---
title: "Check a client's next bill"
description: "Read the next-bill estimate for an agreement, see which devices and people each line counts, what changed since the last invoice, and what no line bills."
url: "https://support.outpostplatform.com/msp/next-bill-estimate/"
product: "depot"
type: "how-to"
status: "draft"
ai_summary: "MSP plan. The Next bill card on an agreement and on the client's Agreements page estimates the next invoice from the same code that drafts it: lines with counted devices or people, discounts, true-ups, tax, total, Counts taken at, the change since the last invoice, devices no line bills, and warnings. Clients with the portal see a client-facing version under Next bill."
availability:
  plans: ["msp"]
  permission: "psa:read"
  preview: false
source: "https://gitlab.com/outpostplatform/docs/-/edit/main/src/content/docs/msp/next-bill-estimate.md"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
---

# Check a client's next bill

The **Next bill** card shows what a client's next invoice will charge if
nothing changes before it is drafted. Outpost builds the estimate with the
same code that builds the invoice, from the same counts, so the two agree line
for line. Use it after you change an agreement, and before a client asks why
their bill moved.

## Before you begin

- Reading the estimate needs `psa:read`.
- The estimate reads what is saved. Save the agreement first.

## Open the estimate

The card appears in two places:

- On a saved agreement, below **Save**.
- On the client's **Client billing** > **Agreements** page, for the active
  agreement.

## Read the estimate

The top of the card shows the total and the period it covers. **Prorated**
shows when the period is part of a month, such as an agreement's first.
**Counts taken at** gives the time the counts were read. The invoice is
built from the counts on its own run date, so the estimate moves as devices
and people come and go.

The table lists each line the invoice will carry:

| Column | Shows |
| --- | --- |
| **Line** | The line's description and kind, such as **Per device**, **Per seat**, **Discount**, or **Usage true-up**. |
| **Counted** | The usage method for a counted line, and **Show** to list the devices or people it counted. |
| **Quantity** | The count, or a decimal for a daily true-up such as `0.3333`. |
| **Unit** | The unit price in force for the period. |
| **Amount** | The line's total. Discounts and credits are negative. |

**Subtotal**, **Tax**, and **Total** follow.

**Since the last invoice** compares the estimate with the client's last
invoice for this agreement. Each changed line shows the quantity before and
after, how many members were added and removed, the change in amount, and the
names under **Added** and **Removed**. When there is no earlier invoice, it
says so.

## Act on the warnings

| The card shows | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| **N devices are not billed by any line** | No line's device filter matches them. Select **Show them**, then widen a filter or add a line if they should be billed. See [Bill by device type and seat](/msp/device-and-seat-lines/). |
| **N Linux/BSD devices are classed as workstations** | A line filters on servers, and these machines have no server role. Tag them or add them to a device group, and filter on that. |
| A line **is measured by** peak or daily **and there is no earlier invoice** | Expected after a switch to peak or daily. The true-up starts on the invoice after next. See [Bill seat and device changes](/msp/usage-methods/). |
| A line **has no usage recorded** | Outpost has no daily counts for that period, so the line is not trued up. |
| **A usage credit ... was larger than this invoice** | Part of a credit was left off so the invoice stays at zero or above. Issue a credit note for the rest. See [Invoice clients](/msp/client-invoicing/). |

## What the client sees

When the client portal is on for the client, members with the **Next bill**
page see the same estimate, with two differences:

- Devices no line bills are never shown to the client.
- Of the warnings, only the one about a usage adjustment still being measured
  is shown. The others are advice for you.

See [Client portal](/client-portal/).

## Next steps

- [Bill by device type and seat](/msp/device-and-seat-lines/)
- [Invoice clients](/msp/client-invoicing/)