Completeness
- Delivered hours, fixed fees and expenses land fully on the project.
- The realisation rate shows what is billable.
- No billable work is quietly lost.
Billing process: how do we convert work into revenue quickly and completely?
In many professional services firms the billing process holds the fastest win. Complete time capture, clear billing rules, short cycle time and a reliable forecast improve revenue, margin and liquidity at the same time.
The levers
Three levers that turn into cash in the billing process
The billing process holds the fastest win because it moves three things at once: completeness, speed and prediction.
Speed
- Invoices come out of project data, in days not weeks.
- Every day saved shortens receivables.
- Short cycle time means better liquidity.
Forecast
- Open orders and pipeline create a revenue forecast.
- Planning confidence instead of gut feel.
- Expected revenue becomes a fixed steering figure.
The pain
Where the billing process leaves money on the table
- Delivered work is not captured completely, billable hours are quietly lost.
- Invoices go out late, every waiting day adds exactly that day to receivables.
- Hours are copied by hand from a list into an invoice form, with typos.
- Open items are dunned from memory, often too late.
- Expected revenue is gut feel instead of a solid number.
- ZUGFeRD and XRechnung are separate side projects instead of a standard.
Most of this costs no new client, only a better process.
The flow
Six steps from work to payment
The billing process runs through several modules. What matters is that the data travels from step to step without a break.
- 1
Time and work capture
Hours, fixed fees, materials and travel cost are booked on the project promptly, ideally daily, weekly at the latest.
- 2
Approval
Managers review and approve hours before the invoice is created. Disputed entries return with a comment.
- 3
Invoice proposal
Approved work and the stored billing rules produce an invoice proposal per client, project or contract.
- 4
Review and send
Project lead or finance reviews the invoice and sends it as PDF or as ZUGFeRD and XRechnung to the client or portal.
- 5
Open items and dunning
Open receivables run through multi-stage dunning. With the online banking interface teamspace reconciles incoming payments daily.
- 6
Analysis
Forecast, margin per client, realisation rate and cycle time flow into the reports and into business steering.
The value flow
Delivered work becomes revenue paid.
This is the core of the billing process: a booked hour travels across several modules until it lands as a payment on the account. Each station hands the value to the next, without export and without double entry.
Work delivered Revenue paid
- Time tracking 01
33 h · 88% billable
captured - Work becomes revenue Invoicing 02
RE-2026-0518 · 6.223 €
invoiced - E-invoicing 03
ZUGFeRD · PDF + XML
sent - Dunning 04
open item · stage 1
open - Payment 05
payment reconciled
paid
One record travels on: every hour becomes a document, every document a payment. No export, no broken handoff.
The handoff
Approved hours become the invoice.
The biggest jump in the billing process sits between the time list and the invoice form. Instead of copying line items by hand, teamspace turns approved work into an invoice proposal that finance only reviews and sends.
- Approved hours, fixed fees and travel cost land in the proposal directly, with no CSV export and no double entry.
- What is billable stays visible: delivered and billable hours sit side by side, nobody gives away work by accident.
- The posting records go straight into the DATEV cloud through the certified interface, including cost centres.
Billing logic
Bill the way the contract requires.
Rarely does a client fit a single template. teamspace stores on the order how each line item turns into money and when it falls due. So time and material, fixed price and fixed fee sit side by side even in a mixed contract.
- Three billing types per line item: by booked effort, as a fixed price, or as a recurring duration.
- Several billing modes per order: by rules, manually, through a payment plan, or tied to a project status.
- A filter shows what is ready to bill right now, instead of hunting for everything at quarter end.
The difference
Billing the classic way and with teamspace
Feature
Billing tool and spreadsheets
teamspace billing process
Recommended Work capture
Hours in spreadsheets, consolidated by hand
Hours, fees and expenses at the project, approved
Invoice creation
each invoice by hand, high error rate
Invoice proposal from project data, review instead of typing
E-invoicing
separate tools, often only PDF
ZUGFeRD and XRechnung from day one
Dunning
from memory, often too late
four dunning stages with custom text, automated run
Incoming payment
reconcile the bank statement by hand
daily reconciliation through the online banking interface
DATEV handover
CSV, manual
certified interface straight into the DATEV cloud
Forecast
gut feel
revenue forecast from open orders and pipeline
E-invoicing
ZUGFeRD and XRechnung are a standard, not a side project.
The electronic invoice is no longer optional in Germany. teamspace creates it hybrid and compliant, so the recipient decides which format to process further.
- ZUGFeRD is a PDF with embedded XML, readable by humans and machines.
- XRechnung is the pure XML format that invoices to German public authorities require.
- Since 2025 companies must be able to receive e-invoices; sending becomes mandatory in stages from 2027 and 2028. teamspace can do both from day one.
Open items
See open items, dun early and politely.
As soon as an invoice goes out, it becomes an open item. teamspace shows the document overview by status, from open through due to overdue and action needed, with colour dots in a list.
- Four dunning stages from the payment reminder to collection, each with its own deadline, fee, agent and text.
- An automated dunning run tracks due receivables on a fixed cadence, nobody keeps a manual follow-up list.
