Generating an Invoice

Before creating an invoice, you will find it helpful to read about Managing Billable Items and Adjusting a Party's Billing Account.

Invoices in ADR Notable are created when you are in a Case, from either the Billables Table or the Invoices Table.

Create an Invoice from the Billables Table

The process is simple and intuitive and an invoice can be generated in minutes:

Do you want to apply a retainer balance or make other changes?  No problem!  We will review the process step-by-step to cover all the flexible options to customize your invoice:

1.  In a Case, select Case Billing, then Billables to call up the Billables Table.  Next, select the billables to include in the invoice by checking the boxes.  Then select Create Invoice in the lower right corner.

2.  You will now see the Invoicing screen.  Ensure that all the fields in the Case and Payment Details section have been filled in. 

• The Case Contact is the main point of contact for any questions the parties may have pertaining to the invoice.
• The Payment Terms will default to the terms you selected in Billing Settings, but you’re free to make any additional changes here.

3.  Check to see if any billables are incomplete.  You will not be able to generate an invoice until all billables are complete or you remove the incomplete billable using the Add/Drop Billables feature.

• Incomplete billables are marked by a yellow exclamation point in the first column of the Billables section.
• A billable is incomplete if one or more items have not been selected; for example, a billing rate or the billable parties.   To see what information is missing, hover over the yellow exclamation point.  

• Click on any billable you would like to update.  Edit as needed and select Save. 
• You can also elaborate on the description of the billable, a very handy feature as the billable’s description will be listed right on the invoice.

4.  If you're ready to send the invoice, select Review.   If you forgot to complete any case or payment details or to update any billables, a reminder message will pop up.  Select Save as Draft if you want to come back to this later.  You can always find your Draft invoices by selecting Case Billing > Invoices from the Menu when you are in the Case.  

5.  When you click on the Review button, you will see details about the case and your firm at the top of the screen.  You have another chance to edit Firm Details by selecting the Edit (pencil) icon; any missing information will be marked in red. 

In the Invoices Section, each Party has a tab with their respective invoice data: 

• If there are Billing Details missing, select the Edit (pencil) icon to complete.

• In the list of billables, split billables are indicated by an asterisk (*) next to the Type.

• You can also include a Memo to the party or apply a Discount (percentage).

• At the bottom of this Section, you will find three buttons. 

  • When you select Apply Retainer, a window will appear showing the Retainer Balance, along with a space to designate an amount to apply to this invoice. 

  • When you select Apply Credit, the available Credit Balance will appear and you can determine the Credit Amount to apply.

  • Selecting the Add Previous Balances button will bring up a list of outstanding balances; select those that should be added to this invoice.  (Please note that carrying over an outstanding invoice balance to this invoice means the party can only pay off that old invoice by making payments towards this new invoice.)

6.  Finished your review?  Select the dropdown arrow on the Party's tab and choose to finalize the invoice or save it for later.

• Finalizing an invoice simply means this invoice is ready to go and prevents you from accidentally making changes to the invoice after it has been completed.
• Saving an invoice for later means your changes will be saved, but the invoice will remain at the draft stage and will not be sent to the party during this invoicing session.  (This is useful if, for example, you discover a billable at this point that should be included.)  

7.  Once you have selected Finalize or Save for Later, the next incomplete invoice for this Case will appear on your screen. Repeat the steps above until all invoices have been marked as finalized, or have been saved for later.  (You will know which invoices still require attention by the yellow exclamation point displayed next to the party’s name.)

Did you finalize or save an invoice and then realize you forgot to make a change?  That's okay!  When you select the dropdown arrow on a Party’s tab, you will find an Edit button.  Just be sure to finalize or save the invoice again once your changes are complete.

8.  Once all invoices have been completed, you have three choices in the action bar at the bottom of the screen:

• Select Save & Send for the finalized invoices that are ready to go "as is."  A PDF file of each invoice that was finalized will be generated and emailed to the individual responsible for billing for each Party.
• Select Save if you want to create a PDF to send as an attachment, to send via snail mail, or to give to someone in person.
• Selecting Save as Draft is exactly the same as if you selected "Save for Later" instead of "Finalize" in the preceding step. 
• And, of course, the invoices that you flagged as Save for Later will not be sent; you can find them in the invoice list.   

9.  Once the necessary invoices and emails have been created and sent, you will be presented with a list of invoices that were generated. Here, you can download, view, or print an invoice.  Invoices that you decided to save for later will be displayed in a separate list below this one.

10. Select Go to Invoices to return to the invoice list.

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Create an Invoice from the Invoices Table

1.  In a Case, navigate to the left Menu bar and select Case Billing, then Invoices to call up the Invoices Table.  Then select Create Invoice in the upper right corner. 

2.  Manually add billables already created by the timer or a manual time log entry by selecting Add/Drop Billables.  Or, you can generate entirely new billables using the Create New Billable button.

Now, pick up with Step 4, above, to review and send your invoice or to save it as a draft to complete later.

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Invoice Details

When you are in a Case and select an invoice in the Invoices list, you will see all the details and activity related to the invoice.  You will also have the following options:   

Export the Invoice as a PDF

The Invoice will be downloaded as a PDF to your Downloads folder (or the location you have set as your default destination for downloaded files.)

Resend an Invoice

To resend an invoice, simply select the Resend Email button in the action bar at the bottom of the screen.

Apply an Adjustment to an Invoice

To apply an adjustment, select the Apply Adjustment button and a form will be displayed in a pop-up window. Adjustments can be used to adjust the amount owed on an invoice, or even cancel out an invoice altogether.  The adjustment amount cannot exceed the invoice’s current balance.  Once you click the Apply button, the adjustment will be applied to the invoice.  If you select Apply & Send, an updated invoice will be sent to the Party.

Apply a Payment to an Invoice

To apply a payment that a Party has submitted to you by check, cash, wire transfer, or another payment method such as Cash App or Zelle, select the Apply Payment button and a form will be displayed in a pop-up window.  Select the appropriate payment type, amount, and date the payment was received. 

There is also an option here to apply a credit card payment that was not made through Stripe if, for example, you have a Square credit card reader on a mobile device that you use to accept payments in person.

Payment amounts are allowed to exceed the invoice’s current balance. If the payment amount exceeds the current balance, the excess payment amount will be deposited into the Party’s credit balance, which can be found under Accounts in the Case Billing section. You can return these funds via a Credit Invoice. Read more about creating a Credit Invoice.   

Once you select the Apply button, the payment will be applied to the invoice; selecting Apply & Send will generate an updated invoice that will be sent to the Party. Any remaining payment amount will be deposited into the Party’s credit balance.  

Apply a Late Fee to an Invoice

A late fee can be applied to an overdue invoice.  The late fee percentage you defined in your firm’s Billing Settings will be applied to the invoice’s current balance as a late fee.  Read more about setting your firm's Billing Settings. 

You can apply a late fee in two places:

1. In the Invoices list, select any Invoice with the Overdue flag, then select Apply Late Fee in the lower right corner of the screen that will appear.  The current late fee percentage is displayed here for your convenience.  If you have not defined your Late Fee amount in Billing Settings, you will be prompted to do so here.
2. In the Invoice Detail screen, select Apply Late Fee in the action bar at the bottom of your screen.  You will be prompted to confirm by selecting Apply in the popup box.  Clicking the Send Invoice checkbox will generate and send an Invoice.

Either method will apply the late fee, change the due date based on the originally defined payment terms (i.e. NET 30 payment terms adds 30 days to the invoice’s current due date), and send an updated invoice to the party.