NDT Invoicing Software for Inspection Companies in Canada

Invoices from timesheets and completed jobs, with payments and reminders. Request a demo. Affordable. Accessible. Fully customizable. Quote on request.

What makes NDT billing in Canada different

Canadian NDT companies bill into some of the most document-heavy client environments anywhere. An oil sands operator north of Fort McMurray, an upgrader near Edmonton, a pipeline construction spread in northern British Columbia, a pressure vessel shop in Calgary and a nuclear refurbishment project in Ontario all want different things on an invoice, and they all want it to match their own records exactly.

Add rotational work schedules, camp-based crews, winter conditions, spring and fall turnaround seasons and a tax system that changes with the province of supply, and it is easy to see why so many inspection companies still build invoices by hand in spreadsheets. It is also easy to see why those invoices get rejected.

The Invoicing app in the Atlantis NDT ERP is designed to take that re-keying out. It is part of our NDT ERP, pre-configured for inspection companies and set up by our team. Approved timesheets, equipment issued by serial number and consumables drawn from stock become invoice lines that carry the project, PO or work order, site, method and technician. The billing team checks and sends instead of rebuilding.

This page covers the parts of Canadian NDT billing that trip companies up — daily field tickets and client cost coding, rotational and camp work, radiography crews under CNSC licensing, certification evidence, provincial sales taxes, holdback and prompt payment rules, and cross-border work — and how the app handles each.

Field tickets and client cost coding in Western Canada

In Alberta and British Columbia, most industrial NDT work is authorized under a master service agreement and then a PO, work order or service order, with a daily field ticket signed by the client's representative. Many large operators require every line on the invoice to carry their own cost coding — area, unit, work order, cost element — and they reconcile invoices line by line against the signed tickets. Many now receive field tickets and invoices through digital ticketing or supplier platforms.

The Atlantis ERP holds the pieces a ticket reconciliation needs. The Project app records the client PO, contract, site, methods and codes. The invoice header carries the NDT project, job or PO number, site, invoice type and industry sector, and each line can carry a cost centre, method, equipment serial, technician, rate type and days or hours.

The ERP does not claim a built-in connection to any ticketing or supplier platform. What it does is produce invoice data that already carries the references those platforms ask for. How client cost codes are represented — as cost centres, as line references or on the invoice layout — is decided during implementation, client by client if needed. If a key operator needs a specific export, that goes into the customization scope agreed with you.

Signed tickets can be kept with the job record, and supervisor approval of timesheets gives you an internal sign-off that mirrors the client's. When a line is queried, you answer from one record rather than digging through a truck's glovebox.

Rotations, camp work, travel days and standby

Oil sands and remote pipeline work rarely looks like a normal work week. Technicians fly in on a rotation, live in the owner's camp or in hotel accommodation, and work long shifts for a stretch before flying out. Contracts differ on whether travel days are billable, whether a living-out allowance applies when camp is not provided, and how weather or permit standby is paid.

Timesheets in the ERP record the work type for each entry — inspection, travel, standby or setup — along with method, site, client and equipment serial. A billable flag and a rate multiplier on each entry mean a travel day can be billed at a travel rate, or not billed at all, and extended shifts or statutory holiday work can carry the right multiplier from the moment they are logged.

Per diems, living-out allowances, flights and vehicle costs are recorded in the standard Expenses app and can be re-billed to the job under whatever rule your contract sets. The Team Assignments app records mobilisation and demobilisation dates and blocks double-booking of technicians, so the rotation schedule on the invoice matches who was actually on site.

Standby is where many Canadian NDT companies leave money behind. A crew waiting for a confined space permit at minus thirty is still a cost to you. When standby is logged as its own work type and approved by your supervisor, it reaches the invoice with the date and reason visible, and the client's representative has already seen it on the ticket.

Certification evidence clients will ask for

Canadian clients commonly expect NDT technicians to hold certification from Natural Resources Canada's NDT Certification Body under CAN/CGSB-48.9712, which aligns with ISO 9712. Some contracts, particularly with US-linked owners, also accept or require ASNT SNT-TC-1A based certification. Either way, owners do not want to pay for inspection by someone whose certification has lapsed.

The Certificates app records each technician's scheme (ISO 9712, SNT-TC-1A and others), level, method, certifying body and expiry. It flags certificates expiring within ninety days and marks expired ones automatically, and the Timesheets app warns when a technician's certificate is not valid. That warning appears when hours are approved, before they are invoiced. See the Certificates app for the full detail.

