentage done, if a phase is only partly complete.
HINT-- If you enter a percent done, Goldenseal calculates the value done.
Value Done-- Enter a dollar value for the amount completed for a phase.
HINT-- If you enter a value done, Goldenseal calculates the percent done.
Previous-- Goldenseal lists the amount of any previous draw billing.
Current-- Goldenseal shows the amount that has been completed in this bill.
Bill Now-- Goldenseal shows the amount that you are billing for in this bill.

Time and Materials Bills

To create bills for several time and materials projects, follow these steps:
  1. Choose Billing from the Bank menu, and choose Time and Materials from the submenu.
  2. Select the projects that are ready to bill now, and click the Create Bills button.
  3. Goldenseal will create Billing Records with a Time and Materials breakdown that itemizes the work that is included in the current bill.


To create a bill for one time-and-materials project, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Billing Records from the the Bank menu.
  2. Click the New button.
  3. Enter Project into the Account Type popup menu.
  4. Enter a project into the Account field.  The project must have Time and Materials as a Project Type.
  5. Enter T&M Billing into the Breakdown popup menu.
  6. Goldenseal will automatically fill in a list of expenses that are ready to be billed for this project.

Enter the following information in each column of a time and materials billing record:

Bill-- Turn on the checkmark to bill for this item now.
Cost Type-- Goldenseal fills in the source of each time and materials item.
Supplier-- Goldenseal fills in the supplier for each time and materials item.
Record Number-- Goldenseal fills in the record number of each time and materials item.
Date-- Goldenseal fills in the date of each time and materials item.
item-- Goldenseal fills in a brief description for each time and materials item.
Cost-- Goldenseal fills in the cost of each time and materials item.
Markup-- Goldenseal calculates markup for each time and materials item.  Set the markup in the Project Payment Terms.
Bill Now-- Goldenseal shows the amount that you are billing for in this bill.

Allowance Bills

To create bills for several sets of project allowances, follow these steps:
  1. Choose Billing from the Bank menu, and choose Allowances from the submenu.
  2. Double-click on each project with completed allowances, and turn on the ones that are ready to bill now.  Click OK.
  3. Click the Create Bills button.
  4. Goldenseal will create Billing Records with an Allowance breakdown.


To create a bill for allowances on one project, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Billing Records from the Bank menu.
  2. Click the New button.
  3. Enter Project into the Account Type popup menu.
  4. Enter a project into the Account field.
  5. Enter Allowances into the Breakdown popup menu.
  6. Goldenseal automatically fills in a list of Allowances that are ready to be billed for this project.
  7. Turn on the checkmark for allowances that are ready to bill now.

Enter the following information in each column of an allowance billing record:

Bill-- Turn on the checkmark to bill for this item now.
Allowance-- Goldenseal lists each allowance for this project.
Base Amount-- Goldenseal lists the base amount for each allowance.
Calculation-- Goldenseal lists the calculation method for each allowance.
Material Cost-- Goldenseal lists the total of all material costs for this allowance.
HINT-- This amount is the total of all Material Purchases that have this allowance in the Apply To fields.
Other Cost-- Goldenseal lists the total of all non-material costs for this allowance.
HINT-- This amount is the total of all Equipment Hours, Labor Hours, Subcontractor Costs and Other Costs that have this allowance in the Apply To fields.
Previous-- Goldenseal lists the amount of any previous allowance billing.
Current-- Goldenseal shows the amount that has been completed in this bill.
Bill Now-- Goldenseal shows the amount that you are billing for in this bill.

Change Order Bills

To create bills for several sets of project change orders, follow these steps:
  1. Choose Billing from the Bank menu, and choose Change Orders from the submenu.
  2. Double-click on each project with change orders that are ready to bill, and turn on the ones that are ready to bill now.  Click OK.
  3. Click the Create Bills button.
  4. Goldenseal will create Billing Records with a Change Order breakdown.


