The customer-to-cash workflow, step by step

Every service business runs the same chain of events, whether it is written down or not: someone asks for help, you say what it will cost, you do the work, you ask to be paid, and you check that the money arrived. Enaivu is organised around that chain. This guide walks through each step and shows what is carried forward from the step before.

1. Inquiry: capture the lead

An inquiry arrives by email, phone or your website form. Create a lead with the company, the contact person, where the inquiry came from, and the owner on your team. Add a next action with a date, for example "Send quotation, Friday".

What you entered here is reused by every later step. You will not type the company name again.

2. Proposal: quote from your rate card

Open the lead and create a quotation. Line items come from your rate card (your standard services and prices), so a typical quote takes a few minutes. Add scope notes, validity and payment terms, then send the quotation link or PDF.

The quotation records when it was viewed and when it was accepted. If a revision is needed, create a new version; the history stays attached.

3. Project: start from the accepted scope

When the quotation is accepted, create the project from it. The accepted line items become the project's scope and budget, and the lead becomes a customer. Add milestones with target dates, for example Discovery, Draft, Final delivery.

4. Tasks: assign the work

Break each milestone into tasks with an owner and a due date. Everyone sees their own list across all projects, and the project shows what is done, in progress and overdue. Log time on tasks if you bill by the hour or want to see budget burn.

5. Delivery: track status honestly

As tasks close, milestone status updates itself. A project status summary can be shared with the customer and is generated from the real milestones rather than written from memory.

6. Invoice: bill from the project

When a milestone is complete, raise an invoice for it. The amount comes from the agreed scope, the customer details come from the record, and the invoice appears on the customer's timeline. Send it and track whether it has been viewed.

7. Payment tracking: close the loop

Record payments as they arrive, in full or in part. Overdue invoices trigger reminders on the cadence you set. The customer record now shows the whole story: the inquiry, the quote, the project, what was delivered, what was billed and what was paid.

Where AI fits

At any step you can ask the assistant what needs attention. It reads the records you have access to, cites them, and proposes next actions or drafts for you to approve. It does not act on your behalf without that approval.

Next steps

• Set up your workspace so customers and rate cards are ready before the first inquiry.
• Quoting from a rate card covers the quotation step in detail.