Introduction

In project-based industries, billing is often done progressively based on the percentage of completion, instead of invoicing the full amount upfront.

This method, known as progressive billing (Work in Progress – WIP), allows businesses to bill customers in stages as work progresses.

There is no fixed document flow — depending on your business, you may start from Quotation or Sales Order, and convert it into partial or multiple invoices over time based on project progress. Some businesses may use:

Quotation → Invoice
Sales Order → Invoice
Quotation → Sales Order → Invoice

The key idea is: A single document is used, and billing is progressively issued until the full amount is invoiced.

This guide outlines a recommended workflow to manage progressive billing efficiently.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Create Full Project Document (Quotation or Sales Order)

Go to the relevant module based on your workflow:

Sales > Quotation > + New (if you start from quotation)
or
Sales > Sales Order > + New (if you start from sales order)

Then:

Create a single document for the full contract value of the project
Enter the total amount agreed with the customer
Include all relevant items/services and project details

This document will serve as the main reference for all progressive billing and future invoices.

The example below shows a Sales Order with a total contract value of RM10,000.00.

Step 2: Create Progressive Invoice

2.1 Create Invoice from Quotation or Sales Order

Once work has started or a billing milestone is reached:
- Go to Sales > Quotation / Sales Order
- Locate the relevant document
- Click the three dots (⋯) next to View
- Select 'Transfer To...' > Invoice

2.2 Manage Transfer and Adjust Billing Amount

Click “Manage Transfer Items”.

Then adjust the Apply Qty by entering the percentage of completion, either in percentage (%) or decimal form.
Only the selected portion will be converted into an invoice, while the remaining balance stays in the original document.
Example:
- If the total project value is RM10,000, for the first claim (30% completion), enter 30% or 0.3 in Apply Qty. (Entering 30% will automatically convert to 0.3.)
- The system will generate an invoice for RM3,000.00.
- Invoice reflects:
  - Progress: 30%
  - Contract Value: RM10,000.00
  - Claimed Amount: RM3,000.00

📌 Note: You can repeat the same steps to progressively transfer the remaining balance until the Sales Order is fully invoiced (100%).

Example: For the second claim (40% completion), enter 40% or 0.4 in Apply Qty.
Invoice reflects:
- Progress: 40%
- Contract Value: RM10,000.00
- Claimed Amount: RM4,000.00

Customise Transaction PDFs Layout for Progressive Billing

You can display the Progress (%) column on your transaction PDFs to show how much of the Sales Order or Quotation has been billed.
Go to the Control Panel, navigate to Form Design, click View, and toggle on the Progress % column.

Once enabled, the Progress (%) will be shown in your PDF invoice.

📌 Tip: You can customise the column labels to better reflect your billing format. For example, rename “Unit Price” to “Contract Value” for progressive billing.

📌 Note: You may create a new or duplicate form design specifically for progressive billing. This allows you to use the Progress (%) layout only when needed by selecting the appropriate form design when Print / PDF, or using QuickShare for the invoice.

Notes

At the module listing, you may filter the transfer status by Not Transferred, Partially, or Transferred to view the relevant transactions.
At the transaction, you can hover over the transfer icon to view the transfer status, such as Not Transferred, Partially Transferred, or Fully Transferred.
You can also view the Transfer Status Breakdown as a chart to get an overall summary of transactions by transfer status.

In addition, you may filter transactions by transfer status to view specific records, such as Not Transferred, Partially Transferred, or Transferred. You can also check transactions by customer to view each transaction’s quantity, balance quantity, amount, and transfer status.

This can be found in Reports > All Reports, such as Quotations by Customer, Sales Orders by Customer, and Delivery Orders by Customer.
To learn more about transferring sales documents, refer to Transferring Sales Documents (Quotation, Sales Order, Delivery Order & Invoice).