Atlantis does not provide NRCan certification training; the app simply records the certificates your technicians already hold. Our own training programmes are based on ASNT SNT-TC-1A.

Radiography adds another layer. Under CNSC licensing, exposure devices must be operated by a certified exposure device operator (CEDO), with trainees working under their supervision. That shapes how RT is priced — typically as a crew — and who can appear on an RT invoice line. The employee NDT profile records radiation safety training and dosimeter badge number, and the Fleet app records vehicles that can carry radioactive sources along with transport licence expiry, so the crew and truck on the ticket are ones you are permitted to send.

Pipelines, pressure equipment and nuclear work

Different Canadian sectors buy NDT in different ways, and the invoice needs to follow.

• Pipelines. Construction to CSA Z662 often runs on spreads with RT or AUT crews following the welders. Billing may be per crew-day or per weld. Day-rate billing flows from timesheets; per-weld or per-film billing is set up as service products and rate rules during implementation.
• Pressure equipment. Shops fabricating boilers and pressure vessels under ABSA oversight in Alberta, or equivalent jurisdictions elsewhere, and structural fabricators working to CSA W59, usually want inspections billed per job, drawing or heat, with the report as evidence.
• Nuclear. Refurbishment and outage work at Ontario nuclear stations brings strict timesheet approval, security-cleared crews and billing split across many work packages. Cost centres on invoice lines let one contract be split by work package or area.

Across all three, clients commonly hold the invoice until they have the report. The ERP's NDT Reports app manages review, approval and sending, so report and invoice come from the same job. For owners who want to see findings in context, our companion product, Digital Twin Reporting Software, places inspection results on a 3D model of the asset. It is a separate product that works alongside the ERP.

GST, HST, PST and QST

Canadian sales tax on NDT services depends on the place of supply. Work in Alberta attracts GST only. Ontario and the Atlantic provinces use HST. British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have their own provincial sales taxes alongside GST, with their own rules on which services are taxable. Quebec applies QST alongside GST. A company with crews in three provinces can be issuing invoices under three tax treatments in the same week.

The ERP uses standard Atlantis ERP accounting for taxes. During implementation we configure the tax rates and fiscal positions your accountant specifies, so the right treatment applies by client and by place of supply, and your GST/HST registration number and any provincial registrations appear on the invoice layout. We follow your accountant's view on what is taxable; we do not decide it, and we claim no certification against any tax scheme.

For work in Quebec, the Charter of the French Language shapes business documents. French or bilingual invoice layouts can be configured during implementation, using the language support built into Atlantis ERP.

Holdback, prompt payment and payment terms

Canadian construction law affects how NDT companies get paid on project work. Ontario's Construction Act and Alberta's Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act set timelines for paying proper invoices on construction projects and require holdback to be retained until conditions are met. Other provinces have their own lien and holdback rules. Whether a given NDT scope counts as construction work is a question for your adviser, but where it does, the format and timing of your invoice matter.

Outside construction, large operators commonly pay on extended terms, and some tie payment to acceptance of the report or the ticket reconciliation. The ERP sets payment terms per client, so due dates reflect your agreement. Payments are recorded against invoices using standard Atlantis ERP payments, and standard reminders help you follow up at the right time with the right tone.

Holdback tracking and progress billing are configured as part of the customization scope agreed with you. Out of the box, the invoice type field separates interim from final invoices, and cost centres keep a long project's billing visible on its own.

Cross-border work is common for Canadian inspection companies, particularly with US owners and EPCs. Invoicing in another currency and handling the related tax treatment are set up during implementation if you need them.

Equipment, consumables and the quote behind the invoice

Equipment is where Canadian NDT companies most often under-bill. A phased array kit, an AUT system, a crawler or a heated-enclosure setup for winter work is costly to own, calibrate and move, and most rate sheets allow it to be charged separately. But if the charge depends on someone remembering which unit went north and for how many days, it gets missed or understated.

In the Atlantis ERP, instruments are tracked by serial number in the Asset Management app, with issue and return records, reservations and movement history, and rental rates can be recorded against equipment. Invoice lines can carry the equipment serial, so the equipment subtotal ties back to the units actually issued to the job. Consumables — couplant, penetrant and developer, magnetic particles, film and chemicals, PPE — are tracked with reorder levels and a movement ledger, so the consumables subtotal reflects what was drawn rather than an allowance.

