Consolidated Billing

You can use e-automate to consolidate outstanding customer sales and/or service invoices into one batch billing. You can manually consolidate invoices for a customer or you can create a batch billing. Batch billing will automatically recognize customers and invoices set up to consolidate based on these criteria:

Cut-off date

Minimum consolidated billing amounts

Total combined invoices that are less than a specified amount

Configuring a Customer for Consolidated BillingConfiguring a Customer for Consolidated Billing

From the e-automate Toolbar, click [Customers].

From the Customers list window, select the customer whose sales and/or service billings you want to consolidate.

Click [Edit] to open the Edit Customer window.

Click the Billing tab.

Check the Use consolidated billing checkbox.

Note: When you enable consolidated billing for a customer, the system displays an Add to consolidated billing queue checkbox on the sales invoice (New Sales Invoice and Edit Sales Invoice...) and service invoice (Invoice Call... and Edit Service Invoice...) entry windows. When the Add to consolidated billing queue checkbox is checked for a sales invoice or service invoice, the system displays Yes in the Consolidated column of the Sales Invoices or Service Invoices list window, respectively, indicating the invoice is in the consolidated billing queue. Invoices in the consolidated billing queue are eligible to be included on the New Consolidated Billings (Batch) window for batch processing and the New Consolidated Billing window for manual processing. When an invoice is added to the consolidated billing queue, the system disables the options for queueing the individual invoice to be printed, emailed, or faxed at the time the individual invoice is created. Conversely, when the Add to consolidated billing queue checkbox is not checked for an invoice, the invoice is not added to the consolidated billing queue; the options for queueing the individual invoice to be printed, emailed, or faxed at the time the individual invoice is created remain enabled so that the invoice can be sent to the customer without waiting for the next consolidated billing.

Note: Contract invoices are not eligible to be included in these consolidated billings.

Click the […] button to the right of the Use consolidated billing to open the Consolidated Billing Settings window.

In the Consolidated billing cycle field, use the drop-down menu to select the frequency with which to consolidate this customer’s invoices.

Note: The system only uses this field if you check the Next consolidated billing date checkbox.

To set a next consolidated billing date, do the following:

Check the Next consolidated billing date checkbox.

Note: If the Next consolidated billing date checkbox is not checked, the system does not associate a Next billing date with an invoice that is eligible for consolidation. If the system displays the invoice on the New Consolidated Billings (Batch) window for batch processing, the Next billing date column for the invoice will be blank. Additionally, the system does not list the customer on the Roll the Next Consolidated Billing Date window—even if the time period identified in the Consolidated billing cycle field has elapsed since the date displayed in the Next consolidated billing date field.

Enter the next date on which to consolidate sales invoice and/or service invoice billings for this customer.

In the Minimum consolidated billing amount field, enter the minimum monetary amount that the included sales invoices and/or service invoices must total before the system will generate a consolidated billing invoice. If the total amount of the invoices to be consolidated is less than this amount, e-automate will not create a consolidated billing invoice for the current consolidated billing cycle. The invoices from this cycle will be included with the invoices from the next cycle, and the system will perform this check again for the next cycle to see if the new total of the invoices for which to generate a consolidated billing invoice now exceeds this minimum amount.

In the Automatically Consolidate region, do the following:

To include sales invoices in the consolidated billing process by default, check the Sales invoices checkbox. When checked, the system defaults the Add to consolidated billing queue checkbox to checked on the New Sales Invoice and Edit Sales Invoice... windows.

To include service invoices in the consolidated billing process by default, check the Service invoices checkbox. When checked, the system defaults the Add to consolidated billing queue checkbox to checked on the Invoice Call... and Edit Service Invoice... windows.

To have the system automatically consolidate sales invoices (if the Sales invoices box is checked) and/or service invoices (if the Service invoices box is checked) when the total amount of the invoices to be consolidated is less than a specified amount, do the following:

Check the When total amount is less than checkbox.

In the field to the right of the When total amount is less than checkbox, enter the monetary amount below which the system should automatically consolidate sales invoices (if the Sales invoices box is checked) and/or service invoices (if the Service invoices box is checked)

Note: This option applies only to invoices for which the Add to consolidated billing queue checkbox is checked. Additionally, when the When total amount is less than checkbox is checked, the Add to consolidated billing queue checkbox for any new invoice is checked by default and disabled so that a user cannot uncheck the Add to consolidated billing queue checkbox on a per-invoice basis during invoice creation.

Click [OK] to save the consolidated billing settings and to close the Consolidated Billing Settings window.

Click [OK] to save the Customer record and to close the Edit Customer window.

Creating a Batch of Consolidated BillingsCreating a Batch of Consolidated Billings

From the Accounting menu, select Accounts Receivable > Consolidated Billings to open the Consolidated Billings window.

