Adding An Invoice Group
Before we create an invoice group we need to make sure we have a schedule set up to distribute the amounts up correctly as per the apportionment. If you have no schedule set up please see 'Adding Your Schedule Contributions (Apportionment)'
Once we are happy that we have our schedules set up we can go to 'Block' > 'Block Accounts' > ‘Invoices’ in the left-hand menu. Once here we can select 'Create Invoice Group' to begin creating our invoices.
Now that we have the invoice group window open we can begin to fill out our invoice details.
Description: This is the name of this particular invoice group. It should include details of what the group is for. There will also be an option to use this in the invoice itself so it is best to give it an easy to understand name.
Invoice Reference Prefix: This will create automatically but we may enter whatever reference we might prefer.
Cover Letter: Here we can type out the body of our cover letter. PLEASE NOTE we must have a cover letter template set up and active. For instructions on setting this up please see 'Using The Invoice Cover Letter Feature'.
Category: This allows us to assign the category for this entire invoice group. This also allows us to assign the type of invoice template to be used on this invoice group. For more information on this please see 'The Three Invoice Template Types' article.
Bank Account: Here we can select the account we will be reconciling these invoices to.
Due Date: The due date for the invoice. This date will determine when the Leaseholder goes into arrears.
Issue Date: This date will be automatically filled out as the day the invoice is raised but can be amended later on.
Invoice Item Description: This allows us to choose what information is used as the description for the invoice item. It will show next to the invoice amount.
Define Period: This allows us to define a specific period if we would like to.
Schedule: This area lets us choose which schedules we would like to use for invoicing. Unlike with a budget the invoice group only takes the name of the schedule and the percentages into account. This feature does not use the categories assigned to the schedule. It only uses the category selected on this page.
Once we have filled this out we can click 'Create'. This will take us back to the invoice group list. We can see our new invoice group in the 'Outstanding Invoice Group' area. We can now click the eye icon next to our invoice group to open it and send/download our invoices. Once we have it open we will see that there is now a second tab with the number of invoices raised on it.
If we select this tab we will see a breakdown of the units, their percentages, their invoiced amount and their outstanding amounts after any credit is taken off.
Once we are happy that these details are correct we can now select 'More Actions' > 'Generate'. THIS WILL NOT SEND INVOICES AT THIS POINT
These icons allow us to do the following in order from left to right:
- View/amend the invoice on Resident
- Download the PDF invoice
- Email the invoice to the Leaseholder
If we click the red envelope it will send the invoice to the Leaseholder and the enveloper will turn green.
To download or send all of the invoices we have just raised we can click 'More Actions at the bottom of the page and we will see the following options:
Send All Invoices: This will send all invoices out by email to the Leaseholders with email addresses on the system.
Back to Draft: This will take the invoice group back to the preview stage and remove all invoices generated. PLEASE NOTE this will remove any reconciled transactions.
Download All: This option will give us a few options. Please see these below:
Download Options:
All: This will download all demands/invoices regardless of any preference or previous action.
Leaseholders without an email: This will download all demands/invoices for those Leaseholders who do not have an email address on Resident. This will allow us to email all Leaseholders with email addresses and post the remaining.
According to the preferred method: This option allows us to download invoices based on the owners preference. The owner preference can be set in the owner details.
Download Extension
The download extension is the type of file used to download these demands/invoices. We have the option of two file types to suit different needs. Please see descriptions below to help choose the best for yourself:
Pdf: This option will download all invoices into one PDF file. This is ideal for printing as it allows us to create only one print job. This option is not ideal if the intent is to email demands/invoices out t each Leaseholder individually independent of the system as they are not separate files.
Zip: This option will download a 'zipped' folder with all demands/invoices as separate files inside the folder. This option is ideal if we need to send or manage each demand/invoice individually. This is not ideal for printing as we will have to print each file separately.
Once we have created these invoices they will be visible in the invoice group menu and in each Leaseholders individual statement.