How to raise and send customer invoices
Invoicing in Sync starts inside the project, not in a separate finance module, so what you bill stays attached to the job it came from. This guide covers raising an invoice against a quote or on its own, sending it to the right people, and keeping track of what is still owed.
- Who uses it
- Commercial, finance and whoever applies for payment.
- Where it lives
- Inside a project, under Financials, then Customer financials.
- What it needs first
- Your bank details, set once in Account settings.
- Where they all land
- Customer Invoices in the main sidebar.
Before you start
Most of what an invoice needs comes from records you already hold. Check that:
- Your bank details are set in Account settings. Without them an invoice cannot be sent.
- The project exists and is linked to the right customer.
- The customer has payment terms set, which drive the due date.
- The customer has a contact with a working email address.
- For an application against a quote, the quote and customer PO are already on the project.
Set your payment details
Go to Account, then Company details, and fill in the invoicing section: bank account name, account number, sort code, and IBAN or SWIFT/BIC if you invoice abroad.
This is a one-off. Sync puts these details on every invoice PDF and in the email it sends, which is how the customer actually pays you. Until they exist, the preview screen shows "Payment details are missing" with a shortcut to set them.
Open Customer financials
Open the project, choose the Financials tab, then Customer financials. It sits alongside CVR, Package forecast, Trade partner financials and Variations.
This is the money-in side of the job: quote tracking, the customer PO, invoice applications and payment status, all on one page.
Read the four headline cards
Across the top sit the four numbers that answer "where are we with this job".
What the job is worth, with the customer PO reference underneath.
Billed to date, with a count of invoices issued.
Settled to date, with how many invoices are fully settled.
What is still owed, and how much of it is overdue.
Outstanding is the one to watch, because it tells you both what is owed and how much of it has gone past its due date.
Invoice against a quote
Most invoices are an application against a quote. In the Customer quotes & POs table, find the quote and use Create invoice in its actions.
Doing it this way carries the quote and PO references onto the invoice, and the quote's status reflects what has been billed against it, showing Partially Invoiced once some of it has been claimed.
Or raise a standalone invoice
For anything not covered by a quote, use Raise standalone customer invoice at the top of the tab. The form is the same; it simply is not tied to a quote.
Dayworks, a one-off variation already agreed by email, or a retention release are the usual reasons to use it.
Fill in the invoice details
The left-hand panel is the invoice header.
Carried through from the PO on the quote where there is one.
Links the invoice back to the quote it is drawn against.
Generated for you, in sequence. You do not type it.
Required. Picked from the calendar.
Required, and the field worth checking, see the next step.
Optional free text. If filled, it prints below the payment details on the PDF.
Check the payment due date
Underneath the due date, Sync shows the customer's payment terms, for example "Customer payment terms: 30 days end of month". It is there so you can sanity-check the date against what was agreed.
Add the line items
An invoice is the sum of its lines, so the total is not something you type. Use Add line item and a panel slides in from the right asking for a Description, Quantity and Unit price. The line total calculates as you type.
Save & Add line item keeps the panel open for the next one, which is quicker when you are billing several items at once.
Add a note and attach files
The Note field takes formatted text and, if filled, prints on the PDF below the payment details. It is the right place for a payment reference, a milestone description, or a line about what the application covers.
Underneath, drag and drop any supporting files: a signed variation, a measure, a timesheet summary. They stay attached to the invoice.
Save the invoice
Choose Save Invoice. It is created as a Draft and opens on its details page, where the buttons become Update project status, Download PDF, Update invoice and Preview and Send Invoice.
Draft means nothing has gone to the customer yet. You can keep editing it, including the line items, until you are happy.
Download or check the PDF
Download PDF gives you the invoice exactly as the customer will see it, including your bank details and any note you added.
Worth doing once on the first invoice to a new customer, when the wording and the details still deserve a second pair of eyes.
Choose who receives it
Preview and Send Invoice opens the send screen. On the left, pick recipients: Add existing contact lists the customer contacts and users linked to the project, and Add external contact takes an address that is not on the system, which is what you need when a client's accounts inbox is not a contact.
Check the email preview
The right-hand side shows the subject line and the detail block the customer will read.
Invoice number, invoice date, payment due date and the amount.
Project name, reference, start and completion dates, address and what3words.
Customer name, so there is no doubt which account it belongs to.
Pulled from Account settings, which is how they can actually pay you.
Below that sit the email body and a preview of the invoice itself, so nothing goes out unseen.
Send the invoice
When the recipients and the preview are right, choose Send Invoice. The invoice goes out with the PDF, and the project's Invoiced and Outstanding figures move accordingly.
Drafts can also be marked as raised from the Customer Invoices register, which is the quicker route when you are working through several at once.
Track invoices on the project
Back on Customer financials, the Customer invoices table lists everything raised on that job with its status, reference, customer PO reference, date, total and attached PDF.
Read it alongside the headline cards: the cards tell you the position, the table tells you which invoice is causing it.
Use the Customer Invoices register
Customer Invoices in the sidebar is every invoice across every project. Filter by status, reference, customer, date or month, and Export & Download the result for finance.
Each row links back to the project and the customer it belongs to, and drafts carry Edit, Mark as raised and Delete actions.
What you can and cannot do
- Raise an invoice against a quote, or raise a standalone one.
- Build it from line items, each with a description, quantity and unit price.
- Attach supporting files to the invoice.
- Add a note that prints on the PDF below the payment details.
- Download the PDF before anyone else sees it.
- Send it to a customer contact, or to an external address, with others copied in.
- Track invoiced, paid and outstanding on the project, and every invoice in one register.
- Send an invoice before your bank details are set in Account settings. The preview blocks until they are.
- Type your own invoice reference. It is generated in sequence.
- Raise an invoice from the Customer Invoices register. Invoices start inside a project.
- Raise one from the customer record either. That tab reports, it does not create.
- Edit a figure on an invoice without editing the line item it came from.
Common issues
Your bank details have not been set. Go to Account, Company details, and fill in the invoicing section. Until then the invoice can be saved and downloaded but not previewed or sent.
It follows the customer payment terms, which the form shows underneath the field. If the terms are wrong, fix them on the customer record so every future invoice is right, then correct the date here.
Create invoice appears against a quote once it is in a state to be invoiced. If you are billing something not covered by a quote, use Raise standalone customer invoice instead.
No line items have been added. The total is the sum of the line items, not a figure you type.
Check the recipients on the preview screen. The email goes to the selected primary contact, with any non-primary contacts copied in, so a missing contact means a missing email.
Before you send checklist
Before an invoice leaves Sync, check that:
- Bank details are set in Account settings.
- The invoice is against the right project and customer PO.
- Line items add up to what you are claiming.
- The invoice date and payment due date are right.
- Supporting files are attached if the customer expects them.
- The right contacts are selected as recipients.
- You have read the PDF before sending it.
Summary
To raise and send a customer invoice in Sync:
- 1Set your bank details once in Account settings.
- 2Open the project, then Financials, then Customer financials.
- 3Invoice against a quote, or raise a standalone invoice.
- 4Add the line items, check the due date against the customer terms.
- 5Save, read the PDF, then preview and send it to the right contacts.
- 6Track what is owed on the project, and across every job in Customer Invoices.
Because the invoice is raised on the job rather than in a separate ledger, what you have billed, what has been paid and what is still owed stay attached to the project they came from, which is exactly where someone will ask about them.