TIM-03Service / PSAUser

How to Bill Tracked Time on an Invoice in CrmLeaf

All editions. Core feature — no add-on required. Billing tracked time through a completed milestone uses milestone invoicing.

Part 5 · Tasks, Time and Collaboration10 min readIncludes a Service / PSA lens

Availability: All editions. Core feature — no add-on required. Billing tracked time through a completed milestone uses milestone invoicing.

Overview

Tracked time in CrmLeaf is not only a record of effort; it is billable input. Time logged against a billable task produces billable earnings from an hourly rate, and that time pulls directly into an invoice, so client work does not have to be re-entered by hand.

This article covers how to get from logged time to an invoice line, and the conditions that decide whether time is eligible.

How It Works

Billability is decided at the task, earnings come from an hourly rate, and the invoice pulls the eligible time.

Mark task billable → Log time → Approve → Create invoice from time → Send to client

The task's billable option is what makes its time eligible. Time on a non-billable task stays internal.
Billable earnings are computed from an hourly rate applied to the logged time, so hours become an amount.
An invoice can be created from billable time logs, in the same way it can be created from billable expenses.
Billable time can also be added to an invoice that already exists: from a time log, use Add to Invoice to attach it to one of that client's open (unpaid or draft) invoices, instead of only building a brand-new invoice from selected time.
Time logs are attached grouped by task, and only invoices belonging to the same client are offered. If no eligible open invoice exists for that client, the option offers to create a new time-based invoice instead.
An attached time log can also be removed from an invoice, which recalculates the invoice's total. Both attaching and removing are only possible while the invoice is unpaid or draft; a partial, paid or canceled invoice cannot be changed this way.
On a recurring invoice, your Administrator can turn on account-wide settings that automatically attach that period's eligible billable time (and separately, billable expenses) to each new invoice the recurring schedule generates, so nothing has to be added by hand every cycle.
Milestone invoicing collects a milestone's approved but unbilled billable time logs, together with approved but unbilled material requisitions, into one client invoice. Amounts come from the underlying billable work rather than a flat milestone price.
Once billed, source records are stamped with the invoice, so the same time cannot be billed twice.
Invoice statuses are draft, unpaid, partial, paid and canceled.

Who Can Use This Feature?

User

Mark a task billable so the time logged on it can be billed.
Log and review billable time.
Create an invoice from billable time logs and send it to the client.
Invoice a completed milestone that has approved but unbilled billable time.

Access depends on the modules and role assigned by your Administrator.

Prerequisites

The task must be marked billable before its time is expected to be billable.
An hourly rate must be in place for billable earnings to be calculated.
The time logs should be approved, because milestone invoicing collects approved but unbilled billable time.
The project must have a client, and for milestone invoicing the milestone must be complete and not already invoiced.

For Users

Step 1: Confirm the work is billable before it starts

Go to: Work → Tasks

Open the task and confirm it is marked billable. Doing this before the work starts avoids reclassifying time later.

Step 2: Log and get the time approved

Go to: Work → Timesheet

Log the time with the timer, or manually where the project allows it, and submit the week for approval. Approved billable time is what invoicing draws on.

Step 3: Create the invoice from billable time

Go to: Sales → Invoices

What to do: Select Add and create the invoice for the client, drawing in the project's billable time logs. Complete every mandatory field before saving.

What to verify: Confirm the invoice amount reflects the logged hours and the hourly rate, and that the currency and tax are correct for the client.

Step 4: Or attach time to an invoice that already exists

Go to: Work → Timesheet, open a billable time log, then select Add to Invoice

What to do: Choose one of the client's open invoices from the list, or, if none is offered, create a new time-based invoice from the prompt shown.

What to verify: The invoice total increases by the time log's billable amount, and the time log no longer shows as unbilled.

Step 5: Bill through a completed milestone where you use milestone billing

Go to: Work → Milestones

What to do: With the milestone complete, use milestone invoicing to gather its approved but unbilled billable time logs and material requisitions into an invoice preview, then create the client invoice.

What to verify: Confirm the milestone is marked invoiced and the source records are stamped with the invoice.

Step 6: Send the invoice and track payment

Send the invoice to the client. Its status moves from unpaid to partial or paid as payments are recorded.

Expected Result

The invoice is created for the client with amounts derived from the logged billable hours and the hourly rate. The billed time logs are stamped with the invoice so they cannot be billed again, and a milestone billed this way is marked invoiced.

Service / PSA lens

Why This Matters for Service Organisations

The most common revenue leak in a service organisation is work that was delivered, recorded and never invoiced. Billing tracked time closes that gap by making the invoice a consequence of the delivery record rather than a separate exercise in a spreadsheet. It also gives the firm a line of evidence from an invoice amount back to the person, the day and the task the hours were spent on, which is what settles a client query without a negotiation.

