Use the Invoice Format Wizard

Learn how the Invoice Format Wizard defines invoice content before you refine the layout in the designer screen.
Use the Invoice Format Wizard to begin creating a custom invoice format by selecting the information that should appear on client invoices. When you select
Finish
to close the wizard, the invoice format opens in the designer screen, where you can further customize it.
To open the Invoice Format Wizard, choose
Setup
Custom Formats
Add Invoice
. In the Custom Formats screen, select the
Add Document
button and select
Add Invoice
from the dropdown list.
note
Changes that you make to custom invoice formats don’t affect invoices that were previously composed and saved. To apply format changes to an existing invoice, edit and re-save the invoice before printing.

Main tab

Use the
Main
tab to enter a description that identifies the custom invoice format. The description can contain up to 30 characters and should distinguish the new format from other invoice formats.

Heading Information tab

Use the
Heading Information
tab to choose what prints in the invoice header. The information selected on this tab appears only at the top of the first page. Select the items you want included and clear the items you want omitted.
Firm information
Use this section to select firm information for the invoice header. This data comes from the corresponding fields for the home office on the Office setup screen.
If you want to add your firm's logo to the invoice, select the
Logo
checkbox, go to the logo graphic file, and select
Open
. By default, the application places the logo to the left of the firm information in the header and resizes it to fit a default size. You can later change the placement and size on the designer screen.
note
If you are running Practice CS through your local environment, you can go to files on your local network.
Client information
Use this section to select client information for the invoice header. This data comes from the corresponding fields on the Clients setup screen.
Invoice information
Use this section to select invoice information for the header. If you select the
Lead In Text
checkbox, the text
For professional service rendered as follows
is added to the bottom of the header.

Billing Information tab

Use the
Billing Information
tab to define how billing information appears on client invoices. You can group billing information by selected criteria and include entry detail fields for additional invoice detail.
Grouping options
Use this section to choose the billing information that appears on the invoice and determine how it is grouped.
You can specify up to four groupings to summarize time and expense billing information. For each grouping, you can choose to show hours, billed amounts, or both. Available grouping criteria are
Client
,
Engagement Category
,
Engagement
,
Activity Type
,
Activity Category
,
Activity Class
,
Activity
,
Staff
,
Staff Level
, and
Date
. If you are licensed for the Project Management module, you can also group by
Project
.
Grouping information is displayed as follows:
  • Client
    — Client name as entered in the
    Name 1
    field on the client record
  • Activity
    — Invoice Description
  • Activity Category
    — Description
  • Activity Class
    — Administrative, Billable, or Non-billable
  • Activity Type
    — Time or Expense
  • Date
    — Date in mm/dd/yyyy format
  • Engagement
    — Invoice Description
  • Engagement Category
    — Description
  • Project
    — Invoice Description, if licensed for the Project Management module
  • Staff Level
    — Description
  • Staff
    — Last Name, First Name
Entry detail fields
You can include data from time and expense entry detail fields in the custom invoice format. This information appears after the lowest grouping level in the
Grouping Options
section. Select a field in the Available pane and move it to the Selected pane to include it on the invoice.

A/R Information tab

Use the
A/R Information
tab to choose accounts receivable information to include on invoices.
  • Select
    A/R Recap
    to include a recap of the client's A/R activity. This recap can include the client's opening A/R balance for the current period, invoices dated within the current period including the current invoice amount, receipts, adjustments, service charges, and the resulting A/R balance.
  • Select
    A/R Ledger
    to include a beginning A/R balance, current period activity, and amount due.
  • Select
    A/R Aging
    to add a five-period aging section to the invoice.
  • Select
    Dunning Messages
    to include dunning messages from the Billing and A/R tab of the Firm setup screen.
  • Use the
    Include A/R information through
    field to specify the cutoff date for A/R information. Available options are
    Invoice Date
    ,
    Month End Date
    ,
    Period End Date
    , and
    Last A/R Entry Date
    . This cutoff date applies to A/R Recap, A/R Ledger, A/R Aging, and Dunning messages.

Pay Stub Information tab

Use the
Pay Stub Information
tab to determine whether a pay stub appears at the bottom of the invoice and what information it contains.
Select the
Include a pay stub
checkbox to add a pay stub to the custom invoice format. Practice CS automatically adds a dashed divider line and the label
Please return this portion with payment
at the top of the pay stub.
In the pay stub information section, select the items you want to include. Client information comes from the Clients setup screen and includes the phone number designated as primary.
If you select the
A/R Terms
checkbox, Practice CS adds text from the
A/R Terms
field on the Billing and A/R tab of the Firm setup screen.