Billing & Invoicing

Last updated February 2026

Overview

The PlainSail billing module provides a complete workflow for capturing work-in-progress (WIP), obtaining approval, generating invoices, and receipting payments. It supports multi-currency billing, deferred income, recurring fee schedules, and a configurable two-stage approval process.

The billing lifecycle follows this sequence:

1. Record WIP – time entries, disbursements, or flat fees are captured against entities
2. Approve WIP – client administrators and directors review and approve charges
3. Raise invoice – finance generates the invoice from approved WIP
4. Receipt payment – incoming funds are matched against outstanding invoices

Initial Setup

Charging entities

A charging entity is the legal entity from which invoices are issued. Before any billing can take place, at least one charging entity must be configured.

Navigate to Billing → Fee Setup → Charging Entities and provide:

• Entity – the company that will appear on invoices
• Invoice template – a Word document (.docx) defining the invoice layout
• Client statement template – a Word document for periodic statements
• Invoice number pattern – the numbering format for generated invoices
• Tax band – the default tax treatment

Entity billing preferences

Each entity that will receive invoices must be linked to a charging entity via Billing → Fee Setup → Entity Billing Preferences. This defines:

• Charging entity and To entity – who is billing whom
• Entity invoiced and Paying entity – may differ where a third party settles invoices
• Invoice currency – the currency in which invoices are denominated
• Tax band, Payment method, and Time consolidation type
• Auto bookkeep entity – controls whether accounting entries are posted automatically

Fee types

Fee types categorise charges and control how WIP is posted to the general ledger. Each fee type has a category (Flat Fee, Disbursement, Time Record, or Deposit) that determines which configuration fields are visible. Common fields include:

• Fee type (category) – Flat Fee, Disbursement, Time Record, or Deposit
• Default narrative and Default currency / amount / frequency (non-time-record types)
• Issuing opposite G/L account and Deferred income G/L
• Charged opposite G/L account – with optional overrides by entity type
• Write-off G/L account

The full set of fee type configuration fields is shown below. G/L fields only appear when the fee type is billable.

Field	UI Label	Description
Name	Description *	The fee type name (e.g. “Administration”, “Compliance”, “Secretarial”).
Category	Fee type *	Flat Fee, Disbursement, Time Record, or Deposit.
Default Narrative	Default narrative	Default narrative text applied to WIP entries using this fee type.
Default Currency / Amount / Frequency	Default currency, Default amount, Default frequency	The default currency, charge amount, and billing frequency. Only shown for non-time-record types.
Billable	Billable	Whether time recorded under this fee type is billable. Only shown for Time Record types.
Avoidable (affects stats)	Avoidable (affects stats)	Whether non-billable time affects utilisation statistics. Only shown for non-billable Time Record types.
Associated Flat Fee	Associated flat fee	Links a time-record fee type to a corresponding flat fee. Only shown for Time Record types.
Issuing Opposite G/L Account	Issuing opposite G/L Account	The general ledger account used as the opposite entry when WIP is raised.
Deferred Income G/L	Issuing deferred income G/L Account (if applicable)	The general ledger account for deferred income recognition (fees billed in advance).
Charged Opposite G/L Account	Charged opposite G/L Account	The general ledger account used as the opposite entry when the fee is invoiced. Supports optional overrides by entity type.
Write-off G/L Account	Write-off G/L Account	The general ledger account to which write-off amounts are posted.

Recording WIP

Work-in-progress originates from three sources:

Time records

Time entries are captured via the timesheet module. The WIP value is calculated as units × charge rate, where the charge rate is defined on the user's profile or overridden at the fee type level.

Disbursements

Disbursements represent third-party costs recharged to the client. They can be recorded in three ways:

• Via a supplier invoice with the Is Disbursement flag enabled
• Directly on the entity via Entity → Billing → Add Disbursement
• Through a recurring fee schedule

Flat fees

Fixed charges can be added via Entity → Billing → Add Fee Transaction or configured as recurring fees. All fee entries require a fee type to be specified.

WIP write-off procedure

To write off work-in-progress that will not be invoiced:

Timesheets

The PlainSail timesheet provides a calendar-based view for recording time against entities.

Calendar layout

The timesheet is divided into units based on your organisation's configured minutes-per-unit. Three views are available:

• Day – single day view
• Working week – Monday to Friday
• Full week – all seven days

Creating a time entry

Editing and copying

Double-click any draft entry to edit. To copy an entry, click it (a black border indicates selection), press Ctrl+C, click a destination cell, and press Ctrl+V.

Activity types

An activity type is a fee type used specifically for time recording. When you create a time entry on the timesheet, you select an activity type to categorise the work.

• Activity types are a subset of fee types that are marked as time-based (not disbursements).
• Your available activities may be restricted by your team – see Admin > Utilities > Update default time activities.
• The per-user activity restriction is stored in Application Settings (LimitFeeTypes for the AddTimeRecord screen).

