Why Does It Seem That the Invoices Are Double-Billed?

Applies To: Work 365 (Dynamics 365 / Power Platform)
Audience: Administrators, Billing Teams, Finance Teams

Overview

Seeing two invoices generated close together can look like a duplicate charge. In most cases this is catch-up billing triggered when a Billing Contract’s Start Date or Next Invoice Date sits in the past. Work 365 automatically creates invoices for any previous unbilled periods to bring the contract current. This is expected behavior—not a duplicate bill.

Reference: Work 365 Support Portal – Troubleshooting Billing Contract Setup

What’s Happening

During initial setup or migration, if the Billing Contract start precedes the first invoice, Work 365 evaluates:

• Start Date

• Next Invoice Date

• Billing Frequency (Monthly / Quarterly / Annual)

If it finds unbilled time, Work 365 generates:

• Catch-Up Invoice – covers past, unbilled periods.

• Regular Invoice – covers the current cycle.

These may be created on the same day, but each covers a different service period.

How to Verify & Resolve

1) Inspect the Billing Contract Dates

Open the Billing Contract and review:

• Start Date

• Next Invoice Date

• Billing Frequency

If the Start Date is in the past, catch-up invoices are expected.

2) Review the Service Periods on Each Invoice

Open each invoice and check Service Start and Service End:

• Different ranges (e.g., Jan–Mar vs. Apr–Jun) → catch-up + current billing ✅

• Identical/overlapping ranges → revisit Billing Frequency and Next Invoice Date on the Billing Contract ⚠️

3) Adjust Future Billing Dates (If Needed)

If you don’t intend to bill for past periods:

• Update Start Date or Next Invoice Date to the intended start point.

• Void/Delete the back-dated invoice if it doesn’t represent a valid period (per your finance policy).

• Regenerate future invoices to align with the new schedule.

Important Considerations

• Each invoice should represent a distinct service period.

• Back-billing is intentional to ensure complete revenue coverage.

• Changing dates or deleting invoices can affect revenue recognition, reporting, and audits.

• Once aligned, future invoices follow the configured frequency without duplicates.

Best Practices

• Verify Start Date and Next Invoice Date before enabling automation.

• Document migrations so historical dates reflect your plan.

• Preview invoices for the first run.

• Scrutinize the first cycle after go-live/migration—catch-up billing most often appears here.

Quick FAQ

Q: Are these true duplicates?
A: Almost never. They typically cover different service periods (catch-up vs. current).

Q: Can I stop catch-up billing?
A: Yes. Set Start Date/Next Invoice Date to your intended start and remove unintended back-dated invoices per policy.

Q: Why did two invoices generate on the same day?
A: Work 365 created a catch-up invoice for past periods and a current-cycle invoice to bring the contract current.

Summary

Apparent “double billing” is usually catch-up billing for past, unbilled timeframes. To confirm and correct:

1. Check Start Date, Next Invoice Date, Billing Frequency.

2. Compare service periods on each invoice.

3. Adjust dates or void the back-dated invoice if not intended.
   After alignment, subsequent cycles will bill normally.