Contracts and billing
Prepare, approve and issue a progress certificate
Bill the client for the work measured to date, less what was already billed, retention, advance recovery and penalties, then approve and issue it to post it and file it with the tax authority.
3 min readLast updated
In this article
A progress certificate bills the client for the work done since the last one. You enter how much of each item is done to date; the certificate works out this period's work and takes off retention, the advance recovered and any penalties, then adds VAT.
Before you start
The contract must be active. See Add a client contract and its bill of quantities.
The accounts for contract revenue, retention and advances must be set in Project Accounts.
One certificate per contract can be in progress at a time.
Prepare the certificate
Open the contract and its Certificates tab, then select New certificate. Enter the Period to and select Start. The certificate opens with every item at what was certified so far.
For each item, enter the quantity done To date. Switch to Percent to enter the share of the item's quantity instead.
Watch the figures on the right update as you type: work to date, less previously certified, work this period, less retention and advance recovery, VAT and net due.
Enter any Penalties or Other deductions, with the reason.
Select Save, then submit the certificate for approval.
A line marked in red asks for more than the contract quantity, or less than was already certified. Correct it, or raise a variation to increase the item.
Approve and issue
Someone with approval permission, other than the preparer, selects Approve, or Return to draft for changes.
Someone with permission to issue selects Issue and confirms the Issue date.
Issuing posts the certificate: the client is charged the net due, retention and the advance recovered move to their accounts, and the revenue of this period is recorded against the project and each item's task. Where e-invoicing is on, the certificate is sent to the tax authority. An issued certificate cannot change.
Use the PDF buttons to export or print the certificate in the familiar layout: previous, this period and to-date quantities and amounts per item, the deductions, the net due in words, and signature boxes.
The certificate register
Projects › Progress Certificates lists every certificate with its status, what it billed and what is still owed. Filter by status to see what waits for approval.
Common questions
Why does retention stop? The contract has a retention cap. Once the retention held reaches it, certificates take no more.
Can I cancel an issued certificate? No. Cancel a certificate before it is issued; nothing has been posted until then.