---
title: RA bills
summary: Find, approve, reject, download and delete running account (RA) bills, the bills of contractors for the work done so far on a work order.
menu: Accounts > RA Bills
route: /rabills
who: People who have the View RA Bills permission. Creating needs Add, editing needs Edit, deleting needs Delete, approving and rejecting need Approve.
---

A running account (RA) bill is a contractor's bill for the work done so far on a work order. The contractor does not wait for the whole job to end. Every few weeks the contractor bills the work measured in that period. Each bill is numbered RA-1, RA-2, RA-3 and so on.

For example, Acme gives a work order for plastering to a contractor. In October the site measures 400 square metres of finished plaster. The contractor sends RA-1 for those 400 square metres. In November it sends RA-2 for the next measured work.

An RA bill is built from approved [measurement sheets](../measurement-book/index.md), not from typed quantities. This is how Superwise stops a contractor from being paid twice for the same work.

This screen lists the RA bills of the project you have selected.

![The RA Bills list. Mark 1 is the Create button. Mark 2 is the Export to CSV button. Mark 3 is the three dots menu of a row.](../media/ra-bill-list.png)

## How an RA bill moves

1. The site measures the work. The measurement sheets are approved. See [Measurement book](../measurement-book/index.md).
2. You [create an RA bill](create-ra-bill.md). It is **Pending**.
3. An approver clicks **Approve**. The status becomes **Accepted**. The measurement sheets and the debit and credit notes of the bill become **Billed**.
4. The accountant pays the bill. See [Payments](../payments/index.md).
5. If the bill is wrong, the approver clicks **Reject**. The status becomes **Rejected**. The measurement sheets can be billed again.

## Before you start

- Select the project at the top of the screen.
- The contractor must have a work order, and the work must be measured and approved. See [Work orders](../work-order/index.md).
- To create, edit or delete a bill you need the Add, Edit or Delete permission on RA Bills. To approve or reject you need the Approve permission.

## How to find a bill

1. Open **Accounts** in the left menu and click **RA Bills**.
2. Use the filter boxes under the column names: **Created On**, **Project**, **Contractor**, **Bill Date** and **Status**. Click a column name to sort.
3. Click **Export to CSV** to download the list.

The row at the bottom of the table adds up **Amount**, **Tax Amount** and **Total Amount**.

## How to approve, reject, download or delete a bill

1. Click the three dots at the end of the row (mark 3 in the picture above).
2. Choose an action.
3. A box titled **Confirm Action** opens. Click **Confirm**. Click **Cancel** to stop.

![The menu of a Pending RA bill row. It lists Edit, Approve, Abstract, Reject and Delete. The two download items appear only for an Accepted bill.](../media/ra-bill-row-menu.png)

| Action | When you see it | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Edit** | You have the Edit permission. | Opens the bill in the form. |
| **Approve** | You have the Approve permission and the bill is **Pending** or **Rejected**. | Approves the bill. |
| **Abstract** | You have the Edit permission. | Opens the abstract of the work order. See [RA bill abstract](ra-bill-abstract.md). |
| **Download Bill (PDF)** | You have the View permission and the bill is **Accepted**. | Downloads the bill as a PDF. |
| **Download Bill (Excel)** | You have the View permission and the bill is **Accepted**. | Downloads the bill as an Excel file. |
| **Reject** | You have the Approve permission and the bill is **Pending** or **Accepted**. | Rejects the bill. |
| **Delete** | You have the Delete permission. | Deletes the bill. |

Click the arrow at the start of a row to open its details. The tabs are **Details** (code, work item, rate, billed quantity and amount), **More Details**, **Debit / Credit Notes** and **Payments**.

## What the columns mean

| Name | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| **Created On** | The day the bill was created. |
| **Bill No** | The number of the bill within its work order: 1, 2, 3. |
| **Project** | The project of the bill. |
| **Contractor** | The company that sent the bill. |
| **Bill Date** | The date of the contractor's bill. |
| **Invoice No** | The number on the contractor's invoice. It can be empty. |
| **Amount** | The value of the measured work, before tax. |
| **Tax Amount** | The tax on that work. |
| **Total Amount** | Amount plus tax, minus debit and credit notes. |
| **Status** | **Pending**, **Accepted** or **Rejected**. A flagged bill shows **Flagged**. |
| **Status Changed By** | The person who last approved or rejected the bill. |

## Rules to know

- Only a measurement sheet that is **Accepted** can go on an RA bill. A sheet can be on one bill only.
- When you approve a bill, its measurement sheets and its debit and credit notes become **Billed**.
- When you reject a bill, its measurement sheets become available again. Its debit and credit notes stay linked to the rejected bill.
- When you delete a bill, its measurement sheets and its debit and credit notes become available again.
- You cannot delete a bill that is paid. Superwise shows **Cannot delete RA Bill, since bill has been paid.**

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| You cannot see **Create**. | You do not have the Add permission on RA Bills. Ask your administrator. |
| **Cannot delete RA Bill, since bill has been paid.** | A paid bill cannot be deleted. |
| The work you want to bill is not offered. | Check that the measurement sheet is approved and not on another bill. See [Create an RA bill](create-ra-bill.md). |

## Related pages

- [Create an RA bill](create-ra-bill.md)
- [RA bill abstract](ra-bill-abstract.md)
- [Work orders](../work-order/index.md)
- [Measurement book](../measurement-book/index.md)
- [Debit and credit notes](../debit-credit-notes/index.md)
- [Payments](../payments/index.md)