Contract to Invoice

Turn a signed contract into a scheduled, ERP-synced invoice automatically — no manual handoff between sales and billing.

Category: Accounts Receivable

The gap between a signed contract and the first invoice is where revenue leaks. Sales closes the deal, then someone in finance has to read the contract, work out the billing terms, build the schedule, and create the first invoice — often days or weeks later, sometimes never, because the handoff lives in an email and a memory.

This OCTA Core workflow closes that gap. The moment a contract is signed, OCTA reads its billing terms, builds the invoice schedule, drafts the first invoice, routes it for approval, issues it to the customer, and syncs it to your ERP. Billing starts the day the deal does — with no one manually translating a contract into an invoice.

The result: faster time-to-cash, no missed first invoices, and a billing schedule that is set up correctly from the start instead of reconstructed at the first dispute.

How it works

Each node maps to a step in the OCTA Core automation canvas. Amber-accented steps are AI-powered.

  1. Contract Signed (TRIGGER) — WHEN a deal closes: OCTA triggers when a contract is marked signed or a deal is closed-won in your CRM, contract system, or e-signature tool. The signed document and deal record are loaded for the next step.
  2. Extract Billing Terms (AI AGENT) — Powered by OCTA Intelligence: OCTA's AI reads the contract and extracts the billing terms — amounts, currency, billing frequency, start date, term length, and any milestones or usage components — without a human re-keying them from the document.
  3. Build Billing Schedule (RECORDS): OCTA creates the billing schedule from the extracted terms — one-off, recurring, milestone, or usage-based — with each invoice dated correctly across the contract term. The schedule is reviewable before any invoice is drafted.
  4. Draft First Invoice (RECORDS): OCTA drafts the first invoice from the schedule, with the correct customer, line items, amounts, currency, and due date populated automatically. Subsequent invoices fire on their scheduled dates.
  5. Approval Gate (CONDITION) — Wait for approval: Invoices above a defined threshold — or flagged by your rules — pause for a designated approver. Approved invoices proceed automatically; the step is configurable, from mandatory review to auto-approve below threshold.
  6. Issue and Dispatch Invoice (COMMUNICATE): Once approved, OCTA finalises the invoice, generates a branded PDF, and dispatches it to the customer on your configured channel. Delivery is tracked; failures trigger an alert rather than silently dropping.
  7. Synced to ERP (SYNC): The issued invoice and its full schedule are written back to your ERP — with the correct GL codes, cost centers, and period — so billing, revenue recognition, and AR all start from the same source. No manual setup.

About the AI Term Extraction

OCTA's AI does not rely on a fixed contract template. It reads each agreement in context and extracts the billing terms even when contracts are worded differently or structured unusually. Ambiguous terms are surfaced for a quick human confirmation rather than guessed — so the billing schedule is right before the first invoice goes out.

What You Can Customize

  • Trigger source: Trigger from your CRM, contract management system, or e-signature tool when a contract is signed or a deal is closed-won.
  • Billing models: Support one-off, recurring, milestone-based, and usage-based billing — or a mix within a single contract.
  • Schedule review: Choose whether the generated billing schedule is auto-confirmed or held for a human to review before the first invoice drafts.
  • Approval thresholds: Set the invoice value above which human review is required. Invoices below the threshold auto-finalise.
  • ERP sync mapping: Map invoice and schedule fields to your ERP's chart of accounts, cost centers, and period structure. Works with any connected ERP.

Prerequisites

  • CRM, contract system, or e-signature tool connected to OCTA Core with signed-contract events available.
  • Customer master data available in OCTA — including billing contact and payment terms.
  • Contract billing terms in a form OCTA can read (document text or structured deal fields).
  • ERP connected and field mappings configured for invoice sync (GL codes, cost centers, periods).
  • Outbound email configured in OCTA with your sender domain verified.

Setup Instructions

  1. Connect your contract source: Go to OCTA Core → Apps → Integrations and connect the CRM, contract system, or e-signature tool where contracts are signed. Confirm signed-contract events reach OCTA.
  2. Configure the trigger: In the workflow builder, open the Contract Signed node and define the trigger — contract marked signed, or deal moved to closed-won.
  3. Set up term extraction: In the Extract Billing Terms node, confirm which fields the AI pulls and set which ambiguous terms should be flagged for human confirmation.
  4. Define the billing schedule logic: In the Build Billing Schedule node, map the extracted terms to your billing models — recurring, milestone, or usage — and choose whether the schedule auto-confirms or holds for review.
  5. Set your approval threshold: In the Approval Gate node, configure the condition: invoices above [value] require review; below auto-finalise. Assign the approver.
  6. Configure dispatch and ERP sync: In the Issue and Dispatch node, set your invoice template and outbound channel. In the ERP Sync node, map invoice and schedule fields. Test with a single contract before activating.
  7. Activate and monitor: Set the workflow to Active. Run a shadow test with a few signed contracts to validate the end-to-end flow before full production. Monitor run history in OCTA Core → Automations → History.

Use Case

Built for finance teams where revenue starts with a contract — subscription businesses, professional services firms, and any operation where signed deals must be translated into billing schedules and first invoices, today done by hand.

Teams running this workflow report first invoices going out the same day a contract is signed instead of weeks later, and billing schedules that are correct from day one because they are built from the contract itself. Time-to-cash shrinks, missed first invoices disappear, and the sales-to-finance handoff stops being a source of leaked revenue and billing disputes.

If contracts pile up waiting for someone to set up billing, this workflow turns signing into invoicing automatically.

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