Payments and margin

Billing Specialist links a payment record to its milestone. The record can carry an invoice number, amount, due date, paid date, payment method, reference note, and status. Scheduled and Invoiced describe work in progress; Received records a collection. Overdue and Disputed identify cases requiring follow-up. When a payment is marked Received, the Milestone Payment Receipt workflow writes a Payment Record operation receipt.

The milestone rolls up payments received and invoiced payment amount and calculates the amount outstanding. The engagement carries the agreed fee, delivered amount, approved and invoiced service value, delivered cost, milestone value, and expense total. Engagement Margin Desk puts contract value beside delivered and billed amounts, realization, projected margin, and over-budget signals. Its drilldown takes the manager back to the engagement.

• Collection record. Quote Milestone Payments tracks the invoice reference, expected amount, timing, method, and collection status.
• Milestone position. Quote Milestones summarizes billed and received amounts against the deliverable.
• Engagement economics. Engagements combines contract value, service delivery, cost, hours, expenses, and remaining value for review.

Decide who enters the invoice number and who marks a payment Received after bank confirmation. A status change should reflect evidence of collection, not a promise to pay. Agree how Overdue and Disputed cases are assigned and how a partial collection is recorded using the available amount and status. Billing Specialist should reconcile the payment record with the accounting or bank source used by the firm.

For margin review, agree which delivered work counts in management reporting and when costs are updated. The manager should compare delivered, approved, and invoiced value separately. A project can have approved work that has not yet been invoiced, and a milestone can be invoiced while payment remains open. Those distinctions matter when deciding whether to add work or escalate a collection issue.

A $20,000 milestone has been invoiced. Billing Specialist records the invoice number and due date on its payment record. If the client pays by wire, the specialist records the paid date and method, marks the record Received, and checks the successful payment operation receipt. The milestone’s received and outstanding amounts provide the follow-up position. If the due date passes without payment, Payments Overdue Or Disputed keeps the item visible for collection.

Engagement Manager opens Engagement Margin Desk for the same client work. With an agreed fee of $80,000, the manager compares delivered amount and cost with billed service and milestone value. An over-budget signal sends the manager back to hours and expenses before accepting more work. Billing Specialist checks whether a margin concern is caused by delivery cost, unbilled value, or a collection delay.

• Payments Overdue Or Disputed — Open collection exceptions with amount, due date, and days past due.
• Active Engagements — Agreed fee and budget beside current delivery status.

See collection review and engagement review. The reports page lists the operating questions.