How to use the Bill your first client wizard
The Bill your first client wizard builds the chain that turns into revenue: a service plan, a subscription that puts it on a client, and the first invoice the billing run makes from them. Two of its lessons check that the records really exist.
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How to do it
Open Settings, then System, then Setup Wizards, and click Bill your first client.
The page is called Guided setup. Wizards are grouped by area, and Bill your first client is under Billing. It has 5 lessons. Only a Super Admin or an Admin can open it.
Read the introduction and click Start the lessons.
If you have started before, the button reads "Continue: lesson" with the next lesson number, and "Review the lessons" once every lesson is done. Back and Next let you read ahead without acting.
Lesson 1, Check your invoice defaults: open the Set up billing wizard if you have not run it, then come back and click Got it.
Your first invoice is stamped with the numbering, payment terms and proration rules from the Set up billing wizard, or from Settings, then Billing & Pricing, and the default sales tax from the Set up your business wizard, or from Settings, then Billing & Pricing, then Sales Tax. Checking them first means the first invoice comes out numbered and dated the way you want, instead of being fixed afterwards.
Lesson 2, Create your first service plan: click Open Service Plans, build a plan and save it, then click Re-check.
The link opens Billing, then Service Plans. A plan holds the price, how often it bills and the lines included each cycle. The plan page has Recurring Items for the lines billed each cycle and One-Time Charges for anything the first invoice needs. Click Save Plan when done. The lesson shows Verified once at least one plan exists. The article on setting up a client agreement and billing the first period walks the plan page in full.
Note: Mark verified stays off until the check passes. A plan on its own bills nobody.Lesson 3, Subscribe a client to the plan: click Open Clients, open the client, go to Billing, then Plans, add the subscription, then click Re-check.
A subscription is the link between one client and a plan. It is what recurring billing bills, and its start date and cycle day decide when invoices are made. On the client's Billing, then Plans tab, add the plan and click Create subscription. Leave the start date blank to bill from today. A future date avoids a prorated charge. The lesson shows Verified once a client has an active subscription. A subscription on your own company does not count, so it has to be a real client.
Lesson 4, Watch the first invoice generate: click Open Invoices, then review, approve and send it.
The billing run makes the invoice from active subscriptions on each client's cycle day. It lands under Billing, then Invoices, in Pending Approval unless auto-approve is on. Review it, approve it and send it. That is your first revenue. There is nothing else to set up in this lesson, so click Got it when you are ready.
Lesson 5, How this runs day to day: read it and click Got it.
Each morning at 7 AM the billing run reads active subscriptions and makes an invoice for every client whose cycle day has come, using the numbering, terms and proration you set. Ticket charges are billed separately, as one invoice per client, on the 1st of the month. On the mornings after a cycle day, clear Pending Approval: review, approve, send. Each month, glance at the 1st-of-month ticket charges. Add or change subscriptions as clients grow.
When the last lesson is done, check the banner and click See what's next.
The page says "All steps reviewed" and counts how many lessons you applied and skipped. See what's next returns to the wizard list, where Bill your first client shows Done. Skip is available on the two checked lessons if you want to come back to them.
What you will have
- Create your first service plan.
- Subscribe a client to it.
- See the first invoice appear, and know what to do with it.
Why it works this way: How to use the Bill your first client wizard
Recurring revenue here is three things in a chain. A service plan is what you sell: its price, how often it bills and the lines it includes. A subscription puts that plan on one client. The billing run then turns active subscriptions into invoices on each client's cycle day.
Once the chain exists, billing is not a monthly chore. You change the plan or the subscription, and the invoices follow.
The plan and subscription lessons are checked against your real records, so a green Verified means the record exists.
Other ways to do this: How to use the Bill your first client wizard
Do it without the wizard
Build the plan under Billing, then Service Plans. Add the subscription on the client's Billing, then Plans tab. Read the invoice under Billing, then Invoices.
If it did not work: How to use the Bill your first client wizard
- Lesson 2 says "Not connected yet": no service plan exists. Save one on the plan page, then click Re-check.
- Lesson 3 says "Not connected yet": no client has an active subscription. Add one on a client's Billing, then Plans tab, then click Re-check.
- No invoice has appeared: invoices are made on the client's cycle day, and a new one waits in Pending Approval unless auto-approve is on.
- You do not see Bill your first client in the list: only a Super Admin or an Admin can run it.
Questions this page answers
What does the Bill your first client wizard do?
It walks you through creating a service plan, subscribing a client to it, and watching the first invoice appear, checking that the plan and subscription really exist.
What is the difference between a service plan and a subscription?
A service plan is what you sell: its price, how often it bills and the lines it includes. A subscription puts one plan on one client, and it is what the billing run turns into invoices.
Why does the Bill your first client wizard say Not connected yet?
The lesson checks your real records. Create a service plan, or add an active subscription to a client, then click Re-check.
Where does my first invoice appear?
Under Billing, then Invoices, in Pending Approval unless auto-approve is on. Review it, approve it and send it.
Where do I find the Bill your first client wizard again?
Open Settings, then System, then Setup Wizards, and click Bill your first client under Billing.
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