Creating billing cycles
The final step for Billing setup is to define the necessary billing cycles. The steps for defining billing cycles include the following:
- Create a new cycle name/edit a current cycle
- Select whom to bill
- Select what to bill
- Define how to present the bill
- Select how and when to bill
A billing cycle is another name for a billing run. Define a billing cycle to bill a particular group of people for a particular set of products. Two general groups of billing cycles can be set up:
Customers dues billing
A billing run used to collect dues for a given set of customers sorted by type, category, or both.
- The Add Member Type Items option on the Set up billing cycles window must be checked. Selecting this checkbox indicates the billing cycle is a dues product billing.
- The overall customer Paid Thru dates and Renewed Thru dates are used to determine who should be billed.
- The customer Join Date month is used to determine the customer term beginning date (anniversary date) for new customers.
- This billing run will automatically bill all items cross-referenced on the Set up customer types to all customers who are selected for billing. Do not select the same dues products that are listed on the Set up customer types window from the scrolling product list on the Set up billing cycles window.
- This billing run will bill only non-customer type products selected on the cycle if an active subscription record already exists for the customer. For example, Include all sections, Include all chapters, and any items selected on the scrolling product list.
- All line items will bill uniformly for the same customer term (for example, beginning date and number of months) based on the value in the Renewal Months field on the Financial tab on the Manage customers window if nonzero, the value in the Renewal Months field on the Set up products window, or the overall system setup Standard Billing Interval setting.
- Can bill for all chapters and/or all sections.
Non-dues billing
A separate billing run used to collect payments for optional subscriptions for customers or non-customers.
- The Add Member Type Items option on the Set up billing cycles window must not be enabled (checked).
- Evaluates individual subscription line items' Paid Thru and Billed Thru dates in determining whom/what to bill.
- The Subscription Date Added is used to determine the subscription term beginning date for new subscribers.
- This billing run will bill only items chosen on the cycle if an active subscription record already exists for the subscriber. For example, Include all sections, Include all chapters, and any items selected on the scrolling product list.
- Each item's term (number of months) will be calculated independently based on the first nonzero setting of the individual's subscription Billing Period, the product Renewal Months, the subscriber Renew Months (Financial tab), and the overall system setup Standard Billing Interval.