When a bill comes into Adfin from Actionstep, two things decide who's involved: the bill's Bill to decides who Adfin emails, and your bill template decides whose name is on the bill PDF. This guide covers what happens by default, and how to change it when someone other than your client is paying.
Who Adfin emails by default
Adfin emails the contact in the bill's Bill to.
Actionstep fills the Bill to with the first client on the matter, so by default that's who Adfin emails.
Adfin doesn't email any other participants on the matter.
Whose name is on the bill by default
Actionstep's standard bill templates print the Bill to's name and address at the top of the bill PDF. So by default, the bill is addressed to the same person Adfin emails, and if you change the Bill to, the bill is addressed to the new person too.
Adfin doesn't read or change your bill PDF, so what it shows is up to your template.
Change it for your scenario
Your client is paying: there's nothing to change. The Bill to is your client by default, but it's worth checking before you click Save + Approve.
Someone else is paying, such as a relative, an employer or a billing contact: change the Bill to (see Change the Bill to on a bill below). With a standard template, the bill is then addressed to them.
Someone else is paying, but the bill should stay addressed to your client: change the Bill to, and ask your admin to update your bill template once (see Keep the bill addressed to your client below). The bill then shows your client at the top, with a Payable by line for whoever is paying.
Change the Bill to on a bill
Adfin picks up a bill once it's approved in Actionstep, so please change the Bill to before you click Save + Approve.
On the bill, click Change in the Charges summary.
In the Client setup window, choose the person or company who's paying under Bill to, then click OK.
Keep the bill addressed to your client
Your admin can change your bill template once, so the top of the bill always shows your client (or another participant type of your choice), with a Payable by line that only appears when someone else is in the Bill to. Every bill you produce from that template afterwards picks this up.
The merge fields you need
Merge fields are the codes in your template that Actionstep fills in on each bill, and each «…» below is one field. You'll find every field in Actionstep under Admin > Document assembly > Merge field list. These are the ones you need:
What you want on the bill | Merge fields |
Your client's name, at the top | «FullName|pt=Client» |
Your client's address, one field per line | «MailingAddressLineComma|pt=Client|ifnull=ignore» «MailingCity|pt=Client|ifnull=ignore» «MailingPostCode|pt=Client|ifnull=ignore» |
A Payable by line, on one line. It only prints when someone other than your client is in the Bill to. | «"*IF {FullName|pt=Sp__theirnamelist} != {FullName|pt=Client} *"»Payable by: «FullName|pt=Sp__theirnamelist»«*ENDIF*» |
To address bills to a different participant, such as a Principal Contact, use that participant type in place of Client, with an underscore for any space.
Update your template
Please go to Admin > Billing > Custom bill templates, open your template, and click the Word file under Current template to download it. If you're on one of Actionstep's built-in templates, set up a custom one first, as in Step 4 of Connect Actionstep to Adfin.
Open it in the Microsoft Word desktop app. Near the top, «Their Name(s)» and «Billing address» print the Bill to's name and address.
Replace them with the merge fields in the table: your client's name, then their address, then the Payable by line.
Save the file. In Actionstep, click Upload new template file, choose your file and click Save.
On your next bill, choose your template under Invoice template and click Preview PDF to check it before Save + Approve.
Actionstep's own guides go into more detail: Working with Invoice Templates, Understanding Merge Field Options and Viewing the List of Actionstep Merge Fields.
If you have any trouble, reach out to the Adfin team for support.