Client finance records
Every client seems to want invoices a different way. One pays only through a portal that needs a PO number in a specific field. Another wants a PDF emailed to ap@ with a timesheet attached. A third still wants paper posted to a billing address that is not the office you visit. When those rules live in old email threads or one person's memory, invoices get sent the wrong way, bounce back, or sit unpaid for weeks. This page is about keeping one short, reliable playbook per client: exactly how to invoice them, where it goes, what login to use, what reference fields and attachments are mandatory, and what file format they accept. It is operational delivery instructions only — it is the "how and where to send it" record, not the client's legal name and payment terms (that is the billing profile) and not a running tally of who has paid.
The problem
An invoice can be completely correct on the numbers and still fail to get paid, simply because it was submitted the wrong way. The submission rules for B2B clients are fiddly, client-specific, and easy to forget between billing cycles. When they are not written down in one place, the cost is real: rejected uploads, invoices emailed to a person who left the company, and payment clocks that never start because the invoice never reached the right inbox or portal.
The workflow
Create one short instructions record per client inside that client's folder, sitting alongside their billing profile and billing contacts. The goal is that whoever sends the next invoice can open this one record and know exactly what to do, with nothing left to memory. Here is a practical order to build it.
Note the single primary channel this client requires: AP portal, email, or post. If they accept more than one, mark which is preferred and which is a fallback. Example: 'Primary: Coupa portal. Fallback (portal down): email ap@northgate.example with subject INV + PO#.' This one field prevents the most common mistake — sending a portal-only client a PDF that never gets processed.
For portal clients, write down the precise login URL and which login identity to use — not the password, just which account. Example: 'URL: supplier.coupahost.com/northgate. Log in as the HELPERG LLC supplier account (vendor ID NG-44821), not a personal email login.' Add any first-time setup note, like 'invoices must be raised against an open PO, not free-text.'
Spell out each field the client mandates on the invoice or in the portal, with an example value. Example: 'PO number (format PO-XXXXXX, mandatory), cost center (e.g. CC-Marketing-204), our vendor ID NG-44821, and the project code from the SOW.' Missing one of these is the quietest reason an invoice stalls.
Note exactly what must travel with the invoice and where it lives. Example: 'Attach the approved PO (in /Clients/Northgate/POs) and the signed monthly timesheet (in /Clients/Northgate/Timesheets). Northgate rejects any invoice without both.' Link or name the source records so the sender does not hunt for them.
State the file format and structure the client accepts. Example: 'Machine-readable PDF only — no scanned images. One line per PO line; do not combine multiple POs on one invoice.' If the portal wants a specific template or CSV layout, note that and attach a blank copy of the template to the record.
Add a short 'last confirmed' note with the date and who verified it (for example, against the client's onboarding email or AP instructions). Before sending each invoice, open this record and tick through channel, fields, attachments, and format. When a client changes a rule, update the record and re-date it so the playbook never drifts out of sync with reality.
Record structure
These are the metadata fields that make up one client's invoicing-instructions record. Keep them procedural — how and where to send, what must be on it. Identity, addresses, and payment terms belong on the billing profile; who approves and pays belongs on the billing-contact record.
Example setup
The instructions record sits inside each client's folder, next to their profile and contacts. Here is how a few real-looking clients might be laid out — each with its own one-page invoicing playbook.
Channel: Coupa portal (primary). URL: supplier.coupahost.com/northgate. Login: HELPERG LLC supplier account, vendor ID NG-44821. Required fields: PO# (PO-XXXXXX), cost center, project code. Mandatory attachments: approved PO + signed monthly timesheet. Format: machine-readable PDF, one PO per invoice. Last confirmed 2026-05-12 against AP supplier guide.
Channel: email. Send to accounts@marlow.example, subject 'Invoice [#] — Marlow'. Required fields: project name in body, our reference. No portal. Attachments: none required. Format: PDF. CC the project lead. Last confirmed 2026-04-03.
Channel: SAP Ariba network. URL + Ariba network ID noted. Login: company Ariba account. Required: valid PO (mandatory — see PO-required tracker), commodity code, remit-to confirmation. Attachments: completion sign-off sheet. Format: PDF via Ariba only; post not accepted. Last confirmed 2026-06-01.
Channel: post. Mail to Accounts Payable, 14 Bridge Lane (differs from site address on profile). Required: our reference + their account no. Attachments: original signed delivery note. Format: printed paper original, no email accepted. Last confirmed 2026-02-18.
A blank copy of the instructions record to clone for each new client: channel, portal URL, login identity, required fields, mandatory attachments, accepted format, submission address, acknowledgement step, last-confirmed line — all empty and ready to fill in.
Common mistakes
How it helps
Create an invoicing-instructions record inside each client's folder, sitting next to their billing profile and billing contacts so the full picture of a client is in one structured spot.
Attach the client's onboarding email, AP supplier guide, or a blank portal template directly to the record, so the source of every rule is one click away when you need to verify it.
Keep a blank instructions template and copy it for every new client, so you capture channel, portal, login identity, required fields, attachments, and format consistently from day one.
Export a client's records when a teammate takes over billing or when you brief a stand-in, so the how-to-invoice knowledge travels with the records instead of living in one person's head. Cash Workspace is free.
Related
The static master billing data per client — legal name, bill-to address, tax/registration ID, PO-required flag, and agreed payment terms. The identity-and-terms counterpart to this how-to-invoice playbook.
The accounts-payable contacts per client: who approves invoices, who pays them, and who to escalate to for non-payment. Pairs with the delivery instructions here.
Track which clients mandate a valid PO before they pay and store the current PO document per job — the prerequisite that often drives the required-fields part of your instructions.
Record the channel each individual invoice was actually delivered through and its portal reference — the per-invoice log that complements this per-client playbook.
Organize one client whose branches bill separately, each location carrying its own bill-to and submission details — useful when invoicing instructions differ by location.
A current per-client one-pager of total billed, outstanding now, terms, and key contacts — the status snapshot that sits beside these procedural instructions.
The full library of finance record-keeping guides and folder layouts across invoices, expenses, receipts, clients, and documents.
FAQ
This is organizational guidance for keeping a per-client record of how to invoice each client — it is not tax, legal, or accounting advice. Cash Workspace helps you store and organize these instructions and their supporting documents; it does not connect to or submit through AP portals, does not send email for you, and does not sync with any bank or payment system. It does not read or auto-extract data from your documents (no OCR), so you enter the channel, fields, attachments, and format yourself. Always follow each client's official current AP instructions, and confirm submission rules directly with the client when in doubt.
Stop hunting through old emails for how a client wants their invoices. Start a free Cash Workspace, create one short instructions record per client, and send every invoice the right way the first time. It is free — start organizing today, or reach us at info@helperg.com.