General Tab of Billing Setup

Use the General tab to specify general billing setup options, including the Information you want to display on invoices, billing session options, and an invoice numbering method.

Contents

Field Description
Print Firm Name Select this option to print your firm’s name on your invoices. You specify the firm name on the General tab in Configuration > General > Company Settings.

This option applies to projects using the default invoice template.

Do not select this option if your invoices print on letterhead or stationery that already has your firm’s name.

Print Firm Byline Select this option to print your firm’s byline. You specify the firm byline in the Byline field on the General tab in Configuration > General > Company Settings.

This option applies to projects using the default invoice template.

Print Firm Address Select this option to print your firm’s address on the first page of your invoices. You specify the firm address on the General tab in Configuration > General > Company Settings.

This option applies to projects using the default invoice template.

Print Project Number Select this option to print the project number on your invoices.

This option applies to projects using the default invoice template.

Print Invoice Number Select this option to print the invoice number on your invoices.

This option applies to projects using the default invoice template.

Combine Project and Invoice Select this option to print the project and invoice number together. For example, assume that you print an invoice for project 92005.00 and the next invoice number is 0000222; Vision prints 92005.00-0000222.

This option applies to projects using the default invoice template.

Print Project Name Select this option to print the project name on your invoices.

This option applies to projects using the default invoice template.

Print Invoices with only AR Select this option to print an invoice if there are outstanding accounts receivable on file for the project (and no billable detail), and one or more of the Print AR options in the project’s billing terms is selected.

This feature is used only with Batch Billing (both draft and final).

Print Total Now Due Select this option to display the Total Now Due amount after the Outstanding Invoices section of the invoice. This amount represents the amount currently outstanding plus the Total This Invoice amount from the current invoice.

This option applies to projects using the default invoice template.

If you do not have one or more of the Print AR options selected in the project’s billing terms, this amount will not appear on the project’s invoice.

If you are displaying outstanding accounts receivable by phase or task, only the total now due will be listed for each phase or task and not for the total invoice. If you are displaying outstanding accounts receivable by project, the total now due will be listed for the entire invoice.

Note that if the billing terms use a custom invoice template, you need to select the Print Total Now Due option from the General tab of the Invoice Template Editor for that template, in additional to selecting the option here, for this feature to be enabled.

Print Assigned Invoice Number Select this option if you want assigned invoice numbers to print on draft invoices in Interactive or Batch Billing. The invoice number that you enter in the Assign Invoice Number form in Interactive Billing prints on the first page of the invoice, in the header on subsequent invoice pages, and on the Billing Backup report when you generate draft invoices. <Draft> also prints below the assigned invoice number on the first page of the invoice.

In Interactive Billing, the assigned invoice number also displays when you select Invoice, Edit to edit an invoice in a third-party software application. For an invoice edited outside of Vision, you must manually delete <Draft> before printing final invoices.

Invoice Addressee This field allows you to select the line of text (such as Billing Client, Billing Contact) that Vision will use for the first line of the client's address on invoices. The address you enter will be the default addressee for session options in Interactive and Batch billing.

The available lines of text (such as Billing Client, Billing Contact) are established in Project Info Center.

Address Start Enter the number of inches or millimeters below the standard address placement for the address to start printing.

The units in which you enter the measurement should match the type of units currently selected in the Unit of Measure field on the Miscellaneous tab of Billing Setup.

If you enter zero, Vision does not change the standard address placement.

Page 2 Start Enter the number of inches or millimeters below the standard page two start placement for the first line on the second (and subsequent) pages of your invoices to start printing. This dimension is used for invoices if no dimension is entered in 2nd Page Top for the invoice template.

The units in which you enter the measurement should match the type of units currently selected in the Unit of Measure field on the Miscellaneous tab of Billing Setup.

You cannot enter a negative number in this field.

If this field value is used for an invoice, white space equal to the sum of this dimension and 2nd Page Header Height in the invoice template will also appear on the first page of the invoice, though the second page header itself is not displayed on the first page. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 R2 and later versions were intentionally designed to insert this white space when suppressing the header on the first page.

Print Contact Title Select this option if you want to include the Contact title on the invoice.
Print Contact Prefix and Suffix Select this option if you want to include the contact prefix and suffix on the invoice.
Invoice Footer Enter a default footer message to print at the end of the invoice.

Vision automatically wraps to a second footer line when you enter more than 70 characters. You do not have to enter a carriage return to get a second line. To create more than two footer lines, however, set the insertion point where you want each line to break and press ENTER.

If you are using SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services and you press ENTER to break a footer line, "garbage" characters appear in the footer if you export the invoice to the RTF file format or to Microsoft Word. This is due to a limitation of SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services. If that occurs, you can edit the RTF or DOC file to clean up the footer text.

Numbering Method Select a method for automatically assigning numbers to invoices and credit memos that you create in Interactive Billing and Batch Billing. The options are:
  • Companywide — Use this method if you want one invoice numbering system applied across all projects. You enter the starting (next) invoice number on this tab.
  • Project — Use this method if you want to assign a separate invoice numbering system for each project. You enter the starting (next) invoice number on the Misc tab in Billing Terms for each project.

Invoice Numbers Options

Field Description
Next Company Wide Invoice Number When you select Companywide in the Numbering Method field, enter the next (starting) invoice number to use.

This number prefills in the Next Company Wide Invoice Number field on the Billing Session Options dialog box in Interactive Billing or Batch Billing when you create an invoice. When you override the prefilled invoice number on the Billing Session Options dialog box, the Next Invoice Number field on the General tab of Billing Setup is updated with that invoice number.

Allow Changes to Next Invoice Number Select this check box if you want users to be able to change the automatically assigned invoice number for invoices and credit memos on the:
  • Billing Session Options dialog box in Interactive Billing or Batch Billing, if you selected the Companywide numbering method.
  • Misc tab of Billing Terms for a project, if you selected the Project numbering method.
  • Assign Invoice dialog box in Interactive Billing, if you selected either the Companywide or Project numbering method.

Interactive Billing Session Options

Field Description
Default to Show Non-billables Select this option to include all non-billable transactions by default on the Labor and Expenses detail tabs in Interactive Billing. Vision will not display these items on the invoice.

By default, the detail tabs will show all expense/unit charges (units billed as expenses) posted to reimbursable expense accounts and labor charges posted to any labor code except the non-billable labor code. This feature is useful to find items that may have been posted to the wrong account or labor code.

If you select this option, the following transactions appear on the detail tabs in Interactive Billing:

  • Any labor posted to the non-billable labor code on the Labor detail tab.
  • Any expenses posted to direct expense accounts on the Expenses detail tab.

Typically, this feature can be used with fee jobs. By displaying non-billable transactions, you can better estimate the fee amount or the fee percent complete. This flag may also help you catch any item that was incorrectly posted for a non-fee project. Deltek suggests enabling this feature.

Allow Changes to Show Non-billables Select this option if, during Interactive Billing, you want users to have the ability to change the Show non-billables on detail tabs option on the Billing Session Options dialog box.
Default to Disable Upset Limits Select this option if you want Vision to calculate final invoices by default in Interactive and/or Batch Billing without applying any upset limits. This feature is useful if you are using upset limits to budget your projects, but do not bill them in this way.
Allow Changes to Disable Upset Limits Select this option if you want users to have the ability to change the Disable Upset Limits option on the Billing Session Options dialog box.

Use the Disable Upset Limits option if you want to calculate final invoices in Interactive and/or Batch Billing without applying upset limits. This feature is useful if you are using upset limits to budget your projects, but are not required to bill them in this way.