Common question about partnership client invoices in Lacerte

This article answers common questions about managing partnership client invoices in Lacerte, including how to customize billing for specific forms, track preparation time per return, and personalize client letters and salutations.

Table of contents:

Setting up and customizing client invoices

The Client Invoice setup in Lacerte allows firms to define billing schedules, edit captions, and include custom notes or firm branding directly on invoices.

To set up or adjust partnership billing:

1. From the Settings menu, select Client Invoice.
2. In the List of Invoice Schedule section, choose the desired invoice template.
3. On the Options tab:
   • Sales Tax: Enter a rate to add tax to the total invoice.
   • Maximum/Minimum Fee: Set limits for return preparation fees.
   • W-2/1099 Billing: Choose whether to bill all clients, only e-file clients, or none for these forms.
4. Select the Form Charges tab to:
   • Apply charges by form (federal or state).
   • Add per-item fees (e.g., multiple Schedule K-1s).
5. On the Additional Charges tab, enter up to nine custom fees or discounts.

To print a list of form-based charges, go to Settings → Client Invoice → Form Charges → Print.

Back to Table of Contents

Customizing for a single partnership form

If you want to create a unique invoice for one partnership form (such as Form 1065 or Schedule K-1):

1. Go to Settings → Client Invoice.
2. Select the specific invoice schedule for partnerships.
3. On the Form Charges tab, locate the desired form and adjust the fee.
4. You can override the caption or description to reflect custom wording (for example, “Partnership Return Preparation Fee”).
5. Save the invoice and apply it to your client file.

Back to Table of Contents

Adding custom headings or footers

You can personalize invoices with firm notes, disclaimers, or payment instructions.

1. In Settings → Client Invoice, open the Heading/Footing tab.
2. Enter custom text for:
   • Invoice Heading (appears at the top)
   • Invoice Footing (appears at the bottom)
3. Examples:
   • Heading: “Thank you for your continued partnership.”
   • Footing: “Payment due within 30 days. Please make checks payable to ABC Tax Services.”

Back to Table of Contents

Tracking time per partnership return

You can automatically track the time spent preparing each return in Lacerte, helping you assess billing efficiency.

To enable time tracking:

1. Go to Settings → Options.
2. Select the Setup tab.
3. Under Program Options, locate Track Time per Return and set it to Yes.
4. Once enabled, Lacerte records the time spent editing, calculating, and printing each return.
5. To review time data, go to the Client List and add the Time Spent column.

Back to Table of Contents

Editing the partnership client letter salutation

Invoices are often printed along with the client letter and filing instructions. To personalize the salutation in partnership letters:

1. From the Settings menu, select Client Letter.
2. Choose Standard Letter or create a Custom Letter template.
3. In the Salutation field, you can:
   • Replace “Dear Client” with a personalized tag like “Dear [Partner Name]”.
   • Use merge fields for dynamic entry (for example: Dear [ClientFirstName] [ClientLastName]).
4. Save the template so that future partnership invoices and letters use the updated greeting.

Back to Table of Contents

Related articles