Creating Bills

Learn how to enter new vendor bills into ReadyBuild.

:::tip Upload Instead of Manual Entry Have a PDF or image of the vendor invoice? Use the Upload Bill feature to automatically extract vendor, date, and line item data. See Uploading Bills for details. :::

Creating a New Bill

From the Global Billing List

1. Navigate to Billing in the main menu
2. Click New Bill button
3. Fill in the bill details
4. Add line items
5. Attach documents (optional)
6. Click Save

From a Project

1. Open the project
2. Go to Financials → Billing
3. Click New Bill
4. The project is pre-selected and applied to each new line item
5. Complete remaining fields

Required Fields

For Draft Status

Only these fields are required to save as Draft:

• Type (One-off or Scheduled)

For Billed Status and Beyond

To move past Draft status, you need:

• Vendor - Select the contact/company
• Due Date - When payment is expected
• Line Items — each with a Project, Cost Code, and Unit assigned

Bill Header Fields

Field	Description	Required
Vendor	Select from contacts list	Yes (non-draft)
Vendor Bill #	Vendor's invoice number	No
Title	Description of the bill	No
Invoice Date	Date on vendor invoice	No
Due Date	Payment due date	Yes (non-draft)
Status	Current bill status	Auto-set

:::note Project Is Set Per Line Item The bill header has no Project field. Each line item carries its own Project, so one bill can span several projects. See Adding Line Items. :::

Adding Line Items

Each bill should have at least one line item:

1. Click Add Line Item or use the + button
2. Enter the Name/Description
3. Select the Project the line is costed to
4. Select a Cost Code
5. Enter Unit Cost (price per unit)
6. Enter Quantity
7. Select Unit (Each, LF, SF, etc.)
8. Optionally select a Variance Code to flag the line as a variance

The line total calculates automatically (Qty x Unit Cost).

:::tip One Bill, Multiple Projects Because the Project is set per line item, a single bill can split costs across several projects. To assign the same project to every line at once, choose it in the Apply project to all items control above the line-item table. :::

Line Item Fields

Field	Description	Required
Project	Project the line is costed to	Yes (non-draft)
Name	Item description	Yes
Cost Code	Budget category	Yes (non-draft)
Unit Cost	Price per unit (supports negative values for vendor credits/discounts)	No
Quantity	Number of units	No
Unit	Unit of measure	Yes (non-draft)
Variance Code	Flags the line as a variance and categorizes the reason	No

:::tip Multiple Line Items Add multiple line items to break down costs by category. Each line can have a different cost code for accurate job costing. :::

:::tip Vendor Credits and Discounts To apply a vendor credit or discount, enter a negative Unit Cost (e.g., -50.00). The line total will be negative, reducing the bill subtotal and total accordingly. :::

Scheduled Bills

For bills tied to project schedules:

1. Set Type to "Scheduled"
2. Select the Schedule
3. Choose the Schedule Task
4. Set Days (before or after)
5. Enter the Due offset (number of days)

Example: Due 7 days after "Rough Inspection" task completes.

Recording Variances

Variances are tracked per line item, not on the whole bill. A line item counts as a variance whenever it has a Variance Code assigned — there is no separate "Is Variance" toggle.

1. Add or edit a line item
2. Choose a code in that line's Variance Code column
3. Leave Variance Code empty on any line that represents baseline (estimated) cost

This lets a single bill mix baseline and variance cost — for example, the planned framing cost on one line and a weather-delay overage on another. Lines with a variance code feed variance reports and the variance portion of job-cost rollups; lines without one count as baseline cost.

See Variance Codes to set up the codes, Understanding Bills for the concept, and Variance Analysis for reporting.

Attaching Files

Invoice Documents

Upload the vendor's actual invoice:

1. Scroll to Invoice Documents section
2. Click Upload or drag-and-drop files
3. Supported formats: PDF, images, documents

Lien Waivers

Attach lien waiver documents:

1. Scroll to Lien Waivers section
2. Click Upload or drag-and-drop
3. Track conditional and unconditional waivers

QuickBooks Sync

To sync the bill to QuickBooks:

1. Enable Send to QuickBooks toggle
2. Ensure the vendor is synced to QB
3. Save the bill

The bill will sync on save if your company has QuickBooks integration enabled.

:::note QuickBooks Requirements

• QuickBooks integration must be configured
• Vendor must exist in QuickBooks (or will be created)
• Line item cost codes should map to QB Items :::

Importing Bills from CSV

For bulk entry, use CSV import:

1. Go to Billing list
2. Click Import button
3. Download the sample CSV template
4. Fill in your bill data
5. Upload the completed CSV

CSV Format

The import supports 18 columns:

Bill Data (columns 1-12):

• vendor, project, variance_code, is_variance
• title, invoice_date, bill_status, due_date
• paid_by_id, send_to_quickbook, mark_as_owner, paid_date

Line Item Data (columns 13-18):

• item_name, cost_code, unit_cost, quantity, unit, builder_cost

Multiple line items for the same bill: leave columns 1-12 empty on subsequent rows.

:::warning Import Validation Bills missing required fields will be imported as Draft status for manual completion. :::

Best Practices

1. Enter Bills Promptly

Record bills as soon as received to maintain accurate job costing.

2. Use Accurate Cost Codes

Select the correct cost code for each line item to enable meaningful budget comparisons.

3. Attach Original Documents

Upload the vendor's invoice for audit trail and reference.

4. Match to Purchase Orders

Link bills to the corresponding PO when applicable.

5. Track Variances

Assign a variance code to any line item that represents an unplanned cost, so it shows up in variance reporting.

6. Review Before Status Change

Verify all details before moving from Draft to Billed status.