Professional services
Retainers, part-payments, and clients who go quiet.
Agencies, consultancies and firms billing on retainer and project, with follow-up that lives in someone's chat history.
Start freeMeridian Partners
Receivables by client · Retainer and project
| Client | Outstanding |
|---|---|
| Retainer, monthlyauto-raised · paid | ₦0 |
| Project, phase twohalf paid · 21 days | ₦1,450,000 |
| Retainer, monthly42 days overdue | ₦1,900,000 |
| Project, discoverydue in 6 days | ₦850,000 |
The problem
Where the cash gets stuck here.
Billing here is rarely one invoice for one thing. A retainer runs monthly, project work lands on top of it, and a client pays half now and half when something ships. Each of those is fine alone. Together they make a picture nobody can hold in their head.
Chasing is the other half. Following up a client you want to keep is uncomfortable, so it slips, and a week becomes a month. The awkwardness is doing real damage to cash flow.
01
Retainer and project on one account
The same client owes for two different things on two different schedules, and the total is assembled by hand.
02
Part-payments with no home
Half the fee arrives and sits as a credit nobody has matched to the invoice it belongs against.
03
Chasing that depends on a person
Follow-up lives in an account manager's chat history, which means it happens when they remember.
04
Project profitability unknown
Contractor costs, software and expenses are paid without being attached to the engagement that incurred them.
On Billif
How the same work runs instead.
Recurring retainers, raised automatically
The monthly invoice goes out on its own with a pay-link attached, so billing is not something anyone has to remember.
Balances that survive part-payment
A partial payment records against the invoice and leaves a dated balance, rather than an unexplained credit.
The chase runs itself
Reminders go out on schedule and come from the system, not from the person who has to keep the relationship warm.
Engagements as projects
Contractor invoices and expenses post against the engagement, so you can see which clients are genuinely worth the work.
What you'll use
The parts of Billif this leans on.
Invoicing
Branded invoices, recurring billing, credit notes and POs
- Branded invoices with online pay-links
- Recurring invoices
- Credit notes
Collections and settlement
A funding account, collections in, payouts out, settled to your bank
- A funding account for collections and payouts
- Payments collected against invoices
- Payouts and transfers to bank accounts
Projects and budgets
Set a budget per project and watch it burn down
- A budget per project
- Spend against budget, with remaining balance
- Budget usage as a percentage
Spend and reimbursement
Staff expenses and claims, with receipts and sign-off
- Expense capture with receipts
- AI reads and categorises the receipt for you
- Employee reimbursement claims
Guides for professional services
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