Click [Batch New] to open the New Consolidated Billings (Batch) window.

In the Cut-off date field, enter the cut-off date to use for filtering the sales invoices and/or service invoices that are eligible to be included in the batch, or make no change to use the date displayed.

Note: For an invoice to be eligible to be included in the batch,

The invoice's Add to consolidated billing queue checkbox must be checked.

The invoice must not have been included in another consolidated billing.

The invoice's creation date must be equal to or prior to the specified Cut-off date.

If the Next consolidated billing date checkbox is checked in the Customer record for the customer associated with the invoice, the Next consolidated billing date must be equal to or prior to the Cut-off date and the invoice's creation date must be equal to or prior to the customer's Next consolidated billing date.

To select the invoices to include in the batch, do any of the following:

Use the QuickSearch to filter the list of invoices to display. For more information on using the QuickSearch, see the Using the QuickSearch topic.

To include all the invoices listed in the display, click the [Check all] icon.

To exclude all the invoices listed in the display, click the [Uncheck all] icon.

To include an individual invoice listed in the display, check the box at the beginning of that invoice row in the display.

To exclude an individual invoice listed in the display, uncheck the box at the beginning of that invoice row in the display.

Click [Create Billings] to open the Create Consolidated Billings window.

To list the Next consolidated billing date from the Customer record as the Date on the consolidated billing invoice if Next consolidated billing date checkbox is checked in the Customer record, check the Use the next consolidated billing date set on the customer checkbox. If you check this box, the system displays "(Use this date if not set for customer)" to the right of the Billing date field.

In the Billing date field, enter the date the system should list as the Date on each consolidated billing invoice generated from the invoices included in the batch. If the Use the next consolidated billing date set on the customer checkbox is not checked, the system will use this date as the Date on each consolidated billing invoice generated. If the Use the next consolidated billing date set on the customer checkbox is checked, the system will use this date as the Date on each consolidated billing invoice for each customer for whom the Next consolidated billing date checkbox is not checked in the Customer record.

In the Batch field, enter a number to identify this batch or make no change to use the system-assigned number for this batch.

In the Description field, enter the text—if any—to print in the Description region on each consolidated billing invoice.

To print the consolidated billing invoices included in the batch after you click the [OK] button, check the Print billing checkbox.

Note: You can also generate each consolidated billing invoice by selecting the saved billing from the Consolidated Billing window and clicking that window's Print icon to print the invoice or Email icon to email the invoice, respectively.

Note: For each customer for whom a batch billing was generated by this process, the printed document will include a consolidated billing invoice that lists the Invoice Number, Date, PO Number, Type, Source, Tax, Total, amount Due, and description (if present) for each invoice included in the consolidated billing invoice as well as a copy of each of the separate sales and/or service invoices included in the list.

Click [OK] to close this window and to add each of the newly created consolidated billings to the list on the Consolidated Billings list window. If the Next consolidated billing date does not need to be rolled forward for any of the customers included in this batch and you did not check the Print billing checkbox in Step 11, the process is complete. If the Next consolidated billing date does need to be rolled forward for any of the customers included in this process and/or if you checked the Print billing checkbox in Step 11, proceed to the next step.

If the system displays the Roll the Next Consolidated Billing Date window, then one or more customers have a Next consolidated billing date that is due to be cycled forward based on the Consolidated billing cycle specified in the Customer record. This window lists each customer for whom this date is due to be cycled forward. Do any of the following:

To include an individual customer in the process of cycling this date forward, check the box at the beginning of the row for that customer in the display.

To exclude an individual customer in the process of cycling this date forward, uncheck the box at the beginning of the row for that customer in the display.

To include all customers listed in the display in the process of cycling the date forward, click the [Check all] button.

To exclude all customers listed in the display from the process of cycling the date forward, click the [Uncheck all] button.

Click [OK] to have the system roll the date forward for each customer included in the process.

Note: After any Next consolidated billing date is rolled forward, the New Consolidated Billings (Batch) window may display additional invoices that are now eligible to be included in a batch based on the Next consolidated billing date updates. In this event, you can repeat this process to create a new batch if desired.

If you checked the Print billing checkbox in Step 11, the system displays the Print window. To print the consolidated billing invoice, do the following:

In the Printer field, use the drop-down menu to select a printer or make no change to use the option displayed.

In the Copies field, enter the number of copies to print or make no change to use the number displayed.

To preview the document before printing it, click the Print Preview icon.

To print the specified number of copies on the selected printer, click [Yes]; to close this window without printing any copies, click [No]. The process is complete.

