Welcome to GrandTotal 7

This help document can always be accessed from the Help menu.

Please note the ?-buttons across the application. They provide direct help on many topics.

This document covers the full featured version of GrandTotal. Depending on your plan, features can be missing in your edition.

Getting started

New Company

If you create a new company via the File menu, you can define the most important settings in the setup wizard with just a few clicks.

Later you can configure the Settings further basic settings for your own business and documents.

Video Tutorials

A selection of Screencasts is available here: Show Screencasts

Customize your layout

A selection of templates can be downloaded in the layouts section. You may modify the layouts to fit your company's design needs.

Editions

GrandTotal comes in 4 editions. S, M, L and XL. Features that are only available in a higher tier are marked with the corresponding edition.

Traditional licenses mostly correspond to the XL edition, except for features that where added after the release of the current version. They will be part of the next major upgrade for this type of license.

What has changed in version 7?

Compared to version 6 GrandTotal 7 offers a variety of new features to improve your workflow.

New features (Excerpt)

General
  • Adaptations to the new appearance of macOS 11
  • Support for Apple Processors
Clients
  • Individual hourly rates
  • Export as vCards
  • Labels for categorization
Documents Search
  • Search (⌘F) has been improved
Items
  • Import for calendar events
  • Summary items
  • Dynamic cost
PDF
  • Forms in PDF backdrops are copied to the documents now
Catalog
  • Option to hide the catalog when in item list
  • Labels for categorization
Taxes
  • Archiving for old tax rates
E-Invoices
  • ZUGFeRD 2.1.1 (EN16931)
Data protection
  • Removing of documents older than 10 years
Overview
  • Quick view of amounts

Migration from GrandTotal 5 and older

Starting with Version 6, GrandTotal uses a new file format. Users of older versions of will be asked to migrate existing data upon launch.

Migration of older data can be started from the GrandTotal menu manually as well. There you also can delete older, not longer needed data.

The shared syncing folder used by older versions of GrandTotal has to be deleted manually: It’s located in GrandTotal/com.mediaatelier.grandtotal.sync in the root of your Dropbox or iCloud Drive. Make sure you don’t have saved own files in that directory, before deleting it.

FAQ

Can I work on the same file at the same time?
    Yes, if it is on a cloud drive or in a shared folder on the device.
Is it possible to manage different companies or mandates?
    Yes. You can create a new company using the File menu.
Can backup copies still be made?
    Yes. To do this, save the corresponding GrandTotal file in the Finder or use the menu File/Save copy.
Can I save data for older versions of GrandTotal?
    Yes. Backup copies can be made for GrandTotal 3-5. However, you can only restore data that is supported by the corresponding version. Menu File/Save copy with ⌥ key pressed.
Can GrandTotal 7 be synchronized with older versions?
    No. This only works with GrandTotal 7 and newer.

Overview

The optional badge on the overview icon:
  • Green: SEPA direct debit to process
  • Orange: Invoices are due
  • Red: Invoices are overdue
  • Blue: Recurring documents are due

Dashboard

The dashboard gives you a quick overview of open invoices. You also can compare revenues to last year's period.

All values are converted to your default currency using the exchange rate entered in Preferences/Payments.

Charts

In the Charts section you can compare and visualize values. The scale can be picked on the top right.
In the bottom part you select the values to be in the chart. The color of the bars can be changed. Drag the items to change the order. Drag it out of the window to delete them.

Right clicking on a bar gives you option to spilt the values by various criteria.
Clicking on a bar shows a list of the corresponding documents. Double clicking a document will show it. The list can be exported as well.

All the values are shown in your primary currency. The exchange rate can be set in Preferences/Payments

Previous year's values are only displayed in scales that are comparable.

If comparing items, it is most likely that you will get rounding differences compared to the invoices. (This is because taxed are calculated on the total on invoices and not on the individual item)

Charts will become available as soon you have sent documents.

Drafts

Here you will find all the documents that have not yet been sent.

SEPA Direct Debit

This section is populated with direct debit items to be processed.
From here you can export an XML file that can be uploaded to your bank or send it directly to MoneyMoney.
Settings for direct debits are located in Preferences/Identification and the Clients.

Templates

Here you can see your Document-Templates (if you have created any) and edit them. Templates are created by right clicking an existing invoice.

Use the "Edit/Delete" Menu to remove unused Templates.

