Admin: Preview, Approve & Issue a Billing Cycle

Admin: preview, approve & issue a billing cycle

Use this controlled flow when you want a second committee member to sign off before maintenance bills reach residents. You need admin access, at least one active charge head, and a billing cycle in open status.

Steps

1. Open Admin → Billing.
2. Find the cycle and tap Review & approve — this opens the cycle workflow page.
3. Preview run — Plinth computes every flat's invoice without issuing. Review the table: subtotal, GST, arrears, and total per flat.
4. Resolve flags — each flagged row shows why: No resident, Duplicate flat, Unusual amount, or No carpet area. Fix the roster or charge head, or set a per-flat override (amount + reason) for a legitimate exemption, then Re-run preview.
5. Submit for approval — when the preview is correct, tap Submit for approval. The cycle moves to Awaiting approval.
6. Approve — a different admin opens the cycle, reviews, adds an optional note, and taps Approve cycle. (Plinth blocks the submitter from approving their own cycle.)
7. Issue invoices — once approved, tap Issue invoices. Bills go to residents under My dues and post to the accounting ledger.
8. Close cycle — after collection, tap Close cycle to lock the period.

Requesting changes

If the approver spots a problem, they enter a reason and tap Request changes. The cycle returns to draft so the treasurer can adjust the roster, charge heads, or overrides and re-submit.

Troubleshooting

"The approver must be different from the person who submitted" — maker-checker is enforced; ask another admin to approve.

"Approve the cycle before issuing" — the cycle still needs approval; complete the approve step first.

Preview shows warnings I can't clear — Duplicate flat and No resident are roster issues; fix them in Members. Unusual amount is a heads-up, not a block — confirm the figure or set an override.

I just want the old one-step flow — use Quick preview / Quick issue on the cycle card in Admin → Billing; the approval gate is optional per cycle.

FAQ

Who can approve? Any society admin other than the one who submitted the cycle.

Can I exempt one flat? Yes — set an amount override with a reason during preview, then re-run the preview.

Is the approval recorded? Yes — submit, approve, and reject actions are stored with actor and timestamp in the cycle's approval history and the audit log.