Invoice an estimate in parts: deposits and progress invoicing

A big job doesn't have to be invoiced in one go. From one estimate you can make as many invoices as you need: a deposit before you start, an invoice for each stage of the work, then the balance. Each one bills a part of the estimate's lines, and TallyPip keeps count, so nothing is invoiced twice.

Ask for a deposit

1. 1Open the estimate (from Estimates) and press Create invoice.
2. 2Choose A percentage of each line and type the deposit, for example 50. The window shows how much that comes to.
3. 3Press Create invoice. You get a draft invoice for that part of every line, marked Deposit: 50% of estimate … under its title.
4. 4Check it and send it as usual. Sales tax is worked out on what this invoice bills; a percentage discount on the estimate is taken off each invoice too.

Half of 10 hours at $80 shows as 5 hours at $80. When a part can't be shown that way exactly, the line shows 1 × the amount, so the total is always right to the cent.

Bill a stage of the work

1. 1On the estimate, press Create invoice again.
2. 2Choose A percentage of each line (for example 25% for the next stage), or An amount for each line and type what to bill on each line this time. The Left column shows what's still to invoice on each line; you can't bill more than that.
3. 3Press Create invoice, check the draft and send it. It's marked Part of estimate … (or the percentage).

Invoice the balance

1. 1When the work is done, press Create invoice and choose Everything that's left.
2. 2Press Create invoice. The draft bills what's left on every line, marked Balance of estimate ….
3. 3Send it. The estimate now shows Invoiced.

See what's invoiced and what's left

• The estimate shows Partly invoiced in the list and on its page while some of it is still to invoice.
• Its page has an Invoicing section: each line's estimate amount, what's invoiced and what's left (before any discount and tax), and every invoice made from it with its status.
• Each of those invoices says Made from estimate … at the top, with a link back.
• On the Customers page, Estimates counts only what's still to invoice.

Changing your mind

• Void an invoice made from the estimate, or delete it while it's a draft: what it billed goes back to Left, and the estimate opens again so you can invoice it another way.
• You can edit a draft or sent invoice made from the estimate as usual (add an extra, change a price); its lines stay counted against the estimate.
• While part of it is invoiced, the estimate's own items can't be changed and it can't be deleted, so the count stays right. For extra work, add it to the next invoice or make a new estimate.
• A fixed-amount discount on the estimate is shared between the invoices in proportion to what each bills; the last one takes the rest, so they add up to the estimate's discount.

Every invoice goes into your books when it's sent, like any invoice: a deposit counts as a sale of that part of the job. There's nothing extra to record.