Work time (optional)

GrandTotal supports various time tracking applications. Their recordings appear in the corresponding section. Already invoiced items are listed in the "Invoiced" section.

Item with no cost are not listed by default. This can be changed in Preferences/Time tracking

"Invoice selection" is looking for the client for the items. In case there is already an invoice draft the entries will be added. Otherwise a new draft is created with the selected item.

You also can add times to a specific document by copying the items, move to the invoice select the list and paste them.

If the option "Auto-group" is turned on, items with the same title are grouped. Titles are setup in Preferences/Work time.

Use the Edit/Archive menu to remove unwanted entries.

Plugins

Services can be added by loading them from the „Get Plugins“ section. Show

Sent

All sent documents are listed here. They are grouped by year and month.

Reporting

There are several tools to analyze invoices and payments.

Date Range

You may summarize you data in various ways, Use "File/Export" to save CSV files.

Clients

Clients can be filtered by year, revenue, client group or country. The results can be exported or printed either as list or address labels.

Months

This view is a leftover from older versions and has been replaced by the Charts.

Plugins

GrandTotal can be extended by plugins. Load plugins to import time here.

Smart lists

Using smart lists you can group invoices, estimates and payments according to different criteria.

Clients

All documents for the corresponding client are listed here. On top you will always see the most recent document.

Click the ⓘ-button to change the client information.

Use the search box above the clients to filter the list. Clicking on the lens icon to filter the list by client group or label.

Client Data

Contact Information

Here you define the client group, the default currency, terms and what layouts should be used for this clients documents.

Use the menu Edit/Set as default you can make any contact the default one.

You can specify multiple email addresses separated by commas.

e.g. jane@doe.com, cc:bookkeeping@doe.com

A prefixed cc: adds the recipient for a copy, a prefixed bcc: for a blind copy.

Contacts
A client may contain multiple contacts. These can be assigned as recipient to a document.

Labels

Labels can be created to mark clients. Each client can be given different labels to make it easier to find. See Clients

Language

You can setup languages in Settings/Languages

Client group

The client group decides if and how taxes are applied to this client’s documents. See Preferences/Taxes

SEPA

Enter your mandate ID for SEPA direct debit. If you provide an ID you need to set the corresponding signature date as well.
Whenever you send an invoice to a client with this data provided the Document will be added to the list in Overview/Recent/SEPA Direct Debit.

E-Invoice

GrandTotal supports the most important standards for electronic invoices. The type of the electronic invoice can be selected for each client.
EN16931 / Factur-X / ZUGFeRD
German format: http://www.ferd-net.de

Required in the Settings
  • VAT ID in Settings/Identity
  • Tax number in Settings/Identity
  • Phone number in Settings/Company
Required in the clients’s settings
  • Values required by the customer in the fields at Factur-X.
Required in the document’s info
  • Values required by the customer in the fields at Factur-X.
PEPPOL
European Format: https://peppol.eu.
The default supplier ID has to be entered in the PEPPOL settings. You can also use custom supplier IDs by filling the customers PEPPOL Supplier ID field.

Requires:
  • IBAN Preferences/Identity
  • IBAN for the client
  • Default supplier ID in PEPPOL Settings
  • Filled the PEPPOL Reference field or the regular Reference field on the corresponding invoice

Hourly rate

The hourly rate is used when items with a duration are inserted in an invoice. If no hourly rate is specified, the rate from Settings/Work time is used.

Additional fields

Additional fields can hold information about your clients. This fields can be added to your layouts as well.

Invoices

An invoice always consists of at least one item. Additional items can be added when needed.

Info

State
State only appears on sent unpaid invoices. Use this to cancel an invoice or mark it as completed.
Sent
The date you sent the Invoice. This will be set to the current date in the send dialog unless you change the date there manually.
Due
The date the invoice becomes due. This date is calculated from the send date and the terms you set in the send dialog.
E-Invoice
In case the client has been setup for electronic invoicing you can save the corresponding files here. Only on sent documents. Electronic invoices
Recipient
Usually this is the main contact of your client. If your client has more than one contact, you can change it here.
Number
The number of the invoice. This will be set automatically while sending the document. If you pre fill this value no new number will be generated.
Subject
Optional subject for the document.
Reference
Use this field in case you want to add a reference. Some electronic invoices require you to enter the order reference here.
If you turn an estimate into an invoice the number of the estimate will be copied into this field.
Currency
The currency the Invoice is issued in. For a new invoice this is taken from the clients settings. When changing the currency the prices are changed according to the rate entered in Preferences/Payments.
Payment Type
The kind of payment to be expected from the client. This is taken from the clients settings.
Payment Terms
The time in days until the invoice is due. This value is taken from the clients settings.
Date range
If the items of your invoice contain dates this the range is calculated automatically. You may set a custom range here.
Recurring
Invoices can be marked as recurring. Recurring Invoices are listed in the Overview. First in the section „Recurring later“ and if the recurring date is reached in „Now recurring“. From there you can create an invoice.