Manually Creating a Consolidated BillingManually Creating a Consolidated Billing

From the Accounting menu, select Accounts Receivable > Consolidated Billings to open the Consolidated Billings list window.

Click [New] to open the New Consolidated Billing window.

In the Customer field, use the lookup to select the customer for whom to consolidate sales invoices and/or service invoices based on the Consolidated Billing Settings specified for the customer in the Customer record.

Note: The system filters this field to display only customers for whom Consolidated Billing Settings are specified in the Customer record. If you do not see the customer for whom you want to consolidate billing of sales invoices and/or service invoices, see the "Configuring a Customer for Consolidated Billing" section of this topic.

In the Description field, enter the text—if any—to print in the Description region on the consolidated billing invoice.

In the Branch field, use the lookup to select the branch to associate with this consolidated billing.

Note: This field is only displayed when branching is enabled. For more information, see the Enabling Branching topic.

In the Billing number, make no change to allow the system to assign the next billing number to this consolidated billing, or manually enter a number to identify this consolidated billing.

In the PO number field, enter a purchase order number—if any—to associated with the consolidated billing invoice.

In the Date field, enter the date to list in the consolidated billing invoice's Date field.

Note: If a Next consolidated billing date is specified for this customer in the Customer record, the system defaults the Date field to that Next consolidated billing date; otherwise, the system defaults the Date field to the current date. You can override this date if desired.

Note: The system uses the date you enter in this field as the cut-off date for determining which sales invoices and/or services invoices to display in the list on the New Consolidated Billing window. Any invoice for this customer that is marked as eligible for consolidation, that has an invoice creation date equal to or prior to this date, and that has not previously been invoiced is included in the list.

In the Due by field, enter the date by which payment of the consolidated billing invoice is required. The system lists this date in the Payment Due field of each sales invoice and/or service invoice included in the consolidated billing invoice.

For each eligible invoice listed in the display on the New Consolidated Billing window, check the box at the beginning of the row to include the invoice in the consolidated invoice or uncheck the box to exclude the invoice from the consolidated invoice.

To print the consolidated billing invoice after you click the [OK] button, check the Print billing checkbox.

Note: You can also generate the consolidated billing invoice by selecting the saved billing from the Consolidated Billing window and clicking that window's Print icon to print the invoice or Email icon to email the invoice, respectively.

Note: The consolidated billing invoice includes a list identifying the Invoice Number, Date, PO Number, Type, Source, Tax, Total, amount Due, and description (if present) for each invoice included in the consolidated billing invoice as well as a copy of each of the separate sales and/or service invoices included in the list.

Click [OK] to close this window and to add the newly created consolidated billing to the list on the Consolidated Billings list window. If you did not check the Print billing checkbox in Step 11, the process is complete. If you did check the Print billing checkbox in Step 11, the system displays the Print window. To print the consolidated billing invoice, do the following:

In the Printer field, use the drop-down menu to select a printer or make no change to use the option displayed.

In the Copies field, enter the number of copies to print or make no change to use the number displayed.

To preview the document before printing it, click the Print Preview icon.

To print the specified number of copies on the selected printer, click [Yes]; to close this window without printing any copies, click [No]. The process is complete.

After you manually create a consolidated billing or edit an existing consolidated billing (during which you could change the billing date), the system does not automatically check to see if the customer's Next consolidated billing date is due to be cycled forward. For information on update the Next consolidated billing date, see the "Rolling Next Consolidated Billing Dates" section of this topic.

Rolling Next Consolidated Billing DatesRolling Next Consolidated Billing Dates

The following three options are available for rolling Next consolidated billing dates forward in the Customer records for which you have specified a Consolidated billing cycle frequency and have checked the Next consolidated billing date checkbox:

Option 1: After you create a batch of consolidated billings, the system checks to see if any customer's Next consolidated billing date is due to be cycled forward based on the Consolidated billing cycle specified in the Customer record. If it is, the system displays the Roll the Next Consolidated Billing Date window and lists the customer(s) on that window. You have the option to roll the Next consolidated billing date forward for any customer listed on the window. For more information on using this option, see Step 12 of the "Creating a Batch of Consolidated Billings" section of this topic.

Option 2: You can manually edit the date associated with the Customer record. For more information, see Step 8.b. of the "Configuring a Customer for Consolidated Billing" section of this topic.

Option 3: On the Consolidated Billings window, you can click the Roll next billing date icon to have the system determine if any customer's Next consolidated billing date is due to be cycled forward based on the Consolidated billing cycle specified in the Customer record. If it is, the system displays the Roll the Next Consolidated Billing Date window and lists the customer(s) on that window. You have the option to roll the Next consolidated billing date forward for any customer listed on the window. To use this option, do the following:

From the Accounting menu, select Accounts Receivable > Consolidated Billings to open the Consolidated Billings window.

