Contract & Invoice Function

Purpose: This document defines the internal operational logic of the Contract & Invoice 📋 Function. It governs the company’s entire commercial process, from contract drafting and approval to managing payment schedules and issuing VAT invoices.

Why This Matters

This 📋 Function is the financial backbone of the project lifecycle, ensuring every commercial agreement is accurately documented, tracked, and executed. It provides strict control over the revenue stream, from client signature to final payment. Strategically, this enables precise cash flow forecasting, mitigates financial risk by tracking all payment obligations, and maintains a professional standard for all client financial interactions. For the accounting and sales teams, it automates payment reminders, standardizes contract management, and creates a clear, auditable trail for all transactions.

The Big Picture

Architecturally, this 📋 Function is triggered by a successful deal in the CRM 📋 Function. It is centered around the 🧊 Contract standard object, which serves as the primary record for the commercial agreement. The 🧊 Contract has a hierarchical relationship with its sub-objects, 🧊︎ Payment Installment and 🧊︎︎ VAT Invoice, which manage the payment schedule and tax documentation respectively. This function has key connections, receiving client data from CRM and linking its financial milestones to the 🧊 Project in the Project Management 📋 Function.

OBJECT TYPES & WORKFLOWS

1. 🧊 Contract (Standard Object)

Process Description: Manages the entire lifecycle of a client contract, from the initial draft to final liquidation after all obligations are met.
Example: “Contract - Sarah & Michael Westbrook” or “Contract - Boutique Hotel Riviera”.

Workflow
Status Details
Data Fields

Contract Workflow

DRAFTING → SIGNED → ACTIVE → COMPLETED → LIQUIDATED
↓          ↓
CANCELLED  CANCELLED

Status	Business Logic	Advanced Settings
1. DRAFTING	The contract’s terms are being finalized by the sales and accounting teams. The document is generated during this stage.	Automation: A button click triggers the `Generate Google Docs Contract` and `Create Invoice Installments` rules.
2. SIGNED	The client has signed the contract, making it a legally binding agreement.	Transition Permissions: Accounting Team. Action: The finance team is now authorized to issue the first invoice to the client for the deposit.
3. ACTIVE	The first payment has been received, the project is underway, and subsequent payments are being tracked against this contract.	Condition: Cannot move to this status until the first `🧊︎ Invoice` is `PAID`. This status change triggers the `Project Kick-off` automation.
4. COMPLETED	All project work is finished, and all payment installments have been received.	Condition: All child `🧊︎ Invoice` sub-objects must be in `PAID` status.
5. LIQUIDATED	The contract has been financially closed out, and a final liquidation document has been signed by both parties.	Data Input: A field to upload the signed liquidation document.
6. CANCELLED	The contract has been voided before the project commenced.	Transition Permissions: Sales Manager, Accounting. Data Input: A required field for the “Reason for Cancellation”.

Group	Field Name (Type)
Contract Information	Contract Code (Text), Client (Object Reference), Related Project (Object Reference), Signing Date (Date), Effective Date (Date)
Financials	Total Value (Currency), Pre-tax Value (Formula), VAT Amount (Formula), Amount Paid (Rollup), Remaining Balance (Formula)
Documents	Contract File (Attachment), Liquidation Record (Attachment)

2. 🧊︎ Invoice (Sub-Object)

Process Description: Tracks an individual payment milestone as defined in the contract’s payment schedule.
Parent Object: 🧊 Contract
Example: “IN-852: 1st Payment - 25% Deposit”. “2nd Payment - 40% after Concept Approval”

Workflow
Status Details
Data Fields

PENDING → PAID IN FULL
↓          ↑
OVERDUE ───┘
↓
VOID

Status	Business Logic	Advanced Settings
1. PENDING	The invoice has been created and sent to the client but is not yet due or paid. This is the initial status shown in the video.	Automation: A time-based rule will automatically change the status to `OVERDUE` if the `Due Date` passes and payment has not been received.
2. OVERDUE	The due date has passed, and payment has not been received.	Automation: Triggers a notification to be sent to the client and the internal accounting team.
3. PAID IN FULL	The client has completed the payment for this installment. This is the final success status shown in the video.	Automation: Triggers the `Process Payment and Kick Off Project` rule (if it’s the first invoice) and updates the `Amount Paid` on the parent `🧊 Contract`.
4. VOID	The invoice has been cancelled and is no longer valid for payment.	This is a terminal status. The amount of this invoice will not be counted towards the total of the parent `🧊 Contract`.

Group	Field Name (Type)
Installment Details	Installment Name (Text), Due Date (Date), Amount (Currency), Payment Method (Dropdown)

Pro Tip: Expanding Your Financial BlueprintThe current blueprint focuses on the primary client contract and invoicing process. To build a more comprehensive financial management system, you can introduce additional 🧊 Objects for greater control. For example, you could add:

🧊︎ Change Order sub-objects to formally document and approve any modifications to the project’s scope, timeline, or budget after the initial contract is signed.
🧊 Purchase Order objects to manage and track procurement from external suppliers, linking specific costs directly back to a project.
🧊 Vendor objects to maintain a central database of your suppliers, their contact details, and performance history.

This allows you to scale from simple project billing to full-fledged financial and procurement management as your business grows.

OBJECT RELATIONSHIPS

Relationship	Type	Description
`🧊 Contract` → `🧊︎ Payment Installment`	Parent-Child	Each contract is broken down into a schedule of payment installments.
`🧊︎ Payment Installment` → `🧊︎︎ VAT Invoice`	Parent-Child	A VAT invoice can be issued for each payment installment.
`🧊 Contract` → `CRM.Customer`	Reference	The contract is linked to the customer record that originated in the CRM.
`🧊 Contract` → `Project`	Reference	The contract is linked to the project it governs in the Project Management function.

