Progress Bills
After creating a Progress Bill Retainer, use this article to add time and expenses, check payment status, edit, and archive or delete.
Why it matters: The value of a Progress Bill is in keeping it current — applying work as it's logged and monitoring the retainer balance so you always know where the engagement stands.
Required: Access to Time & Billing Permissions
💡 Experimental Feature: Progress Bill Retainers are currently available as an experimental feature and must be enabled before use. See [How to Create a Progress Bill Retainer] to get started.
Table of Contents
Add Time to a Progress Bill
A time entry must already be saved for the client before it can be added to a Progress Bill.
Go to Time > WIP Report.
Select the client the time was logged for.
Check the box next to each time entry you want to add.
Click Add to Invoice > Add to Progress Bill.
Select the Progress Bill from the side panel.
You can click View Progress Bill from this panel to review the current balance before adding.
Click Add.
Review and adjust details as needed — rates, descriptions, and dates can all be updated here.
Click Save to apply the time to the Progress Bill.
Repeat to continue adding WIP. Click Send when you're ready to bill the client.
📝 Note: Applied WIP is removed from the WIP report. The Progress Bill displays how much of the retainer has been used and how much remains — amounts that exceed the retainer balance display in red. WIP cannot be auto-linked to a Progress Bill.
Add Time and Expenses to a Progress Bill
A Progress Bill must be active in order to add Time and Expenses.
Go to Billing > Invoices > Progress Bills.
Open the Progress Bill.
Click Add Expenses.
Add line items as you would for a traditional invoice.
Click Save or Send.
Track Payment Status
You can check whether a client has paid the retainer invoice from two places.
From the Progress Bills table (Billing > Invoices > Progress Bills):
Waiting for Payment — retainer invoice has not been paid
In Progress — retainer invoice has been paid
From the Invoices table (Billing > Invoices):
Locate the Progress Bill # column.
If populated, the invoice is a Progress Bill retainer invoice.
If blank, it's a standard invoice.
Edit a Progress Bill
Progress Bills can only be edited if the retainer invoice has not been fully paid.
Open the retainer invoice and click Edit — or go to Billing > Invoices > Progress Bills and click the Progress Bill ID.
Update the retainer invoice details, or add and adjust WIP and line items as needed.
Totals display in red if applied work exceeds the retainer amount.
Click Save.
Archive or Delete a Progress Bill
Archive a Progress Bill
Archiving cancels the Progress Bill and makes it view-only. Use this if a project is no longer moving forward.
Go to Billing > Invoices.
Locate the retainer invoice.
Select the invoice and click the archive icon.
Archived Progress Bills can not be deleted unless the associated payments are deleted.
📝 Note: If the retainer invoice was paid before archiving, associated WIP remains on the Progress Bill but is disabled. To return that WIP to the WIP report: unarchive the invoice, remove the WIP, then re-archive.
Delete a Progress Bill
A Progress Bill can only be deleted after it has been archived, and all associated payments must be removed first.
Cash, Check, or Other payments: delete the payment.
Credit, Debit, or ACH payments: refund the payment.
Pay a Retainer Invoice
Skip this section if your client is paying through the Client Portal.
Retainer invoices can be paid the same ways as standard invoices: through the Client Portal, from the Invoices table, from the Payments page, or by applying an existing credit.
To apply a credit as payment:
Create a credit for a service item (for example, Deposit).
Go to the Credits page and apply the credit to the retainer invoice.
Summary
Managing a Progress Bill means applying WIP as work is completed, monitoring the retainer balance, and updating details as the engagement evolves. Use the archive workflow to cancel a Progress Bill if a project doesn't move forward.
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