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Bill Runs are configured in Setup / Finance / Billing / Bill Run |
Overview
Bill runs perform billing, invoicing and payment collection actions as well as execution of contract and accounts receivable terms (dunning rules). Bill runs can be triggered in either a manual 'one-off' fashion or using an automated recurring approach. The accounts that a bill run processes are determined by the bill groups that the accounts are under. Bill runs are associated with bill groups in order to bill the accounts under the bill groups.
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More information on bill run options and when these options execute can be found below in this guide.
Prerequisites
Currency exchange rates must be configured before bill runs can be setup
Bill groups need to be setup in order to specify which accounts to bill
Functionality
Bill runs are added to a bill run queue by the bill run scheduler once the scheduled bill run date has been reached. From there the 'Bill Run Manager' process picks the bill run from the queue and executes it. The bill run manager proceeds to execute the bill run in the following order:
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Execute accounts receivable terms. E.g. apply late payment penalties, suspend accounts for non-payment, etc. before billing runs
Bill packages
Bill usage (note: all unbilled past usage charges related to an account-package selected for billing will be billed if the ‘Bill Usage’ setting is enabled on the bill run. The Bill Period Start date set on the bill run isn’t used to determine if usage charges are applicable, any/all unbilled usage charges in the past related to the account-package will be billed)
Execute contract terms (apply early termination fees, commitment fees)
Run Invoicing (compile charges, apply taxes, total up balances and stamp the invoice id on account transactions)
Collect Payments (utilize a payment gateway configured in the system to collect payment for accounts setup with an ‘Auto Pay’ payment method configured)
Render the invoice (create the PDF invoice)
Deliver the invoice based on the account's bill group invoice delivery configuration
Bill Runs Panel
The Bill Runs panel on the left of this screen allows you to select an existing bill run so that you can view and edit it on the Edit Bill Run panel to the right. In addition, actions are available which are shown as icons on the left above the Filter text box. Available actions are detailed below.
Actions
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Deletes the selected bill run if not in use (connected to a bill group) | |
Adds a new bill run |
When you select a bill run in the list additional details will be displayed in the Edit Bill Run panel to the right. These details are explained below.
Edit Bill Run Panel
The information in this panel reflects the currently selected bill run. From here you can change bill run details (fields will display a red left border if a value is required and purple text if the field is read-only and cannot be modified).
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Name: a unique and descriptive name of your bill run, e.g. 'Recurring Bill Run'
Collection Type: defines how payments are collected during a bill run. Note that this field will only be editable when the ‘Collect Payments’ option is enabled on the bill run ‘Settings’ tab
Account Balance: collect payment if the account has a positive balance
Invoice Balance: collect the invoice balance of the most recent invoice
Bill Run Status Type: indicates the status of a bill run that is running or has finished running (i.e. this field will indicate if the bill run is in progress or completed)
Settings tab
This tab allows you to configure billing, invoicing, payment collection and other options that are performed when the bill run is executed.
Billing:
Bill Package: bills account-packages that have a 'Next Bill Date' that falls within the Bill Period (Bill Period Start to Bill Period End) date range
Bill Usage: bills usage charges related to account-packages that have a 'Next Bill Date' in the bill period date range (Bill Period Start to Bill Period End). All unbilled usage charges that precede the 'Bill Period Start' date will also be billed if it is determined that the account-package should be billed
Invoicing:
Run Invoices: compiles charges, applies taxes, totals up balances and stamps transactions with an invoice number
Render Invoices: generates invoices in a pdf format. A rendered invoice is a finalized invoice that cannot be edited or have additional transactions added to it. Rendering will only occur when the invoicer account's ‘Bill Day' is reached (the bill day falls within the Bill Period Start and Bill Period End range), until the invoicer account’s bill day is reached the bill run will not render an invoice when this option is selected
Deliver Invoices: delivers invoices based on the bill group's 'Invoice Delivery' setting. Invoices that are not rendered will not be delivered (i.e. no invoice exists to be delivered). Invoices are only delivered when the invoicer account's bill day is within the billing period (the bill day falls within the Bill Period Start and Bill Period End date range)
Contracts:
Run Contract Commitments: when enabled account and account-package contracts on the accounts being billed will be evaluated to see if contract related charges are applicable. If commitments are not met/contracts have been terminated prematurely then any configured penalty fees on the contract will be applied. When this option is enabled contract dates will be checked to determine if contract charges are valid, the 'Bill Period Start' date on the bill run is not referenced when the system is evaluating contracts on accounts/account-packages. This means that contract charges related to periods earlier than the specified bill period start date will be applied
AR Terms:
Run Dunning Process: when enabled this setting will trigger the execution of dunning rules that have been configured on the account (e.g. send the account's billing contact an email notification if they are X days overdue for payment, email and change the account status to suspended if payment is Y days overdue, etc.). It's recommended that you configure a standalone bill run to execute dunning rules on a daily schedule
Payments:
Collect Payments: when enabled payment can be collected from accounts that have an ‘Auto Pay’ payment method configured. Integration with a payment gateway must also be configured for payment collection to function
Bill Group tab
This tab displays which bill groups are associated with the bill run and allows you to connect or disassociate the bill run with existing bill groups.