AUTOMATIONS

Within-Function
Cross-Function Automations
Cross-System

These rules run entirely within the Contract & Invoice Space to manage financial records and processes.

Sequence	ID	Rule Name	Trigger	Action	Description
3	IC-03	Create Invoice Installments	Button Click: “Create Contract (Docs)“	Create: `🧊︎ Invoice`	Triggered by the same action that generates the contract doc, this rule automatically creates multiple `🧊︎ Invoice` sub-objects based on the payment structure. e.g., Creating three separate invoices for Sarah’s 25%, 40%, and 35% payment milestones.
5	IC-04	Update Financials Upon Payment	Webhook: Payment Received (from CS-05)	Update: `🧊 Contract` & `🧊︎ Invoice`	When a payment is confirmed, this rule updates the `🧊︎ Invoice` status to `PAID` and recalculates the `Outstanding` balance on the parent `🧊 Contract` Object.

These rules manage the flow of work between the finance function and other departments.

Sequence	ID	Direction	Rule Name	Trigger	Action
1	CF-03	`Incoming`	Create Contract from Sales Handoff	Status Change: `Sales & CRM/🧊 Customer` to “CONTRACT PREP”	A new, linked `🧊 Contract` Object is automatically created in the `Contract & Invoice` `⏹️ Space` for the finance team when Sales confirms the deal is ready.
6	CF-06	`Outgoing`	Trigger Project Kick-off & Notify Sales	Status Change: `🧊︎ Invoice` to “PAID” (from CS-05)	The first successful payment triggers two key actions: - Creates a new `Project Management/🧊 Project` Object. - Sends a “Payment Received!” notification to the `Sales & CRM` `⏹️ Space` chat.

These rules connect the Contract & Invoice function with external financial and document platforms.

Sequence	ID	Rule Name	Trigger	Action	Description
2	CS-04	Generate Google Docs Contract	Button Click: “Create Contract (Docs)“	API Call: Google Docs	An Accountant clicks a button to send an API request, automatically populating a Google Docs contract template with smart values from the `🧊 Contract` Object.
4	CS-05	Receive Payment Confirmation	Webhook: From external payment gateway	Update: `🧊︎ Invoice`	A webhook from the payment gateway notifies the system that a payment has been made, finding the specific `🧊︎ Invoice` and triggering internal and cross-functional updates. e.g., Confirming Sarah’s $11,500 deposit payment.

WORKVIEWS & DASHBOARDS

Workviews
Dashboards
Filters

Workview	Description
1. Contract List	A detailed list view of all contracts, filterable by status (e.g., PENDING APPROVAL, IN PROGRESS).
2. Payment Timeline	A timeline or calendar view showing all upcoming and overdue payment installment due dates across all contracts.

Widget	Description
1. Cash Flow Forecast	A chart projecting incoming revenue based on the due dates and amounts of all `NOT DUE` payment installments.
2. Accounts Receivable	A counter showing the total value of all contracts currently in an `OVERDUE` status.

Filter	Criteria
1. Contracts Pending Approval	`Status` is `PENDING APPROVAL`.
2. Overdue Payments	`Status` is `OVERDUE`.

ROLES, PERMISSIONS & NOTIFICATIONS

Roles
Permissions
Notifications

Role	Description
Accountant	Manages payments, issues VAT invoices, and tracks financial status. Has full access within this function.
Sales Manager	Approves contract drafts before they are sent to the client. Can view all contracts.
Sales Rep	Drafts contracts for their clients. Can only view and edit contracts they are assigned to.

This 📋 Function uses a Custom Permission Scheme.

View 🧊 Contract: Accountant and Sales Manager can view all. Sales Rep can only view assigned.
Edit 🧊 Contract: Accountant can edit all. Sales Rep can only edit assigned contracts in DRAFT status.
Create 🧊︎ Payment Installment: System automation only.
Manage 🧊︎︎ VAT Invoice: Accountant role only.

This 📋 Function uses Scheme 2 - Notify Related People.

All notifications are sent only to the users directly assigned or involved in an object (e.g., the assigned Sales Rep on a contract, the Accountant for payments).

What’s Next?

CRM (Business) Function: Understand the preceding step where the customer is acquired and the initial deal is made.
Project Management Function: See how a SIGNED contract triggers the creation of a project and how project milestones are managed.

Introduction

Flagship Casestudy

Common Solutions

Advanced Techniques

Why This Matters

The Big Picture

OBJECT TYPES & WORKFLOWS

1. 🧊 Contract (Standard Object)

2. 🧊︎ Invoice (Sub-Object)

OBJECT RELATIONSHIPS

AUTOMATIONS

WORKVIEWS & DASHBOARDS

ROLES, PERMISSIONS & NOTIFICATIONS

What’s Next?

​Why This Matters

​The Big Picture

​OBJECT TYPES & WORKFLOWS

​1. 🧊 Contract (Standard Object)

​2. 🧊︎ Invoice (Sub-Object)

​OBJECT RELATIONSHIPS

​AUTOMATIONS

​WORKVIEWS & DASHBOARDS

​ROLES, PERMISSIONS & NOTIFICATIONS

​What’s Next?

Why This Matters

The Big Picture

OBJECT TYPES & WORKFLOWS

1. 🧊 Contract (Standard Object)

2. 🧊︎ Invoice (Sub-Object)

OBJECT RELATIONSHIPS

AUTOMATIONS

WORKVIEWS & DASHBOARDS

ROLES, PERMISSIONS & NOTIFICATIONS

What’s Next?