Understanding service contacts and billing contacts
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Many businesses maintain properties where one person coordinates the work while another person or organisation is responsible for paying the invoice.
In SortScape, this is handled with two fields on each property:
- Service contact: who coordinates the work at the property.
- Billing contact: who appears on invoices and receives invoice messages.
Getting this right can save time, reduce confusion, and help ensure invoices are paid promptly.
Quick rules
Section titled “Quick rules”- Each property has one Service contact and one default Billing contact.
- By default, billing contact is Same as service contact.
- You can change the billing contact on the property at any time. See Changing a property billing contact.
- You can also choose a different billing contact while creating a specific invoice, without permanently changing the property default. See Invoicing customers.
Two people at one address
Section titled “Two people at one address”Yes, a property can link two different contacts. Set one person as the Service contact and the other as the Billing contact. Job messages go to the service contact, and invoices go to the billing contact.
If both people should get job messages (for example a couple, or an owner and a tenant who both want reminders), keep one contact and add the second person’s details to it. Use + Add another mobile number for their mobile, and add their email after the first one, separated by a comma. See How to update contact details.
If two people each pay for different work at the same address, create a second property for that address. See Handling multiple payers.
What messages go where
Section titled “What messages go where”SortScape supports multiple message types. The destination depends on the message type:
- Job messages (manual SMS/email from a job and automatic job reminders) are sent to the Service contact.
- Invoice messages (new invoice messages and invoice reminders where available) are sent to the Billing contact.
- Quotes for the property are addressed to the Billing contact.
Multi-unit terminology (same setup, different names)
Section titled “Multi-unit terminology (same setup, different names)”The payer entity for common-area work is named differently by region:
- Strata / Body Corporate / Owners Corporation (AU/NZ)
- Homeowners Association (HOA) / Condominium Association / Co-op (US/CA)
- Residents’ Management Company (UK)
In SortScape, the setup pattern is the same: service operations go to the Service contact, and invoice ownership goes to the Billing contact.
Scenario 1: Rental property
Section titled “Scenario 1: Rental property”Tenant lives at the property, while either a real estate agency or the owner handles billing.
Recommended setup
Section titled “Recommended setup”| Field | Example value |
|---|---|
| Property | 123 Smith Street |
| Service contact | John Smith (Tenant) |
| Billing contact | ABC Real Estate or Sarah Brown (Owner) |
Message and invoice outcome
Section titled “Message and invoice outcome”| Item | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Job reminders/messages | Tenant (service contact) |
| Invoice messages | Billing contact |
| Invoice “Bill to” | Billing contact |
If the property is self-managed, use the owner as the billing contact instead of a real estate agency.
Scenario 2: Multi-unit property managed by a third party
Section titled “Scenario 2: Multi-unit property managed by a third party”A management company coordinates maintenance on behalf of a body corporate, owners association, or HOA that is responsible for paying invoices.
Recommended setup
Section titled “Recommended setup”| Field | Example value |
|---|---|
| Property | 100 Example Avenue |
| Service contact | Jane Wilson (Example Property Management) |
| Billing contact | Example Gardens Owners Association |
Message and invoice outcome
Section titled “Message and invoice outcome”| Item | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Job reminders/messages | Property manager (service contact) |
| Invoice messages | Billing contact |
| Invoice “Bill to” | Example Gardens Owners Association |
Tip: The billing contact name and billing contact email do not need to represent the same organisation. For example, you may invoice a body corporate or HOA while sending invoice messages to the management company’s accounts team.
Scenario 3: Subcontracting for another business
Section titled “Scenario 3: Subcontracting for another business”You spend a day working for another contractor or business across several of their sites, and you want the work on your schedule, your hours recorded, and one invoice to that business at the end.
You don’t need a special job type for this. The business you work for is the contact, and each site is a property.
Recommended setup
Section titled “Recommended setup”| Field | Example value |
|---|---|
| Contact | Smith Landscaping (the business you work for) |
| Property | Each site you work at, for example 12 Park Road and 40 High Street |
| Service contact | Smith Landscaping |
| Billing contact | Smith Landscaping (or Same as service contact) |
Day-to-day
Section titled “Day-to-day”- Add the business as a contact, then add each site as a property under that contact. See Adding customers.
- Add jobs for those properties to the job run for the day, like any other job.
- Record your time with the job timer on each job, or add the hours afterwards.
- At the end of the day (or week), open Invoicing, set Group by to Group by contact, tick that business’s jobs and click Invoice. SortScape puts them all on one invoice. See One invoice for multiple properties.
If you go back to the same sites, reuse the properties instead of creating new ones.
Common setup patterns
Section titled “Common setup patterns”Owner-occupied residential (simple case)
Section titled “Owner-occupied residential (simple case)”Use the same person as both service contact and billing contact.
Landlord/agency usually pays, tenant sometimes pays, or two regular payers
Section titled “Landlord/agency usually pays, tenant sometimes pays, or two regular payers”Keep one property when a different payer is occasional, and create a second property for the same address when two people regularly pay for different work. See Handling multiple payers.
Important limitations and notes
Section titled “Important limitations and notes”- Automatic invoice reminders apply to SortScape’s built-in invoices (not Xero or QuickBooks Online invoices). See Automatic invoice reminders.
- For Xero or QuickBooks Online workflows, SortScape can create the invoice using the selected billing contact, but invoice delivery timing/rules may depend on your integration settings. See Invoicing customers.
- One billing contact does not mean only one email or mobile. You can put comma-separated emails and additional mobile numbers on that contact so invoice messages reach more than one person. See Notifying more than one person about invoices.