Downloading billing run results file

The XML document, including all the bills created by the run, includes the following information for each bill:

• Total Amount Due
• All financial transactions created 
• Rated service periods (for termed services)

• Usage Detail Records (UDRs) (for usage services)
  Rated service periods and UDRs are formatted as defined in the billing definition formatting settings.

The file also includes:

• Number of bills created
• Total number of accounts receivable billed
• Total number of services billed
• Total number of invoices and credit notes
• Total debited amount and total debited amount per service
• Total credited amount and total credited amount per service

The XML document can be sent to a print-house to print the bills.  The bills can then be forwarded to the customers. 

To extract the XML file:

1. Click on Actions menu > Download Billing Results File
2. Click on Download and save the file.
   For a sample Bill XML file, click here.

Viewing generated bills

Bills generated by each billing run can be accessed from the bills Summary page (Actions > View Generated Bills).

For more information, access the Data Entry page by clicking on a bill.

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Billing Based on Billing/Payment Model

The billing process identifies the price and period that subscriptions and services should be billed for.  The services are then renewed and billed, or are placed in a queue for deactivation (when the respective process is executed), following the logic in the table below:

Understanding the Billing Process and Rated Billing Items

In order for a subscription to bill subscription services and hence a subscription it goes through an important step CRM.COM refers to as rating. Rating is the process that decides the period and the amount for which services and hardware will be billed. Define how far ahead you would like to bill subscriptions and provide the default values for the bill as of day. Any services with rated to date before or equal to the bill as of date they will be billed. The result of rating is RBIs (Rated Billing Items). RBIs are billing records containing information on the services and physical goods provided to customers, including the rates that were applied and how they were calculated. In greater detail they provide information on products to be billed, including the billing period (for termed services), the rate of charge, applicable discounts, and other factors that can affect the final price of a product.

RBIs are then converted by the billing run into invoices and credit notes. They can be cancelled, excluded from billing, billed individually or adjusted (to bill a different period or amount). Classification indicates whether an RBI is used for billing a subscriptiona subscription, usage  usage detail record, or a joba job.

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Adjusting RBIs

Services and physical goods that were incorrectly rated can be adjusted manually before the next billing run is performed, unless they are 'cancelled' Click on Adjust from the Actions menu, provide the new dates and amount and SAVE the change. Once adjusted:

1. The billing directive of the existing item is updated to 'Cancelled'.
2. A new similar RBI is created with the adjusted information.
3. If the RBI that is being adjusted is already billed, then an identical RBI of opposite value is also created. 

Cancelling RBIs

If there is an error in the rating of goods or services, the rating can be cancelled and corrected in the next billing run. It is possible to cancel both billed and unbilled rated billing items. The system handles each case accordingly and the corrections are reflected in the accounts receivable or wallet in the next billing run. Click on Cancel from the Actions menu, provide the reason that the item was cancelled and SAVE.

In order to cancel an RBI ,There must not be other RBIs for the same service for a period after that of the RBI to be cancelled. Once cancelled

1. The billing directive of the existing item is updated to 'Cancelled'.
2. If the item was cancelled before being billed, a new RBI will be created for the same period in the next billing run.  
3. If the cancelled item was already billed:
   1. A new identical RBI is created of opposite value and included in the next billing run.
   2. A new RBI will be created for the same period in the next billing run.

Billing RBIs

The normal and prepaid billing runs are responsible for billing all RBIs in one flow. The manual billing of individual RBIs is also possible through the respective action, available from the rated billing items Data Entry page, given that the Billing Directive is set to 'Not Billed'  Click on Bill from the Actions menu and SAVE. Once billed:

1. The billing directive is updated to 'Billed'.
2. An invoice or credit note is created.

Excluding RBIs from billing 

 If necessary, an RBI created for a specific period can be excluded from billing unless it was already cancelled. This can be used to settle a complaint about a technical issue (by not charging the service for the period in question) or to cancel a bill generated by mistake.

Click on Set as Not to be Billed from the Actions menu and SAVE.  It is possible to perform the action whether the item has been billed or not and the system will handle each case accordingly.  Follow the steps below to exclude RBIs from billing. Once updated:

1. The billing directive of the RBI is updated to 'Not To Be Billed'.
2.  If the item was set as 'Not to be Billed', it will be ignored by consecutive billing runs and the period covered by the item will never be billed.
3. If the item was already billed, a new identical RBI is created of opposite value and included in the next billing run.

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Bills

Bills are generated automatically during a normal billing run, or by billing individual accounts, subscriptions and jobs, from each entity's Data Entry page.  Bills cannot be created manually.

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1. Navigate to Billing / Billing / Perform Bill Sending Runs
2. Provide the required information for the run to select the bills to be sent
3. Modify the Scheduling information
4. Save
5. Click on Run Now

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Communicating a bill

Supplementing the Bill Sending Run and the Bill Printout that are used to forward bills to customers, bill information can be communicated by using the Communicate Bills action available through the Actions Menu.

You can use tags related to bills (text that is automatically replaced by values specific to selected records) when creating communications. Tags are available for selection by typing '#'.

Refer to the Communications manual for a complete list of bill tags.

Additional fees applied to a bill

Additional fees can be applied on bills during a normal billing run process, based on the presentment preferences of the subscriber. Additional fees are applied to each bill on a separate invoice financial transaction. If you would like to provide an additional fee on bills, for example for the ones that are delivered via mail then:

1. Navigate to Configuration / Billing Application / Subscription & Billing Settings / Subscription and Billing Policies
2. Under Expenses create a new Expense rule for Additional Fees on Bills
3. Select the fee and under which conditions it should be applied

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Business Flows