> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.arkata.mt/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Billing Stages

> How staged billing works in Arkata.

# Billing Stages

Arkata uses **staged billing** — you break a project's total fee into stages, and invoice each stage when the work is done. This matches how most firms bill: not all at once, but at key milestones.

## What is a billing stage?

A billing stage is a chunk of work that will eventually become an invoice. For example:

* "Pre-submittal" — covering site survey and drafting
* "Planning submission" — covering the PA application
* "Post-approval" — covering setting out and BCA

Each stage contains **line items** that describe the individual charges.

## Stage statuses

Each billing stage progresses through:

| Status               | Meaning                                       |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| **Not Ready**        | Still accumulating work, not ready to invoice |
| **Ready to Invoice** | Work is complete, you can generate an invoice |
| **Invoiced**         | An invoice has been created from this stage   |

## Creating a billing stage

1. Open a project
2. Go to the **Billing** tab
3. Click **Add Stage**
4. Give it a name and add line items
5. The stage starts as "Not Ready"

## Adding line items

Each line item has:

* **Description**: What the charge is for
* **Quantity**: How many units
* **Unit price**: Price per unit
* **Total**: Calculated automatically

You can use your firm's **service catalogue** to quickly add common line items (see [Firm Settings](/billing/firm-settings)).

## Moving a stage to "Ready to Invoice"

When all work in a stage is complete, mark it as ready. This signals that an invoice can be generated from it.