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Know which client work is ready to bill

Fixed fee or time-billed, every invoice is reviewed before it goes out. Finance sees WIP by client, including unapproved work. DAY ONE keeps the agreement, the work and the billing on one system of record.

From new client to paid invoice

One client record carries the work from the first meeting to the billing run, so partners, managers and finance work from the same facts.

  1. Win the client

    A referral or enquiry becomes a client and an opportunity. The partner scopes the services on offer, such as the annual tax return, the financial statements and advisory sessions.

    How it works
  2. Agree the fee

    The engagement letter sets the fee basis for each service. Compliance work is a fixed fee, billed on signature, upfront or in arrears. Advisory is time at your price list, adjusted for that client by an engagement rate.

    Scoping and Quoting
  3. Plan the work

    Once the client signs, the work starts from what was agreed: the services, the owner of each task and the fee behind it.

    Delivery and Time
  4. Do the work and record time

    Accountants log time against the client's engagement. A manager approves time and expenses where required, and anything not yet approved stays visible in work in progress.

    Resourcing
  5. Review WIP and bill

    Before the billing run, finance reviews work in progress by client. The run builds the invoices with GST on each line, and each invoice is approved before it goes out.

    Invoicing and WIP
  6. Send and hand over to the ledger

    The approved invoice goes to the client and across to your accounting system, which keeps the ledger, BAS and tax. Without an integration, it goes out by CSV export.

    Integrations

Pick up the work and see what is stuck

Every task on the client's engagement has an owner, a due date and a priority. Staff pick up the next task and log time from it, and work waiting on the client stays visible as blocked.

See Delivery and Time

To do 4 tasks

  • Request year-end documents from the clientPriya Nairin 1wHigh
  • Prepare the financial statementsDaniel Choin 3wHigh
  • Draft the cash flow forecast for the advisory sessionPriya Nairin 2wMedium
  • Partner review of the company tax returnMorgan Reidin 4wHigh

In progress 1 task

  • Reconcile bank and loan accounts to 30 JuneDaniel ChoHigh

Blocked 2 tasks

  • Confirm the stock count with the clientPriya Nair1w overdueHigh
  • Obtain the signed director loan confirmationSam Whitlockin 2wMedium
Example data for accounting: a year-end engagement for a fictional client. Layout from the product.

How each kind of work is billed

The fee basis is set when the engagement letter is agreed, so the billing run knows how to treat each piece of work.

Compliance work

Tax returns and financial statements are agreed as a fixed fee. The fee is billed on signature, upfront or in arrears, as the agreement says.

See Scoping and Quoting

Advisory and projects

Advisory sessions and one-off projects are billed for time. Approved time is priced from your price list and the client's engagement rate.

See Invoicing and WIP

Clients with both

Many clients have a fixed-fee agreement and advisory time alongside it. The billing run reads both from the same client.

Review invoices before they go out

Line discounts, the subtotal, tax and the total due sit on the invoice, and each invoice is approved before it goes out.

See Invoicing and WIP

INV000014 Invoice
  • $8,000.00Subtotal
  • $800.00Tax
  • 30Terms (days)

Lines 5

  • Bookkeeping review1x $1,800.00$180.00$1,620.00
  • Advisory sessions6x $320.00-$1,920.00
  • Cash flow forecast1x $2,400.00$240.00$2,160.00
  • Month-end review3x $450.00$150.00$1,200.00
  • Reporting pack4x $275.00-$1,100.00
  • Total due$8,800.00
    Example data for accounting. Layout from the product, captured 23 Oct 2026.

    What it means for each role in a practice

    Finance leaders: start from WIP by client

    Fixed-fee and time-based work sit in one work-in-progress record, kept as a ledger that entries are added to, not overwritten.

    See Invoicing and WIP

    Operations and delivery: set terms first

    Time and costs land against the right client engagement, and a manager can see what was agreed.

    See Scoping and Quoting

    Owners and CEOs: add clients, not month-end work

    Quickstart begins with a defined scope and a small core team. Test it on a fixed-fee client and a time-based client, not a large programme.

    See Quickstart

    Salesforce leaders: a record beside your systems

    DAY ONE covers the agreement, the work and the billing around a client engagement. Your ledger and tax tools stay in place.

    Read about security

    Questions from accounting practices

    Can't see your question? Ask us directly.

    Is DAY ONE our practice management system?

    DAY ONE holds the commercial record: the agreement, the work in progress and the billing run. Whether it sits beside your practice system depends on what that system does today, so we map that first, before any change.

    Can fixed-fee and time-based clients sit in the same practice?

    Yes. A fixed-fee engagement bills on a schedule (on signature, upfront or in arrears), and time-based work is billed at rates set through a price list and an engagement rate. Tell us how your engagements are billed and we will walk through a billing run with you.

    What happens to an item that is not ready to bill?

    Time and expenses are approved before they are billed. Until then the item stays visible in work in progress, which is kept as a ledger that entries are added to, not overwritten.

    Does DAY ONE handle GST, and does it do BAS?

    DAY ONE applies GST on invoice lines. It does not prepare BAS: that stays in your accounting ledger.

    Is our clients' data secure and where is it held?

    Client data is held in a Salesforce org (your own, or one provided with the bundled edition), and access follows the permissions you assign. We make no universal data-location promise; the region is that of your Salesforce instance. Security.

    Do we need Salesforce already?

    On Salesforce; works with your Salesforce org, or available as a bundled edition if you don't use Salesforce.

    Do we have to replace our accounting system?

    No. You keep your accounting system.

    What does DAY ONE cost?

    Pricing is per user per month, billed annually, by user type. From A$17 for a Consultant licence on DAY ONE for Salesforce, excluding GST. The calculator prices your mix. Pricing.

    Walk through a billing run

    Bring a fixed-fee client and a time-based client and we will talk it through.

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