Invoice policies—Contracts

About invoice policies

An invoice policy is a saved filter set. You can use invoice policies when you manually generate invoices using the Generate Invoices page. You can use scheduled invoice policies to schedule invoice runs automatically.

Using invoice policies in the Generate Invoices page

The Generate Invoices page contains many filters to allow you to narrow the focus of the invoices you want to create in a given invoice run. Using saved filter sets saves you time by retaining frequently used filters so you do not have to select them each time you want to generate invoices.

You can create as many invoice policies as desired. For example, you might have an invoice policy for invoices for a particular customer group or item type, or you might have an invoice policy for invoices associated with a particular project. You can also use the Exception filters to create an invoice policy to retrieve data that you might use in an invoice exception report.

To use the invoice policy, you just select the invoice policy in the Generate Invoices page and then initiate the invoice preview or offline run.

Using scheduled invoice policies

You can use invoice policies to automatically initiate contract invoice runs on a set schedule. Define the filters and the schedule in invoice policies and then let Sage Intacct do the work.

Learn how to set up scheduled invoicing.

Add an invoice policy

You can create invoice policies using the Invoice Policy page or you can create invoice policies while you’re using the Generate Invoices page. The difference between creation methods is that when you create an invoice policy using the Invoice Policy page, you can select a default As of date option for the invoice policy.

For example, if Set As of date to = "End of this month" and this month is June, Intacct will default the As of date to June 30 when you apply the invoice policy in the Generate Invoices page. When you create the invoice policy from the Generate Invoices page, the Set As of date to field defaults to today's date.

Add an invoice policy using the Invoice Policy page

1. Go to Contracts > Setup > More and select Add (circle) next to Invoice policies.

2. In the Name field, enter a meaningful identifier.

   This identifier will appear in the applicable selection lists in Intacct. You cannot change the Name after you save the invoice policy.

3. Use the Set As of date to dropdown list to select the option that will determine the default As of date when you apply the invoice policy in the Generate Invoices page.

4. Select the other filters as desired.

   See Field descriptions for information on each field.

5. If this invoice policy is to be used for an invoice exception report, select the desired Exception filters. Otherwise, leave these filters as is.
   The Exception filters are for previewing or reporting only. You will not be able to generate invoices that include unapproved transactions or transactions with missing prices.

6. Select Save.

Add an invoice policy from the Generate Invoices page

You can create an invoice policy on the fly while you’re using the Generate Invoices page. You can quickly create multiple invoice policies from this page by changing selected filters and selecting Save Invoice policy.

1. Go to Contracts > All > Billing > Generate invoices.

2. Select the desired filters.

   See Field descriptions for information on each field. The Invoice and GL post date fields are not applicable to the invoice policy but are required to preview or generate invoices.

3. Select Save Invoice policy.
4. In the dialog, enter a meaningful name for the invoice policy.
5. Select OK.

Add a scheduled invoice policy

You can either create new invoice policies with scheduling information or edit existing ones to include schedules.

Note the following expected behavior:

• If you create the scheduled invoice policy at the top level of a multi-entity company, you can assign the invoice policy to multiple entities to use.
• If you create the scheduled invoice policy at the entity-level, the invoice policy can only be used by that entity.

1. Go to Contracts > Setup > More and select Add (circle) next to Invoice policies.

2. In the Name field, enter a meaningful identifier.

   This identifier will appear in the applicable selection lists in Intacct. You cannot change the Name after you save the invoice policy.

3. Use the Set "As of date" to dropdown list to select the option that will determine the default As of date when Intacct runs the invoice policy.

   This field uses the Next execution date as the reference point. For example, if you specify End of month as the Set "As of date" to value and the Next execution date is August 01, then Intacct filters for invoices as of August 31 when it runs the invoice policy.

4. Select the Scheduled checkbox.

   Intacct displays the fields related to invoice policy scheduling.

5. Use the calendar tool to select the Start date for the schedule.

   The Start date must be on or after today's date. This date will be the Next execution date for the first invoice policy run. The Next execution date will be the invoice date and GL posting date for any scheduled invoices.

6. Use the Repeats and Every fields to specify the frequency with which the schedule occurs.

   For example, if Repeats = Months and Every = 1, then Intacct will run the invoice policy once a month.

7. Select the other filters as desired.

   See Invoice Policy: Field descriptions for information on each field.

8. Select Save.

9. Optionally, test the invoice policy using Preview in the Generate Invoices page.

   If the preview does not show the expected results, edit the invoice policy to adjust the filters.

