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Cumulative display of advance invoices

A quotation is not always invoiced in one go; this often happens in instalment invoices. These can be invoices drawn up from the financial planning (in instalments / stages).

If you do not want to show an overview of the previous instalment invoices on the invoice, you work with the simple invoice strategy. This is the most common way of working.
In some cases it is desirable to show an overview of the previous instalment invoices on the invoice when you draw up the next instalment invoice (or the final invoice). This is done with a cumulative invoice strategy.

Invoicing from the financial planning

If you want to invoice an instalment / stage of a quotation (for example an advance when the quotation is signed), you usually do this from the financial planning on the quotation or the project.
From the 2nd instalment invoice (or final invoice) onwards, an invoice strategy is followed: simple or cumulative.

Simple

This is the most common invoice strategy:

The invoice is drawn up without mentioning the previous instalment invoices.
The amount already invoiced on the previous instalment invoices is of course still taken into account.
The previous instalment invoices are not visible on the invoice record, and are not mentioned on the PDF.

Cumulative

On the invoice record you see an overview of the previous instalment invoices
On the invoice PDF an overview of the previous instalment invoices is mentioned
if necessary, you can add a missing instalment invoice manually or remove an instalment invoice from the overview

Is the overview of the previous instalment invoices not appearing? Check the invoice strategy, both under settings > quotations and under settings > progress claims. Only if both settings are set to 'simple' is the overview of the previous instalment invoices not shown anywhere: not on invoices and not on progress claims. If instalment invoices are already linked, the overview always stays visible.

A final invoice from the financial planning is the exception: it always shows and deducts all earlier advance and instalment invoices of that quotation, whatever the invoice strategy. For a final invoice, Robaws never asks you to choose between simple and cumulative.

Ask

Do you sometimes have to invoice simply and sometimes cumulatively? Then you can set the strategy to 'ask'. With every instalment invoice you are first asked whether you want to invoice simply or cumulatively.

Setting the invoice strategy

You can set the correct strategy via settings > quotations > settings > 'phase billing cumulative strategy'.

What does the cumulative display look like?

In Robaws - on the invoice from the financial planning

On the invoice record in Robaws there is a separate window showing the previous advance invoices (in red below).
This only appears on the invoice if there was a preceding advance invoice for this quotation / project and if you choose to invoice cumulatively.

On the invoice lines, everything that may be invoiced to date is shown: the previous instalment invoices and the current invoice (in green below).

The total amount of the invoice only takes into account the amount that has not been invoiced yet (in green below).

In the past, the advance invoices were shown as negative amounts on the invoice lines. That is no longer the case. The display is different, but the total amount remains identical.

On the invoice (PDF)

On the invoice, the invoice lines from Robaws are shown.
In the totals column, the preceding invoices are deducted, so that the correct invoice amount is calculated.
At the bottom of the invoice, a detailed overview of all preceding instalment invoices appears.

In the image you see the preceding invoices in red and the current invoice / invoice amount in green.

FAQ

How do I see the overview of instalment invoices on my invoice?

The overview is only shown if you choose the cumulative invoice strategy AND:

if a previous instalment invoice has already been drawn up via the financial planning of the quotation or the project: the overview with the previous instalment invoices is then always shown
or if the invoice strategy of quotations and progress claims is not set to 'simple' in both places. Even if there was no instalment invoice yet, you still see the (empty) overview so that you can complete it manually if you wish.

Can I add an instalment invoice to the overview?

Yes, you can do this by clicking the + sign in the overview and searching for an invoice.
This can be useful if you have drawn up a 'stand-alone' instalment invoice (not via the financial planning) and still want to include it in the overview.

Can I first create an advance invoice and then progress claims?

Yes, that is possible; in that case follow the explanation on this page.

Updated on: 08/09/2026

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