NDT Invoicing Software for Inspection Companies in the USA

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

How NDT work actually gets billed in the USA

If you run an NDT company on the Gulf Coast, in the Midwest refining belt or out of a pipeline yard in West Texas, you already know the invoice is only as good as the paperwork behind it. US clients — refiners, petrochemical plants, pipeline operators, EPC contractors, fabrication shops and aerospace manufacturers — rarely pay a number just because you sent it. They pay when the invoice matches the purchase order, the rate sheet in the master service agreement and the field tickets their own people signed on site.

That is where many inspection companies struggle. The field ticket is a carbon copy in a truck. The timesheet is a spreadsheet. The rate sheet is a PDF attached to an MSA that was renegotiated last year. Equipment charges depend on who remembers which crawler went to Baton Rouge. Then the invoice is rejected because the PO line is wrong, and payment slides by another month without anyone deciding it should.

The Invoicing app in the Atlantis NDT ERP was set up for this kind of billing. It is part of our NDT ERP, pre-configured for inspection companies and deployed by our team. Hours, equipment and consumables recorded on the job become the invoice lines, with the PO, site and method attached, so your billing team reviews and sends rather than rebuilds.

This page walks through how US NDT companies typically bill — field tickets, rate sheets, radiography crews, turnaround work, pipeline spreads, fabrication and aerospace shop work, sales tax and payment terms — and how the app handles each part.

Field tickets, MSAs and the PO your client's AP team checks

Most US industrial clients work under a master service agreement with an attached rate sheet, then issue a purchase order or work order per job, per unit or per month. On site, a client representative signs a daily field ticket or timesheet confirming the crew, hours and equipment. Accounts payable will compare your invoice with all three documents.

The Atlantis ERP keeps those pieces together. The Project app records the client PO, the contract, the site, the methods and the codes that apply. The invoice header carries the NDT project, the job or PO number, the site, the invoice type and the industry sector. Each invoice line can show the technician, the method, the equipment serial, the rate type and the days or hours — the same detail a field ticket shows.

How you capture the signed field ticket is agreed during implementation. Some companies attach a scan or photo of the signed ticket to the job record; others have the supervisor approve timesheets in the ERP after the client representative signs the paper copy. Either way, when a client disputes a line, you can point to the approved timesheet entry with the date, technician and work type recorded at the time.

Many large operators require invoices through their own supplier portals. The ERP does not claim a built-in connection to any portal. What it gives you is an invoice that already carries the references those portals ask for, so the upload is a copy job rather than a research project. Any export format a key client insists on can be part of the customization scope agreed with you.

Rate sheets: technician levels, methods and overtime

US NDT rate sheets are rarely simple. One MSA might list separate rates for Level I, Level II and Level III technicians, a higher rate for advanced UT such as phased array or TOFD, a rate for a radiography crew, a per diem, mileage and a truck charge. Overtime rules differ by client: some pay overtime after eight hours in a day, some after forty in a week, some only for Sundays and holidays.

Timesheets in the Atlantis ERP are built for this. Each entry records the work type — inspection, travel, standby or setup — plus the method, site, client and equipment serial. Every entry has a billable flag and a rate multiplier, so time-and-a-half or double time is recorded against the hour it applies to, not reconstructed at month end. Billable hours feed billing with the multiplier applied.

During implementation we map your rate sheets to work types, technician levels, methods and multipliers. If one refinery pays standby at the full rate and another at a reduced rate, that rule goes into the configuration. If you bill a Level III review hour separately from field inspection, it gets its own service line.

There is also a compliance angle. US clients audit your written practice under ASNT SNT-TC-1A, and some contracts call for ANSI/ASNT CP-189 qualification. Nobody wants to pay for inspection performed by a technician whose certification lapsed. The Certificates app records each technician's scheme, level, method and expiry, and the Timesheets app warns when a technician's certificate is not valid — so your supervisor sees it before the hours reach an invoice. The Certificates app page covers certification tracking in detail.

