Invoice Generator

You can create custom PDF invoices to send to customers. For example, invoices can be by provider, subaccount, family, or cost (billed, effective, list).

To access the invoice generator, you must have either:

• FinOps Organization Admin permissions.
• Billing Engine Admin and Cost Intelligence Admin permissions.

note

As you work, your changes are saved automatically. So, it's recommended to always make a copy of the out-of-the-box invoice template and customize it rather than editing it. This way, you'll always have a clean copy to start from. You can also manually make a backup copy of your template to use as a starting point for new invoices.

If you do create an invoice from scratch, make sure you include a filter on the date range.

Once you’ve created an invoice, you can:

• Download each invoice report (template) with all the invoices for that template.
• Schedule an invoice using the workflow builder.

Create an Invoice

1. Go to Billing Engine > Invoice Generator.

2. On the out-of-the-box Billing Invoice template, click > Duplicate. You should always make a copy of the out-of-the-box template rather than editing it. As you work, your changes are saved automatically.

3. Update the invoice:

   • Customize the data. Make sure your invoice includes a filter for the billing period, including a start and end date field. For example, BillingPeriodStart with start and end date fields selected.

     If you group your invoice by a field, it’s a good idea to also add that field to the header so it’s easy to see what the invoice is for.

     

   • Customize the form.

4. Click Preview.

5. Update the parameters (such as customer name, address, invoice number, description, dates) for the invoice and click Preview Report. You can select Null to exclude that field from the invoice.

6. In the preview, you can:

   • View the invoices by clicking the tabs at the bottom.
   • Edit.
   • Download the invoices .
   • Schedule the invoice in the workflow builder.

7. To rename the invoice, click to go back to the list of invoice reports. On the report, click > Rename.

Customize the Data in Your Invoice

Make sure your invoice includes a filter for the billing period, including a start and end date field. For example, BillingPeriodStart with start and end date fields selected.

Date range of the invoice (monthly, quarterly)

Make sure your invoice has a filter for the billing period, which includes a start and end date field. For example, BillingPeriodStart.

Once you have the field in your invoice, click Preview and select the Invoice Date Range Start and End, and the Invoice Issue Date. Then click Preview Report.

You can use any custom date range you have available for your data. For example, you can create monthly invoices, quarterly invoices, or historical invoices for the previous 2 years.

Summary level invoice or list out amounts by family, subaccounts, service, or service category

You can use any field in the Data tab to summarize your data in the invoice. For example, invoices can be by provider, subaccount, family, or cost (billed, effective, list).

If you want to create one invoice per data field (such as provider, family, or cost), use Configuration > Report Group > Associated Column and select the data field (such as Provider, BillingFamilyName, ListCost).

Let’s say you want to create an invoice by family, and you have a total of 50 accounts in 10 families:

• If you use Configuration > Report Group > Associated Column and select BillingFamilyName, you’ll get one invoice per family with one row per account in the family, so a total of 5 invoices.
• If you use Configuration > Report Group > Associated Column and select None, you’ll get one invoice with a total of 50 rows (one row for each family).

You can also use multiple data fields to subtotal. For example, you may want to show totals by both Service and Description. In the Body, hover over the table and click to view the Dynamic Table Configuration, where you can select the groups and columns for your table.

Cost to show in the invoice (BilledCost, ProviderCost)

You can change the cost field you show in the invoice. The out-of-the-box template uses BilledCost. For example, you can change it to ProviderCost by clicking {} and selecting ProviderCost.

Formula (create profit: BilledCost - ProviderCost, or custom tax calculation)

You can create a custom formula to include in your invoices.

1. Click Formula .

2. Select Standardized Syntax.

3. Enter your formula. For example, you can create a field called Profit. The formula can be BilledCost - ProviderCost.

   

4. Click Save.

5. You can see the new formula saved in the Data & Parameters > Values and use it in your invoices.

   

Customize the Invoice Form

Add a field to the header

If you group your invoice by a field, it’s a good idea to also add that field to the header so it’s easy to see what the invoice is for.

Banner

You can add a text box on your invoice to display a message or banner. Change the background color to make it stand out more.

Copy and paste elements

You can select an item and click Edit > Copy and then Edit > Paste.

Tables: dynamic or simple tables

Dynamic tables automatically add rows for each record in the data column. You can also add static text to the cells.

In the Body, hover over the table and click to view the Dynamic Table Configuration, where you can select the groups and columns for your table.

Simple tables show one item per cell. It can be either text or a field.

Add columns to table

For example, you may want to show both Service and Description. In the Body, hover over the table and click to view the Dynamic Table Configuration, where you can select the groups and columns for your table.

You may need to manually resize the widths of the existing columns to add more columns.

Schedule Invoice

You can schedule an invoice to be sent to specific recipients according to a trigger. You define this using the workflow builder.

1. Go to Billing Engine > Invoice Generator.

2. Click Schedule Invoice > Create New Flow.

3. Name the workflow (and add a Description).

4. Add a trigger for scheduling.

5. Add a send action, such as Send Email.

6. In the Action Send Email, click Insert/Attach > Export Report/Invoice and select the invoice.

7. For the dates in the Report Parameters, you can either pick a specific date or use a token, such as {{LAST_MONTH_START}} or {{TODAY}}.

   If you use specific dates, make sure the period of the data and the issue date are always the same.

   You can use tokens, for example:

   • Invoice Period - Start set to {{LAST_MONTH_START}}
   • Invoice Period - End set to {{LAST_MONTH_END}}
   • Issued Date set to {{TODAY}}, so the Issued Date is the same date that the email (and invoice) are sent

8. Click Save.