Next steps: If you created the scheduled invoice policy at the top level, assign the invoice policy to the applicable entities. If your company is a single-entity company, your company might now be considered the top level, so you need to assign the invoice policy to the top level.

Edit an invoice policy

You can edit all fields in the invoice policy except the Name. Changes made to an invoice policy are immediate and will be visible the next time you use the invoice policy in the Generate Invoices page.

If you want to change the schedule for a scheduled invoice policy that has already been processed, you might need to clear the existing schedule settings and then define new settings.

1. Go to Contracts > Setup > More > Invoice policies.

2. Find the policy that you want to edit.

3. Select More actions > Edit at the end of the row.

4. Make your changes.

5. Select Save.

1. Go to Contracts > Setup > More > Invoice policies.

2. Select Edit next to the applicable invoice policy.
3. Edit the desired fields and select Save.

Delete an invoice policy

You can delete an unscheduled invoice policy as needed. Alternatively, you can set the Status to Inactive to prevent it from being used to generate invoices.

You can delete a scheduled invoice policy if it does not have an invoice run associated with it or if it is not queued for scheduled execution.

1. Go to Contracts > Setup > More > Invoice policies.

2. Find the policy that you want to delete.

3. Select More actions > Delete at the end of the row.

4. Select Delete to confirm.

1. Go to Contracts > Setup > More > Invoice policies.

2. Select Delete next to the applicable invoice policy.

   Intacct prompts you to confirm the delete.

3. Select OK.

Stop a scheduled invoice policy

You can use the following methods to stop a scheduled invoice policy:

• Deactivate the invoice policy
• Clear the invoice policy schedule settings

Deactivate an invoice policy

You can deactivate an invoice policy (change the Status to Inactive), which prevents it from being used to generate invoices but retains the invoice policy for historical purposes. Inactive invoice policies do not display in any dropdown lists.

Deactivating a scheduled invoice policy clears the schedule settings and stops the schedule. However, if the invoice policy is queued for processing, setting the invoice policy to Inactive does not remove it from the queue. Intacct will finish the current processing and then stop the schedule.

If you re-activate an inactive invoice policy, Intacct will not process any skipped execution dates as the schedule no longer exists. You can enter a new Start date and schedule information if you set it back to Active.

1. Go to Contracts > Setup > More > Invoice policies.

2. Find the policy that you want to deactivate.

3. Select More actions > Edit at the end of the row.

4. Use the dropdown list in the Status field to select Inactive.

5. Select Save.

1. Go to Contracts > Setup > More > Invoice policies.

2. Select Edit next to the applicable invoice policy.
3. Use the dropdown list in the Status field to select Inactive.

4. Select Save.

   Intacct prompts you to confirm the inactivation.

5. Select OK.

Clear the invoice policy schedule settings

If you still want to use the invoice policy to generate invoices but you do not want it to be scheduled, you can clear the schedule settings.

1. Go to Contracts > Setup > More > Invoice policies.

2. Find the policy for which you want to clear the schedule settings.

3. Select More actions > Edit at the end of the row.

4. Clear the Scheduled checkbox.

5. Select Save.

1. Go to Contracts > Setup > More > Invoice policies.

2. Select Edit next to the applicable invoice policy.
3. Clear the Scheduled checkbox.

4. Select Save.

Field descriptions

Invoice policies field descriptions

Field	Description
Name	A short identifier for the invoice policy. This ID will appear in any applicable invoice policy selection lists in Intacct. You cannot change the Name after you save the invoice policy.
Description	A meaningful description of the invoice policy.
Status	The default status is Active. If you’re no longer using this invoice policy and do not want it to appear in dropdown lists, choose Inactive. Records designated as Inactive do not appear in the list by default. To view these records, select Filters at the top of the list and select Remove next to the Status filter to remove it.

Automatic invoicing

Learn how to set up scheduled invoicing.

Automatic invoicing field descriptions

Field	Description
Scheduled	Select this checkbox if you want this invoice policy to be used to schedule automatic invoice runs. When you select this field, other fields related to scheduling appear. For companies that subscribed to Contracts before August 19, 2022: This checkbox only appears if you set Enable scheduled invoice policies to true in the Configure Contracts page.
Start date	Use the calendar tool to select a date on or after today's date. This is the date the scheduled invoice policy will start. If you choose a monthly interval, the date here defines the execution date. For example, if you choose May 15 as the start date and the repeat by interval is every 1 month, then the schedule executes on the 15th of each month.
Next execution date	If you create the invoice policy at the entity level, Intacct automatically populates this field with the Start date. If you create the invoice policy at the top level, Intacct will not populate this field until you assign the invoice policy to at least one entity using the Invoice policies configuration tab of the Configure Contracts page. The invoice policy is not scheduled until you assign it to at least one entity. The Next execution date will be the invoice date and GL posting date for any scheduled invoices.
Repeats Every	Specify the frequency with which the schedule should occur. For example, if Repeats = Months and Every = 1, then Intacct will run the invoice policy once a month. If Repeats = Days and Every = 1, Intacct runs the invoice policy every day.

