Overview
The Invoicing Assistant is your go-to tool for managing every opportunity and ticket that needs an invoice. Instead of manually tracking who owes what, the Invoicing Assistant gathers all billable items in one place and flags potential problems before you generate an invoice. The Invoicing Assistant is the first tab in the Invoicing module.
Think of it as your personal helper for invoicing. It shows you what is ready to bill, what still needs attention, and even lets you look ahead (or back to) a specific date to see exactly what can be billed.
Items represented on this screen aren’t invoices. Instead, each line represents a recommendation from which you can create invoice batches. Watch the video below for an in-depth overview of what the Invoice Assistant is and how it works, or keep reading to learn more!
Training Video
Things to know
Use the quick filters below the search bar to filter by date, properties, branches, invoice types, and invoice timing.
The Complete Date only appears for per service invoice types. For all other invoice types, the Complete Date column is blank.
The Invoicing Assistant only displays items that meet the criteria of your selected filters and date. If you don't see an expected item, adjust your quick filters or the Calendar date field.
Fixed price open billing invoices don't display checkboxes. Select the row to review and invoice them individually.
Status colors indicate whether a line item is ready to invoice or requires action first. Select the info icon next to Status for a full list of definitions.
Requirements
To access Bulk Actions in the Invoicing Assistant to generate invoices, you need Create Invoice added to your user role.
To access to the Invoicing Assistant, Invoice Batches, Invoices, and Log Event tabs in the Invoicing module, you need View Invoice added to your user role.
To complete batches after you generate them, you need Edit Invoice added to your user role.
Creating Invoice Batches
Rows that are Ready, Future Invoice, or Overdue and whose invoice type is Fixed Price Open Billing can be invoiced by selecting the row.
For other invoice types, invoices that are Ready or Overdue have a checkbox in front of them. Selecting the checkbox, and choosing the Generate Invoice option from the Bulk Actions menu creates an invoice batch for the selected invoices.
Steps
The following steps walk you through the full invoicing workflow, from opening the Invoicing Assistant and narrowing your list with filters, to reviewing statuses, customizing your view, and generating a batch of invoices. Each section builds on the last, so by the end, you'll have a repeatable process for getting invoices out the door!
Open the Invoicing Assistant
In the navigation bar, select the Invoicing module.
The Invoicing Assistant screen displays by default.
Filter your list with quick filters
Quick filters sit along the top of the Invoicing Assistant screen. They help you narrow down your list without opening the full filter panel.
Select the Properties quick filter to limit results to one or more properties.
Select the Branches quick filter to show only items assigned to a specific branch.
Select the Invoice Types quick filter to focus on a specific invoice type.
For example, if you’re ready to send out all your contract fixed payment invoices, select that type here to isolate those items.
Select the Invoice Timing quick tiler to filter by payment schedule timing: first, middle, or last of the month.
Note
The Invoice Timing quick filter applies only to fixed payment contract invoices. The timing value comes from the payment schedule set up within the opportunity.
Set the As of Date
The As of Date field sits to the left of the quick filters, next to the calendar icon. It controls which items display in the Invoicing Assistant based on a point in time.
Select the calendar icon next to the As of Date field.
Choose a date in the past or future.
The Invoicing Assistant refreshes and displays items as of that selected date.
When you'd use this: Imagine it's August 30 and you need to create September invoices for your fixed payment contracts. Set the As of Date to a date in September, such as September 1. The list now shows only September fixed payment invoices, so you can batch and generate them ahead of time.
Here's how the As of Date affects different invoice types:
Fixed payment contract invoices display based on the month of your selected date.
Time and materials on completion tickets display when the As of Date is equal to or later than the ticket's completed date.
Per service tickets display when the completed dates of the services fall on or before the As of Date. For example, say you have four mowing tickets completed throughout the month that you'd like to invoice together. Set the As of Date to the last day of the month, and all four display in your list, ready to batch.
Review the Status column
The Status column tells you whether a line item is ready to invoice or needs attention first. Since Aspire's workflow moves from opportunities down to invoicing, some items may arrive with missing details.
Review the color of each line item's status.
Color-coded statuses indicate an action is required for example, missing payment terms on the opportunity.
Other statuses confirm the item is ready to invoice.
Select the info icon next to the Status column header to view all status definitions.
Tip
Select the Status column header to sort or group items by status. This is especially helpful when you need to resolve a batch of the same error type all at once.
Invoice recommendation statuses
The following table explains the different status values that can display on invoice recommendations within the Invoicing Assistant. Clicking on a recommendation for which intervention is required (Address Required, Terms Required, or Tax Jurisdiction Missing) directs you to the screen on which the necessary information can be provided.
Status | Description | Selecting the row directs to... |
| Ready to be invoiced | For rows with invoice type of Fixed Price Open Billing, goes to the Invoice Open Billing screen. For others, goes nowhere. |
| Ready to be invoiced and overdue | For rows with invoice type of Fixed Price Open Billing, goes to the Invoice Open Billing screen. For others, goes nowhere. |
| Can be invoiced (only applies to Fixed Price Open Billing invoice type) | Goes to the Invoice Open Billing screen. |
| More work must be done before this can be invoiced (only applies to Fixed Price on Payment Schedule work orders) | Nowhere - cannot yet be invoiced. |
| A billing address must be provided for the opportunity | Opportunity Invoice screen to enter the payment address. |
| Billing terms must be provided on the property | Property to add payment terms. |
| Tax jurisdiction must be specified on the property | Property to add tax jurisdiction. |
Customize your list view
You can rearrange and refine what you see in the Invoicing Assistant to match how your company handles billing. These recommendations appear in a list, which you can filter, sort, and group like other lists in Aspire.
Use the search bar at the top of the list to find a specific opportunity, property, or company.
To the right of the search bar, select the Filter, Display, Sort, or Group options to further organize your list.
Once happy with your view, select the three-dot icon on the far right of the toolbar, then select Save As to save the view to your favorites.
Example of grouping by company: You want to send grouped invoices per company instead of per property. Select Display and add Company as a visible column. Then drag the Company column header to the left side of the list. Your potential invoices now group by company, making it easy to batch them together.
Generate invoices
Once your list is filtered, reviewed, and organized, you're ready to create a batch.
Select the checkbox to the left of each line item you want to include in the batch.
Line items without a checkbox are missing requiring information. Resolve the status error first, then return to select them.
Fixed price open billing invoices don't display checkboxes. Select the row to open it and choose how much of the total to invoice at a time
Select Bulk Actions in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Select Generate Invoice.
For more details on generating invoice batches, read our Using an Invoice Batch article. Your invoices are now batched and ready for the next step in your workflow.
Troubleshooting and tips
Build a routine around invoice types. Based on your company's operations, develop a regular process for when and how you handle each invoice type. For example, run fixed payment batches at the start of each month and per service batches at the end.
Use quick filters first. Before adjusting the full filter panel, try the quick filters. They cover the most common ways to slice your invoicing list — by property, branch, invoice type, and timing.
Pay attention to statuses. The Status column is your early warning system. Addressing errors before invoicing saves time and prevents billing delays down the line.
Save your favorite views. If you regularly invoice the same way (for example, grouped by company with a specific branch filter), save that view so you don't have to rebuild it each time.
Expected results
After you select Generate Invoice, Aspire batches the selected line items into an invoice batch. The batch moves to the Invoice Batches tab within the Invoicing module, where you can review, complete, and send the invoices.