Click the Roll next billing date icon. If no dates are due to be cycled forward, the system displays the message, "There are no customers that need the next consolidation date rolled forward." The process is complete. If the system displays the Roll the Next Consolidated Billing Date window, then one or more customers have a Next consolidated billing date that is due to be cycled forward based on the Consolidated billing cycle specified in the Customer record. This window lists each customer for whom this date is due to be cycled forward.

To select the customer(s) to include in this process, do any of the following:

To include an individual customer in the process of cycling this date forward, check the box at the beginning of the row for that customer in the display.

To exclude an individual customer in the process of cycling this date forward, uncheck the box at the beginning of the row for that customer in the display.

To include all customers listed in the display in the process of cycling the date forward, click the [Check all] button.

To exclude all customers listed in the display from the process of cycling the date forward, click the [Uncheck all] button.

Click [OK] to have the system roll the date forward for each customer included in the process.

Editing an Existing Consolidated BillingEditing an Existing Consolidated Billing

From the Accounting menu, select Accounts Receivable > Consolidated Billings to open the Consolidated Billings window.

Select the consolidated billing you want to change, and click [Edit]. The system opens the Edit Consolidated Billing window. The Customer and Billing number fields are not available for edit. To the right of the Billing number field, the system displays a Rev field that is incremented each time you edit an existing consolidated billing. When you save your edits to an existing consolidated billing, the system displays Yes in the Void column of the consolidated billing you selected for edit and saves the new (edited) consolidated billing with the Rev number appended to the Billing number. For example, if the consolidated billing selected for edit had a Billing number of B10001-0, the first edit would be assigned a Rev value of 1, and the new (edited) record would be saved with a Billing number of B-10001-1.

To edit the selected consolidated billing, do any of the following:

In the Description field, enter the updated text—if any—to print in the Description region on the consolidated billing invoice.

In the Branch field, use the lookup to select the branch to associate with this consolidated billing.

Note: This field is only displayed when branching is enabled. For more information, see the Enabling Branching topic.

In the PO number field, enter a purchase order number—if any—to associated with the consolidated billing invoice.

In the Date field, enter the date to list in the consolidated billing invoice's Date field.

Note: The system displays the date associated with the consolidated billing selected for edit. You can override this date.

Note: During an edit to an existing consolidated billing, the system does not use this date as a cut-off date for determining which sales invoices and/or services invoices to display in the list on the New Consolidated Billing window; by default, the display lists only the sales invoices and/or service invoices associated with the consolidated billing selected for edit.

To add a new sales invoice or service invoice to this consolidated billing, do the following:

In the Invoice field, use the lookup to select an eligible invoice to include in the consolidated billing.

Click [QuickAdd] to add the selected invoice to the consolidated billing.

To exclude a sales or service invoice from the consolidated billing, uncheck the box at the beginning of the row for the invoice listed in the display.

Note: Any sales and/or service invoices that you exclude from this consolidated billing are then eligible to be included in a different consolidated billing.

To print the consolidated billing invoice after you click the [OK] button, check the Print billing checkbox.

Click [OK] to close this window, to add the newly created consolidated billing to the list on the Consolidated Billings list window, and to enter Yes in the Void column of the consolidated billing you selected for edit to create the updated consolidated billing. If you did not check the Print billing checkbox in Step 11, the process is complete. If you did check the Print billing checkbox in Step 11, the system displays the Print window. To print the consolidated billing invoice, do the following:

In the Printer field, use the drop-down menu to select a printer or make no change to use the option displayed.

In the Copies field, enter the number of copies to print or make no change to use the number displayed.

To preview the document before printing it, click the Print Preview icon.

To print the specified number of copies on the selected printer, click [Yes]; to close this window without printing any copies, click [No]. The process is complete.

Note: After you manually create a consolidated billing or edit an existing consolidated billing (during which you could change the billing date), the system does not automatically check to see if the customer's Next consolidated billing date is due to be cycled forward. For information on update the Next consolidated billing date, see the "Rolling Next Consolidated Billing Dates" section of this topic.

Voiding an Existing Consolidated BillingVoiding an Existing Consolidated Billing

From the Accounting menu, select Accounts Receivable > Consolidated Billings to open the Consolidated Billings window.

Select the consolidated billing you want to void, and click [Void]. The system displays the message, "Are you sure you want to void this billing?"

Click [Yes] to void the consolidated billing, or click [No] to close the message without voiding the consolidated billing.

Note: If you click [Yes], the system:

Displays Yes in the Void column of the consolidated billing you voided.

Makes the voided consolidated billing's individual sales and/or service invoices eligible to be included in a different consolidated billing.