Recurring Fees

For predictable, periodic charges, configure a recurring fee schedule via Billing → Fee Setup → Recurring Fees.

Each schedule requires:

• To entity – the entity being charged
• Type – the fee type (e.g. Management Fee, Trustee Fee)
• Annualised amount and currency
• Schedule – start date, frequency (Daily / Weekly / Monthly / Yearly), and interval
• Initial period – optional pro-rata calculation for the first period

WIP Approval Process

PlainSail supports a configurable two-stage approval workflow for WIP before invoices can be raised.

Initiating approval

Approving WIP

Bulk actions are available during approval:

• Approve All / Write Off All / Carry Forward All
• Set All as Fixed Fee – replace WIP total with a fixed amount
• Undo Write-Off – reverse a previously written-off item

Raising Invoices

Invoices can be raised through three methods:

1. Ad-hoc (per entity)

Navigate to Entities → [Entity] → Billing. The billing dashboard shows WIP, recurring fees, invoices, and debtor notes. Select approved WIP and click Raise Invoice.

2. Bulk billing

Navigate to Billing → WIP → Finalise Multiple. Filter by charging entity to lock and approve WIP in bulk, then switch to the Raise Invoices tab to generate invoices for all approved entities at once.

3. Via approval workflow

Navigate to Billing → My Approvals and filter by status. When both approvers have confirmed, the Ready to Invoice icon appears. Click Raise Invoice, review the summary, and proceed.

Invoice generation steps

Auto-email delivery of invoices

If configured, invoices can be automatically emailed to clients when raised:

1. The system uses the _ClientInvoiceEmail.txt template for the email body.
2. The generated invoice PDF is attached.
3. The email is sent to the client’s primary contact email address.
4. This requires SMTP to be configured in the system Configuration screen.

Credit Notes & Voiding Invoices

Raising a credit note

1. Navigate to the entity's billing tab and click Create Fee.
2. Enter the fee as a negative amount and mark it as approved.
3. Click the Raise Credit Note button to generate the credit.

Voiding an invoice

1. Navigate to Entity → Billing → Invoices.
2. Click the three-line menu icon alongside the invoice.
3. Select Void Invoice and confirm.

Receipting Payments

When funds are received against an invoice, post a manual journal to record the receipt:

Matching to a specific invoice

When posting the receipt, use the debtor sub-ledger entry reference to match the payment to the correct invoice. This ensures the aged debtors report correctly shows the invoice as paid.

Partial payments

If the client pays less than the full invoice amount:

1. Post a receipt for the amount received.
2. The remaining balance stays on the debtors report.
3. When the rest is received, post another receipt for the outstanding amount.

Aged debtors report

The aged debtors report shows outstanding invoice balances grouped by age:

Age Band	Description
Current	Invoices not yet past due.
30 days	1–30 days overdue.
60 days	31–60 days overdue.
90 days	61–90 days overdue.
90+ days	More than 90 days overdue.

You can access the aged debtors report from:

• The Billing > Debtors ribbon tab.
• The Billing widget on the Dashboard (click the “Debtors” tile).
• The Reports Dashboard under Billing reports.

Purchase Ledger

The purchase ledger records incoming supplier invoices and manages payables.

Posting a supplier invoice

Automatic supplier payments

PlainSail can generate payment instructions and remittance advices for outstanding payables. Navigate to Pay → Payables, review the outstanding items, and process payments. The paying entity can be changed if a different company settles the liability.

Payment runs

Payments can be grouped into a payment run (batch) for efficient processing:

1. A purchase invoice is entered against an entity (via the Pay > Invoices Payable screen or from within an entity’s accounting tab).
2. When the invoice is due for payment, it appears in Pay > Payables.
3. Select the invoices to include and create a payment run.
4. The payment run generates a bank file (e.g. HSBC CMM, HSBC SEPA) using the configured bank transfer provider plugin.
5. Export the file and upload it to your bank for processing.
6. Once the bank confirms the payments, update the status in PlainSail.

Invoice Templates

Invoice layouts are defined as Word document templates stored on the charging entity. Templates use {{ marker }} syntax to insert dynamic data such as client name, reference, line items, and totals.

To modify a template:

1. Navigate to the charging entity → Documents → Document Templates.
2. Open the Client Invoice template for editing.
3. Adjust the layout in Microsoft Word – take care not to remove any {{ marker }} fields.
4. Save, close, and check the document back into PlainSail via the bottom bar.

Common template markers

Invoice templates use the same {{MarkerName}} syntax as document templates, plus billing-specific markers:

Marker	Description
{{InvoiceNumber}}	The invoice reference number.
{{InvoiceDate}}	The date the invoice was raised.
{{InvoiceTotal}}	The total amount including tax.
{{InvoiceSubTotal}}	The amount before tax.
{{InvoiceTax}}	The tax amount.
{{EntityName}}	The client entity name.
{{ChargingEntityName}}	The name of the charging entity (your company or department).
{{Address}}	The client’s billing address.
{{forperiodended}}	The billing period end date (from fee narrative markers).
{{wipperiodended}}	The WIP period end date.

