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      Create a Bill from a Purchase Order

      Log Bills associated with Purchase Orders seamlessly with ConstructionOnline's integrated OnCost™ Purchasing tools

      BACKGROUND

      Designed to assist construction companies in effectively tracking their project's expenses, ConstructionOnline's OnCost Purchasing equips teams with the tools needed to streamline the creation and management of Purchase Orders, Bills, Expenses & Receipts, and related Payments. To provide a seamless way to transition from procurements to payment, ConstructionOnline™ offers the ability to generate Bills directly from existing Purchase Orders in the system. This not only ensures all agreed-upon costs are accurately captured, but enhances financial transparency by maintaining a direct link between the original purchase, subsequent billing, and eventual payment. 

      This article contains the following sections: 

      1. Step-by-step instructions
      2. Video walkthrough 
      3. Next actions
      4. Additional information

      STEPS TO CREATE A BILL FROM A PURCHASE ORDER

      1. Navigate to the desired Project via the Left Sidebar.
      2. Select the Financials tab and choose the Purchasing category. 
      3. Click the Bills tab, and then click the green (+) Create New Bill button at the top of the Purchasing pane and select the "...from Purchase Order" option from the dropdown menu. 
      4. Within the "Create New Bill" window, step through the following tabs to enter the new Bill's information - 
        1. Select Purchase Order
          1. Using the table below, select the Purchase Order you wish to create a Bill for 
            1. If working within a Project, the current Project will be selected within the "Project" field and cannot be modified. 
            2. Mark the circle 🔵 next to the Purchase Order you wish to create a Bill for. 
              1. Only Approved Purchase Orders will appear within the Approved Purchase Orders table. To streamline the table and focus on outstanding Purchase Orders, mark the checkbox next to the ☑️ Hide Paid-in-Full Purchase Orders option. Additionally, the provided columns can be used to assess financial obligations and payments. 
        2. Bill Details
          1. Title: Give your Bill a title, or keep the automatically generated title
            1. The default title assigned pulls the number from the Bill Number field, described below.
          2. Bill Number: A unique identifier for the Bill automatically generated by combining two numbers—the Project ID and a sequential number based on the number of Bills previously created within the Project
            1. This field cannot be modified. 
          3. Status: Utilize the toggle to set the Status of the Bill
            1. By default, Bills are created with an "Active" Status.
            2. "Active" Bills can be marked as "Approved", allowing you to create Payments. 
            3. "Draft" Bills signify that the Bill is not yet ready to be Approved and, therefore, cannot be connected to a Payment. 
          4. Internal Notes: Provide any additional information or context related to the Bill for internal use
          5. Subcontractor/Vendor: Identify the subcontractor, supplier, or individual who has issued the Bill by beginning to type the desired name into the field
            1. This field is required. 
            2. Contacts that populate here are pulled from your ConstructionOnline Company Contact List. New Contacts must be added through the Company Contacts page and cannot be added when creating a Bill.
            3. Only one Contact can be assigned to this field.
          6. Invoice Date: Specify the date the Invoice was issued by the subcontractor or vendor
          7. Invoice Received: Indicate the date the Invoice was received 
          8. Due Date: Set the deadline by which the payment for the Invoice must be made 
          9. Bill Type: Categorize the Bill based on its nature or purpose 
            1. ConstructionOnline provides four preloaded Bill Types: Advanced, Progress, Arrears, and Time & Material.
            2. This field is unique to the Bills feature and can be customized through the gear icon ⚙️.
          10. Trade: Specify the Trade or specialty involved in the Bill (i.e. Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, etc.)
            1. This field can be customized. 
          11. Tags: Assign any predefined keywords or labels to the Bill 
            1. This field can be customized. 
        3. Included Items

          ⭐ At least one Item must be chosen or created in order to successfully create the Bill.
          1. Choose the Items you wish to include on the Bill by
            1. Choosing existing Purchase Order Items by marking the checkbox ☑️ next to the desired Item(s). 

