THE PRACTICAL GUIDE

How to find completed jobs that haven’t been invoiced.

Start with two lists, a shared reference, and clear billing rules. This checklist helps you turn a vague concern about missed invoices into specific records your team can review.

By Emils Berzins · Updated 27 October 2026

1. Define which work is ready for billing

Choose the job statuses that mean work is complete. Confirm whether customer sign off, a purchase order, or supporting documents are needed before an invoice can be raised. Keep warranty, internal, cancelled, and nonbillable work separate.

2. Export your completed jobs

For each eligible job, include its unique job or project reference, completion date, value, currency, and the person responsible. If billing happens several days after completion, agree a waiting period so new jobs do not create unnecessary alerts.

3. Export your issued invoices

Include the invoice reference, job reference, and invoice status. Separate drafts, voided invoices, and cancelled invoices from invoices that have actually been issued. Check that the invoice export covers the same work as the jobs export.

4. Match the job references

Compare each eligible job reference with the references in your invoice list. Trim accidental spaces and check for inconsistent capitalisation, prefixes, or reused numbers. If the systems use different references, agree a reliable mapping first.

5. Assign each exception

Give every job without a match an owner and a next step: check the paperwork, correct the reference, confirm it is billable, or prepare an invoice through your usual process. Keep the reason visible so the same job does not get investigated repeatedly.

6. Repeat the check consistently

A recurring check can bring new exceptions into view. The Google Sheets setup compares your jobs and invoices and can provide a daily internal summary after configuration. It does not send invoices or contact customers.

Handle deposits and partial invoices separately

A basic match answers whether any issued invoice exists for a job. It does not prove the full job value has been invoiced or paid. If you use deposits, progress billing, retainers, or staged milestones, define separate rules before relying on the results.

Try it on a small sample

A small, anonymised sample is enough to see whether your references and statuses support a useful check. I’ll help identify what can be matched and what needs a clearer rule.