Why this happens

Sponsor billing is usually missed for ordinary reasons rather than big mistakes. The team did the work and documented it, but the record of the work and the record of what was billed are kept in different places. Someone has to connect them later, often weeks after the visit.

Where it tends to slip

  • Completed visits: a visit is finished in the source but never reaches the invoice list.
  • Invoiceable items: screen failures, re-consents, unscheduled visits and similar items may be payable under the contract, but they don't appear on the regular visit schedule.
  • Rate changes: an amended budget changes what a visit is worth, and an old rate stays in the spreadsheet.
  • Subject stipends: amounts owed to subjects aren't tracked against what the site has paid.

What's billable depends on your own clinical trial agreement, so these are places to check rather than a rule for every study.

Habits that help

  • Read the budget with the billing person before the first subject is enrolled
  • List every invoiceable item with the trigger that makes it billable
  • Invoice on a set schedule rather than waiting for the sponsor to ask
  • Compare each invoice with enrolled subjects and completed visits
  • Review budget against actuals during the study, not only at closeout

For a monthly routine, see our guide on how to invoice clinical trial sponsors.

Bill from the same record

The most useful change is to build invoices from the study record itself, so there's less to match by hand. That's how our clinical trial billing software works: invoices come from performed visits and your rates, and each line can be checked against study records. Your team still decides what the contract allows.

Want to see it with your studies in mind?

Tell us how your site invoices sponsors today, and we'll walk you through how it would work.

Talk to us