Table of Contents
Billing Best Practices1
| Introduction | 1 |
| Billing Governance and Accountability | 1 |
| Customer Master File Management | 11 |
| Contract and Order Review | 15 |
| Review Questions | 21 |
| Pricing and Discount Controls | 23 |
| Billing Trigger Management | 29 |
| Source Documentation Standards | 35 |
| Invoice Preparation Best Practices | 40 |
| Billing Accuracy Controls | 45 |
| Review Questions | 51 |
| Billing Completeness and Timeliness | 52 |
| Invoice Approval and Release | 58 |
| Invoice Delivery and Customer Requirements | 63 |
| Credit Memos, Adjustments, and Rebills | 69 |
| Review Questions | 76 |
| Billing Disputes and Customer Inquiries | 77 |
| Taxes, Currency, and Regulatory Requirements | 83 |
| Billing Systems and Automation | 91 |
| Billing Reconciliations | 100 |
| Period-End Billing and Cutoff | 107 |
| Fraud Prevention and Data Security | 115 |
| Review Questions | 122 |
| Billing Performance Measurement | 123 |
| Invoice Accuracy | 123 |
| Invoice Accuracy | 123 |
| First-Pass Acceptance | 124 |
| Billing Cycle Time | 125 |
| Backlog | 126 |
| Credit Memo and Rebill Rates | 126 |
| Customer Dispute Rates | 127 |
| Manual Interventions | 128 |
| Cost per Invoice | 128 |
| Unbilled Revenue Reporting | 129 |
| Performance Comparisons | 130 |
| Continuous Improvement and Staff Development | 131 |
| Summary | 139 |
| Review Questions | 141 |
Answers to Review Questions142
Glossary156
Index158
Course Details
Author: Steven M. Bragg, CPA
Steven Bragg, CPA, has been the chief financial officer or controller of four companies, as well as a consulting manager at Ernst & Young. He received a master’s degree in finance from Bentley College, an MBA from Babson College, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Maine. He has been a two-time president of the Colorado Mountain Club, and is an avid alpine skier, mountain biker, and certified master diver. Mr. Bragg resides in Centennial, Colorado. He has written more than 300 books and courses, including New Controller Guidebook, GAAP Guidebook, and Payroll Management.
Publication/Revision Date: 10/12/2026
Course Exam Questions (online): 55 (multiple-choice)
Program Delivery Method: NASBA QAS Self-Study
Available Formats of Course Text: PDF or PDF plus printed copy sent in the mail
Course Level, Prerequisites, and Advance Preparation Requirements
| License | Course Level | Prerequisites | Advance Preparation Requirements |
|---|
| CPA | Overview | None | None |
Sponsor ID Numbers
National Registry of CPE Sponsors ID: 107615
State CPA Board Sponsor ID Numbers (where applicable)
Florida Division of Certified Public Accounting: 0004761
Hawaii Board of Public Accountancy: 14003
New York State Board for Public Accountancy: 002146
Ohio Accountancy Board: CPE .51 PSR
Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy: PX178025
Texas State Board of Public Accountancy: 009349
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Recognize the contents of a billing policy and understand how it is reviewed and updated.
- Recall how approval authorities should be managed.
- Recognize how to deal with tax exemption certificates.
- Specify how to manage master-file data for multi-location businesses.
- Recall the process for deactivating a customer account.
- Recognize the circumstances under which a customer's background should be investigated further.
- Recall the level of detail required to set up automatic price increases for a customer.
- Recognize the terms associated with invoice payments.
- Specify how to deal with customer purchase orders with residual balances.
- Recall the withholding terms that can be applied to invoices.
- Recognize which contract terms should be included in a billing system.
- Recall the risks associated with using multiple billing systems.
- Recognize the actions to be taken when a discount is terminated.
- Specify how to detect revenue leakage.
- Recall why you have to specify the sequence for applying multiple discounts.
- Recognize why an eligible-to-bill report is needed.
- Recall the reasons why transactions may not be billed to customers.
- Recognize the methods for reducing duplicate billings.
- Specify how to bill for partially-completed orders.
- Recall how to configure a billing documentation package.
- Recognize the components of a three-way billing comparison.
- Recall the controls for service invoices.
- Recognize the controls associated with replacement source documents.
- Specify what to do with cancelled invoice numbers.
- Recall how to deal with multiple purchase orders referenced on one invoice.
- Recognize how to structure invoices for customer portal submissions.
- Recall the best way to check a complex inventory calculation.
- Recognize how to establish billing tolerances.
- Specify the types of billing reconciliations, and understand why they are needed.
- Recall how to deal with late approvals.
- Recognize the evaluation process needed when a billing system generates an exception.
- Recall how to report on and review approval overrides.
- Recognize the level of detail needed for override explanations.
- Specify the level of detail needed for customer portal rejection messages.
- Recall how to deal with undeliverable invoice emails.
- Recognize why adjustment reason codes need to be highly specific.
- Recall the types of issues to investigate in response to a jump in credit memo volume.
- Recognize the level of supporting detail needed when adjusting a line on an issued invoice.
- Specify the best analysis method for reviewing billing errors.
- Recall what to do when a customer disputes a portion of an invoice.
- Recognize the dating methodology to use when translating a foreign-currency invoice.
- Recall the control issues associated with employees overriding tax calculations.
- Recognize the controls needed to deal with a billing system configuration change.
- Specify the actions needed to support an ongoing billing process improvement project.