How It Supports Professional Services

The task's billable flag decides eligibility, so the classification made when the engagement was planned is the classification that bills. Time on internal or non-chargeable tasks stays out of the client's invoice.
Billable earnings are computed from an hourly rate applied to the logged time, so hours become an amount without re-keying.
An invoice can be created from billable timelogs by the same route as billable expenses, which is how a firm bills a month of time-and-materials work plus recoverable costs in one document.
Time does not have to ride along with the invoice's original creation: it can be attached to (or removed from) any of a client's still-open invoices afterward, which fits a firm that keeps one running invoice per client per period rather than issuing a fresh document for every catch-up.
Recurring engagements can be set to auto-add that period's billable time (and billable expenses) to every generated invoice, account-wide, which removes the manual step a retainer would otherwise repeat every cycle.
Milestone invoicing collects a completed milestone's approved but unbilled billable timelogs, together with approved but unbilled material requisitions, and the amount comes from that underlying work rather than a flat milestone price.
Billed source records are stamped with the invoice, so the same hour cannot reach two invoices — the control that makes time-based billing auditable across a long engagement.

Typical Service Workflow

Time → Approval → Invoice → Client → Payment

This is the billing stage. CrmLeaf links billable timelogs and billable expenses onto an invoice, and links a completed milestone to the approved unbilled work beneath it. For fixed-fee engagements the accepted-estimate route creates an unpaid invoice instead; CrmLeaf does not record a billing model on the project, so a firm decides per engagement which route it uses.

Other Product-Type Use Cases

Contractors and installers use the same milestone route to bill a completed stage from its approved labour and materials, and internal teams can bill time between organisations in the same account where that is how they recharge.

How to Submit and Approve Weekly Timesheets — approval is what makes time available to bill.
How to Create and Send Invoices — the invoice the billable time lands on.
How to Invoice a Completed Project Milestone — bills a stage from its approved unbilled work.
How to Manage Expenses and Reimbursements — recoverable costs billed by the same mechanism.
How to Use Finance and Income vs Expense Reports — where billed value is reviewed.

Important Notes

Menu names and their position can differ between product editions and can be customised for your account, so your sidebar may not match these paths exactly. Use Search or your Quick Access items if you cannot find a screen.
Break time is excluded from tracked hours, so it is not billed.
Milestone invoicing requires the milestone to be complete, the project to have a client, and the milestone not to have been invoiced already.
Milestone invoice amounts come from the underlying billable work, not from a flat milestone price.
Where the Manufacture module is enabled, the milestone invoice preview also shows BOQ utilisation of planned against used and remaining quantities.
Time already stamped with an invoice will not appear again for billing. Use a credit note if an invoice must be corrected.
Attaching or removing billable time on an existing invoice only works while that invoice is unpaid or draft. Once it is partial, paid or canceled, use a credit note instead.
Auto-adding billable time and expenses to recurring invoices is an account-wide setting in Invoice Settings. It applies to every recurring invoice generated after it is turned on; it is not configured per recurring invoice template.

Common Scenarios

Example: monthly time and materials billing. An agency marks all client tasks billable, approves timesheets weekly, and at month end raises one invoice per client from the approved billable time.

Example: milestone billing on a build. A contractor completes a milestone, then invoices it. The invoice gathers the milestone's approved but unbilled billable time logs and its approved but unbilled material requisitions in one document.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Possible Cause	Resolution
Logged time does not appear for billing	The task is not marked billable.	Mark the task billable. Confirm with your Administrator how existing logs should be treated.
The hours are right but the amount is zero	No hourly rate is in place for the billable time.	Ask your Administrator to confirm the hourly rate used for billable earnings.
Time cannot be billed a second time	The time log is already stamped with an invoice, which prevents double billing.	This is expected. Correct the original invoice or issue a credit note.
A milestone cannot be invoiced	The milestone is not complete, the project has no client, or the milestone has already been invoiced.	Complete the milestone, attach a client to the project, and check whether an invoice already exists.
The milestone invoice is lower than expected	Some billable time logs are not yet approved, so they are not collected.	Have the outstanding timesheets approved, then invoice.
Add to Invoice offers no invoices to choose from.	The client has no `unpaid` or `draft` invoice, or the time log's currency or project does not match any of them.	Use the create-a-new-invoice prompt shown in the same dialog, or raise a matching invoice first.
A time log cannot be removed from an invoice.	The invoice is no longer `unpaid` or `draft`.	Correct the amount with a credit note instead.
Recurring invoices are not picking up billable time or expenses automatically.	The account-wide auto-add settings in Invoice Settings are turned off.	Ask an Administrator to enable Auto-Add Billable Timelogs and/or Auto-Add Billable Expenses in Invoice Settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does marking a task billable set a price?

No. It makes the time eligible. The amount comes from the hourly rate applied to the logged time.

Can the same time be billed twice?

No. Billed source records are stamped with the invoice so nothing is billed twice.

Can I bill time and expenses on one invoice?

Invoices can be created from billable time logs and from billable expenses. Confirm the combination you need on the invoice before sending.

Must time be approved before it is billed?

Milestone invoicing collects approved but unbilled billable time, so approve time before billing.

Can I add time to an invoice after it has already been created?

Yes, as long as the invoice is still unpaid or draft. Use Add to Invoice from the time log. It can also be removed the same way while the invoice is still in one of those two statuses.

Can recurring invoices add billable time automatically?

Yes, if an Administrator turns on the auto-add setting in Invoice Settings. It is an account-wide switch that applies to every recurring invoice going forward, not a per-template option.

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