- The online banking interface reconciles incoming payments daily, so the receivables balance stays current.
Maturity
From ad hoc to same-day at the press of a button
Maturity does not show in the size of your invoicing software, but in the degree of automation. The decisive jump sits between manual transfer and an invoice from project data.
- 0
unplanned
Invoices issued ad hoc, often at quarter end. Completeness cannot be verified.
- 1
manual
Invoices in Word or spreadsheets, hours collected separately.
- 2
structured
Invoicing software in use, time capture separate, line items copied by hand.
- 3
assisted
Hours and projects as the source, invoice proposal with review, ZUGFeRD and XRechnung.
- 4
automated
Invoices by billing rules, multi-stage dunning, DATEV export, forecast.
- 5
end to end
Same-day cycle, automated dunning run, daily reconciliation of incoming payments.
Steering
The KPIs that steer the billing process
Revenue (actual)
Sum of all invoices issued per period, split by client, project and service. The core performance metric.
Invoice cycle time
Time from work delivered to invoice issued. The shorter, the better for liquidity.
Realisation rate
Billable hours over total hours. Exposes hidden project losses.
Revenue forecast
Expected revenue based on open orders with remaining work and the weighted sales pipeline.
Receivables balance
Open items by due date show how much money is waiting for payment. The KPI behind it is Days Sales Outstanding.
Share of ZUGFeRD and XRechnung
Share of electronically sent, machine-processable invoices. Mandatory for authorities, increasingly the standard in B2B.
Where you stand
What maturity does your billing process have today?
In a short intro call we place your process on the maturity scale and point out the biggest concrete lever, from time capture to incoming payment.
The building blocks that carry the billing process
The billing process is not a single module but the interplay of several. Each block hands the value on to the next.
Time and work capture
Hours, fixed fees and expenses are booked and approved at the project.
Learn moreOrder billing
Orders with billing rules, partial invoices, final invoice and advance payments.
Learn moreDATEV export
Posting records straight into the DATEV cloud, including cost centres.
“I save a lot of time writing invoices.”
“Staff in both support and project planning can see orders and invoices. That was not possible before.”
What you can rely on when billing
The target picture
Days instead of weeks, complete instead of selective.
A high-maturity billing process is fast, complete and predictable. Hours are current, invoices come out of project data, ZUGFeRD and XRechnung are standard, dunning runs on a fixed cadence and the forecast becomes a fixed figure in steering.
Getting there needs no new client and no bigger team. It needs a process in which every hour is captured completely, becomes an invoice without a break and turns into payment without delay. Administration becomes lived liquidity steering.
Frequently asked questions about the billing process
What is the billing process?
The billing process covers every step that turns delivered work into paid revenue: time capture, approval, invoicing, sending as an e-invoice, dunning and payment reconciliation. For professional services it decides liquidity and margin, because every uncaptured hour and every day of delay costs money directly.
What does DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) mean?
Days Sales Outstanding is the average number of days between issuing an invoice and receiving payment. The lower the value, the faster an invoice turns into liquidity. In the billing process you lower DSO mainly through short invoice cycle times and consistent dunning.
We invoice at month end today. What is the problem?
Cashflow. Every day between work and invoice adds exactly that day to receivables, and waiting until month end ties up those days as liquidity. On top of that, the risk of incomplete capture rises with an infrequent batch, and billable work gets lost.
What is the difference between ZUGFeRD and XRechnung?
ZUGFeRD is a hybrid format, a PDF with embedded XML, readable by humans and machines. XRechnung is a pure XML format, required for invoices to German public authorities. teamspace creates both, the recipient decides.
What does the German e-invoicing obligation mean for our B2B business?
Since 2025 companies in Germany must be able to receive and archive e-invoices. Sending becomes mandatory in stages, from 2027 for companies above 800,000 euro revenue and from 2028 for all. teamspace receives and creates ZUGFeRD and XRechnung from day one.
How reliable is the revenue forecast really?
It is as reliable as its data. What needs to be kept clean are open orders with remaining work and the weighted sales pipeline. From these teamspace builds a revenue forecast. The pipeline forecast through the sales funnel is part of the enterprise edition.
Does the realisation rate really help us in practice?
Yes, it is one of the most valuable KPIs. When it drops, invisible project losses appear. A realisation rate of 80 instead of 95 percent means 15 percent of the delivered hours are not billed. For a business that lives on staff cost, that hits the margin directly.
How do billing rules that vary by client fit the process?
teamspace knows several billing models: time and material, fixed price, fixed fee, maintenance subscription, tickets against a contingent and mixed contracts. Each order or contract carries its model, and the right invoice proposal is generated automatically.
Other processes
Billing is only one of seven core processes. Here are the other six:
Sales process
How do we consistently win the right work?
Project delivery process
How do we deliver projects reliably and profitably?
Cost control process
How do we keep costs and liquidity under control?
Customer care process
How do we keep clients long term and profitable?
Workforce process
How do we deploy people sensibly and well utilised?
Business steering
How do we lead the firm on current data?
How many days sit between work and invoice today?
In a 15 to 30 minute intro call we place your billing process on the maturity model and outline the biggest concrete lever.