When there are recurring invoices ready to send, a blue badge in the overview icon will notify about them.

Custom Fields
You may add custom fields. The fields are the same for all Invoices but they can contain individual values.

Items

The Table of an invoice consists of at least one item.

The plus button on the bottom left creates a regular invoice item. Use the gear button to insert other elements or to sort the table.

To the right of the table there is the catalog. You may drag items from the catalog directly to the desired location in the invoice table.

Use the menu File/Import to import Excel or CSV file directly into a draft document.

Introduction
On the top of the item list you can enter a personal introduction that will appear above the first item of the invoice. More information
Item
An item consists of a quantity and a unit price. Both values multiplied result in the price of the item.
Optionally you can add a unit like "pcs" or "h".
If you enter a discount the percentage is deducted from the items price.
Items can also have a date.
The item group defines if how much taxes are added for that particular item. Taxed are calculated at the end of the document.

You can find some plugins for calculating items such as areas and volumes in Overview/Plugins/Get Plugins.

If you have setup Additional fields in the Catalog, you can edit them by clicking the label icon right to the title of the item.

Dynamic Cost
Dynamic costs allow the calculation of costs depending on preceding items. For example, a discount or markup can be calculated on one or more items.

Dynamic costs can be extended with plugins. Find samples on Github.

If the item group does not match the taxes of the preceding, you will be presented a warning symbol

Summary
In a summary, several items can be summed up into one. The items contained in it can be output as individual tables after the final totals or not listed at all.
Please note: If your table is set to list totals at the bottom of the page, the first summary will be listed on a new page.

In addition, the sum of the contained items can be multiplied by an additional factor. For example, 1 table and 4 chairs can be rented for 3 days.

Notes
Add notes if you want to add information without any cost.
Title
Use titles to structure your documents if needed.
Options
Options can only be added to estimates and behave like titles.

If options are added at the end of the estimate, a sum of the following positions can optionally be formed.

Options inserted between regular titles suppress the summation of the following items.

When converting a quote to an invoice, options are converted to regular titles.

Subtotal
In complex documents it can be useful to add subtotals. The sum is calculated from all items from the last subtotal. (Or the beginning of the document if there is none)
Page break
Page breaks are added automatically when an item does not fit on a page. With this element you can enforce a page break.
Grouping
Items can be grouped into one item using ⌘G. Only the grouped item is then visible to the recipient.

Groups cumulate the notes of all enclosed items. You can customize the text by right clicking the notes field and select „Insert note“.

Editing multiple items
Use the contextual menu on multiple selected items to change values on more that one item.
Total
The net and gross values of the invoice are displayed below the items.
Margin
Instead of the net value, the margin can be displayed alternatively as an absolute or percentage value. The margin can only be calculated for catalog items that have a cost price.
Pasting

The table allows to paste items copied from Timings, Tyme, Merlin Project, OmniFocus, OmniPlan, The Hit List, Numbers and Excel.

Preview

In this view you can see the document in the form it reaches your client.

If the document is still a draft you can edit the layout. More on layouts

Sending

When a document is sent for the first time, the program asks for the date of sending.

The date can also be entered numerically. Just type the date.

After the confirmation the due date is calculated and the document is frozen on the final state. No further changes are possible, unless you unlock the document with the red lock key. This way it becomes a draft again.

Partial invoices

An invoice draft can be converted into a final invoice containing multiple partial invoices by clicking on the gear button. You can choose between 1 ⅓ installment or 2, 3 and 4 equal installments.

Manually you can specify any amount in the settings. These can be entered as a percentage amount (20) or as a fraction (1/3).

A final invoice can only be sent, when at least one of the partial invoices has been sent. If there are any partial payments, they are deducted automatically.

Credit notes

An invoice automatically turns into a credit note as soon the total is less than zero. Keep in mind that you need to mark credit notes as paid as well.

