Fixed-price invoicing with internal item tracking without exposing lines in e-invoice

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Posted on by MS-06111451-0

Hi!
We often work on fixed-price projects where we agree on a total amount with the customer – for example, 350,000 NOK. This amount is based on an internal breakdown of several lines (hours, materials, equipment, etc.).

When the job is completed, we want to:

1. Invoice the customer with a single line showing the total amount (e.g. “Invoice according to agreement – 350,000 NOK”) – without showing the details.

2. Register the actual item/resource lines in the sales order with correct quantities and costs – so that:
- items are deducted from inventory

- resource usage is tracked

- we maintain correct internal reporting, profitability analysis, and item statistics

I’m aware of the workaround where we just customize the invoice PDF report layout to only display the total line, and hide all the detailed lines. However, this doesn’t help when sending the invoice as an electronic document (EHF/Peppol/e-invoice), where all the order lines are included in the XML file, and the customer can still see the full breakdown.

So my question is: Is there a proper way to handle this in Business Central – so that the customer only sees the total fixed amount (both in the PDF and the XML), but we still internally post all item/resource lines for correct cost and inventory tracking?

Any advice or experience on this would be greatly appreciated!

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Dynamics 365 Business Central

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Montassar Krichi 231 on at

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Hi!
This is a common and very relevant scenario in Business Central for fixed-price project or contract billing, where internal granularity is needed for costing, but the customer must only see a summarized total. You're absolutely right that customizing the report layout alone doesn’t resolve the issue for EHF/Peppol/e-invoice, as the XML structure exposes all lines by default.

Business Central – Best Practice for Your Use Case:

Here’s a clean, two-layer solution to achieve both internal control and customer-facing simplicity.

🔹 Step 1: Post Actuals Internally (Tracking, Costing, Inventory)

Create a Sales Order (or Job Journal / Job Planning Lines):

Enter all actual item and resource lines.

Ensure:

Items reduce inventory

Resources track usage

Proper dimensions/statistics are recorded

Line types and costing methods are accurate

Post these lines internally, but do NOT invoice them directly to the customer.

→ If using Jobs, post via Job Journal and then manage invoicing separately.
→ If using Sales Orders, post as a shipment only, not an invoice.
🔹 Step 2: Create a Separate Invoice for Customer (Summary Only)
After internal posting:

Create a new Sales Invoice (or Job Sales Invoice) manually.

Add a single line such as:

vbnet
CopierModifier
Description: Invoice as agreed
Amount: 350,000 NOK
Type: G/L Account (use a generic revenue account)

Send this invoice to the customer (PDF and/or EHF/Peppol) – this will contain only the one total line.

This invoice is linked to the customer and posted as revenue – no item/resource lines are exposed in XML or PDF.

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Sohail Ahmed 11,175 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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This is a very common and valid requirement in project-based businesses, and unfortunately, there is no out-of-the-box functionality in Business Central to cleanly separate internal cost tracking from what is exposed to the customer in e-invoicing (Peppol/EHF/XML).

However, here’s a approach you can take:

You should use Job Planning Lines for internal tracking of resources, items, and costs. Then, create a Sales Invoice manually (or via Job Planning Lines marked for billing), but only bring in one single sales line summarizing the fixed price (e.g. "According to Agreement – 350,000 NOK").

Meanwhile, keep all detailed lines in the job ledger entries for profitability analysis, inventory reduction, and resource tracking. Just don’t include those lines on the invoice document itself. This way:

The job still reflects the full breakdown internally.

The sales invoice only contains the summary line, and only that line is sent in the EHF/Peppol XML.

To avoid lines being sent to the e-invoice, do not include them in the invoice at all. Modifying the PDF layout won’t help since e-invoice formats like Peppol serialize all invoice lines from the actual posted document. You must control what goes into the invoice itself.

If you’re using Job G/L Journals or Job Planning Lines, make sure they’re marked not billable, and then post a separate invoice with a manually added total line.

For automation, consider a customization to summarize and replace lines when sending electronic invoices—but that requires AL development.

✅ Mark this answer as verified if it helps you.

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Sagar Dangar, MCP 813 Moderator on at

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Hi,

1. Create invoice with one total amount line and post it and invoices in PDF and XML shows only total

2. Create project journal lines and post it to handle Items/Resources usage internally.

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