Overview

Consolidated Invoices (“Consol. Invoices”) allow you to combine charges from multiple House Bills (HBLs) or multiple Jobs into a single Sales Invoice (AR) or a single Purchase Invoice (AP)—while still keeping correct Job Profit & Loss allocation for each underlying job.

This feature is used when:

• You want to issue one invoice to a customer who has many shipments within the same period.

• You need to consolidate vendor costs (e.g., co-loader invoices) across many HBLs into one vendor AP invoice.

• You want each job’s profitability to remain correct even though the invoice is issued at a group level.

Consolidation supports both:

• Sales Consol. Invoice (Customer billing)

• Buy Consol. Invoice (Vendor billing)

This feature is tightly integrated with Job Costing and Fr8Labs Accounting. Job profitability allocation will reflect the invoice after posting.

Video Introduction - Consol. Sales & Purchasing Invoices

https://www.loom.com/share/c7629b99feb046e5be6228bd77b50001

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How It Works

A consol. invoice can be created from any job where charges exist and a Sales Partner (for AR) or Buy Partner (for AP) has been assigned.

Requirements Before You Start

• Job Estimation should at least be partially complete with charge lines, sales/buy items and partners already filled in.

• Sales Partner or Buy Partner must be selected on each job.

• The jobs should belong to the same customer (for sales) or same vendor (for purchase) when consolidating.

High-Level Workflow

1. Open any job with charges.

2. Click Convert to Sales Item or Convert to Buy Item.

3. Select the invoice type and cost center (optional).

4. System auto-detects all jobs with the same partner.

5. Select additional HBLs/Jobs to include.

6. Review & adjust allocations (if needed).

7. Convert to a consolidated invoice.

8. Submit in Accounting (Finance users).

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Open any job with completed Job Costing

Job → Accounting Tab

Review that all sales & cost items are entered.

Job Accounting tab with costing items

Step 2: Convert items to a Sales or Buy Consol Invoice

You will see two options depending on the tab:

• Convert Sell Items (for AR consolidation)

• Convert Buy Items (for AP consolidation)

Click the relevant one.

Convert Sell/Buy Items Button

Step 3: Select Partner, Invoice Type, and Cost Center

A dialog appears showing:

• Partner (Customer/Vendor)

• Invoice Type

• Cost Center (only needed if your company tracks parallel P&Ls)

Click Next.

Convert Sell Items - Selecting Partner, Invoice Type & Cost Center

Step 4: System auto-selects matching Jobs

The system will automatically find all jobs with the same partner and pre-select the items from the current job.

You will also see:

• All other matching jobs (even across different dates)

• Their charges and amounts

• Filters for all columns, Job No, MBL, HBL, etc. to help search

To add more items:

• Use the Mass Select toggle

• Or search for job numbers / HBL numbers

• Tick to include them

Jobs selection table with mass-select option

Step 5: Convert → Create Consolidated Invoice

Click Convert.

A consolidated invoice will be created and visible in Accounting → Sales Invoice / Purchase Invoice.

When viewing the invoice:

• You will see the Total Invoice Amount (e.g., 19,000)

• You will see the job allocation amounts (e.g., 5,400 allocated to Job 1)

The allocation ensures Job P&L remains correct.

Sales Invoice Created based on Consol Billing

Job Costing - Sell Converted

Step 6: Review Allocation (Sales or Buy)

Inside the invoice, under Allocated Sales/Allocated Costs, you can:

• Review allocation per job

• Adjust or top-up amounts manually (for buy invoices)

• Add missing jobs if the vendor billed more items than originally costed

For example, if the vendor invoice has 10 charge lines but only 8 existed in job costing:

• Add 2 missing allocation lines manually

• Select the HBL number

• Enter the extra cost amounts

• Save

  
  

Invoice Details - Review Allocation Details

Step 7: Submit the Invoice (Finance Workflow)

Only accounting users can submit.

Consolidated invoices follow the same validation rules as normal invoices.

Submitting Invoice

Step 8: View Results in Job P&L

Inside each job → Accounting:

• Sales or costs will now reflect the allocated portion of the consolidated invoice.

POV Accounting Tab in Original Job/BL

POV Accounting Tab in Allocated Job/BL

Best Practices & Notes

Consolidation does NOT modify job estimation lines

It only updates Actual P&L after invoice posting.

Multi-Company, Multi-Branch, Multi-Cost Center users:

Ensure the correct Cost Center is chosen during invoice creation.

Use search & mass-select to avoid missing jobs

Especially useful for customers with high shipment volumes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Will a consolidated invoice push updates back into Job Estimation?

A: No. It only updates Actuals, not the estimation layer.

Q: Can I consolidate invoices across different months?

A: Yes—as long as the partner is the same.

Q: Can I remove a job after converting?

A: You can cancel the invoice and re-create the consolidation.

Q: Does consolidation affect Statement of Accounts (SOA)?

A: No. SOA shows the invoice values only.

Q: Do I need to match currencies?

A: Yes. All charges consolidated into one invoice must share the same currency.

Q: Does this work for Air, Ocean, and other job types?

A: Yes, as long as job costing and partners are assigned.

Documentation owner: Fr8Labs Customer Success. Text reviewed: 21 September 2026.