Billing Codes

Billing Codes (formerly Projects, and sometimes called cost centres) let organisations assign print, copy, and scan jobs to a specific code for granular cost tracking and reporting. Users can select a billing code when submitting a job, and administrators can report on activity grouped by code to support client invoicing and departmental chargebacks.

Overview

Billing codes add a second dimension to OptimiDoc's cost tracking. Where Price Lists define how much each page costs, billing codes define where that cost is allocated. In the English interface this feature is called Billing Codes throughout (it was previously named Projects).

Typical use cases:

• Client billing — assign jobs to a client code for accurate invoicing.

• Departmental budgeting — track printing against departmental budgets.

• Cost centre allocation — route costs to the correct accounting codes in your ERP system.

Prerequisites

The feature must be enabled before it can be used:

1. Go to Settings > Print Settings.

2. Turn on Enable billing codes.

3. Click Save.

Once enabled, billing codes appear in the report filters, in the group management dialog (as a Billing Codes tab), and wherever jobs are submitted.

Accessing Billing Codes

1. Sign in to the OptimiDoc web interface as an administrator.

2. Open Billing Codes from the Reports area of the navigation menu.

The data grid shows the following columns:

Use the search bar to filter by name or code; results update as you type.

Creating a Billing Code

1. Click Add Billing Code.

2. A dialog opens with two tabs: General and Access Rights.

General Tab

Access Rights Tab

The Access Rights tab controls which users can see and select this billing code:

To restrict a code, switch to the Access Rights tab, remove Everyone, and add the specific groups that should have access. A code with group restrictions appears only at the MFP terminal and in the web interface for users who belong to one of the allowed groups.

Click Create to save (or Save when editing).

Editing and Deleting

• Edit — open the row's three-dot menu and choose Edit. The dialog opens on both the General and Access Rights tabs with the current values.

• Delete — choose Delete from the row menu and confirm. Jobs previously assigned to a deleted code keep the code in historical reports but cannot be reassigned.

• Bulk delete — tick the checkbox on each row (or the header checkbox to select the page), then use the Delete action that appears in the selection toolbar.

Import and Export

For managing large numbers of codes, the page supports CSV import and export from the dropdown next to the Add Billing Code button:

• Export downloads a CSV of all billing codes.

• Import reads a CSV and reports how many codes were created and updated — existing codes are matched and updated rather than duplicated.

This is ideal for migrating codes from an external accounting system or provisioning them in bulk across installations.

Default Billing Code per User

Each user can have a default billing code that applies to their jobs automatically, so they need not choose one every time. The default is picked from an autocomplete (on the user's account form and on the Default Billing Code dashboard widget) and is stored by its code rather than an internal identifier, so exporting and re-importing codes keeps everyone's default intact. Users are only offered codes they are permitted to use.

Using Billing Codes in Reports

Billing-code data runs throughout the reporting system:

Billing Codes in Groups

When the feature is enabled, the group management dialog shows a Billing Codes tab (when editing an existing group) with a read-only list of the codes associated with that group through their access rights. To change which codes a group can use, edit the code's Access Rights tab here rather than in the group dialog. See Groups.

Tips

• Use codes that align with your accounting system for easy reconciliation.

• Restrict sensitive codes (for example client-specific billing) to the relevant teams via Access Rights.

• Combine billing codes with Price Lists to get both cost-per-page and cost-per-code in your reports.

• Use Import/Export to keep codes in step with your ERP or accounting system.

Related articles

• All Jobs

• Standard Reports

• Price Lists

• Print Settings

• Groups