Skip to main content
September 13, 2023
Question

QBO handling of invoicing and tracking support contracts with minimums

  • September 13, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

I use Quickbooks online and QB Time.  This q is about both QB Time handling and invoicing.

 

The scenario I need help with is similar to a retainer, which I find easy to handle using retainer and retainer-applied items.  I have support agreements with a minimum charge. So, for example. Say I have a client who pays $9000 per month for up to 60 hours of time. I invoice that 9000 up front and then we work. If we track in QB time work <= 60 hours the next invoice is for the same 9000. If we work more, the invoice includes both the 9000 and an hourly charge for the overage. We do want to show the QB time item details on the invoice. How do I account for this in the software? Especially if we work under 60 hours. Using my retainer process would leave us owing them the time. Not good for this.

1 reply

December 20, 2023

Posting a comment to follow.   The new invoice format made it so you can no longer hide time, I'm really struggling to do billing at all because of this.  Following for an update from customer service or other users on how to group time or hide time.... 

December 20, 2023

Thanks for bringing this up to the Community space, @bdesilva4 and @SpsSD. Let me share some information about your concerns with managing your invoices and tracking billable time.

 

In QuickBooks Online, you can customize and change what you see in your timesheets. Since you don't want to see the item details, you can start by turning it off in the settings. You can follow the steps below for your reference:

 

  1. Go to the Gear icon, then select Account and Settings.
  2. Under the Time tab, click on the Pencil icon in the Timesheet section.
  3. Turn off the Show service field.
  4. Click Save, then Done.

 

After setting this up, you can create an invoice for these billable time entries. Here's how:

 

  1. Click on the +New button, then select Invoice.
  2. Select the Customer and other necessary fields.
  3. An Add to Invoice tab will show on the right side of your screen, add all the billable time entries manually or click the Don't group time, then select Group time by service to sum up all entries in one product/service.
  4. Click Add, then select Save and Send or Save and Close.

 

On the other hand, if you're in the new invoice layout, you can still edit your template to collapse all the similar entries into one. With this, you can still see all individual billable time entries on your end. However, once you send or print this, the line items will only show the collapsed version of the entries.

 

Here's a guide to customize the invoice template:

 

  1. Go to the Gear icon, then select Custom form styles.
  2. Select the Standard, then click on the Content tab.
  3. Click the Item Details section of the invoice.
  4. Select Show more activity options.
  5. Under the Hide activity option, select Collapse activity rows.
  6. Click Done.

 

Once done, you can now create an invoice, set the design to Standard, and manually add all the billable time.

 

Additionally, you can record the payment once your customer pays the invoice you sent. 

 

You can also run a Transaction List by Customer report to view the list of billable expenses of a specific customer.

 

Keep me posted if you need further assistance managing your invoices and billable time entries in QuickBooks. I'm always available and ready to help. Have a wonderful day!

bdesilva4Author
December 20, 2023

If I'm reading your response accurately, I think you missed the point. I have no interest in hiding the item details. They HAVE to be on there for both billable and non-billable time.