Bill plans and revenue plans

A bill plan holds the rules for producing an invoice; a revenue plan holds the rules for recognizing revenue. They are separate and they should be: you can invoice in advance and recognize revenue as work is done, or do work and recognize revenue before you are entitled to invoice. The two events answer different questions — what can we ask the client to pay, and what have we earned. The gap creates unbilled (revenue recognized, not yet invoiced — an asset) and unearned (invoiced, revenue not yet recognized — a liability), both on the balance sheet, both audited, and explaining their movement is a monthly task. Many clients assume the two events are the same, and correcting that early prevents a difficult UAT.