Progress Invoicing

Send invoices for completed portions of a project without waiting until the job is done. BizBooks Pro lets you draw down against any estimate in stages, tracks every billing draw, and shows you exactly how much contract value remains to be billed.

Overview

Progress invoicing — also called progress billing — is the practice of sending multiple invoices throughout a project rather than one invoice at the end. Each invoice represents a portion of the total contract value corresponding to work completed so far.

This billing approach is standard in construction, consulting, marketing agencies, IT services, and any other field where projects run for weeks or months. It keeps your cash flow aligned with your work in progress rather than creating a long gap between completing work and getting paid.

In BizBooks Pro, progress invoicing works by linking invoices to an estimate. The estimate sets the contract total. As you complete work and reach billing milestones, you create invoices against that estimate for any percentage or dollar amount you choose. The system tracks every draw so you and your client always know the running tally — how much has been invoiced, how much has been collected, and how much remains on the contract.

Note: Progress Invoicing requires that you have an approved estimate on file for the customer. If you don't have an estimate yet, create one under Customers → Estimates before proceeding.

How to Create a Progress Invoice

Progress invoices are created from an existing estimate. Follow these steps:

Go to Customers → Estimates and open the estimate for the project you want to bill.
Click the Create Progress Invoice button in the estimate header.
A new invoice form opens, pre-populated with the customer name, project name, and your payment terms.
Set the Invoice Date and Due Date.
In the Billing Amount section, choose your draw method:

Billing by Percentage

Enter a percentage of the total estimate value. BizBooks Pro calculates the dollar amount automatically and breaks it down proportionally across the estimate line items.

Example: Enter 30% to invoice 30% of a $50,000 estimate → $15,000 invoice
Each line item on the invoice shows its percentage draw
Useful when billing is tied to project phase completion

Billing by Fixed Dollar Amount

Enter a specific dollar amount to bill. BizBooks Pro allocates that amount proportionally across the line items of the estimate.

Example: Bill exactly $12,500 regardless of what percentage that represents
Useful when your contract specifies milestone amounts rather than percentages

After setting the billing amount, click Save and Send to deliver the invoice to the client, or Save as Draft to review it before sending.

Tip: Add an internal memo on the progress invoice to note what work was completed during this billing period. Your client will see the memo on the invoice, which helps avoid questions about what they're being billed for.

Monitoring Billing Progress

Every estimate that has had at least one progress invoice created against it displays a Billing Progress panel. Access it by opening the estimate from Customers → Estimates.

What the Billing Progress Panel Shows

Field	Description
Contract Value	The total estimate amount that was approved
Total Invoiced	Sum of all progress invoices issued to date
Total Collected	Payments received against progress invoices
Outstanding Receivable	Invoiced but not yet paid
Remaining to Bill	Contract value minus total invoiced (what you can still bill)
Retainage Held	Amount withheld by the client pending final acceptance (if applicable)

A visual progress bar shows what percentage of the contract has been invoiced. When the bar reaches 100%, you'll see a "Fully Billed" indicator confirming the contract has been completely drawn down.

Tip: Review the billing progress panel before every client meeting so you can answer questions about billing status quickly and accurately. Clients appreciate knowing the exact figures rather than receiving vague answers about "where things stand."

Managing Retainage

Retainage — sometimes called a holdback — is an amount the client withholds from each progress payment until the project is completed and accepted. It is most common in construction contracts and typically ranges from 5% to 10% of each draw.

Setting Up Retainage on an Estimate

Open the estimate you want to apply retainage to.
Click Edit and scroll to the Retainage section.
Enter the retainage percentage (e.g., 10 for 10%).
Save the estimate.

Once retainage is configured, each progress invoice you create will automatically calculate the withheld amount. The invoice shows the gross billing amount, the retainage deducted, and the net amount due from the client.

