How does a landscaper bill a property manager for multiple properties on one invoice?

Set up the property management company as a parent account by checking the Mark as Parent Account box when creating the client. Then add each property as a child client and select the parent under the Parent Account dropdown. When jobs are completed at any child property, the line items flow to the parent's collecting invoice with the property name prefixed so the manager sees exactly what was done at each address.

Can one property bill separately while the rest go to the property manager?

Yes. Each child property has a Consolidate Invoices toggle. When ON (the default), services go to the parent's invoice. When OFF, services stay on that property's own invoice. This is useful when most properties roll up to the manager but one tenant pays directly.

Can a parent account in FieldPlexus be archived while child properties are still active?

No. A parent account cannot be archived while it has active child properties linked to it. The error 'Cannot archive parent account with active child properties' will appear. Archive the children first, or reassign them to a different parent, and then archive the parent.

How Parent-Child Billing Works for Property Managers

What Parent-Child Billing Solves

When a property management company sends you to five properties, you do not want five separate invoices going to five different tenants. You want one clean invoice to the property manager listing every property with every service itemized. Parent-child billing handles this.

This is also how to bill HOAs, commercial clients with multiple locations, and any one customer who pays for work done at several addresses.

Step 1: Create the Parent Account

Tap Clients in the sidebar
Tap + Add Client
Enter the company name (example: "ABC Property Management")
Enter the email address where all invoices should go
Check the Mark as Parent Account checkbox
Tap Save

The parent is now available to link properties to.

Step 2: Create Each Property as a Child

Tap + Add Client again
Enter the property address or name (example: "123 Main St")
Under the Parent Account dropdown, select the parent you just created
Consolidate Invoices automatically turns ON
Add service address, notes, and default price as needed
Tap Save

Repeat for each property. Five properties under one property manager means five child clients linked to one parent.

How the Billing Flows

When you complete a job at a child property, the line item automatically goes to the PARENT'S collecting invoice. The description gets the property name added so the manager can tell what was done where. Example: "123 Main St - Weekly Mowing."

The parent receives one invoice with every property grouped and itemized. Pay once. Done.

The Consolidate Invoices Toggle

When you link a child to a parent, Consolidate Invoices defaults to ON. That means services go to the parent's invoice. If you want one specific property to bill separately (maybe the tenant pays that one directly), edit the child client and turn Consolidate Invoices OFF. Now that property's services go to its own invoice, not the parent's.

Linking Existing Clients to a Parent

Tap Clients
Find and tap the client you want to link
Tap Edit
Under Parent Account, select the parent
Tap Save

Rules You Should Know

No grandparents. A client cannot be both a parent and a child.
A client cannot be its own parent.
You cannot archive a parent that still has active children. Archive or reassign the children first.
The Mark as Parent checkbox is disabled on clients that are already a child of someone else. Remove the parent assignment first to promote a client to parent status.

Commercial Clients With Longer Payment Terms

Property managers usually pay Net 14 or Net 30 instead of Net 7. Set the default in Settings → Billing → Default Payment Days. That setting applies to all invoices, so if you mix residential and commercial clients, pick what makes sense for the majority and manually adjust when needed.

Still have questions? Tap Help in the sidebar and ask the AI product expert — it knows every feature, every button, every workflow in FieldPlexus.