Radiography crews, sources and night shots

Industrial radiography is billed differently from most other methods, and the reasons are regulatory. Under NRC rules, and the matching rules in Agreement States such as Texas and Louisiana, radiography at a temporary job site needs at least two qualified people present — a radiographer plus at least a radiographer's assistant. That is why US rate sheets usually price RT as a crew rather than as one technician.

Shooting also tends to happen at night or around shift changes, when a plant can clear the area. Those hours often carry a night or overtime premium, and there may be standby while a permit is issued or an area is barricaded.

In the ERP, both crew members log time against the job, and the rate multiplier and work type capture night and standby hours. The equipment serial on the invoice line ties the exposure device and related equipment to the job. The employee NDT profile records radiation safety training and radiation badge number, which helps you confirm the crew on the ticket is a crew you are allowed to send.

Film, chemicals and other radiography consumables are tracked in Asset Management and Inventory with a movement ledger, so the consumables subtotal is based on what was drawn for the job. The Fleet app records whether a vehicle can carry radioactive sources, its transport licence and expiry, and its assignment to projects with mileage. If you charge a truck or mileage to the client, how that charge reaches the invoice is set up during implementation.

The result is an RT invoice where the crew, the premium hours, the equipment and the film each stand on their own records — which is exactly what a refinery's contract administrator will ask to see.

Turnarounds on the Gulf Coast

Refinery and petrochemical turnarounds around Houston, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Lake Charles and Baton Rouge are where many US NDT companies earn a large share of their year, and where billing goes wrong fastest. One turnaround can put dozens of technicians on days and nights, across several units, against several POs or work orders, for weeks.

Clients usually want invoices weekly, sometimes split by unit or cost code, and they want them to reconcile with their own turnaround tracking. If your office builds those invoices by hand from paper tickets, they will be late, and late turnaround invoices tend to get argued.

The Invoicing app helps in three ways:

• Cost centres on invoice lines let you split one turnaround by unit, work order or client cost code as the contract requires.
• Separate subtotals for labour, equipment and consumables match the way many turnaround budgets are structured.
• Approved timesheets feed billing, so the weekly invoice is a review of hours your supervisors already approved, not a new data entry exercise.

Before the turnaround starts, the Team Assignments app blocks double-booking of technicians and equipment serials and warns when assigned equipment is out of calibration. That matters for billing too: a technician double-booked across two plants produces two sets of hours that one client will reject, and an instrument out of calibration can put a week of readings in doubt.

Afterwards, the financial dashboard shows what the event actually earned — revenue, cost of sales and gross margin — with outstanding invoices visible so you know which client is holding your cash.

Pipeline spreads, fabrication shops and aerospace work

Not every US job is a plant turnaround. Pipeline construction for operators regulated by PHMSA runs on spreads, with RT or AUT crews following the welders and daily weld counts reported to the operator or its inspection contractor. Some pipeline work is billed by the day per crew; some per weld or per joint. Fabrication shops building vessels to ASME Section VIII, with examinations to ASME Section V, often want shop inspections billed per job, per heat or per drawing.

Aerospace work is different again. Shops working to NAS 410 personnel qualification and customer specifications usually bill per part, per lot or per purchase order line, with the inspection report and certificate of conformance as the supporting evidence.

Each invoice line in the ERP carries the rate type and the days or hours, plus the method, technician and equipment serial. Day-rate and hourly billing work directly from timesheets. Unit-based billing, such as per weld, per film or per part, is set up as service products and rate rules during implementation, based on your contracts. One model does not fit every client, so the configuration follows how your clients buy.

For API 510, 570 and 653 inspection work on in-service equipment, clients often want the report before they approve the invoice. The ERP's NDT Reports app handles the report workflow through review, approval and sending. For clients who want more than a PDF, 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, and it gives asset owners a clear visual record of what they paid for.

Sales tax, payment terms and retainage

Sales tax on services in the USA is set state by state, and in places by locality. Whether an NDT inspection is taxable can depend on the state, on what is being inspected and on whether the work sits inside a larger taxable contract. That is a question for your CPA. Our job is to configure the taxes and fiscal settings your accountant specifies, using standard Atlantis ERP accounting, so the right treatment applies per client and per location. No certification against any tax scheme is claimed.

