A write off closes a job or phase without raising a real invoice, for work you know you will never bill. It creates a zero-value invoice in place of a normal one, takes the outstanding costs out of your WIP (work in progress, meaning costs recorded but not yet invoiced), and closes the job.
This article covers how to create a write off, including writing off multiple jobs for a client in one go.
When to use a write off
There are two common reasons to write off a job or phase:
- The work cannot be billed. Additional work was carried out, but it is clear no invoice will be raised for it. The cost needs removing from WIP so the job can close.
- Part invoicing was left open. Part invoices were raised, but the final invoice was never marked as Final. The job stays open even though the billing is effectively finished.
Both scenarios end the same way: outstanding costs are written off and the job or phase closes. Scenario 2 is the more common case for batch write offs, covered below.
How to create a write off
A write off is created from the job's Invoices tab using a dedicated Write-off option.
- Navigate to the job or phase you want to write off.
- Go to the Invoices tab.
- Select New, then New Write-off.
- Review the Allocated costs and Phase allocations tabs.
- Tick Ready for approval.
- If you have approval access, tick Approved and make the write off real.
Writing off multiple jobs for a client
You can batch write off several jobs for the same client in one go. This is particularly useful for scenario 2 above, where a client has a few part-invoiced jobs left open. There are two ways to do it.
From the client record
- Go to the client record's Jobs tab.
- Tick the jobs to include.
- Select Write-off.
- Tick Ready for approval and follow the same approval and confirmation process as above.
From the Completed Jobs to be closed list
- Open the Completed Jobs to be closed list view.
- Select the jobs to include.
- Select Draft invoice, then change the type to Write-off.
- Select Create.
The draft write off is created on the client record's Invoices tab. From here, tick Ready for approval and follow the same approval and confirmation process as above.
Each write off created this way behaves like a standard draft: you can review it, edit the free-text detail, and confirm it to make it real, the same as writing off a single job.
What happens to the costs
When a cost is written off:
- It is removed from your WIP reports, as at the sales invoice date.
- It does not contribute to the invoice total, unlike ticking a cost off as billed.
- The job or phase is marked Completed and Final once the write off is made real.
Understanding Investment
Synergist calculates Investment at the point you create a write off. Investment is the difference between what Synergist recommends you charge, based on timesheets, purchase orders and expenses recorded, and what you have actually invoiced. A negative Investment figure is good news, meaning you have invoiced more than the recommended charge.
Find out more about how Investment is calculated in Closing a Job.
Tips
- Use batch write off from the client record when several part-invoiced jobs are stuck open. It saves working through them one by one.
- Double-check your ticket costs before confirming the draft. Once real, only free-text fields can be changed.
- A negative Investment figure after a write off is a good sign. It means your invoicing covered more than the recommended charge.
- Keep write off numbering separate and easy to spot by checking the prefix set in Company Parameters.