            2. Adding additional Items via manual entry or by importing Costbook Item(s)
              1. If choosing to enter Items via manual entry, select the (+) Add Item button at the bottom of the table, and then fill in the desired Item Name, Description, Quantity, Unit Cost, Total Cost, & Total Billed on the table.
              2. If choosing to enter Costbook Items, select the (+) Add Item button at the bottom of the table, and then click the arrow that appears at the very far right of the Item Name field. This will open the "Insert Item From Database" window where you can choose to insert individual Costbook Items into the Bill.
          2. Choose the Billed Amounts by selecting from one of three options 
            1. Remaining total of all lines: This default option selects all Line Items with a remaining balance 
              1. Any Line Items already marked as "Paid in Full" will be automatically deselected within this option 
            2. % of each line: This option allows you to record a payment for a percentage of each Line Item with a remaining balance 
              1. Any Line Items already marked as "Paid in Full" will be automatically deselected within this option
            3. Custom amount of each line: This option gives you total control to customize how much of the payment is applied to which Line Items
          3. Mark the Bill as ready for payment by marking the checkbox next to the ☑️ Ready for Payment option located next to the Bill Total 
        4. Link to Estimate 
          1. Link the Bill Items to your Project Estimate, if desired, by choosing the desired Estimate Category, Subcategory, and Estimate Item from the dropdown menus. 
          2. If the selected Purchase Order's Items were previously linked to the Estimate, they will be designated by a 🔗 link icon. 
            1. If the selected Purchase Order was created from an Approved Change Order, the Purchase Order's Items will not appear within this step for linkage as they have already been integrated with the Project Estimate. 
          3. Any additional Items added to the Bill via manual entry or by import from your Costbook will NOT be linked to the Project Estimate, but can be by selecting the desired Estimate Category, Subcategory, and Estimate Item from the dropdown menus.
        5. Attachments
          1. Upload any files, photos, or videos pertinent to the Bill
      5. Once you have finalized the new Bill's details, click the blue "Create" button.
        1. If you marked the Bill as "Ready for Payment", ConstructionOnline will prompt you to create a Payment for the Bill. Choose between "Save Bill and Make Payment Now" or "Save Bill and Make Payment Later" depending on your workflow, then click the blue "Save" button to finalize the creation of the Bill. 

      VIDEO WALKTHROUGH 

      NEXT ACTIONS 

      Activated upon the creation of your Bill, ConstructionOnline's Purchasing Timeline provides a visual & actionable guide for the next steps you and your team should take in the Purchasing process. While ConstructionOnline's Purchasing module was designed with flexibility in mind, the Purchasing Timeline can help you and your team stay organized by highlighting the crucial stages that follow after Bill creation, such as ensuring the Bill has an "Active" Status, marking it as "Ready for Payment", and creating new Payments associated with the Bill. To learn more about utilizing the Purchasing Timeline and what comes next in the billing process, visit this article. 

      ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

      • Subscription Level: ConstructionOnline's Purchasing module is available for companies with current ConstructionOnline subscriptions at the Team, Business, and Enterprise levels.
      • Permissions: ConstructionOnline Company Users must have Purchase Orders, Bills, and Payments permissions set to "Can Create & Edit" or "Can Create, Edit & Delete" to create new Bills.
        • Purchase Orders, Bills, & Payments permissions are set and managed at the Company level. For more information on editing Company-Level permissions, visit this FAQ.
      • ClientLink™/TeamLink™ Access: ClientLink and TeamLink Users do not have access to the Purchasing feature via the Project Portal.
      • CO™ Mobile App: The Purchasing feature is exclusively available via browser access to ConstructionOnline. 
        • The Purchasing feature cannot be accessed through the CO™ Mobile App.

      HAVE MORE QUESTIONS? 

      • If you need additional assistance, chat with a Specialist by clicking the orange Chat icon located in the bottom left corner or visit the UDA Support Page for additional options.