Invoice run options

Invoice run options field descriptions

Field	Description
Invoice by	Options are: Bill to: Groups invoice by unique contract line-level bill-to contact. In order to get correct results, Order Entry must be configured with Enable bill-to contact at the line level (Contracts only) set to true. Contract: Generate a single invoice per contract based on the given filter criteria. Customer: Group contracts by customer into one or more invoices. If you create contracts for the same customer within different entities or with different transaction currencies, you may see more than one invoice per customer. The Customer option is always required as a customer is specific to a contract or project. Project: Generate a single invoice for each project associated with a contract based on the given filter criteria. If a project is configured to invoice with parent, Intacct includes the child project in the parent project invoice. Learn more about consolidating invoices.
Set "As of date" to	Select an option that will determine the default As of date setting when you apply the invoice policy in the Generate Invoices page or when Intacct runs the scheduled invoice policy. This field behaves as follows: Behavior in the Generate Invoices page: The Set "As of date" to options are relative to the date that you apply the invoice policy in the Generate Invoices page. For example, if you use an invoice policy that has this option set to End of this month and today's date is June 5, the As of date will default to June 30. Behavior in scheduled invoice policies: The Set "As of date" to options are relative to the Next execution date. For example, if you specify End of month as the Set "As of date" to value and the Next execution date is August 01, then Intacct filters for invoices as of August 31 when it runs the invoice policy. Options are: Today Yesterday End of this week End of last week Beginning of this month End of this month End of last month The "End of this week" and "End of last week" options are relative to the Week begins on setting in the Company Information page. For example, say you select "End of this week". If Week begins on = "Sunday" in the Company Information page, then the As of date will default to Saturday's date in the current week.
Transaction definition	Sets the transaction definition to use for invoices generated using this invoice policy. The dropdown list only displays transaction definitions that are defined to post to Accounts Receivable and have Track line-item discount or surcharge and Enable for Contracts set to true. Learn more about contract invoice transaction definition requirements.
Price list for project billing	Use the dropdown list to select a price list to use to override pricing for billable transactions related to projects. This price list overrides any price list set on the selected transaction definition, customer, and so on. This field is only applicable if your company is subscribed to Projects.

Filters

Filters field descriptions

Field	Description
Contract or contract group Project or project group Employee or employee group Customer or customer group Item or item group Department or department group Location or location group Class or class group	Use these dual-purpose filters to select either a single dimension or a dimension group. For example, select either an individual item or an item dimension group in the Item/Group field. The Project/Group and Employee/Group dimension filters appear based on the Dimension settings in the GL configuration. You can define contract dimension groups that include contracts based on invoicing time periods. You could have one contract group that you will invoice on the 15th day of the month, one that you will invoice on the last day of the month, and so on.
Contract type	Filters the list to display only invoices associated with the selected contract type.
Contract currency	Filters the list to display only invoices from contracts associated with the selected transaction currency. This field is only applicable to multi-currency companies.
Project type	Filters the list to display only invoices associated with the selected project type. This field is only applicable if your company is subscribed to Projects.
Project manager	Filters the list to display only invoices associated with projects that are associated with the selected project manager. This field is only applicable if your company is subscribed to Projects.
Customer type	Filters the list to display only invoices associated with the selected customer type.
Transactions to include	By default, all types of transactions are selected to be included in invoice preview and invoice generation. If you do not want to include a transaction, clear the checkbox next to it. Options are: Contracts Contracts usage Timesheets* Expenses* Accounts Payable bills* Purchasing transactions* * Only applicable to contracts associated with projects.

The Exception filters are not selectable if Scheduled = True.

Exception filters field descriptions

Field	Description
Approval status	Choose one of the following options: Only approved: filters for billable transactions that are approved. Only unapproved: filters for billable transactions (such as vendor invoices, expense reports, and timesheets) that have not posted to the GL and are either in a Draft, Submitted, or Declined State. All: select this option to ignore Approval status when filtering results.
Only show items with blank prices	Filters the list to display only billable transactions that are missing prices. Use this option to create an exception report.