See the guides pages under this article for instructions on how to add or remove bill groups on bill runs.
Exchange Rates tab
This tab allows you to specify which currency exchange rates to use for currency conversion. For reporting requirements currencies will be converted to the owner's currency (base currency) during the bill run, but from an invoicing perspective currency conversion will only be applicable when an account is in one currency and the account receiving the invoice (the invoicer) is setup with a different currency. Any charge can be converted to another currency if necessary, depending on the invoiced account’s currency.
Schedule tab
This tab allows you to configure when the bill run executes as well as view currently running and previously completed bill runs. Bill runs can be scheduled on a 'one-off' basis or on a recurring frequency (e.g. daily, monthly).
See the Scheduling Bill Runs section below for instructions on how to schedule bill runs.
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Guides
Adding Bill Runs
Under the Bill Runs heading on the left click the icon
Under the Add Bill Run heading on the right specify the bill run details
Click Save
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Adding Bill Groups to Bill Runs
Under the Bill Runs heading on the left click the bill run you wish to edit
Under the Edit Bill Run heading on the right click on the Bill Group tab
On the Bill Group tab click inside the text field labeled Bill Group(s) To Add
In the list that appears check off the bill groups you wish to add to the bill run
Click the + Add button to the right
Click Save to commit the bill run changes
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Scheduling Bill Runs
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Only one active recurring bill run can run at a time. There is no limit on the number of one-time bill runs that can run concurrently. |
Under the Bill Runs heading on the left click the bill run you wish to schedule
Under the Edit Bill Run heading on the right click on the Schedule tab
On the schedule tab you can perform various options:
To schedule a recurring bill run click the button. On the pop-up that appears specify when the bill run should execute and how frequently (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.)
To schedule a one time bill run click the button. On the pop-up that appears specify the:
Bill Period Start: this value determines the start of the billing period range. The billing period range is defined by the Bill Period Start date and the Bill Period End date. When the bill run executes account-packages will be billed if the package’s 'Next Bill Date' falls within the billing period range and the option 'Bill Package' is enabled on the bill run. Note: back billing of old unbilled usage charges related to the account-packages selected for billing will occur regardless of the Bill Period Start date, this setting is not used to limit how far back usage charges should be billed. This Bill Period Start date setting does not control when the bill run executes, execution is determined based on the bill run schedule which is configured on the Schedule tab
Bill Period End: this value determines the end of the billing period range. See the Bill Period Start notes above for more information
Posting Date: the posting date for all transactions generated by the bill run
Schedule Now/Schedule Date/Time: when the bill run should start
To pause a scheduled bill run click the button next to a scheduled bill run
To re-enable a paused scheduled bill run click the button next to a scheduled bill run that has been paused
To edit an existing schedule in the list click the button to the right of the schedule. On the pop-up that appears adjust the scheduled date/time as needed
To delete a schedule click the button to the right of the schedule. The button will appear, click it to mark the schedule for deletion. Click Save to commit the changes and remove the schedule(s) you selected for deletion
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Editing Bill Runs
Under the Bill Runs heading on the left click the bill run you wish to edit
Under the Edit Bill Run heading on the right modify the bill run details. See the Bill Runs screen help for information on each field
Click Save when finished making changes
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Deleting Bill Runs
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Note: you cannot delete a bill run if it is in use in the system. If you need to delete a bill run that is in use you will first need to remove any bill groups that have been added to the bill run. See the removing bill groups from bill runs for instructions |
Under the Bill Runs heading on the left select the bill run you wish to delete
Under the Bill Runs heading on the left click the icon
On the confirmation dialog that appears select Yes
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Removing Bill Groups from Bill Runs
Under the Bill Runs heading on the left click the bill run you wish to edit
Under the Edit Bill Run heading on the right click on the Bill Group tab
On the Bill Group tab locate the bill group you wish to remove and click the button to the right
The button will appear, click this button confirm that you wish to remove the bill group
The bill group you selected to delete will appear crossed out in the list, repeat the two steps above if you need to mark additional bill groups for deletion
Once the bill groups are marked for deletion click the Save button to commit the changes (i.e. disconnect the bill group(s) from the bill run)