Billing
Why invoice drafts should start with approved time
Connect approval and invoicing so the billing desk starts with work the team has already reviewed.
A draft should not restart the review
When invoice preparation begins with raw time, the billing desk becomes the final detective. Descriptions get rewritten, rates are questioned, and missing approvals interrupt work that should already be moving toward the customer.
Starting with approved time separates operational review from invoice presentation. The draft becomes a packaging step, not another round of reconstruction.
Approval creates a useful boundary
Before approval, the team can correct ownership, duration, matter codes, billable status, and supporting detail. After approval, those facts should remain stable unless someone intentionally reopens the record.
That boundary gives finance a dependable source and creates a visible trail when changes are genuinely required.
Build the handoff into the system
Approved entries should flow directly into a draft grouped the way the customer expects to see the work. Rates, taxes, retainers, and billing rules can then be applied consistently.
The result is faster drafting, fewer internal questions, and invoices that are easier for customers to understand and trust.
