Project Billing
Guide to billing projects in NetSuite, including T&M, fixed price, and milestone billing.
Billing Overview
BILLING FLOW
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
SOURCES CHARGES INVOICE PAYMENT
─────── ─────── ─────── ───────
Time Entries ────► ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐
│ │ │ │ │ │
Expenses ────► │ Project │──────►│ Customer│──────►│ Payment │
│ Charges │ │ Invoice │ │ Applied │
Purchases ────► │ │ │ │ │ │
└─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘
Milestones ────►
Billing Types
Time and Materials (T&M)
TIME AND MATERIALS BILLING
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Bill for actual hours worked and expenses incurred.
Calculation:
Billing Amount = (Hours × Rate) + Expenses
Example:
Consultant: 80 hours × $150/hour = $12,000
Developer: 40 hours × $175/hour = $7,000
Travel: $2,500
─────────────────────────────────────────────
Total Invoice: $21,500
Fixed Price
FIXED PRICE BILLING
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Bill agreed fixed amount regardless of effort.
Methods:
1. Progress Billing (% complete)
2. Scheduled Billing (monthly)
3. Milestone Billing
Example (Progress Billing):
Contract Value: $100,000
Current % Complete: 40%
Previously Billed: $25,000 (25%)
Invoice Amount = (40% - 25%) × $100,000 = $15,000
Milestone Billing
MILESTONE BILLING
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Bill at milestone completion.
Billing Schedule:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Milestone % Status Billable │
│ ───────── ─ ────── ──────── │
│ Kickoff Complete 10% Complete $10,000 │
│ Requirements Done 15% Complete $15,000 │
│ Design Approved 20% Complete $20,000 │
│ Development Done 35% In Prog - │
│ Testing Complete 15% Pending - │
│ Go-Live 5% Pending - │
│ ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│ Billable to Date $45,000 │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Creating Charges
Automatic Charge Creation
AUTO CHARGE CREATION
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Charges are created automatically when:
✓ Time entries are approved
✓ Expense reports are approved
✓ Scheduled date is reached
✓ Milestone is marked complete
Process:
1. Charge rule evaluates source
2. Rate is determined
3. Charge record created
4. Ready for invoicing
Viewing Charges
PROJECT CHARGES
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Project Record > Charges Subtab
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Status Date Description Amount Invoiced │
│ ────── ──── ─────────── ────── ──────── │
│ Ready 01/22 John Smith - 20hrs $3,000 No │
│ Ready 01/22 Jane Doe - 15hrs $1,875 No │
│ Ready 01/22 Travel Expenses $2,500 No │
│ Invoiced 01/15 John Smith - 40hrs $6,000 Yes │
│ Invoiced 01/08 Kickoff Milestone $10,000 Yes │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Total Ready for Invoice: $7,375
Creating Invoices
Invoice from Charges
CREATE INVOICE FROM CHARGES
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Method 1: From Project Record
Project > Actions > Create Invoice
Method 2: From Charge List
Transactions > Time > Create Invoice from Charges
Method 3: Billing Review Page
Transactions > Billing > Create Invoice
Invoice Creation:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Create Invoice for PRJ-00125 │
│ │
│ Customer: ABC Company │
│ Project: Website Redesign │
│ │
│ Select Charges to Invoice: │
│ ☑ John Smith - 20 hours $3,000 │
│ ☑ Jane Doe - 15 hours $1,875 │
│ ☑ Travel Expenses $2,500 │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Invoice Total: $7,375 │
│ │
│ [Preview Invoice] [Create Invoice] │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Invoice Details
INVOICE CREATED
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Invoice: INV-12345
Customer: ABC Company
Project: PRJ-00125 Website Redesign
Line Items:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Item Qty Rate Amount │
│ ──── ─── ──── ────── │
│ Consulting Services 20 $150.00 $3,000.00 │
│ Consulting Services 15 $125.00 $1,875.00 │
│ Travel - Airfare 1 $450.00 $450.00 │
│ Travel - Lodging 3 $125.00 $375.00 │
│ Travel - Per Diem 3 $75.00 $225.00 │
│ Travel - Ground Transport 1 $45.00 $45.00 │
│ ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│ Invoice Total $5,970.00 │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Billing Schedules
Creating Billing Schedule
BILLING SCHEDULE FOR PROJECT
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Project Record > Billing Schedule Subtab
Fixed Bid, Milestone Project:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Milestone Due Date Amount % Status │
│ ───────── ──────── ────── ─ ────── │
│ Contract Signing 01/01/26 $20,000 20% Billed │
│ Requirements Done 01/31/26 $15,000 15% Billed │
│ Design Approved 02/15/26 $20,000 20% Ready │
│ Development Complete 03/15/26 $25,000 25% Pending│
│ Go-Live 03/31/26 $20,000 20% Pending│
│ ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│ Total Contract Value $100,000 100% │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Link Milestones to Tasks
MILESTONE-TASK LINKING
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Billing Schedule Milestone: Design Approved
Linked to Project Task: 2.3 Design Review
When Task 2.3 is marked Complete:
→ Milestone automatically marked Ready
→ Charge is created
→ Available for invoicing
Billing Review
Billing Review Page
BILLING REVIEW
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Navigation: Transactions > Billing > Create Invoice
Review all billable charges across projects:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Customer Project Charge Type Amount Action │
│ ──────── ─────── ─────────── ────── ────── │
│ ABC Co. PRJ-00125 Time $3,000 [Invoice]│
│ ABC Co. PRJ-00125 Expense $2,500 [Invoice]│
│ XYZ Corp PRJ-00130 Time $5,000 [Invoice]│
│ XYZ Corp PRJ-00130 Milestone $15,000 [Invoice]│
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Bulk: [Invoice All] [Invoice Selected]
Billing Forecast
Forecast Report
BILLING FORECAST
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Project: PRJ-00125
Forecast (next 3 months):
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Period T&M Forecast Milestones Total │
│ ────── ──────────── ────────── ───── │
│ February $15,000 $20,000 $35,000 │
│ March $20,000 $25,000 $45,000 │
│ April $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 │
│ ──────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Total $45,000 $65,000 $110,000 │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Basis:
• T&M: Allocated hours × billing rates
• Milestones: Scheduled dates
Hold/Release Billing
Putting Charges on Hold
HOLD CHARGES
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Reason: Customer dispute, pending approval, etc.
Process:
1. Open charge record
2. Set Status: On Hold
3. Add reason memo
Result:
• Charge excluded from billing
• Visible in reports as "On Hold"
Releasing Held Charges
RELEASE HELD CHARGES
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
When issue resolved:
1. Open charge record
2. Set Status: Ready
3. Include in next invoice
Best Practices
Project Billing
| Practice | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Regular billing | Bill weekly or bi-weekly |
| Clear descriptions | Detail on invoice lines |
| Pre-approval | Get time approved before billing |
| Review before send | Manager reviews invoices |
| Tracking | Monitor days sales outstanding |
Common Issues
| Issue | Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| No charges appearing | Time not approved | Approve time entries |
| Wrong rate on charge | Rate card issue | Check billing rate card |
| Can't invoice | Charges on hold | Release charges |
| Milestone not ready | Task not complete | Mark task complete |
Related Topics
- Charge Rules - Charge configuration
- Time & Expense - Time entry
- Revenue Recognition - Rev rec