Creating a custom invoice

If your firm designs its own invoice layout in Word, InTouch can fill it in from a client invoice on the matter, with the invoice’s reference, dates, totals, line items and the time records behind them. This saves you from typing the invoice details into the document by hand.

It takes two steps: add client invoice data markers to one of your document templates, then create the invoice from the matter’s Client invoices tab.

Preparing an invoice template

Any document template that contains at least one clientinvoice data marker counts as an invoice template. There’s nothing else to set up. For example:

Invoice {{clientinvoice.reference}}
Date: {{#datetime clientinvoice.date 'd mmmm yyyy'}}
Due: {{#datetime clientinvoice.duedate 'd mmmm yyyy'}}

{{#foreach clientinvoice.lineitems}}
{{index}}. {{details}}: {{total}}
{{#endforeach}}

Total: {{clientinvoice.total}}
Outstanding: {{clientinvoice.outstanding}}

The markers are listed under Client Invoice in the data marker list. They’re filled in only when the document is created with Create New Custom Invoice. If the template is used any other way, for example from the Folder tab, they’re left blank.

Creating the invoice

1. Within the matter, open the Client invoices tab
2. Select the Actions menu next to the invoice
3. Select Create New Custom Invoice
4. Choose the template. Only invoice templates are listed
5. Choose the recipient, letterhead and whether to create a PDF or Word document, as you would for any other document
6. Answer any questions the template asks

A PDF is saved to the matter’s Folder tab and opened for you. A Word document is downloaded for any final changes and isn’t saved to the matter.

The document is named Invoice <reference> by default. If you create it again with the same name, you’re asked whether to replace the earlier copy or rename the new one. Replacing it only overwrites your earlier custom invoice. The invoice’s own PDF, opened with View Xero PDF, is never replaced.

Create New Custom Invoice is available once an invoice has been approved. It isn’t available on draft or void invoices, or on credit notes. Straight after you approve an invoice, it may take a moment to become available while the approval completes.

Client invoice data markers

Marker	What it gives you
clientinvoice.reference	The invoice number
clientinvoice.date	The date on the invoice
clientinvoice.duedate	When payment is due
clientinvoice.approvedon	The date the invoice was approved
clientinvoice.state	Outstanding, Overdue, Paid or Credited. It reads Overdue from the day after the due date
clientinvoice.contact.name	The name the invoice is addressed to. For the contact’s address and other details, choose them as the recipient
clientinvoice.net	The line items’ amounts before tax
clientinvoice.tax	The line items’ tax
clientinvoice.total	Net plus tax
clientinvoice.paid	Payments recorded against the invoice
clientinvoice.credited	Credit notes applied to the invoice
clientinvoice.outstanding	Total less paid and credited
clientinvoice.lineitems	The invoice’s line items, as a list
clientinvoice.lineitems.count	The number of line items
clientinvoice.timerecords	Every time record behind the invoice, as a list
clientinvoice.timerecords.count	The number of time records behind the invoice

Each line item has index, details, account.name, amount, tax, total, timeunits and timeamount (the time behind the line, added up). It also has its own timerecords list, with the same fields as matter.timerecords. A line item with no time behind it, such as a fixed fee, has an empty list.

To show the time behind each line, put one loop inside another:

{{#foreach clientinvoice.lineitems}}
{{index}}. {{details}}: {{total}}
{{#foreach timerecords}}
   - {{#datetime date 'd mmmm yyyy'}} {{feeearner}}, {{units}} units
{{#endforeach}}
{{#endforeach}}

Inside the inner loop, $parent. reaches the line item (for example {{$parent.details}}), not the matter, so put anything from the matter outside the loops. If a single table of time is enough, loop over clientinvoice.timerecords instead.