Project Management – Billing Plan

Project Management – Billing Plan

Purpose

The Billing Plan defines how, when, and under which conditions a project is invoiced.

It bridges project execution and financial operations by translating contractual and planning information into scheduled billing events that are later executed and controlled through the Billings feature.

The Billing Plan ensures that:

• Invoices are generated at the right time
• Values follow agreed commercial rules
• Financial execution remains aligned with project delivery

Where to Manage the Billing Plan

Access Path

Project Management → Projects → Open a Project → Billing Plan

The Billing Plan tab is available only if it is enabled in the selected Project Process.

What Is a Billing Plan?

A Billing Plan is a planned schedule of billing events associated with a project.

It defines:

• When billing should occur (planned issue dates)
• What amount should be billed
• How billing relates to the Statement of Work (SOW)
• Whether holdbacks or partial payments apply

The Billing Plan itself is planning-oriented.
Execution happens later, automatically, in the Billings module.

Billing Plan Overview

The Billing Plan tab provides a consolidated view of planned billing activity, including:

• Billing Type
• List of Billing Plan entries
• Planned billing values
• Holdback values and percentages
• Aggregated totals:

  • Billing Plan Total

  • Total Holdback Value

  • Approved Billings

This view allows project managers and finance teams to quickly assess expected revenue for the project.

Billing Type

The Billing Type defines how billing events are structured.

A common example is:

• Milestone Billing – Billing events are aligned with milestones, delivery phases, or contractual checkpoints.

The available billing types depend on system configuration and the assigned project process.

Billing Plan Entries (Planned Billing Documents)

Each Billing Plan is composed of one or more Billing Plan entries, representing planned billing documents.

Creating a Billing Plan Entry

Select Add Billing Plan to define a new planned billing record.

Key Fields

Values may be entered directly or calculated based on percentages.

Billing Plan Calculations

The system automatically calculates:

• Billing Plan Total
• Total Holdback Value
• Approved Billings

This ensures real-time financial visibility without manual aggregation.

From Planning to Execution: How Billing Is Generated

This is the key distinction:

Billing Plan = Planning

Billings = Execution

Once Billing Plan entries are defined, no invoice is immediately created.

Instead, the system follows this execution logic:

1. Billing Plan Entry Created
   A planned billing record exists with a defined Issue Date.

2. System Monitors Planned Dates
   On the planned Issue Date, the system evaluates:

   • The Billing Plan entry

   • The project status

   • The billing configuration defined in the Control Center

3. Automatic Billing Record Creation
   If conditions are met, the system automatically creates a Billing record in:

   Operations Management → Billings

4. Billing Execution Lifecycle Begins
   The generated Billing record enters the configured workflow, typically starting with a status such as:

   • Worksheet

From this point onward, billing execution is managed entirely in the Billings module.

Billing Configuration Dependency

The automatic creation of Billing records depends on Billing Configuration, including:

• Statuses allowed to generate transactions
• Lead times for issue date notifications
• Document lifecycle rules

These settings are defined in:

Access Path

Operations Management → Billings → Configuration

This ensures consistency and control across all projects.

Managing Billing Execution

Once created, Billing records are managed through their lifecycle:

Typical statuses include:

• Worksheet
• Submitted
• Validated
• Issued
• Canceled
• Closed

In the Billings feature, users can:

• Review and edit billing details
• Add invoice line items
• Apply taxes, discounts, and fees
• Submit, validate, issue, or cancel documents
• Track issued and outstanding amounts

This separation ensures clean governance between project planning and financial execution.

Relationship with Milestones and Delivery

Billing Plans are often aligned with Milestones:

• Milestones represent delivery checkpoints
• Billing Plan entries represent financial checkpoints
• Holdbacks can be released after milestone acceptance

This alignment ensures delivery and invoicing progress together.

Best Practices

• Define the Billing Plan early in the project lifecycle
• Align billing entries with contractual milestones
• Use planned Issue Dates realistically
• Configure holdbacks to manage delivery risk
• Regularly review planned vs. executed billing
• Ensure billing values align with commercials and proposals

Related Articles

Project Management – Projects (Overview)
Project Management – Milestones
Project Management – Commercials
Operations Management – Billings
Operations Management – Invoicing
Project Management – Track Project Progress & KPIs