[GNC] Construction Billing By Project

[Adrien Monteleone]

That sounds outside of GnuCash's scope, but I could be mistaken. You 
might fare better with less stress finding a solution with a different 
software package for billing, and then import the resulting invoices in 
GnuCash for accounting and AR management.

*note, 'Jobs' in GnuCash are really misnamed. They are more of a 
Purchase Order. And note that a Job for a Vendor, even if it has the 
same name, is *not* the same as a Job for a Customer. They do not link.

There is also (not yet) a relatively painless way of reporting say a P&L 
for a single Job. (but if the P&L report ever adds the filter/tag 
options that the Transaction Report has, that would be gravy) It isn't 
that it can't currently be done, but it isn't obvious how to achieve it, 
and it will still take some manipulating of reports in a spreadsheet 
outside of GnuCash at some point.

Regards,
Adrien

On 7/27/23 3:43 AM, Angela Haggerty wrote:
> Firstly, it's past 3 AM and I am arguing with myself on how to enter
> construction projects into GNUCash for a bookkeeping LLC client. This may
> have been asked before but I did not find it in the search of terms I used.
> This may not be the proper place to post feature ideas but again it's 3 AM
> and I want this out of my head before I fall asleep and forget. :)
> 
> Secondly, the stunning idea that hit me tonight! Currently, GNUCash can
> link invoices, payments, and customer-billed liabilities to one another in
> lots, but it does not link expenses in this process. I have to go in and
> build lots for each job in the cash account they are paid from. If there
> was a way to link expenses to the invoices or build on the lot system to
> add a column to the register to enter a lot ID or other mechanism to link
> expenses to invoices and payments as they are entered it would make billing
> for my construction client a LOT easier and more streamlined.
> 
> At this time, the client sends job sheets after the project's completion
> unless we are close to year-end. And sorting through the job sheet while
> switching between expense windows and invoice windows is tedious,
> time-consuming, and an accounting disaster waiting to happen. It is also
> more difficult to advise the client which tickets and jobs are profitable
> if they are not connected in some way in the accounting system. This wasn't
> such an issue before but I have noticed growing numbers of clients picking
> up side hustles and gig work in this economy so there is more need now for
> a project system in GNUCash in my opinion.