Estimates

Estimates work like Invoices. An estimate can be converted to an invoice using the action button. The resulting invoice is a copy an can be modified.

Payments

Each invoice can hold as many partial payments as needed. If the sum of the payments reach the total of the invoice it becomes paid.

If you add a payment before sending the invoice it is considered as a progress payment (Date of the payment is earlier than the date of the invoice)

For payments with a slightly smaller amount than the invoice total, the deducted cash discount value is displayed. Click on the check mark to mark the invoice as completed.

If you get a Deposit from a client you add this to the top hierarchy of the documents. If you drag this payment on an unpaid invoice later it will be assigned to the invoice.

Projects

Use projects to organize your documents. The name of the project will be shown in the documents when you add the <document.project/> placeholder.

Documents

PDF documents can be attached to invoices, projects or customers. To do this, you create a document and assign a PDF file to it.

If the option „Mail with parent document“ is turned on, the document is added to the invoice or estimate when you are sending it.

Document groups

Use document groups to merge multiple PDF Documents into one single document.

Account statements

The document list of the client can be changed to history mode using the clock symbol. There all invoices and payments are listed in chronological order.

Using multiple selection you can select which items should appear on the account statement.

In account statements the layout placeholder <quantity/> is replaced with the date of the invoice/payment

Catalog

The catalog is used for commonly used items. It also appears on the right side of the list in documents. From there you can drag items either to the document or from the document to the catalog.

Use the search box above the items to filter the list. Clicking on the lens icon to filter the list by item group or label.

Prices

Hitting the return key after entering a net price will calculate the gross price and vice versa. If you want to enter the other price manually, just hit the tab key.

Cost price

Purchase price to which the ancillary costs of procurement, such as freight, insurance, etc., are added. This value is used to calculate the margin.

Item group

The article group is used for categorization, it also decides how the article is taxed. See taxes

Labels

Labels can be created to mark items. Each item can be given different labels to make it easier to find. See above.

Layouts

The layout defines how your documents are looking. This is fully customizable.

In case you need layouts in multiple languages you need to create a separate layout for each language.

Usage: this number shows you how many times a layout has been used. This also counts how many times this layout is assigned as default in client settings.

Pages

A layout consists of at least 2 pages. The "First page" is used in every document. In case there is insufficient space for the items on page one, the "Following page" will be used subsequently until all items are listed.

Additional pages can be used to append extra pages. E.g. terms of service.

Backdrop

Each Page can hold a PDF-File as a Backdrop. You create the background in the program of your choice in the same paper size your layout needs to be. Drag the PDF on the page.

If you have a multiple pages in your background, right click the background to pick the correct page.

If you are using stationery paper to print your documents, leave the backdrop empty and add it to Preferences/Stationery instead

Size
Using large backdrop files will result in larger PDF files and slower performance.

You can check the file size by right clicking the background. A size of 300KB max. is recommended.

Table

The table consists of different sections that are used for different types of items.

Clicking on the table once in page view will show you the global options for the table. Such as background color and if the sums should be aligned at the bottom of the table. A double click will take you to the editing section of the table.

The sections are only used if needed in a document. There is no need to delete fields in unused sections. Deleting all fields will produce empty lines once needed.

Introduction

The introduction section appears on the first page if you have typed an introduction above the items in the documents.

Header

The header holds the captions for the items. It appears once per page above the items.

Item

The invoice item.

If you use discounts on items you need to add the <discount/> placeholder.

Quantities (<quantity/> ) are automatically formatted as duration when the unit is "h". Use the <qty/> placeholder to always show decimal values.

Date range (<dateRange/> ) shows you the date and the time of items imported from compatible time trackers (Only works if the timer service provides the day time).

Title

Titles are added manually to documents.
This section will only be shown when needed.

Options

Options are headers for optional items in Estimates. See Options

Note

A note is like a regular item, but does not contain price information. It needs to be added manually to your document.
This section will only be shown when needed.

Sub total

Subtotals are added to the document manually.

Discount

The discount section is shown if you have entered a discount for the document.

Partial invoice

Here you enter the text that describes the calculation of the portion of a partial invoice.

Net

If your document contains taxable items this line will be added, showing the net value off all items.

Taxes

This line is added when taxes are calculated to the document.

Total

This is shown if your document contains prepayments. It displays the cost before payments.

Payments

Prepayments are listed using this line. This are payments added before sending the document.

To Pay

This section defines how the grand total is displayed on your document.

