What an invoice strategy does
Different customers pay differently. Some pay NET 30 on a single invoice when the job is done. Some require a 50% deposit up front. Some aerospace customers want monthly progress invoices. Some new customers pay COD (cash on delivery, one-shot).
The strategy picked at the customer level determines the default invoice plan when a sale order is confirmed.
Menu: Plating → Configuration → Invoice Strategy.
The built-in strategies
| Strategy | Workflow |
|---|---|
| Net Terms | Single invoice on SO confirm (or shipment), due per the customer's payment terms |
| Deposit | Deposit invoice on SO confirm (default 50%), balance invoice on shipment |
| Progress | Multiple invoices at predefined milestones (e.g. 25% / 50% / 25%) |
| COD | No credit terms, payment before release of goods |
Creating a custom strategy
Click + New:
| Field | What to set |
|---|---|
| Name | "Monthly Progress for Boeing" |
| Strategy Type | Net / Deposit / Progress / COD |
| Deposit % | For deposit strategies only |
| Progress Milestones | For progress strategies, list the % breakpoints and trigger events |
| Payment Terms | Linked account.payment.term |
| Auto-Generate Invoices | Fire the invoice automatically, or queue for AR review |
Assigning to customers
Customer record → FP Invoicing tab → Default Invoice Strategy. Every new SO for that customer starts with this strategy. Can be overridden per SO.
How the strategy applies
Deposit:
- SO confirmed → system creates a draft invoice for the deposit %
- Customer pays deposit → SO unblocked for production
- MO marked done → delivery created → on delivery, balance invoice is created
Progress:
- SO confirmed → first progress invoice auto-created at defined trigger (e.g. "on confirmation")
- At each subsequent milestone event, the next invoice is created
- Final invoice closes out on delivery
Auto-generation vs. manual
Set Auto-Generate Invoices = No if your accounting wants to review each invoice before it goes to the customer. Strategy still creates drafts, AR posts them after review.
Account hold interaction
A customer on account hold can't have new invoices auto-posted — AR must clear the hold first. Draft invoices still queue up.
What can go wrong
Wrong strategy applied to an SO
Strategy was set after the SO was confirmed. Not a problem — change the strategy on the SO and the next invoice event will follow the new strategy.
Deposit invoice auto-posted when we wanted AR to review
Change strategy to Auto-Generate = No. Future SOs will queue drafts for AR.
Customer changed payment terms
Update strategy's linked payment term. Existing invoices keep the term that was on them when posted.