How to go from ticket to invoice with creative reporting

Are you confused by the title of this blog article? Great - because then you should definitely read it! At least if you work regularly with Jira and have often struggled with the fact that the reports you can pull from Jira itself don't match your needs. That's exactly what the "Report Builder for Jira" app by our partner Actonic is for! And it can do much more than "just" create great Jira reports.

In fact, Report Builder for Jira is extremely flexible. In this article, we'll show you how you can use it to create not just a classic report, but even a (beautiful) invoice.

In our example, you will see that with a little creativity and coding, very special requirements can be met in Jira. Of course, it doesn't work completely without putting some effort into it, but the end result will be exactly what you need.

Why use a reporting app for an invoice?

Report Builder for Jira was developed to make it possible for users to pull data from Jira and use them somewhere else. In the beginning, the app built timesheets – today, it can be used to turn Jira processes and all the data they contain into reports and even invoices.

Normally, this is not easy: first you have to export the data from Jira, for example as a .CSV file, and then import it, for example, Excel, and edit it further. It usually takes multiple steps before a report (or invoice) is created from this – no matter if you use Excel or another external application. This takes time and nerves, and errors can easily creep their way in. Just imagine what could happen if two numbers are accidentally switched around, especially in invoices.

Report Builder for Jira provides a remedy – without any data transformation by third-party apps. This way, the data completely stays in Jira Cloud, which is a huge bonus in terms of data security. So you don't need any data processing engines or other apps – guaranteed!

How does it all work?

Did we make you curious? Then read on, because now we'll explain how Report Builder can be used to create even complex invoices directly from Jira. For everyone who knows Jira, this might sound impossible, but it's actually quite simple (at least with our app!)

First, you download the app Report Builder: Jira Reports and Data Analysis from the Atlassian Marketplace. Install it in your Jira instance – from then on you'll find the app in the "Apps" tab. There you will find a lot of templates for prepared reports, for example "Closed vs. Reopened" or "Created vs. Resolved". The names speak for themselves. You can use all of these reports right away, and they'll create the report you want in only a few minutes. Every Report can be added to the personal Reports of the respective user.

The crux of the matter: Creating a new "Scripted Report"

So how do you now create that invoice you want? In the menu in the top right, you'll see the button "New Scripted Reports" (in this case an invoice).

Here you can see the template tab, which contains your HTML code and the CSS styles, as well as the script tab. The whole thing is made functional with JavaScript code.

The split editor is practical – it allows you to see both editors, template and script, at the same time.

Let's get started with the actual invoice! Define your minimum requirements: Your document will probably need a logo, an address, the name of your company, e-mail, phone number, etc. Then there's the normal, dynamic data of an invoice: Invoice number, date, the number of invoiced products or services, the invoice total, etc. There are no limits to the flexibility of the data in the invoice.

As you can see, this is simply coding in the script - then you send everything to the template. This is where you create the various parameters that your invoice should contain, such as the title and description. Create the various parameters and then send them to your template. To do this, Report Builder uses the Handlebars framework: it allows you to convert variables into beautiful HTML syntax. The data from Jira is transferred to the template (HTML+CSS) via the handlebars using JavaScript. After a refresh, you can already see the results in the preview. Incidentally, the whole thing works for any type of report, not just for invoices.

If you're familiar with coding, you probably already know what this is all about (for everyone else: don't worry, we'll explain it step by step).

Three steps with Report Builder for Jira: Get data, calculate data, and display data

In our example we'll create a very simple invoice. To do this, we use the data from just one Jira process and create an invoice with them.

Step 1: // Get data

We want to pull the data from a specific ticket. To do this, we need an input field whose value we transfer to the script. Select the field type "Issue Picker" from the dropdown menu, enter a field name and a field title, and the input field is finished. Next, we need to put the data from this selection into the JavaScript code. There are ready-made code snippets for this in the documentation. Once everything is inserted, we can take a look at the Jira processes and select the one we want to invoice for or, rather, whose data we need for the invoice!

Step 2: Calculate the data

Now some interesting things happen. For example, Jira usually saves the duration of recorded working time in seconds. This means you need to convert the seconds into hours (divide by 3600). This value can then be rounded down using JavaScript.

Congratulations! The first, simple version of the invoice is ready!

Step 3: Display the data (beautifully)

This part requires a bit more time, but it's worth the investment because your invoice will look great in the end! You can work with CSS to add colors, fonts, and more.

Is there a simpler way? Of course! By using an online WYSIWYG editor, like for example http://onlinehtmleditor.dev, instead of diving deep into HTML and CSS (WYSIWYG stands for "What You See Is What You Get, by the way). In that editor you build your template as desired and then copy the whole thing, paste it into the template and continue working there to customize and improve everything. Simple, but effective!

By the way, this is live data. That's what makes this system so special. This means that changes in the Jira tickets also land in the report (or in this case the invoice) in real-time. Similarly, the date, for example, will always be inserted correctly as soon as the end user fills in the invoice.

The highlight is the absolute flexibility of the system. When the invoice number needs to be a combination of letters and numbers, an additional input field is simply added. Everything is controlled via the fields.

Whatever else belongs in the invoice – price, rates, total sum, etc. – everything is coded using the fields and the WYSIWYG editor. Alternatively, you can create your own code in HTML or CSS. You decide what you prefer or how much time you can or want to spend. 🙂

Invoice, please! Oh, it's already finished? Yes!

Your (gorgeous) invoice is ready! Now you can view and call it up as a report in the Report Builder.

Once you have created the invoice, you can then export it as a PDF or make it available to your team or accounting department. You can also share the permissions for it (under "Report Permissions"): This lets you either make the invoice public or only give certain users permission to use it.

And of course, anyone with the right permissions can also fill out the "invoice report" again and again! This way, collected live data from Jira can be turned into a functional invoice that can save you and your team members time in the future.

The Report Builder for Jira roadmap

Did you like the idea of creating a both functional and aesthetically pleasing invoice directly in Jira? WIth real-time data and without having to laboriously export everything from Jira? Then follow us, because our roadmap for the Report Builder is huge: For example, in the future, we will simplify data processing, develop special libraries to add data without having to write a lot of code, and much more! New project, sprint and dashboard reports are also on our agenda.

And now we hope you enjoy creating your first invoice with our Report Builder for Jira!