Payment terms are the bigger cash problem for most US NDT companies. Large operators commonly ask for Net 45, Net 60 or longer, and some offer faster payment only through an early-payment discount programme. Construction and EPC work may hold retainage until project completion. When you pay technicians weekly and carry expensive equipment, those gaps add up quickly.

The ERP sets payment terms per client so invoice due dates reflect what you actually signed. Payments are recorded against invoices using standard Atlantis ERP payments, and standard payment reminders let you follow up consistently with wording and timing you choose. The outstanding invoices view on the dashboard shows exactly where the cash is sitting.

Retainage handling depends on the contract and is configured as part of the customization scope agreed with you. Out of the box, the invoice type on the header lets you tell interim invoices from final ones, and cost centres let a project with retainage be followed separately.

The financial dashboard for US NDT owners

Owners of US inspection companies usually know their revenue. Fewer know their margin by service line or by sector without waiting for the accountant. The Invoicing app includes a financial dashboard with revenue, cost of sales, gross margin, operating expenses, EBITDA, outstanding invoices, vendor bills and expenses, plus a 12-month view.

Because every invoice carries the industry sector and cost centre, you can see whether refining turnarounds, pipeline construction, fabrication shop work or aerospace inspection is carrying the business. If per diems and travel are eating the margin on out-of-state work, the Expenses app — where field expenses and per diems are recorded and re-billed to jobs — makes that visible.

For companies with branches in, say, Houston and Baton Rouge, cost centres give each branch manager their own numbers while the owner sees the combined picture.

Implementation for a US NDT company

We deploy and set up the ERP for you. For US companies, Invoicing implementation typically covers:

1. Mapping your MSA rate sheets to work types, technician levels, methods and rate multipliers.
2. Setting up the taxes and fiscal settings your CPA specifies for the states you work in.
3. Cost centres for branches, service lines or major client accounts.
4. A custom invoice layout with your logo, remit-to details and the PO, site and job references your clients expect.
5. Equipment by serial number, rental rates where you charge them, and consumables such as film, penetrant and couplant.
6. Payment terms per client and a reminder sequence.
7. Open invoices and opening balances, so receivables are right from day one.
8. Short training for billing staff, supervisors and technicians.

The ERP is fully customizable, affordable and accessible, and pricing is quote on request. Browse the other ERP apps to see what connects to Invoicing.

Frequently asked questions

Can the ERP bill a radiography crew correctly?

Yes. Each crew member logs time against the job with work type and rate multiplier, and invoice lines carry the technician and equipment serial. Whether the invoice shows a single crew rate or individual lines is set up during implementation to match your rate sheet.

Does it handle overtime and night premiums?

Yes. Every timesheet entry has a rate multiplier, so premium hours are recorded when they are worked and carried into billing. Your client-specific overtime rules are mapped during setup.

Can I keep signed field tickets with the job?

Yes. How signed tickets are captured — attached to the job record or confirmed through supervisor timesheet approval — is agreed during implementation so disputes can be answered from one place.

Will it calculate US sales tax?

Taxes are configured during implementation using standard Atlantis ERP accounting, following your CPA's instructions for the states and clients involved. We do not decide taxability and claim no tax certification.

Can it submit invoices to my client's supplier portal?

No built-in portal connection is claimed. Invoices carry the PO, site and job references portals ask for, and any specific export a client requires can be scoped with you.

Will it stop me billing hours from a technician with an expired cert?

Timesheets warn when a technician's certificate is not valid, so the supervisor sees the problem at approval, before the hours are invoiced.

Book a US-focused demo

Bring a real job: a turnaround week, a pipeline spread or a shop order. We will show it moving from approved timesheets and equipment issues to a finished invoice with your PO and site on it.

Book an Invoicing demo for your US operation or request a quote for the Atlantis NDT ERP.

Invoicing by region

• Invoicing global overview
• Invoicing in Canada
• 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.

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