End note

The end note always appears as the last item of the table.
This section is suitable for the payment terms or similar information.

Elements

Text

With this tool you can add text fields to your layout. You can add placeholders or regular text to those fields.
If you use a placeholder, the style of the first character of the placeholder will be applied to the whole substitute.
Placeholders
A list of the available placeholders can be accessed from the gear button on the right of the text field. In addition this list can be accessed using right click while editing the text.

Hold down ⇧ or ⌥ to show the variants for upper- respectively lowercase versions of the placeholder.

Lists
When setting a list style for a placeholder, the style will be applied to the text if it consists of more than one line.

Example:

One line

  • Line 1
  • Line 2
Blocks
If you only want to show a text if a place holder contains a value, enclose the text and the placeholder with brackets.

Example: [Discount: <discount/>]

Using blocks you can also avoid line breaks on empty values by including the break at the end of a block

Example: [Department: <recipient.department/>
]

URL
You may add an optional URL on a text field. This is added to the PDF.
Hyphenation
Turn on this option, to enable hyphenation.
Scripts
Using JavaScripts the contents of a text field can be generated dynamically. A string-result of the script will use the font and style of the first character in the field and replace the full contents of the text field.

In case you just want to replace portions of the text, return an associative array and add the corresponding placeholders to the text field.

Script: return {myValueA:valueA, myValueB:valueB};
Field text: A text with the placeholders <myValueA/> and <myValueB/>

Scripts can only read values, not change them.

Image

You can place PDF images in your layout using this tool.
URL
You may add an optional URL on an image.
QRCode
You may add a QRCode to an image element. In this case the QRCode is drawn instead of the image.
Scripts
Using scripts you can control the visibility, the URL and set the image using SVG source code.

Rectangle

Colored rectangles.

Table area

The table area can be placed on the first and the following page of a layout. It defines where on the page the table is placed. Only one table can be placed per page.

Payment Elements

Region or country specific payment elements. Drag the desired element on you page.
PayPal
Creates a link in your invoice that allows to pay using PayPal.
The link has to be configured after adding (double click to edit the settings)
PayPal does not support all currencies.
SEPA QR-Code (European Union)
SEPA QR-Code is a machine readable QRCode. The recipient can scan it with specialized banking application.
The QR-Code has to be configured after adding (double click to edit the settings)
* called EPC QR Code, GiroCode, Scan2Pay as well
Adoption
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Finland
  • Germany
  • Netherlands
Swiss QR-Code
The Swiss-QR Code is intended for payment transfer in Switzerland. A ready made template can be loaded in the Layouts section.

The QR code can be configured by double clicking on the element.

When a QR IBAN is entered, a reference number is generated. With a normal IBAN, reference numbers are not allowed and the invoice number is used

.
Stripe QR-Code
The URL points to a Stripe payment link from the account specified in Settings/Identification. To avoid credit card fees, SEPA direct debits are offered as a means of payment.

Colors

On the right of the Colors tool you can find a little triangle. Use this if you want to batch replace colors in your layout.

Settings

Organization

Enter your own contact data here.

Additional fields

Additional fields can be used in your layouts. The same fields are added to all of your clients as well

Identification

Enter the ids provided by the government of banks here.

SEPA

The SEPA fields need to be filled if you want to process direct debit using GrandTotal.

Switzerland

Enter your information for ESR/BVR slips here.
Contact you Bank for details.

This settings are only available when your System Preferences are set to the Region of Switzerland or Liechtenstein.

V11 und camt.054.xml files from Post or Bank can be dropped onto the dock icon of GrandTotal.

Stripe

Enter your Stripe API key here. It will be used to create Stripe payment links and to check Stripe for payments.

Clients

Decide if newly created clients have net or gross prices calculated. This setting can be applied to all clients using right click.

This setting also affect what prices are show in the catalog lists.

The format of the client number and the current counter can be changed here. (Counter shows the number the next client will get)

Here you also can change the settings of Account statements

Invoices

Define what label you want to use for your invoices and credit notes. Invoices with a grand total below zero are treated as credit notes

The payment terms are copied to newly created clients and may me changed in the client’s settings individually. In addition you can set custom terms while sending an invoice.

Invoices not being paid within this terms are marked as due. When the date passes the value in the second field they become overdue.

Conditions

For each payment type you can define own conditions. Those appear at the end to the invoice.

Bank accounts and other information to the payment process can be entered here.

