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Understanding Status Lifecycles in Karbon: Time Entries, Invoices, and Payments

Clearly defined status flows for Time Entries, Invoices, and Payouts in Karbon, with triggers.

Erin Jamison avatar
Written by Erin Jamison
Updated today

Karbon organizes billing activities into clear and predefined status lifecycles for Time Entries, Invoices, and Payouts. Below you'll find detailed explanations of each status and their transitions.

Time Entries Status Flow

Status

Meaning

When It Happens

Unbilled

Time logged but not yet invoiced.

When billable time is saved and not linked to any invoice.

Interim

Work included on an invoice but not finalized or completed.

When an invoice linked to a work item is approved, but the work item is not marked complete or final billed.

Billed

Work has been invoiced, completed, and finalized (fixed fee) or invoiced and approved (time-based).

Time-based: entries are added to an approved invoice.Fixed fee: work is marked complete and final billed.

Note: Timesheet approval statuses (Draft, Submitted, Approved, or Declined) do not affect billing statuses of individual time entries.

Invoice Status Flow

Status

Meaning

When It Happens

Draft

Invoice created but not yet finalized.

Invoice is initially created, adding items from the unbilled section.

Approved

Invoice finalized and ready to be sent.

Invoice reviewed and approved by staff.

Awaiting Payment

Invoice sent to client.

Invoice is emailed or published via client portal.

Exported

Invoice exported to an external accounting system (e.g., Xero or QBOA).

Invoice export action is completed within the billing run.

Paid

Full payment received.

Client payment via Karbon Payments or manual payment recorded externally. (For QBOA integration, payments recorded externally sync back to Karbon.)

Voided

Invoice cancelled or invalidated.

Invoice manually voided by user.

Payouts (Firm Receiving Funds from Processor)

Status

Meaning

When It Happens

Processing

Payout initiated, processing underway.

Funds transfer from processor to firm's bank account has started but not completed yet.

Success

Funds successfully deposited into firm’s bank account.

Funds are confirmed settled in firm's bank account (visible in Karbon's Payout tab under Payments report).

Failed

Payout transfer failed.

Transfer from processor to bank account unsuccessful.

Understanding these clearly defined statuses will help streamline your billing processes and reduce confusion when navigating between Time Entries, Invoices, Payments, and Payouts in Karbon.

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