Deferred Income

PlainSail supports deferred income recognition for fees billed in advance of the service period. To use this feature:

• The fee type must have a Deferred Income G/L account configured.
• The flat fee must have a future fee period specified.
• PlainSail calculates the deferral using exact month fractions – if the start date is the 1st and the end date is the last day of the month, whole months are used.

How deferred income works

1. An invoice is raised for a future period (e.g. annual administration fee invoiced at the start of the year).
2. The invoice amount is posted to a deferred income liability account in the entity’s accounting ledger.
3. As each month or period passes, a journal entry releases a portion of the deferred income to the revenue account.
4. The release schedule is configured via the fee type’s billing frequency and the entity’s billing preferences.

Viewing deferred income

• Navigate to the entity’s Accounting tab > Trial Balance.
• Look for the deferred income liability account.
• The balance represents income that has been invoiced but not yet earned.

Configuration

Deferred income behaviour is controlled by:

• The fee type configuration (whether the fee is treated as deferred).
• The recurring fee schedule (monthly, quarterly, annually).
• The ledger mapping for the fee type (which revenue and liability accounts are used).

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl+N – New time entry
• Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V – Copy / paste time entry (via right-click context menu on the calendar)
• Ctrl+B – Toggle the sidebar panel
• Ctrl+Left / Ctrl+Right – Navigate to the previous / next week
• Ctrl++ – Add a new time entry
• F5 – Refresh current view
• Delete – Delete selected time entry (also available via right-click context menu)

Permissions Reference

The following permissions control access to billing and timekeeping features. Permissions are assigned via Admin > Roles & Permissions.

Permission	Description
Billing_EnterTime	Enter time on your weekly timesheet.
Billing_HR_ViewTimeSheets	View all timesheets (management / HR view).
Billing_HR_ApproveTimeSheets	Approve submitted timesheets.
Billing_HR_EditTimesheets	Edit submitted timesheets.
Timesheets_ViewAllUsersTimesheets	View timesheets for all users (not just direct reports).
Timesheets_ApproveOvertime	Approve overtime claims.
Billing_WIP_View	View work-in-progress.
Billing_WIP_Create	Create WIP entries manually.
Billing_WIP_Edit	Edit WIP entries.
Billing_WIP_Finalise	Finalise WIP for invoicing.
Billing_RaiseInvoices	Generate and raise invoices.
Billing_ViewRaisedInvoices	View raised invoices.
Billing_ViewDebtors	View aged debtors reports.
Billing_TimeSetup	Configure activity rates, rate bands, and working hours.
Billing_FeeSetup	Configure fee types, recurring fees, and charging entities.
Billing_ProjectSetup	Configure billing projects.
Entities_Billing_View	Access the entity-level Billing tab.
Entities_Billing_EditPreferences	Edit entity billing preferences.

FAQ

How do I restart the approval route for a single entity?

Navigate to Billing → WIP → Send for Approval, select only the entity in question, ensure Delete Old Approvals is not ticked, and click Send.

A client's WIP shows a padlock icon – how do I unlock it?

The padlock indicates WIP has been moved to the invoicing stage. Navigate to Billing → Raise Invoice and click Move Back to WIP against the relevant entity.

Can I write off WIP without raising an invoice?

WIP write-offs must go through the invoice process with the status set to Write Off. This produces a nil-value invoice for audit purposes.

What happens if I need to add a disbursement supplement (e.g. 3%)?

During invoice generation, additional fixed-fee charges can be added on the summary screen before final approval. Enter the supplementary amount as a separate line.

How is multi-currency WIP handled?

If the entity's invoice currency differs from the WIP currency, PlainSail converts the amounts at the exchange rate in effect at the time of invoicing.

How do I handle partial payments?

Post a receipt for the amount received. The remaining balance stays on the debtors report. Post additional receipts as further payments are received.

How do I correct a posted timesheet entry?

If the timesheet has been submitted, it must be rejected by the approver or edited by a manager with the Billing_HR_EditTimesheets role. You cannot edit submitted entries yourself.

How do I write off old WIP?

Set the WIP items’ status to Write Off and raise an invoice in the normal way. The system produces a nil-value invoice, clearing the WIP and providing a full audit trail. See WIP write-off procedure for details.

How do I configure auto-emailing of invoices?

Ensure SMTP is configured in the system Configuration screen. The invoice email template (_ClientInvoiceEmail.txt) must exist in the Organisation Record’s Document Templates workspace. Contact your administrator for setup.

How do I run the aged debtors report?

Navigate to Billing > Debtors or click the “Debtors” tile on the Dashboard Billing widget. You need the Billing_ViewDebtors permission.

Test Yourself

How well do you know the billing lifecycle? These 10 questions focus on the everyday tasks that keep invoicing running smoothly.