Using estimates in billing
Estimates are used to raise an invoice for client work that has not yet been entered as WIP. They are also known as interim fees. An estimate essentially puts a credit against the total WIP amount. There is no write–off/on required.
Like a miscellaneous charge, you can apply an estimate against any client assignment, regardless of whether it has any billable WIP against it.
Automatic and Manual Estimates
An estimate is added at the time of billing, from the Bill Amounts window. You can add an estimate automatically or manually through this window in the following ways:
- through the Bill Amounts window (Stage Two of the Billing Wizard) > Create new estimate
to complete window at the time of billing. Use this to create an estimate at the assignment level. - through the Bill Amounts window at the time of billing using an automatic estimate. Use this to create an estimate at the more detailed employee and task level.
- CCH Practice Management creates an automatic estimate when a bill amount entered exceeds the amount of available WIP. The estimate is raised on allocation of the bill, and the credited (or negative) amount is then automatically allocated to further WIP as it is posted. When an automatic estimate is created the system alerts you by populating the AE (Automatic Estimate) column in the Bill Amounts window with
.
Note: estimates previously raised can be viewed in the Misc/Est tab of the relevant Assignment page.