Conditions can be built from text mixed with the blue tokens you find below the text field. Please note that some tokens offer a menu where you can pick from options (e.g. Cash discounts).

Numbering

The numbering of invoices can be customized as well. Use the menu of the token to customize the format of the components.

An individual number is only used once. In case another document with the same number is found, GrandTotal counts up until it finds a free slot.

Estimates

The settings for estimates are similar to the one for invoices. Instead of payment terms you can specify a validity here.

The conditions are shared for all estimates

Other Documents

You may attach follow up documents to invoices or estimates using the action button. E.g. confirmations, reminders or delivery slips. These documents will show the same items as their parent document.

Here you can setup your additional document types and their conditions.
Optionally you can ungroup items for a detailed work report.

You can setup rules to exclude specific items. E.g for removing shipping cost from delivery notes.

To show the dates of the parent document, use the <original.sent/> and the <original.due/> placeholders in your layout.

Stationery

In case you are using stationery paper for printed invoices you may add backdrop for mailed or saved documents here. (Don't use backgrounds in your layout then).

If the backdrop hat multiple pages, the first page is used for page 1. Page 2 is used for all subsequent pages.

Mail

In this section you define the contents of an E-Mail for the various document types. Besides the blue placeholders you can also use layout placeholders including the ones for the languages.

The subject title also reflects the name of the attached PDF

Optionally enter BCC mail addresses to send a copy of a document to your bookkeeping

Optionally you can chose to add the stationery defined in here to your mailed PDFs

Supported Applications

Following mail clients are supported:
Apple Mail
Comes with Mac OS X
Mailplane for Gmail
Discontinued
Microsoft Entourage
Discontinued. See Microsoft Outlook.
Microsoft Outlook
Sparrow
Discontinued
Other Programs
There is only support for Mail Applications that can be controlled by Apple Script. Programs are not capable of creating a draft document with an attachment include: Spark and Unibox.

The scripts can be modified here

File

At the time you send a document a PDF is can be created. Here you define where you what to save them.

Base: The directory where all the documents are saved in.

Folder: The sub directory in which the documents are saved. (use "/" between the elements to create further sub directories)

File name: The name of the document.

The documents can be reissued from the database at any time by recreating the folder content.

Taxes

Here you setup how taxes are calculated.
In the vertical axis of the matrix the client groups are listed. Horizontally you can add tax groups.

The tax groups are assigned to the item groups.

Once used in a sent document taxes can't be changed anymore.

* Ask your  tax adviser in case of questions

Combined Taxes

In some countries 2 or more taxes need to be added. Up to 3 taxes can be combined.
For Tax #2 and #3 you can decide if the tax applies on the net value or to the sum of the net value and the first tax.

Adjusting Taxes

In case taxes are being raised or lowered over time you can duplicate the tax group by clicking on it’s gear button. Then configure the new tax.

Click here for a tutorial.

Payments

GrandTotal supports multiple currencies.

You may add an exchange rate relative to the default currency. This will be used to covert rates when changing the currency of a document and to calculate the values in the dashboard to your native currency.

Define the conditions for the different payment types in Preferences/Invoices

You can setup up to 3 cash discounts that can be used using the options menu of the “Amount” tag in Preferences/Invoices/Conditions

Work time

Define here how items of supported time trackers are imported.

When adding placeholders in the the title or subtotal sections, titles or subtitles are inserted correspondingly. Use at least one common placeholder for titles and subtitles. Subtotal are only added if more than one subtotal is required

Auto-Grouping creates groups for items that share the same name.

Timed entries are imported with the unit "h" by default. You can change the unit here.

The default rate is used when importing timed entries from applications or services that do not support rates

Using rules you can declare what item groups should be used for the items. If there are no rules the default value of your item groups is applied.

All this settings apply during import and won't affect already imported items.

When adding an online timer service it will be added to the Overview screen.

Notifications

GrandTotal can use the Notification Center to inform you when invoices are due, overdue or recurring.

Notification can repeat themselves if you wish so.

Estimates expire when the validity date is reached and it has not been marked either accepted or declined.

Languages

In Languages you can define single words or whole sentences for different languages. Those can be used in layouts or mail settings. You can select a language per client.
You also can create language variant like English formal and English informal
In layouts the boilerplates are accessible from the placeholders menu in Languages. Insert language elements into the mail templates using a right click.

User interface

The language menu allows you to set the interface language of GrandTotal. This does not affect your layouts.

