1)       How do you suggest we handle the fact that a work order may remain open for a month or two past a billing cycle?  If we bill for work already done and then roll to a new billing cycle can we add labor to the existing work order and then be able to bill only the additional labor past the new billing cycle without reinvoicing the entire invoice amount?

I would recommend that you use the Move Workorder Item to move the workorder item that is not yet completed to a different Workorder. See the "TUTORIAL: MOVING AN EXISTING WORK ORDER ITEM" starting page 218. This way you can bill out the workorder with the workorder items that are completed, and continue with the work that needs to still be completed in a new workorder without having to re-type in everything again.

1. Create a new workorder for the client, save, note the workorder number and exit.
2. Open the existing workorder that has some finished workorder items and other unfinished workorder items
3. Before checkmarking the workorder "Service Completed" select the workorder item that is not yet finished, and than select the menu "Move Workorder Item to a Different Workorder" - a drop down list of open workorders for that client will display for selection, select the new workorder you had just created which will move this unfinished workorder item.
4. Once you have moved all the unfinished workorder items, only the workorder items that are finished are left.
5. Now print out a Sample Detailed Service Workorder Report with Grand Total that you have customized with your own company name and logo - which shows all billable items that need to billed out in your accounting program.
6. Now you can set the workorder to Service Completed which will set all fields to read-only and open up the Invoice # field. Open this workorder again, enter the invoice number, change the Workorder Status to Invoiced and if you use it, checkmark the Closed field.
7. Now the new workorder you had moved the workorder items to is still open so that you can continue with the service that still needs to be performed.

See the "TUTORIAL: MOVING AN EXISTING WORK ORDER ITEM" starting page 218

Or if it is a case of additional labor on an existing workorder item - instead of moving the workorder item, use the Copy workorder item to a Different Workorder" menu option. This way they keep the existing labor entered in the existing workorder item, and they can keep all the existing text in the new workorder item just remove the labor items previously entered.

2)       After we generate invoices, is there a way for the computer to recognize which invoices have been generated, so the system has record of what has already been invoiced to avoid double billing?

You can now filter the Service Workorders grid on the Invoice # field to identify which invoice from your accounting program matches with what workorder, as well as see what workorders have already been invoiced.

And you can also use this in conjunction with the Workorder Status field - if you have a specific Workorder Status you set workorders to when they have been invoiced.

3)       How do most companies invoice? 

Depends if they use an actual accounting program in addition to AyaNova or not.

Some companies are small enough that they do not use an accounting program - they just use the Sample Detailed Service Workorder report with Grand Total that they have customized with their company name and logo, and present that to their customers. They might have localized the invoice # field to say Received Payment, and when they receive payment from their customer, that is when they type in the date received payment, and than checkmark the Closed workorder. They can easily see what workorders have not been paid by filtering their "Payment Received" column (that they localized from Invoiced).

Other companies use QuickBooks (or PeachTree) as their accounting program, and we provide an optional interface for QuickBooks (or PeachTree) and AyaNova that workorders that are ready for invoicing are automatically invoiced out in QuickBooks (or PeachTree). Payment is tracked in QuickBooks (or PeachTree).

Or other companies that use other accounting software do as suggested above - when a workorder is ready for invoicing, they set the workorder to Service Completed, enter in the billable items in an invoice in their accounting program, enter in the Invoice # into the AyaNova workorder, and refer to their accounting program for payment tracking.

AyaNova Sales & Technical Support

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