Recurring Billing Processes

Billing Rules contain all the information required to create a Billing Transaction on an Account. The process to configure a Billing Rule is described in the article on Working with Accounts.

Recurring Billing in WeconnectU are managed via Billing Rules, this is then actioned in a Billing Schedule.

The Billing Schedule is essentially a list of all Billing Rules (fixed and variable) that will be active and applicable for the next Billing Run. Typically the Billing Schedule provides for:

Billing Rules (fixed) to bill monthly Rent on Tenant Accounts
Billing Rules (fixed - % of rent) to bill the monthly Commission on Landlord Expense Accounts
Billing Rules (fixed or variable) to bill monthly Utility Accounts on Tenant and Landlord Expense Accounts
Billing Rules (fixed or variable) to bill monthly Services Accounts on Tenant and Landlord Expense Accounts
Billing Rules (fixed or variable) to bill monthly Services and Expenses on Asset Group Creditor Expense Accounts

You can navigate to the Billing Schedule by selecting Billing Schedule from the Accounts menu drop down to open and display the schedule as shown in the example below.

With reference to the example Billing Schedule shown above, note the following:

Search Fields - use these fields to search for Billing Rules associated with specific Assets
Last Billed Filter will be set to < 1st of the Current Month - this will ensure that by default you will be viewing all Billing Rules not yet billed in the Current Month.
Billing Rule Type Filter - use this filter to select subsets of Billing rules based on the Billing rule type
- Variable - show variable billing rules
- Fixed - show fixed billing rules
- All - show all types of billing rules including fixed and variable
Only Show Zero Amounts switch - use this switch to show Billing Rules with zero amounts. Note that the Totals are cleared when the Billing Rule is executed.
Last Billing - this field shows the last date when the Billing Rule was executed as well as the amount that was billed.
VAT - the VAT field is calculated in accordance with the VAT Type setup for the Billing Rule:
Green disk save icon - click to save the information entered for a specific Billing rule
Suspend icon - click to suspend a Billing rule. A user can suspend any active or inactive billing rule. No suspended billing rules will execute.
Paper Clip icon - click to upload a source document such as a municipal or body corporate account
Statement icon - click to execute the a single Billing rule. The Total will be billed to the account.
Bill Now button - click to run all the billing rules that have not been executed yet in the current month. Note, you will be asked to click a Confirm All button on the next screen to initiate the bulk billing process.
Advanced Filter - Use the advanced filter (see screenshot below) to find subsets of Billing Rules

With reference to the advanced filter drop down show above, note the following:

Billing Rule Status (Active / Inactive) - The status is set by the system based on the current Lease dates when the Lease Dates flag has been selected for a Billing Rule. Typically a new Billing rule will by default be Inactive until the Start Date of the Lease is reached when the system will automatically change the status to Active if the terms of the Lease has been finalised.
Category / Beneficiary - use this filter to search for a specific Category or Beneficiary
Account Group Filter - use this filter to view only Billing Rules for Tenant/Landlord/Asset Group
Filter Suspended Rules - use this filter to hide or show suspended Billing rules as part of the schedule or only the suspended Billing Rules.
Show Billing and Effective Day toggle switch - can be enabled to view Billing and Effective Date for all Billing Rules

Billing Rule Audit Trail

The Billing Rule execution history are saved as a separate audit log. You can access the history as follows:

Select the Audit Trail option from the Reports menu
On the Audit and Activity Logs dashboard. select the Billing Rules tab to display the Billing Rule history. See example below:

With reference to the Billing Rule history query shown above, note the following:

Use the search fields and date selector fields to find specific types of Billing Rules for a specific Period.
Export - click this button to export the filtered list to an excel file

Working with the Billing Schedule - Recommended Process

In order to ensure that you load all your variable accounts on a monthly basis, RAMS displays an Accounts Loaded section on the Home Dashboard to show your progress with this monthly recurring activity. See the example Accounts Loaded dashboard below. Just click the Open link to navigate to the variable Billing Schedule for the month that will show all the variable Billing Rules that have not been loaded yet for the month.

From a process perspective, the following steps are recommended to ensure an accurate variable billing every month:

Variable Accounts are received throughout the month. Select two days in the month when you will allocate specific time to load these variable accounts
- Select one day between the 7th and the 15th of the month
- Select another day between the 16th and the 25th of the month
Create a folder on Google Drive or any cloud storage device to save Accounts received during the month
On each of the selected account processing days
- Navigate to the Billing Schedule
- Select the Not Billed in Current Month, Variable and Active filters and ensure that the only show zero amounts switch is on
- Then start loading the accounts on a per property basis. You will notice that the Billing Schedule has been sorted to allow you to capture accounts on a per Property basis, first the Tenant Accounts and then the Landlord Expense Accounts.
- When you have completed the Totals on a Billing Rule, load the source document if applicable and click the Statement icon to run the Billing rule.
- You will find that the list gets shorter and shorter until all available rules have have been executed.
On the chosen monthly billing day
- select the Never Billed, Variable and Active filters and ensure that the only show zero amounts switch is on. Resolve any outstanding Billing Rules.
- select Not Billed in Current Month, Fixed and Active to display all the fixed Billing Rules. Review the Billing Schedule and resolve any issues
- Use this Bill Now feature to run all fixed Billing Rules in BULK.