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Understanding Bills

Learn the key concepts and terminology for vendor billing in ReadyBuild.

Bill Statuses Explained​

Draft​

Bills start in Draft status when:

  • Required fields are missing (vendor, line-item project, due date)
  • Line items don't have cost codes or units assigned
  • The bill was imported but needs review

Draft bills can be edited freely and won't affect financial reports until moved to a later status.

Billed​

A bill moves to Billed status when:

  • All required fields are complete
  • The bill is ready for internal review
  • You're waiting for approval to pay

Ready to Pay​

Bills marked Ready to Pay have been:

  • Reviewed and approved
  • Scheduled for payment
  • Cleared for processing

Bills are marked Paid when:

  • Payment has been issued (check, ACH, credit card)
  • The payment date and method are recorded
  • QuickBooks payment record is created (if synced)

Void​

Void status is used when:

  • A bill was entered in error
  • The vendor canceled the invoice
  • A duplicate bill was created
  • A paid bill needs to be reversed

:::tip Paid Bills Can Be Voided Unlike deletion, paid bills can be voided. This clears the payment information while preserving the audit trail. :::

:::warning Cannot Void with Active Checkbook.io Payment The only restriction: bills with an active Checkbook.io payment cannot be voided until the payment is processed or canceled. :::

Bill Types​

One-Off Bills (Type 0)​

Standard bills entered manually or imported:

  • No schedule association
  • Due date set explicitly
  • Most common type

Scheduled Bills (Type 1)​

Bills linked to project schedules:

  • Tied to a schedule task
  • Due date calculated from task deadline
  • Options: X days before/after the task deadline

Example: "Bill due 5 days after Framing completion"

Variance Tracking​

A variance is a cost that differs from the project estimate — a scope change, price increase, or extra work. ReadyBuild tracks variances at the line-item level so you can see exactly which costs were unplanned and why.

How a Line Becomes a Variance​

A line item is a variance when it has a Variance Code assigned. There is no bill-wide "Is Variance" flag — the presence of a variance code on the line is the variance signal. A line with no variance code counts as baseline (estimated) cost.

Because the flag lives on each line, one bill can carry both baseline and variance cost at the same time.

Variance Codes​

The variance code categorizes why the cost varied. Codes are configured in Settings → My Company → Variance Codes and commonly include:

  • Customer Request
  • Unforeseen Conditions
  • Design Change
  • Subcontractor Issue
  • Material Price Change

Where Variances Show Up​

  • Job-cost rollups split each project's cost into baseline and variance buckets based on each line's variance code.
  • Variance reports group cost by code to reveal patterns in overruns.

See Variance Codes and Variance Analysis.

Bill Amount Calculation​

The total bill amount is calculated from line items:

Bill Total = SUM(Quantity x Unit Cost) for all line items

Each line item contributes:

  • Quantity (qty) - How many units
  • Unit Cost (unit_cost) - Price per unit
  • Total = qty x unit_cost

:::note No Header Amount Unlike some systems, ReadyBuild doesn't have a separate header amount field. The bill total is always calculated from line items. :::

Cost Code Integration​

Line items are assigned cost codes that:

  • Categorize expenses for job costing
  • Map to your company's cost structure
  • Enable budget vs. actual comparisons
  • Feed into financial reports

When a bill is for a specific project, the cost code determines which budget category the expense applies to.

QuickBooks Sync Flags​

Send to QuickBooks​

When enabled, the bill syncs to QuickBooks:

  • Creates a Bill record in QB
  • Maps vendor to QB Vendor
  • Includes line items with Item references

Mark as Owner​

Flags the bill for owner-related reporting and categorization.

File Attachments​

Invoice Documents (Type 1)​

Original vendor invoices and receipts:

  • PDF invoices
  • Scanned receipts
  • Email confirmations

Lien Waivers (Type 2)​

Legal documents from subcontractors:

  • Conditional waivers (before payment)
  • Unconditional waivers (after payment)
  • Required for draw requests and closings

Relationship to Other Records​

Bills connect to several other records:

Related RecordRelationship
VendorContact who issued the bill
ProjectProject each line item is costed to (a bill can span several)
Purchase OrdersPOs this bill fulfills
Cost CodesBudget categories for line items
Variance CodesReason for cost variance
QuickBooks EntitySynced QB Bill record

Bill Numbers​

Bill numbers are auto-generated:

  • Sequential within your company
  • Zero-padded to 5 digits (00001, 00002, etc.)
  • Cannot be changed after creation

The Vendor Bill Number field stores the vendor's invoice number for reference.