Releasing Retainage

When the project is substantially complete and the client is ready to release the holdback:

Open the estimate and click Create Progress Invoice.
In the billing amount section, select Release Retainage.
BizBooks Pro pre-fills the invoice with the full accumulated retainage balance.
Adjust the amount if the client is releasing only a partial holdback.
Save and send the retainage release invoice.

Note: Retainage held by a client is a receivable on your balance sheet — you've earned the revenue but not yet collected it. BizBooks Pro tracks it separately so it appears correctly in your aging report and is not overlooked at project close.

Viewing Invoice History

BizBooks Pro keeps a permanent record of every invoice linked to an estimate. To view the full billing history for a project:

Open the estimate from Customers → Estimates.
Click the Invoices tab at the top of the estimate detail view.

The invoice list shows every progress invoice created against this estimate, with the following information for each:

Invoice number and date
Gross billing amount
Retainage withheld (if applicable)
Net amount billed
Payment status (Draft, Sent, Partial, Paid, Overdue)
Amount collected and date of last payment

Click any invoice number to open the full invoice and view or print it. You can also generate a Contract Billing Report from the estimate — this produces a single document showing the full draw history in a format suitable for lender draws, AIA billing applications, or client approval requests.

Tips for Progress Billing

Define Milestones in the Estimate Description

When creating the original estimate, use the description field to spell out what each billing milestone covers — "25% upon project kickoff and signed contract," "50% upon delivery of Phase 2 deliverables," and so on. This prevents disputes later because the client saw and approved the billing schedule before the work started.

Bill Promptly at Each Milestone

The point of progress billing is to keep cash coming in throughout the project. If you complete Phase 1 and wait three weeks to send the invoice, you defeat the purpose. Set a reminder or workflow step to create the progress invoice within 24 hours of reaching each billing milestone.

Keep Billing Percentages Consistent with Work Completed

Billing 80% of the contract when 40% of the work is done creates disputes and can be considered overbilling, which has legal implications on some contract types. Match your draw percentage to the actual percentage of work completed. If you're unsure, err on the side of billing slightly less than the work completed rather than more.

Use the Billing Progress Panel as a Closeout Checklist

Before considering a project closed, open the estimate and confirm the Remaining to Bill balance is zero. If it's not, you have unbilled contract value — money your client owes that you haven't asked for yet. A final invoice to zero out the balance is almost always appropriate before archiving the project.

Document Change Orders Before Billing for Them

If the project scope has grown beyond the original estimate, update the estimate total or create a separate change order estimate before billing for the additional work. Billing for amounts above the approved estimate without documentation creates friction and payment delays.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create a progress invoice for less than 1% of the estimate?

Yes. You can enter any dollar amount up to the remaining unbilled balance on the estimate. There is no minimum draw requirement. If your contract calls for a specific dollar milestone that happens to be a fraction of one percent of the total, simply enter that dollar amount directly.

What happens if I accidentally bill more than the estimate total?

BizBooks Pro will display a warning before allowing you to save a progress invoice that would cause the cumulative billed amount to exceed the original estimate. You can either adjust the invoice amount to stay within the estimate, update the estimate total first (to account for a change order), or override the warning if you have a specific reason to bill above the estimate.

Can a client pay a progress invoice partially?

Yes. When recording payment against a progress invoice, you can enter any amount less than the full invoice total. The invoice status changes to Partial. The Billing Progress panel reflects the partial payment in the Total Collected figure, and the remainder stays in the Outstanding Receivable column.

Does progress invoicing work with my existing estimates?

Yes. Any estimate already saved in BizBooks Pro can be used as the basis for progress invoicing. Open the estimate and click Create Progress Invoice. The full estimate value becomes the billing ceiling, and any invoices you create from that point forward are tracked against it.

Can I see all open progress billing contracts across all customers at once?

Yes. Go to Reports → Progress Billing Summary for a cross-customer view of all active progress billing contracts. The report shows each estimate, how much has been billed, how much has been collected, and the remaining unbilled balance — giving you a complete picture of your work-in-progress revenue pipeline.