Advanced

Items

Turn the autocompletion off if you don’t want to get suggestions while typing a title.
Suggestions are based on the catalog documents you have created in the past.

International Formats

GrandTotal formats numbers and dates in the common format of the recipient’s country. The date format can be adjusted.

Pasting from other Applications

Time entries in the overview can be copied and pasted to the item list of an invoice draft. (item list needs to be focused before using ⌘V)

Supported Applications

Following Applications support GrandTotal via the Clipboard:

Merlin

Copied project lines from Merlin Project can be inserted into invoices and quotations via the clipboard.

Timing

Timing Homepage
Copy the Tasks from the Details view in Timing and paste them to an invoice.

Timings

Timings Homepage (Discontinued)

Text Editors & Spreadsheets

Tab separated text can be pasted to the items list. GrandTotal will try to extract quantities and prices.
Handy to paste items from a spreadsheet.

Export/Import

Export

Lists

Clients, catalog items and lists in the reports section can be exported as CSV or Excel files. Menu File/Export.

The columns in the preview can be ordered in to fit your need.

You can remove columns by clicking on their header and use the ➖ button. Using the ✚ button you can add other fields.

Clients

Clients can also be exported as vCard files in addition to the lists. The menu for this can be found under File/Export if you are in the Clients section.

Documents

Documents can be exported in PDF format to the Finder or another application using drag'n'drop. In the lists of the overview you may select more than one document at a time and export them.

Layouts

Export layouts using the File/Export menu. (On the other mac double click that file to import it)

Accounting

GrandTotal can send it’s data to compatible bookkeeping applications. Use the „File/Send To“ menu for this. Plugins for accounting services like Xero, MonKey Office & shakehands Kontor can be loaded in Overview/Get Plugins

License

The installed licenses can also be exported, if GrandTotal has to be activated on a new computer. To do this, open the GrandTotal/Licenses window, select the desired license and export it with ⌘E.
This file can be installed on the other computer with a double click.

Import

Import clients, catalog items and invoice items using the File/Import menu. The files need to be in CSV or Excel Format.

MoneyMoney

Entries from the e-banking software MoneyMoney are sent from the "Accounts" menu from within MoneyMoney to GrandTotal.

Receipts

External invoices can be copied from Receipts using ⌘C and be pasted by hitting ⌘V in a GrandTotal document.

If a name of the document’s category in Receipts is the same as the one of an item group in GrandTotal, that item group is assigned in GrandTotal.

Calendar

Calendar entries can be imported directly into an invoice. The duration of the entry is taken and multiplied by the hourly rate.

By default, the calendar with the name that most closely matches the customer name is selected.

Printing

Documents

Documents can be printed using the regular Print menu using ⌘P. Optionally you can add a watermark like Canceled, Paid or similar to the document.

For drafts you will see a warning in the print dialog. Drafts are not intended to be sent to the client. Use the "Send" button for this.

Lists

Lists in the overview can be printed using "Print List“ in the File Menu. Clients and catalog items also can be printed as list.

Columns can be rearranged and removed after clicking their title.

Collaboration

GrandTotal uses a data format that can be worked on by several users at the same time. This eliminates the need to manually specify a synchronization method. The file is simply placed in a shared folder on Dropbox, iCloud, GoogleDrive or similar and all people involved can work on it. The shared .grandtotal file is opened with a double click or via the menu File/Open.

Status indicator

If not all data for a complete display of the content is available yet, an orange indicator is displayed in the upper right corner of the main window. Clicking on it opens the File Information.

File Info

The file information can be displayed in the File menu. The checksum indicates whether the data on different devices have the same status. If this is not the case, the data has not yet been completely synchronized by the cloud service, or it is different file.

Encryption

All data can be protected with a password. The encryption is done according to the modern AES256 standard. A strong password should be used - this can be stored safely in the keychain. If a password is forgotten, the data will be irretrievably lost.

Data protection

The end-to-end encryption of the data makes it impossible for third parties (including the cloud provider) to read the data. The data is only decrypted during it's use within GrandTotal.

Changing the password

To set a new password use the menu File/Save copy and assign the new password to the new file.

Things you should know

Quick typing

After dragging items from the catalog to a document, you can type the quantity on the numeric keys of your keyboard without the need of opening the item. This also works when selecting more than one item.

Calculating number fields

Number input fields can calculate formulas. E.g. 100 / 4 becomes 25 when entered in a field.

