This video walks you through the best way to apply and manage the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant for heat pump installations within your Payaca projects.
Setting up the Project and Proposal
To begin, you'll need to create a project and then a proposal that accounts for the BUS grant:
Navigate to Projects from the main left-hand menu.
It's recommended to use a specific pipeline for these types of jobs (e.g., "Heat Pump Pipeline").
Create a new Project, selecting an existing customer or adding a new one.
Once the project is created, go to the Proposals tab.
Create a new proposal. It's helpful to use a pre-existing template designed for heat pump installations that will include the BUS grant (e.g., "Heat Pump with BUS Grant Template"). This template should ideally have a payment schedule structure ready to be adjusted.
Add your line items (e.g., heat pump unit, installation labour) and adjust quantities and prices to reflect the total installation cost. For example, if the total value is £13,556.
Adjusting the Payment Schedule for the BUS Grant
The key to handling the BUS grant correctly is in the payment schedule:
With your proposal items added, click to Edit the payment schedule.
Add a final payment stage specifically for the BUS grant. Name it clearly (e.g., "BUS Grant").
Set the value of this stage to the grant amount, which is currently £7,500.
If adding this £7,500 makes your total payment schedule exceed 100% of the project value, you'll need to adjust one of the other payment stages.
For example, if you want to take a 25% deposit upfront, and the system calculates the remaining pre-grant payment, you can click to reduce the amount of that middle stage. The system will automatically recalculate the percentage for you.
Ensure your payment schedule explainer text clearly communicates how the grant affects the customer's payments. When you preview the proposal, this note should be visible, and the payment schedule should list the final BUS grant stage.
Sending the Proposal and Managing Initial Invoices
Once the proposal and payment schedule are correctly configured:
Send the proposal to your customer.
After the customer accepts (they would typically sign it electronically), mark the proposal as accepted in Payaca.
Upon acceptance, the first invoice (e.g., the deposit) will be automatically generated and sent to the customer.
Draft invoices for the subsequent payment stages (including the pre-grant final customer payment and the grant itself) will also be created.
Before proceeding to the grant application, ensure any interim invoices (like a second stage payment from the customer) are also marked as sent.
Recording the BUS Grant Payment
This is a crucial step for reconciliation:
When the BUS grant is approved and the funds are either confirmed or received by you, you need to register this as a payment in Payaca against the project.
It's recommended to do this before you formally send the "invoice" related to the grant value, as no money is coming from the customer for this portion.
To record the payment:
Payment amount: £7,500
Payment method: Select Other (or an appropriate category you've set up).
Description: Add a clear note, such as "BUS Grant Payment Received".
Once recorded, the project will show that £7,500 has been paid, effectively covering the grant stage. If you were to look at the draft invoice for the grant, it would show a due amount of -£7,500 or £0 if it matches the invoice value.
Finalising the Grant Invoice and Project
After recording the grant payment:
You have an invoice line that corresponds to the £7,500 grant value.
Since the payment has already been recorded, there's no outstanding amount for the customer to pay on this specific invoice.
It is generally best to Mark this invoice as sent (rather than re-sending it to the customer, as it might cause confusion). This action ensures the invoice is processed and sent to your integrated accounting software (like Xero or QuickBooks) for correct reconciliation.
With all payments recorded (customer payments + BUS grant payment), the project should now reflect its fully paid status.
Key Summary
Set up your proposal with a payment schedule that clearly separates the £7,500 BUS grant as a final stage.
Adjust other payment stages to ensure the total project value is correctly allocated between customer payments and the grant.
Once the grant is approved/received, record it as a payment against the project.
Mark the final grant "invoice" as sent for accounting reconciliation, without necessarily sending it to the customer.
Use clear notes and descriptions for all grant-related transactions.
I hope this helps you and your users get the most out of Payaca's features when handling the BUS grant.
If you have any more questions or need further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact our support team via the chat option in the bottom right.