In Odoo, the timing of when you can invoice for a service depends on the Invoicing Policy set for the product. Here is a breakdown of the four available options for service products:
- Prepaid/Fixed Price
- The entire amount can be invoiced immediately after the sale is confirmed.
- Commonly used for prepaid services, such as when clients purchase hours or services to be used later.
- Based on Timesheets
- You can invoice only for the hours already worked and tracked via timesheets linked to the relevant task.
- Depending on your configuration, the invoice can include either all recorded timesheets or only validated ones. The configuration for this can be found at
Timesheets > Configuration > Settings > Billing > Invoicing Policy.
- Based on Milestones
- Invoices are generated when specific milestones are reached.
- To use this option, milestones must be enabled in the project. Each milestone should have an associated sales order line and a percentage of the amount to be invoiced. Only one sales order line can be linked to each milestone.
- Based on Delivered Quantity (Manual)
- Invoices are created upon service delivery, based on the quantity delivered rather than the quantity ordered.
- Suitable for invoicing the total time spent once the work is completed.
Each policy is designed to support different ways of working and invoicing for services. Which one to use depends on your company's processes.