Deleting

A lot of records can’t be deleted unless all dependencies have been removed. See Archiving
An item group for instance can't be deleted when all items that are pointing to it are removed. Documents that have been sent can't be trashed unless you have unlocked them. See Transcript
Documents with attached Payments can’t be removed unless all payments are deleted (This also applies for drafts).
A client may not be deleted as long it contains documents or payments.

Old documents

To remove documents whose date is more than 10 years ago, you can save a new file. To do this, press and hold the ⌥ key and open the menu File/Save in other formats. There you select Last 10 years.

In the new file, all older documents are removed. Also, all customers who have not assigned any documents are deleted.

Usage

For layouts you can show the usage using the gear button. For item groups, client groups, currencies and payment types the corresponding list can be opened using a right click.

Archiving

Records that are no longer needed like older layouts or outdated item groups can’t be deleted once they have been used. This is because they are still required by older document.
Clients, layouts, item groups and catalog items can be archived using a right click in their list. Archived items are hidden and can be shown if needed using a right click in the same list.

Copy & Paste & Duplicate

Items can be copied and pasted to other documents.

This works with documents as well. After copied you can paste them in the list of another client.

Duplicate items and documents using ⌘-D.

Moving

As long as a document is in the draft state, it can be dragged to another customer in the customers view. Invoice draft items can also be dragged to another draft.

Dragging out PDFs

You can drag a document preview to the Finder to save a PDF.

Filtering & Searching

Filtering

Above the lists you may filter the list by typing a string. Some lists have a menu on the right where you can change the sorting of the list.

Searching

If you like to search for an item, use the "Find window" (⌘-F).

Begin your search with

  • =
  • <=
  • >=
  • !=
to find an amount.
e.g. „>415“

Net/Gross

Net: The prices of the items don't include taxes. Tax will be added at the end of the document.

Gross: Tax is already included in the items. Taxes are declared a the end of the document

Documents

Editing

Once a Document has been sent it can't be edited unless you unlock it.
See Transcript

Cancellation

Invoices can be cancelled. See Invoices/State

Discounts

There are two different kind of discounts in GrandTotal.

One is on a single item. This is deducted directly from the item itself. Your item section in the layouts table needs to contain the <discount/> placeholder to display the discount.

The global discount entered below the items affects all items. (Including the ones already having an individual discount). This discount will be shown in separate line after the net section.

Drafts

All documents are drafts after creating them. As long you don't have sent them they don't have a send date and can be edited.

In the preview you will see a red question mark instead of send and due dates. Those will be replaced with the actual dates after hitting the send button.

Changing recipients

To change the recipient of a document, drag the document onto the corresponding client in the clients list on the left.

This only works with drafts. You need to unlock sent documents first

Additional fields

Additional fields can be added for three different record types. They always consist of a name that is shared for all records and a value that can be assigned individually for each record.

All fields can be added to layouts as well. Fields used in sent documents can’t be deleted.

Clients

You can use this for adding additional data to clients. A fax number, Banking information etc.

Documents

Use this for information like Location, document related legal information etc.

Items

Item numbers, dimensions or similar can be added here. You setup the fields in the catalog section.

Layouts

Stationery and PDF

In case you are using preprinted stationeries you should not add background elements to your layout.

Save your stationery template as a PDF and add it as backdrop to Preferences/Mail. This background will be added to all documents you send by mail.

Formats

Numbers and dates in documents are always shown in the locale format of the recipient.

Europeans will get a DD.MM.YYYY date while americans will see a MM/DD/YYYY format. German recipients get a comma as decimal separator, while swiss have a period.

There are options for the date format in Preferences/Advanced.

Transcript

If a sent document is unlocked and converted back to a draft, the change is logged to comply with legal requirements. The transcript can be opened from the GrandTotal menu and saved using the File/Export menu.

Extending GrandTotal

Mail Scripts

Mails are controlled by AppleScript. Scripts can be modified by clicking here. To restore the original functionality, delete the file from ~/Library/Application Support/com.mediaatelier.GrandTotal3/Mail Scripts/.

Work time importers

Work time importers are Javascript based plugins. Working samples are available from Overview/Get Plugins.

Plugins

GrandTotal has a plugin interface based on HTML and Javascript. Open API Reference (Programming knowledge required)
Plugins can be installed by double clicking them and are located in ~/Library/Application Support/com.mediaatelier.GrandTotal3/Plugins/
Find some samples on GitHub