Project Administration · training guide · draft

How to prepare and submit monthly client invoices

Turn each project's draft invoice into an approved backup workbook and invoice package, then get it accepted in the client's portal.

Typical time: about 38 min · Billing opens on the 1st of the month, when draft invoices for your projects appear in Deltek Vantagepoint.

Steps

1. 1
   Open the project's draft invoice in Vantagepoint and review the figures. · Deltek Vantagepoint (Microsoft Edge)

   If a phase is over budget, get a contract modification first. If subconsultant invoices are missing, hold the invoice or bill next month.
2. 2
   Set the invoice status to 'Draft for PM review'. · Deltek Vantagepoint

   Leave it as a draft until the PM signs off. Some PMs want to see every draft, so check with yours.
3. 3
   Build the backup workbook with hours, labor cost, fee and subconsultant costs. · Microsoft Excel (Invoice Backup workbook)

   For public-sector clients, use the approved provisional overhead rate for that client and year. Check that totals match Vantagepoint.
4. 4
   Assemble the invoice package PDF. · Adobe Acrobat
5. 5
   Send the package to the PM for review and wait for sign-off. · PM review

   Every client invoice needs PM review before submission. Subconsultant invoices over $50,000 also need a principal's approval.
6. 6
   Open the invoice submission page for the client's agreement. · DOT eCMS portal
7. 7
   Enter the agreement number exactly as written on the client's contract. · DOT eCMS portal

   Don't reformat it. This is one of the fields most often re-edited.
8. 8
   Enter the approved invoice total from Vantagepoint, matching the backup to the cent. · DOT eCMS portal

   Copy and paste the figure rather than retyping it. Amounts are among the most re-edited fields.
9. 9
   Enter the billing period, attach the invoice package PDF and submit. · DOT eCMS portal
10. 10
    Once the portal accepts the package, set the invoice to 'Final'. · Deltek Vantagepoint

Watch out for

• About 59% of cases retype figures from Vantagepoint into Excel, and about 85% retype from Excel into the portal. Each retype risks a mismatch, so the amount must equal the backup to the cent.
• About 5% of cases re-edit fields such as agreement number and invoice amount, so check them before moving on.
• About 22% of observed cases stopped after the backup workbook with no package or portal entry. You're not done until the portal accepts the package and the invoice is Final.
• Missing information, such as subconsultant invoices not yet received, was raised by 2 of 7 team members. Billing over-budget phases without a contract modification is also a risk, so check both before building the backup.

Faster ways

• Paste figures from Vantagepoint and Excel instead of retyping them. Retyping happens in 59% and 85% of cases.
• Ask IT about a Copilot Studio agent with Power Automate flows to pull drafts, check phase status and the overhead rate, and build the backup and PDF package. The estimated time saving is 30–50%.
• Have the agent prepare a ready-to-paste figure sheet for portal entry. Portal entry and PM review stay manual.

Written by AI from how the team actually did this work (2026-10-19 to 2026-10-23): the most common path, the steps people add or redo, and where errors happen. Review and edit before sharing.