Changing the Status of an Invoice

• Overview
• Using Workflow Actions to Change the Status of an Invoice
• Manually Changing the Status of an Invoice
• Status Option Definitions

Overview

Each Invoice has a status applied to it. The status can determine whether or not the Invoice creates conflicts (if applicable). The status also gives you a quick way to see where the Invoice is in terms of the job workflow.

Using Workflow Actions to Change the Status of an Invoice

1. Open the Invoice for which you want to change the status.
2. Find the Workflow section in the Workbench Menu (right-hand menu).
3. Click any available workflow action to change the status.

Because the Invoice workflow can be modified, the options you see in the Workflow section of the menu might be different than the default options.

As you set an Invoice to a new status, new workflow actions will be made available. For example: By default, when an Invoice is in the Unpaid status, the workflow actions that are available include Mark as Paid and Export to QuickBooks (if your Flex subscription includes QuickBooks integration). When you move an Invoice into the Invoice Paid status, you will see new workflow actions.

These workflow actions, statuses, and workflow jobs (email templates, element generators, etc.) can be modified. Learn how on the Modifying the Quote Workflow page. 

Manually Changing the Status of an Invoice

You can bypass using workflow actions to change the status of an Invoice by manually changing the status.

To enable manual status changes, you will have to change the Invoice element settings.

1. On the  Projects menu, click Element Definitions.
2. Double-click Invoice.
3. Click the Status Options tab.
4. Change the Status Edit Mode option to Manual Changes Permitted. 
   (changes are automatically saved)

With the setting changed to Manual Changes Permitted, you can click Edit Header from an Invoice and manually change the Status field using the drop-down menu.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with enabling manual status changes, it often leads to problems with accountability (since anybody can change to any status they want), and eliminates workflow jobs (like sending email templates, automatically creating child elements, etc.).

Status Option Definitions

When an Invoice is set to a status, the Invoice will inherit the attributes of that status. 

Status options can be found on the System Settings menu. The attributes associated with a status option include the following:

• Name: The name of the status (Inquiry, Tentative, Confirmed, Prepped, etc.).
• Creates Conflicts: Determines whether or not an element in this status creates conflicts.
• Closed Status: Determines whether or not an element in this status will be closed, which means the element cannot be edited, and will not show up in searches unless "show closed" settings are applied.
• Locked Status: Determines whether or not an element in this status is locked, which means the element cannot be edited. The element will still show up in searches, and is not considered closed.
• Locks Availability: Determines whether or not an element in this status will control availability. For example: A Pull Sheet (as a child to a Quote) might be in a status that locks availability, and it will control availabilty as opposed to the Quote.
• Probability: A percentage value representing the likelihood that a job will happen when it is in this status.
• Background Color: Determines the default background color that will be used when an element enters this status.
• Text Color: Determines the default text color that will be used when an element enters this status.