CBA features a robust automated billing system. Individual programs are billed using Schedules, which are set up by the user. Schedules allow users to set the billing period, the date CBA will start producing transactions, and the finalization date for each period. Because the automated billing system runs nightly, a user's bill is viewable at any time after each period's Schedule Begin Date.
Both new and existing billing programs can be set up to bill automatically. Each Billing Program in CBA must first meet two requirements before billing can be automated. The requirements are 1) the Billing Program has Schedules enabled; and 2) Schedules have been added to the Billing Program.
Previously, the billing workflow in CBA consisted of running a draft bill, confirming the draft bill, and running a final bill. Billing automation streamlines this process. The following diagram represents an overview of the automated billing process:
1. Current Schedule Begin Date: on this date, a batch (e.g. Batch A) is opened on the Schedule begin date, and transactions are run for the billing period associated with the current schedule.
2. Nightly Billing: billing is run nightly and transactions are added, capturing any new activity during the day.
3. Finalization Date: the current batch is closed on this date.
4. Quiet Period: the Quiet Period is the period between the Finalization Date and the next Schedule Begin Date. The purpose of the Quiet Period is to allow time to confirm the correctness of the final bill, and the opportunity to include any late activity in the current Billing Period.
If you need to capture additional change activity, but the Finalization Date has passed, you can manually run a bill through the current Schedule's Bill Through Date. The manual billing will create a new Batch, which is grouped together with the Schedule's existing Batch. For more information, see the topic below.
Add Transactions after the Finalization Date
5. Next Schedule Begin Date: the next Schedule begins on this date, adding transactions to a new batch (e.g. Batch B).
Each billing program is maintained through the Billing Center. Billing reports can be viewed from within the Billing Center. The Billing Center also allows a user to manually run their bill, enable and suspend individual Schedules, finalize a bill on command, and bill in advance.
The automated billing system is based on Schedules. Schedules can be set up by the user, an administrator, or by Focus Solutions. One Schedule corresponds to one billing period, which is often one month. Schedules can be added individually, or in a group.
Each Schedule has three dates that are selected when the Schedule is set up:
Schedule Begin Date: the date that the automated billing system begins producing transactions.
Finalization Date: the date the current batch is finalized. No new transactions may be included in the current batch. Please note, however, that a new batch may be created before the next Schedule begins that includes additional transactions.
Bill Through Date: the date the automated billing system will bill through. For example, to run a bill for the month of July, the bill through date would be 08/01/2008.
Billing reports are accessible directly from the Billing Center. CBA automatically prepares reports based on the default report template that is associated with the Billing Program. Users can also access the Billing Report wizard to view and export reports.