Accounting Invoicing Playbook (Manual Invoicing)

This guide is for accounting users who run billing in Contact Ground with Manual Invoicing mode.

It covers:

• Flight operations data readiness
• Credit requests and credits
• Invoice generation and sending
• Payment tracking in Contact Ground
• Post-send corrections

1. Before You Start

1.1 Access and prerequisites

You should have an invoicing-capable role in your organization (owner or accounting). Admin alone does not grant invoice, credits, or credit-request review access.

Invoicing works only when both conditions are true:

1. Flight Operations Mode is Manual or Automatic (not Off).
2. Invoicing is enabled in organization settings.

1.2 Where key pages are

• Organization settings: left sidebar Organization
• Flight Ops time entry management: left sidebar Flight Ops
• Credit requests queue: left sidebar Credit Requests
• Submit credit request (member-facing): on Credit Requests, click New Request, then submit with Submit Request
• Invoices list: left sidebar Invoices
• Generate invoices: on Invoices, click Generate Invoice
• Credits management: on Invoices, click Manage Credits

2. One-Time Setup Checklist

Open Organization from the left sidebar and confirm:

1. Flight Operations Mode is Manual or Automatic.
2. Enable Invoicing is checked.
3. Invoicing Mode is Manual Invoicing.
4. Notify members about invoices is set the way your organization wants.
5. Monthly Member Rate is correct.
6. Optional: schedule future monthly rate changes if needed.

3. Monthly Billing Runbook

3.1 Close flight data first

Before generating invoices:

1. Review recent entries on Flight Ops.
2. Ensure all post-flight hours are present for the billing period.
3. Correct missing or incorrect entries:
   • Edit existing entries, or
   • Use Add Manual Entry for missing flights.

How flight ops mode affects this:

• Manual mode: operations team manually ensures entries are created and complete.
• Automatic mode: Contact Ground sends reminders and dispatch prompts, including notifications to Operations team when members do not comply in a timely manner. Accounting team should always do a final completeness review.

3.2 Process credit requests

Open Credit Requests:

1. Start with Pending filter.
2. For each request:
   • Approve: optionally adjust approved amount and add notes.
   • Deny: enter required reason.
3. On approval, Contact Ground creates an active reimbursement credit for the member.

3.3 Review direct credits

From Invoices, click Manage Credits:

1. Add one-time or monthly credits as needed.
2. Review existing active credits for accuracy.
3. Confirm expiration dates where applicable.

Notes:

• Credits are auto-applied to new invoices.
• Credits are applied oldest-first (FIFO).
• Active credits can be edited or deleted.

3.4 Generate draft invoices

From Invoices, click Generate Invoice:

1. Set billing period start and end.
2. Choose All members or selected members.
3. Generate invoices.
4. Contact Ground creates draft invoices and applies available credits automatically.

What Contact Ground includes:

• Monthly membership fee (if configured)
• Flight hours in the period
• Resource hourly rates
• Auto-applied credits

3.5 Review drafts before sending

Open Invoices:

1. Draft is the default filter.
2. Open each invoice detail to verify line items and credits.
3. Fix data issues before sending.

3.6 Send invoices

From Invoices:

1. While viewing invoice details, send a single invoice with Send Invoice, or
2. Send all drafts with Send Draft Invoices.

Contact Ground behavior:

• Marks sent invoices as Sent.
• Sends member notification with invoice details, amounts, and a direct invoice link (if notifications enabled).

3.7 Download invoice PDF

In manual mode, invoices can be downloaded as PDF:

1. From Invoices, click Export PDF on the invoice row, or
2. Open invoice details and click Export PDF.

4. Payments and Corrections (Manual Mode)

4.1 Track payments in Contact Ground

From Invoices or an invoice detail page:

1. Mark Paid when payment is received.
2. Cancel Invoice if invoice must be voided in Contact Ground.

4.2 Correct an invoice after sending

If an invoice is wrong after sending:

1. Cancel the incorrect invoice in Contact Ground.
2. Fix underlying flight data and credits as needed.
3. Generate a new invoice for that member and period.
4. Send the corrected invoice.

5. Credit Requests and Credits End-to-End

5.1 Credit Requested from Members

Members submit requests from Credit Requests by clicking New Request, then Submit Request, with:

• Amount
• Description
• Receipt image (required)
• Optional associated flight

5.2 Accounting review

In Credit Requests:

1. Review receipt and details.
2. Approve or deny.
3. Include notes (required for denial).

5.3 On approval

Contact Ground creates a member credit with type reimbursement.

• In manual mode, credit remains in Contact Ground and applies to invoices.

5.4 Active credit rules

• Only active credits can be edited.
• Active credits can be deleted if no longer needed.

6. Troubleshooting

6.1 Invoicing options disabled

Meaning:

• Flight ops mode is Off, or invoicing is disabled.

Action:

• Enable flight ops (Manual or Automatic) and invoicing in Organization.

6.2 Incorrect invoice totals

Common causes:

• Missing or late flight entries
• Incorrect hourly rate setup
• Unexpected credit application

Action:

1. Validate flight entries for the period.
2. Validate resource rates and monthly member settings.
3. Review active credits in Manage Credits.
4. Cancel and regenerate invoice if needed.

7. Recommended Month-End Checklist

7.1 Pre-send checklist

1. Flight entries are complete for period.
2. Pending credit requests are resolved.
3. Credits table reviewed.
4. Draft invoices generated and spot-checked.

7.2 Send checklist

1. Send drafts from Invoices using Send Draft Invoices.
2. Confirm send summary count.

7.3 Post-send checklist

1. Track incoming payments.
2. Mark invoices paid in Contact Ground.