On the first of every month, logged developer hours are validated against budgets, grouped by contract terms and compiled into itemized invoices — a partner approves each one on Slack, and billing that used to take three days is done in 40 minutes.
Typical results
Day 1
Every invoice out on the first
1
Rate correction/month, was 6
-17 days
Faster client payment
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
Twenty developers logged hours across a dozen clients, each with different rates, caps and contract terms. Every month-end, a partner spent three days cross-checking timesheets against budgets, rebuilding invoices in spreadsheets and fixing rate errors clients caught later. Invoices went out late, and cash arrived later still.
Before and after
Invoicing effort per month
−97%Invoice corrections per month
−83%Days to get paid
−33%The automation
We built a Make pipeline that closes the month automatically. Logged hours are validated against project budgets and contract caps, with anomalies flagged for a human look. Clean hours are grouped by client and contract type — retainer, fixed-fee or time-and-materials — and compiled into itemized draft invoices in the accounting system with the right rates applied. A partner approves each invoice with one click on Slack before it's sent.
How it works
- 01
Hours validated
Logged time is checked against project budgets and contract caps; anomalies flag for review.
- 02
Grouped by contract
Clean hours are grouped per client by retainer, fixed-fee or time-and-materials terms.
- 03
Invoices build themselves
Itemized draft invoices generate in the accounting system with the right rates applied.
- 04
Partner approves on Slack
One click per client approves the invoice — or opens it for a closer look.
- 05
Sent on the first
Approved invoices go out on day one of the month and payments reconcile automatically.
Starts from
- Logged billable hours
- Contract terms & rates
Delivers
- Itemized draft invoices
- Slack partner approval
- Invoices out on day one
The impact
Invoicing day shrank from three days of partner time to 40 minutes of approvals, and every invoice now goes out on the first of the month. Rate corrections dropped from six a month to roughly one, and average payment time improved by 17 days simply because billing stopped being late.
Questions about this automation
Which time-tracking and accounting tools can this connect?
Most time trackers and accounting systems that offer an API can be connected, including tools such as QuickBooks or Xero. Hours are pulled per developer and project, rates come from a contract table, and invoices are created as drafts in the accounting system, so the existing numbering and tax settings stay in place.
How are anomalies in logged hours handled?
Before any invoice is built, hours are compared with project budgets and contract caps. Entries that exceed a cap, land on a closed project or look unusual, such as a twelve-hour day, are flagged for review. Clean hours continue, and flagged ones wait until someone confirms or corrects them.
How does the Slack approval work?
Each draft invoice is posted to a Slack channel with its client, total, hours breakdown and any flags. A partner approves it with one click or opens the draft for edits. Approved invoices are sent on the first of the month, and incoming payments are reconciled against them automatically.