Manually selecting and reviewing billing products
Security and navigation
NAVIGATION New/Edit Contact > Billing Rules button, OR New/Edit Device > Billing Rules button
NAVIGATION
> Contracts > Search > Contracts > open a contract > Menu > Billing Rules > Manage Billing Associations > click a contact or device name
SECURITY Requires full visibility (not limited visibility) access to the billing rule's contract
About this page
On this page, you manually associate contacts or devices with billing products, and review the contracts and billing rules they become automatically associated with. It is the right place to start if you've just created a new contact or device, and want to select the correct billing product.
Billing items are created only if all of the following conditions are met:
| Contract | Contract Billing Rule | Contact or Device | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active = "True" |
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| Effective|Start |Create Date < Billing Date < Expiration | End Date |
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How to...
Associate an item with a billing product
To associate a contact or device with a billing product and contract:
- To open the page, use the path(s) in the Security and navigation section above.
- Select the check box in the Associated column of a Billing Product row to create the association.
- Adjust the Effective Date. By default, the current date is selected.
On the effective date, the contact or device starts being counted towards the charge totals for the billing product. If prorating is enabled, proration will start on this date. If it is not enabled, the contact or device is counted towards the totals on the next billing date. - Optionally, enter an Expiration Date. This is the last date on which the contact or device is counted towards the totals for the billing product. If it is blank (default), the end date of the contract is the last date.
- Click Save.
The selected billing product appears in the Currently Associated Billing Products column. - To associate the item with an additional billing product, repeat the process.
Review contract and billing rule associations
Billing products are not only associated with contacts or devices, but also with contract billing rules. If a contract exists for the organization that has a billing rule for a billing product you just linked to the contact or device, the contract and billing rule are now automatically linked to the contact or device. The billing product serves as the bridge between the two. This process is entirely automatic. You do not have to take any explicit action, and billing will begin automatically.
IMPORTANT It is possible to create a duplicate billing rule for the same billing product in a different contract. Sometimes, this is intentional, for example, if there is no time overlap between the contracts. If the contracts run concurrently, it will result in double-billing for the same billing product. For this reason, it is important that you review the contract and billing rule associations you just created, and address them immediately.
Grid features
The table only displays contracts and billing rules for the selected organization.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Rows | |
| Grouping row | Grouping rows (identified by a Collapse icon) show the name of a contract with a billing rule for a linked billing product. It is possible to have more than one contract listed here. Note that all contracts that are active will generate a billing item, so you want to make sure that there is no time overlap. |
| Grid row | Grid rows display the billing rules corresponding to the selected billing products. Unless you want to charge the customer twice, make sure there is no overlap between contract and rule start and end dates. |
| Columns | |
| Contract Start Date | In a grouping row, this column displays the contract's start date. In a table row, it displays the rule's effective date in the contract. Red font indicates a future date. |
| Contract End Date | In a grouping row, this column displays the contract's end date. In a table row, it displays the rule's expiration date in the contract. |
| Rule Active | Displays a check mark if the rule is presently active. Displays nothing if the rule is presently inactive. |
Address contract overlap
If you see that the billing product or products are linked to more than one contract and the time frames of the billing rules overlap, you must address this issue. If you do not, the contact or device will be counted by both billing rules, resulting in double-billing the customer.
Open the contract and do one of the following:
- Edit the contract end date so it ends on the day before the next contract starts
- Edit the billing rule so it ends on the day before the effective date of the billing rule in the new contract
- If the new contract is already in effect, inactivate the old contract or the billing rule in the old contract