The invoice also depends on what was quoted. In the Quotations app, NDT service products are flagged by method and category, with the job type, site, dates and applicable codes on the quote. The client can accept online, and the quote converts to a sales order. When the invoice is prepared, the rates and scope the client accepted are already in the system, rather than in an email chain from six months ago.

That chain — quote, project, dispatch, timesheets, equipment issue, report, invoice — is what lets a billing clerk in Edmonton produce an invoice for a crew that worked in Fort McMurray without phoning three people to confirm what happened.

Who uses the Invoicing app

• Billing and accounts staff prepare draft invoices from approved time, equipment and consumables, check PO and cost coding, post invoices, record payments and send reminders.
• Field supervisors and operations managers approve timesheets, confirm standby and travel entries and check equipment issued to the job before it is billed.
• Project and contract managers check invoices against the MSA rates and the scope of each PO, especially on long turnarounds and nuclear outage packages.
• Owners and general managers watch margin, receivables and the split of revenue by sector, branch and service line on the financial dashboard.
• Technicians log hours by work type from the field; clear entries on their side mean fewer questions from the office.

Access rights follow the standard Atlantis ERP permission model and are set during implementation, so each role sees what it needs and nothing it should not.

The financial dashboard and cost centres

The Invoicing app includes a financial dashboard with revenue, cost of sales, gross margin, operating expenses, EBITDA, outstanding invoices, vendor bills and expenses, and a 12-month view. For a Canadian NDT company with seasonal peaks around spring and fall turnarounds, the 12-month view is where you see whether a strong season really paid for the quiet months.

Every invoice carries the industry sector, and every line can carry a cost centre. Split by branch — Edmonton, Calgary, Fort McMurray, Sarnia — or by service line, and you can see which part of the business carries the margin and which one only looks busy.

Implementation for a Canadian NDT company

We deploy and set up the ERP for you. Typical Invoicing scope for Canadian companies includes:

1. Mapping your MSA rates to work types, technician levels, methods and multipliers, including travel and standby rules.
2. GST, HST, PST and QST treatment configured with your accountant for the provinces you work in.
3. Client cost coding represented as cost centres or line references.
4. Custom invoice layout, in English, French or both.
5. Equipment by serial with rental rates, and consumables such as film, couplant and penetrant.
6. Payment terms per client and a reminder sequence.
7. Open invoices and opening balances migrated.
8. Training for billing staff, supervisors and technicians.

The ERP is affordable, accessible and fully customizable; pricing is quote on request. See all the ERP apps that feed Invoicing.

Frequently asked questions

Can the invoice carry my client's cost codes?

Yes. Lines can carry a cost centre, and the invoice header holds the project, PO or work order and site. How each client's coding is mapped is set during implementation.

Does it integrate with digital field ticket platforms?

No built-in integration is claimed. Invoices carry the references those platforms need, and any specific export can be scoped with you.

Can travel days and standby be billed differently from inspection?

Yes. Timesheet entries carry a work type — inspection, travel, standby or setup — plus a billable flag and rate multiplier, so each is billed according to your contract.

Does it handle GST, HST and provincial taxes?

Taxes are configured during implementation using standard Atlantis ERP accounting, following your accountant's instructions by province. No tax certification is claimed.

Can it record NRCan ISO 9712 certifications?

Yes. The Certificates app records ISO 9712, SNT-TC-1A and other schemes, and timesheets warn when a technician's certificate is not valid. Atlantis does not train for NRCan certification.

Can it track holdback?

Holdback and progress billing are configured as part of the customization scope agreed with you, based on your contracts and adviser's guidance.

Book a demo built around a Canadian job

Bring a real example — a rotation on an oil sands site, a pipeline spread or a shop order with ABSA involvement — and we will run it from timesheets to invoice with your tax setup.

Book an Invoicing demo for Canada or request a quote for the Atlantis NDT ERP.

Invoicing by region

• Invoicing global overview
• Invoicing in United States
• Invoicing in UK & Europe
• Invoicing in Middle East
• Invoicing in India

Works with

• Purchase: Purchase orders for consumables, film, couplant and equipment.
• Inventory: Stock of consumables, sources and equipment across sites.
• Expenses: Field expenses and per diems, approved and rebilled to jobs.

Send an enquiry about Invoicing · All ERP apps · Atlantis NDT ERP