Bill Text

The Bill Text tab is not active until a Bill has been generated.

Selection of the Bill Text tab triggers the creation (and auto-save) of a Bill and the generation of a preview of that Bill.

Bill text must be edited every time a previously saved and closed Bill is edited, in order to ensure that all WIP amounts match.

PDF bill previews reflect the data last saved to the Star database. The default address on the invoice is that of the current Fee Client (see The Billing Basket), but an alternative address can be selected (see Edit Address below).

For progress bills, zero bills, or credit notes, the invoice template is usually configured to render the Bill PDF appropriately. Progress Bills carry the caption 'Progress Bill'. Credit Notes (any invoice with a negative Bill Amount) carry the caption 'Credit Note'. On Zero Bills, unless configuration specifies that a bill number is assigned, Invoice No. defaults to ‘ZERO’.

The controls at left define how information is arranged in the invoice.

If a PDF bill preview does not reflect your settings in this region, this is due to the configuration of the underlying SSRS report.

Lines can be added and bill amounts (displayed in the Bill Amt column) can be edited, but the Total to be billed cannot be changed: any difference between the total to be billed and the total of all Bill Amounts in the bill text (i.e. where the Left to Allocate value in the lower toolbar = any value other than 0) must be resolved before the bill can be saved.

If Custom Grouping (for example, of WIP from multiple Jobs), has been applied in Detailed WIP Allocation, then each Group is itemized on a separate invoice line in Bill Text that can be analysed by WIP Write Out Type to create e.g. a tabular report. Otherwise default Grouping is as specified in Preferences, by settings that can be overridden by equivalents in the lower toolbar in this tab.