Progressive invoicing, also known as progressive billing, is a method of billing/invoicing customers incrementally for work and materials used throughout the course of a project or a long-term service. This means that instead of billing the full amount at the end of the project, businesses divide the total cost into multiple invoices based on project milestones, time periods, or specific phases to collect payment from customers during the course of a project.

With Zuper, setting up progressive invoicing is seamless and flexible, offering options to suit your business needs:

• Calculate from Time and Material

Automatically generate invoice amounts based on the actual material costs incurred by completed jobs (i.e., sell prices of the parts and materials used by the job/s) within a timeline. This ensures customers are billed accurately for the parts and services used.

• Fixed Amount

Set a predefined project price and bill in stages , regardless of the number of completed jobs, their status, or the parts and services used. This option provides consistency and control over project invoicing.

You can further customize your progressive invoicing by selecting the frequency when invoices should be generated:

• Milestone-Based Invoicing

Create invoices upon reaching key project milestones, ensuring that billing aligns with the project’s progress.

• Frequency-Based Invoicing

Set up recurring invoices on a schedule, such as bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, or on custom dates for ongoing work.

This approach benefits both businesses and customers in many ways: businesses can maintain a steady cash flow by collecting payment for completed work in stages, while customers can manage their budgets more effectively by spreading out large expenses over time.

For example, let’s take a construction project. A contractor might issue an invoice after completing foundational work, another after erecting the structure, and a final invoice upon project completion. This phased billing system ensures that the business receives payment for the work done so far while the customer gains flexibility in managing their budget.

Let’s get started on how to set up progressive invoicing in Zuper!

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Steps to set up progressive invoicing

You can set up progressive invoicing in either of the following ways:

1. During project creation.
2. After creating a project.

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During project creation

To set up progressive invoicing during project creation, follow these steps:

1. Select the “Projects” module from the left navigation menu. You can view the list of projects that have been created already on the projects listing page.

2. Click the “ + New Project ” button at the top right corner of the page to create a new project.

3. On the new project creation page, click the “Setup” button in the invoicing section. A new progressive invoicing setup page appears.

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Choose how to generate the invoice amount

Select one of the following options for progressive invoicing:

Calculate from Time and Material

Choosing this option automatically calculates the invoice amounts based on the actual material costs included as line items in the completed jobs (i.e., sell prices of the parts and materials used by the job/s) within a project at each stage.

Fixed Amount

Choosing this option allows you to set an actual estimate or quotation of the project in USD and bill it in stages, regardless of the number of completed jobs, their status, or the parts and services used.

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Choose when to generate the invoice

Select when you would like invoices to be generated:

Milestone

This option allows you to generate invoices upon reaching a specific milestone in a project, ensuring that billing aligns with the project’s progress. To use this option, follow these steps:

• Click the ” + Add Milestone ” button.

• Enter the milestones “Name” and “Due Date.” The due date you specify here is the date the invoice will be generated (saved as a draft), with the amount calculated based on your selected invoice amount generation option.

Frequency

This option allows you to generate invoices based on the selected billing frequency for ongoing work. To use this option, follow these steps:

• Choose the “Frequency” option. You will be prompted to select a billing frequency: Bi-weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Custom.

• After selecting the frequency, the system will automatically generate draft invoices on the specified dates, with the amount calculated based on your selected invoice amount generation option.

• Click the “Save” button to confirm your progressive invoicing setup.

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After creating a project

If you want to set up progressive invoicing for any of the existing projects, follow these steps:

• Select the “Projects” module from the left navigation menu. You can view the list of projects that have been created already on the projects listing page.

• From the listing page, select any project for which you want to set up progressive invoicing. You will be redirected to the selected project details page. Select “Financials” on the left panel under “Navigation.”

• On the financials listing page, switch to “Invoices,” click the “Configure” button at the top right and choose “Progressive Invoicing.”

• Choose how you want to generate the invoice amount for progressive invoicing (either Calculate from Time and Material or Fixed Amount ). For more details, see the section above.
• Choose when you would like to generate invoices (either Milestone or Frequency ). For more details, see the section above.

• Select the milestones at which you want invoices to be generated.
• Once selected, invoices will be generated (saved as drafts) on each milestone’s due date, with the amount calculated based on your chosen invoice amount generation method.

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Accessing Invoices generated through progressive invoicing

1. After setting up progressive invoicing, you can view the progressive invoices by navigating to Financials >> Invoices >> Upcoming Invoices section on the web. To indicate ongoing progressive invoicing within a project, a progressive invoicing icon will also appear next to “Financials” on the project details page, as shown below:

2. To view the progress of the invoices generated through progressive invoicing, click “Progressive Invoicing” under “Configure” in the financial section.

3. If the Fixed Amount option is selected, you’ll see details like the budget, billed amounts, and amounts to be billed.

4. If the Calculate from Time and Material option is selected, invoice amounts are automatically calculated based on material costs from completed jobs, and actuals won’t be displayed.