To create a bill for allowances on one project, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Billing Records from the Bank menu.
  2. Click the New button.
  3. Enter Project into the Account Type popup menu.
  4. Enter a project into the Account field.
  5. Enter Change Orders into the Breakdown popup menu.
  6. Goldenseal automatically fills in a list of Change Orders that are ready to be billed for this project.
  7. Turn on the checkmark for change orders that are ready to bill now.

Enter the following information in each column of a change order billing record:

Bill-- Turn on the checkmark to bill for this item now.
Change Order-- Goldenseal lists each Change Order for this project.
Base Amount-- Goldenseal lists the base amount for each change order.
Calculation-- Goldenseal lists the calculation method for each change order.
Material Cost-- Goldenseal lists the total of all material costs for this change order.
HINT-- This amount is the total of all Material Purchases that have this allowance in the Apply To fields.
Other Cost-- Goldenseal lists the total of all non-material costs for this change order.
HINT-- This amount is the total of all Equipment Hours, Labor Hours, Subcontractor Costs and Other Costs that have this allowance in the Apply To fields.
Previous-- Goldenseal lists the amount of any previous change order billing.
Current-- Goldenseal shows the amount that has been completed in this bill.
Bill Now-- Goldenseal shows the amount that you are billing for in this bill.

Rental Bills

To create bills for several tenants, follow these steps:
  1. Choose Billing from the Bank menu, and choose Rentals from the submenu.
  2. Double-click on each tenant with rent that is ready to bill, and turn on the items that are ready to bill now.  Click OK.
  3. Click the Create Bills button.
  4. Goldenseal creates one or more Rental Transactions to cover the rent that is due.  It also creates Billing Records with a Rental breakdown.

Enter the following information in each column of a rental billing record:

Bill-- Turn on the checkmark to bill for this item now.
Item-- Goldenseal lists each rent item for this project.
Start-- Goldenseal shows the start of each rental period.
End-- Goldenseal shows the end of each rental period.
Amount-- Goldenseal shows the amount of each rental item.
Adjustment-- You can type in any adjustments to each rental item.
Amount Due-- Goldenseal shows the amount that you are billing for in this bill.

Retainage

Retainage is an amount that is "held back" from each payment for a project.

Assigning Retainage

To assign retainage for a project, follow these steps:
  1. Choose Payment Terms from the Options menu, then choose Projects from the submenu.
  2. Open an existing payment term, or click the New button.
  3. Enter the retainage amount into the Retainage field.
  4. Enter other information about the project payment terms.
  5. Click OK.
  6. Choose Projects from the Accounts menu.
  7. Find the project.
  8. Enter the payment terms which contain retainage into the Payment Terms field.

Deducting Retainage

When you create each Billing Record, the retainage amount is automatically deducted.

Billing for Final Retainage Amount

When you are finished with a project, follow these steps to bill for the retainage balance:
  1. Do a final billing for the project. For a draw schedule or progress payment project, make sure all items have been 100% billed. For a time and materials project, make sure that all costs have been billed.
  2. Choose Billing Records from the Income menu.
  3. Click the New button.
  4. Enter Projects into the Account Type popup menu.
  5. Enter the project into the Account field.
  6. Enter Retainage Balance into the Billed Item popup menu. The current balance of retainage is automatically entered into the Gross Price.

Miscellaneous Charges

Goldenseal automatically computes finance charges based on the unpaid balance from the customer or project, and the charges included in the payment terms that they use. Finance charges are shown in the Finance Charges field.
You can also type in a finance charge amount.

To bill for finance charges manually, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Billing Records from the Bank menu.
  2. Click the New button.
  3. Enter the account type and account being billed.
  4. Enter Finance Charge into the Billed Item popup menu.
  5. Enter the amount of the charge into the Gross Amount field.

Using Billing Records

Each billing record keeps track of an amount that is owed to you-- whether it comes from sales, rentals or project work.

To view a list of unpaid bills, choose Income from the Reports menu, then choose Unpaid Bills from the submenu.

When you receive payment for the bill, you'll apply the payment to a specific billing record. The billing record will then pass along the payment to any transactions that are included in the bill.