Software agency · Finance
Time and materials invoicing
Send monthly invoices that clients pay instead of question. Hours are checked against the budget before anything goes out, an AI agent drafts the hours report, and the client approves the hours through a shared link before the invoice exists.
- Duration: 3 to 7 days
- How often: Every month, for every time and materials project
- Steps: 7 steps
- AI agents: 1 AI agent
- Approvals: 2 approvals
Free plan, no credit card needed.
What changes with this template
Without it
Invoices go out with one total of hours and no explanation.
The client questions the hours after the invoice is sent.
The budget runs out without warning.
The project manager loses a day each month writing hours reports.
With it
The client gets an hours report per feature, with what was delivered.
The client approves the hours, or questions them, before the invoice exists.
Every monthly report shows the budget used so far.
An AI agent drafts the report, and the project manager checks it.
The template, step by step
Each step says who does it: someone on your team, an AI agent, or the client through a shared link. An approval keeps every later step locked until it is given.
- Done by your team
- Done by an AI agent
- Done by the client, through a shared link
Starts when
The month ends for a project billed on time and materials. The project manager starts a run with the client, the project and the month.
- 1
Close the month's timesheets
Hidden from the shared linkDay 1Project manager · Team
Make sure every developer has entered their hours for the month, with a ticket or task on every entry, and link the time report.
Checklist
- Every developer has entered their hours
- Every entry linked to a ticket
- Non-billable hours marked
Fields to fill in
- Link to the time report (required)
- Billable hours (required)
- Non-billable hours
- 2
Check the hours against budget and scope
Hidden from the shared linkDay 2Project manager · Team
Compare the hours with the budget, the agreed rates and the work delivered. Move hours spent fixing your own defects to warranty, and note anything the client should hear before the invoice.
Checklist
- Hours match the work delivered
- Warranty hours moved out
- Rates match the contract
Fields to fill in
- Hours per feature or ticket group (required)
- Budget used so far in percent (required)
- Notes for the client
- 3
Draft the hours report
Day 2Hours report writer · AI agent
The hours report writer drafts the client's monthly report from the figures and notes on the run: hours per feature, what was delivered, the budget used so far and the outlook for next month.
Fields to fill in
- Draft hours report (required)
Checked by: The project manager checks every figure and approves the report in step 4.
- 4
Approve the hours report
Day 3Project manager · Team
Check every figure in the draft against the time report, correct the wording, then approve it and email the final report to the client.
Checklist
- Figures match the time report
- Delivered work described in client terms
- Budget outlook realistic
Fields to fill in
- Link to the final hours report (required)
Approval: The approval step for the client stays locked until the project manager approves the hours report.
- 5
Client approves the hours
Days 3 to 5Client contact · Shared link
The client reads the hours report the project manager emailed and, through the shared link, approves the hours or lists the entries they question.
Fields to fill in
- Decision (required)
- Entries in question
- Purchase order number
- 6
Settle questions and confirm the hours to invoice
Hidden from the shared linkDays 4 to 6Project manager · Team
Explain or correct every entry the client questioned and record what was agreed. Then confirm the total to invoice.
Checklist
- Every question answered
- Agreed total confirmed with the client
Fields to fill in
- Hours to invoice (required)
- What was agreed
Approval: No invoice is sent until the project manager confirms the hours to invoice.
- 7
Send the invoice
Days 5 to 7Finance manager · Team
Create the invoice for the confirmed hours with the purchase order number, send it and record the due date.
Checklist
- Hours and rate match the confirmed total
- Purchase order number on the invoice
- Sent to the client's invoice address
Fields to fill in
- Invoice number (required)
- Invoice amount (required)
- Payment due (required)
Done when
The client has approved the hours, and the invoice for them is sent with its due date on record.
Make it yours. Rename steps, change owners and add checklist items, fields or approvals. The template is a starting point for the way your team works.
The AI agents in this template
An agent only works on its own steps, and a person on your team checks what it did. Anything an agent writes to a connected app waits for approval unless you allow it.
Hours report writer
Turns the month's hours and notes into a report the client can read.
What it does
- Reads the hours, budget figures and notes on the run
- Groups the hours by feature or ticket group
- Writes what was delivered and the outlook for next month
- Completes its step, so the project manager can review
Checked by: The project manager checks every figure and approves the report in step 4.
Questions this template answers
Check the month's hours against the budget and the work delivered, send a clear hours report, and invoice only what the client has seen. This template does that in order, from closing the timesheets in step 1 to sending the invoice in step 7.
Show the hours per feature with what was delivered, and let the client question entries before the invoice exists. In step 5 the client approves the hours or lists the entries they question through the shared link, and step 6 settles them before anything is invoiced.
Hours per feature or ticket group, what was delivered, the budget used so far and an outlook for the coming month. In step 3 the hours report writer drafts exactly that from the figures on the run, and in step 4 the project manager checks every number.
Compare the hours with the budget every month and say it in the report, not when the budget is gone. In step 2 the project manager records the budget used so far and notes for the client, and the hours report in step 3 includes both.
Let AI turn the hours and notes into a readable report, and keep the figures and the invoice with people. The hours report writer drafts it in step 3, and step 4 is an approval gate where the project manager checks it before the client sees it.
Check every month which hours went to fixing your own defects and move them to warranty. Step 2 has that check on its list, and step 6 is an approval gate that holds the invoice until the project manager confirms the hours to invoice.
Run this workflow in OKiDO
Set up the steps, owners and approvals once, then start a run for every new case.