Every bill has a status that tells you where it is in its life cycle and what you can do with it: Draft, Pending Approval, Approved, Paid or Voided.
Table of contents
Where you see the status
- The status filters of the Billing tab. Approved bills that aren’t paid yet are listed under Awaiting Payment.
- The badge in the Invoice column (for example Unpaid).
- Due In shows the due date and (Past due) when it has passed.
- The status badge next to the invoice number.
- The status selector, used to change the status.
- The ribbon on the invoice.
Change the status
- Open the bill: click its underlined number in the Billing tab.
- In the status selector at the top right, select the new status.
The selector lists only the statuses the bill can move to. Avoid skipping steps unless you need to.
| Option | What happens |
|---|---|
| Draft | Keeps the bill as a draft (grey Draft badge). |
| Submit for Approval | Opens Submit for approval. In Select User, select the firm user who approves the bill and click Submit. The bill shows a yellow Pending Approval badge and ribbon, and the Billing menu shows a red count of bills pending approval. |
| Approve | The badge changes to Approved and the selector shows Awaiting Payment. Edit is disabled, the Payments and Credit Notes tabs appear above the invoice (Record new payment, Add credit note) and Add Payment Plan appears under Invoice Details. |
| Void | Voids the bill. |
Draft and Pending Approval bills offer all four options. When the change is saved, the message The Bill status has been updated. appears.
The statuses
| Status | When it’s set | What you can do | What you can’t do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draft | When you generate a bill with Skip Approval Process cleared. The bill list then shows the Draft filter. | Edit, delete, share and download. Submit for approval, approve or void. | Payment plans, payments, refunds, credit notes. |
| Pending Approval | When a draft is submitted for approval. You select the approver in Select User. | Edit, share and download. Approve or void. | Delete, payment plans, payments, refunds, credit notes. |
| Approved | When a draft or pending bill is approved, or automatically when the bill is generated with Skip Approval Process, from an expense or flat fee, or when a Flat Fee or Monthly/Retainer Fee matter is created (the bill is listed under Awaiting Payment). | Share and download, payment plans, payments, refunds, receipts, credit notes. The selector shows Awaiting Payment. Void it if it has no payments, refunds or credit notes. | Edit, delete. |
| Paid | Automatically, when the bill is fully paid. | Share and download, delete payments, refunds, receipts, edit and delete credit notes. | Edit, delete, payment plans, new payments, new credit notes. |
| Voided | When you void the bill. | Share and download. | Everything else. |
Note. A voided bill isn’t removed. Its activities become unbilled again and return to Billing > Billable Clients. To void a paid bill, first delete all its payments, refunds and credit notes; the bill returns to Approved.