ℹ️ Note: In Buildern, Cost Plus invoices are built directly from the bills and timesheets logged against the project, rather than from an estimate or a schedule of values. You add the actual costs incurred and apply your markup on top to arrive at the amount billed to the client.
Step 1. Set Cost Plus as Your Project Invoicing Type
From the project’s Overview, click on the three dots Action menu on the right (next to the client’s portal) and click Edit.
Scroll to the “Invoice Type” section, select Cost Plus, and save the changes.
Step 2. Create an Invoice with the Cost Plus Type
Navigate to the Client Invoice section of the project.
Click on the “Create” button to start the invoice from scratch.
ℹ️ Note: As with Schedule of Values/Completion Percentage invoices, Cost Plus invoices can only be created from scratch, since billing is based on the actual bills and timesheets logged against the project rather than a payment schedule.
Step 3. Add the Initial Details to the Invoice
Invoice Name is a required field, used to label and easily find the desired invoice.
Invoice ID is automatically generated as the sequential number for the current invoice. The system allows you to manually change the invoice ID.
Invoice Date is by default set as the current date, and it can be manually modified.
Due Date is automatically set in accordance with the Invoice default payment term, which you can define in Buildern Company Settings > Field Settings. You can also set a custom due date or choose from pre-defined payment terms for automatic calculation.
Period to Date is used to define the billing period covered by the invoice.
Introduction Text – an optional message to the client.
Amounts Are – defines whether the entered amounts include or exclude the sales tax amount.
Step 4. Add Cost Plus Items
Now that the invoice has been created, add the actual costs and markup for your Cost Plus billing.
Buildern offers the following options:
Add Bills – Click on the “Select bills” button to bring up the list of bills logged against the project.
The list includes all the columns available on the project’s Bills page, and you can deselect any columns you do not want to see by clicking on the Columns icon.
You can select individual bills or select all of them, and choose to add either the bill totals or the individual bill lines to the invoice.
A checkbox also lets you include the bill attachments on the invoice.
When bills are added, their costs are carried over to the invoice, and you add your markup on top of the cost to arrive at the price billed to the client.
ℹ️ Note: Bill totals are shown in Purchase tax inclusive amounts, while the claim amount depends on the Amounts Are setting of the invoice.
Add Timesheets – Click on the “Select timesheets” button to bring up the list of timesheets logged against the project.
The list includes all the columns available on the project’s Timesheets page, and you can deselect any columns you do not want to see by clicking on the Columns icon.
Timesheets can be added to the invoice as a single row total, grouped by user, grouped by date, or as individual lines.
For each timesheet line, you enter an Hourly Price, which is not the same as the timesheet cost. If the timesheet user’s profile has a defined hourly price, it is automatically set on the line; otherwise, you enter it manually. The cost code on the line is taken from the timesheet’s first cost code.
As with bills, you add your markup on top of the Hourly Price to arrive at the price billed to the client.
ℹ️ Note: Markup is entered per line, as a percentage only. There is no single markup percentage applied to the whole invoice, and no default markup setting, so it must be entered manually on every bill or timesheet line.
ℹ️ Note: Cost Plus invoices do not support change orders/variations, allowance differences, or custom lines. Bills and timesheets are the only items that can be added to this invoice type.
Step 5. Add the Final Details to the Invoice
Closing Text – any information you would like to share with the client after the charges. You can manually enter text in this field, and it will be shown on the client-facing document.
Terms and Conditions – select an existing Terms and Conditions template or create a new one. These templates are saved in Buildern Company Settings > Terms and Conditions, and will also be shown on the client-facing document.
Payment History – if a payment has already been submitted by the customer, you can add it upfront during invoice creation.
Step 6. Preview the Invoice and Customize the Layout
Once you have added all the necessary details to your invoice, you can preview it before sending it to your client.
By clicking on the “Preview” button, you will be able to see what the invoice will look like to the client.
ℹ️ Note: Cost Plus does not have a dedicated layout template like the AIA-style template available for Schedule of Values invoices. Cost Plus invoices use Buildern’s standard default invoice template.
The layout customization allows builders to limit or expand the things they want to show on the invoice. Buildern offers Quick Setup options to enable or disable certain section toggles to hide or show to the client. For example, if you only want to display the introduction text but would prefer to hide the closing text, you have the option to do so in the layout customization settings.
You can also customize the columns by hiding and showing items you want your clients to see on the invoice. For instance, you can leave the cost codes, quantity, and unit price visible while opting to hide the tax columns.
💡 Tip: Buildern also allows you to build custom invoice templates using available placeholders, giving you full control over how your Cost Plus invoices look to clients.
Step 7. Send the Invoice
Once you have finalized the invoice, you can send it to your client with just a few clicks.
In the “Send” tab, you can select project clients and customize the subject line and the message using pre-made placeholders. You can also select from a pre-defined email template, which you can create in Buildern Company Settings > Email Templates.
Buildern allows you to attach a PDF version of your invoice to the email and also send a copy to yourself to ensure everything is correct.
Once you send the invoice, it will appear among your other invoices with the Pending status.
In upcoming articles, we’ll explore more features and tools to help you get even more out of Buildern.
Happy Building!