There are three methods for setting up Recurring Lines. The option selected for setting up the recurring lines depends on your company's own policies and procedures.
- Setup the recurring lines when initially creating a new customer.
- Setup recurring lines from a Customer Explorer record.
- Setup and activate recurring lines when invoicing an installation Job.
Situations when RMR is Setup from Job Management
In the situations below, the setup of RMR will be covered under the Job Management section of this help.
- A new System will be installed, and a new Job is going to be created for the installation and the Recurring Line(s). When the RMR is invoiced on a Job, the recurring lines will automatically be setup on the customer's account for future invoicing through the cycle billing process.
- If a System is already installed (Reactivation or Re-sign situation) any new Recurring will be activated through Job Invoicing.
Situations when RMR is Setup when creating a New Customer
In the situation below, follow the New Customer RMR link for instructions on how to setup recurring for a new Customer.
- If this is a new customer and a new system and a Job will not be created for the installation, Recurring Lines may be setup during customer creation. If the User does not setup the recurring lines during customer creation, then follow the steps for setting up recurring from the Customer Explorer (below).
Situations when RMR is Setup from the Customer Explorer
In the situation below, continue on for instructions on setting up Recurring Lines from the Customer Explorer.
·If this is a System that is already installed (Takeover situation) and new Recurring will be activated and a Job will not be created for activating the System, the User will create the necessary Recurring Lines from the Customer Explorer.
When entering a new Recurring Line from the Customer Explorer, there are three data entry forms available:
- New Recurring Item
- Royalties/Commissions
- Changes
- Escalations
Once the information is entered on the Recurring Item form the User has the option of using the Changes form to enter a future rate increase, future rate decrease or future cancellation for the Recurring Line. If a commission or royalty is going to be paid to a Salesperson or a Vendor each time the recurring line is billed to the customer, the User may setup this information on the Royalties/Commissions form. The optional Escalations form is used to setup a predefined rate increase schedule for the recurring line.
To setup a new Recurring Line from the Customer Explorer, follow the instructions below.
1. Open the Customer Explorer record for which a new recurring line will be created.
2. From the Customer Tree, expand the customer tree below the Site and System where the recurring line will be setup. Highlight the Recurring option within the System tree; right-click and select the New Recurring option.
3. The New Recurring Item form will be displayed. Three optional forms, Royalties/Commissions, Changes and Escalations are contained on this form. Enter the information according to your company policies and procedures then click the Save button located at the lower right of the form.
Only the Recurring Setup form is requiredto be completed to be able to save the recurring line.
Recurring Setup Form
Recurring Setup Form Data Entry Fields:
BillTo – If the Customer has more than one BillTo record, clicking the BillTo button will open a list of all active BillTo records from which to make a selection. If the Customer has only one BillTo record, this will automatically be defaulted into the New Recurring Item form.
Recurring Item – Choose the appropriate Recurring Item code that describes the type of service that will be invoiced to the Customer. Make a selection from the drop-down list by clicking the arrow to the right of the field. The Item Code does not print on the Customer's invoice. This field is required.
Description – This field will automatically default to the description associated with the Recurring Item code maintained in SedonaSetup/Invoice Items. The description may be overridden by the User and will only affect this one Recurring Line. The User may enter up to 50 characters of information into this field. The text in this field will print on the Customer's invoice. This field is required.
Sub Item Of – Select the Recurring Item to be used as a roll-up Recurring Item. If the Customer will be invoiced for multiple Recurring Lines and it is desired to group certain Recurring Lines together so that only one Recurring Item appears on the customer invoice, the User would assign the same Sub Item of Recurring Item to each recurring line that will be grouped together. This field is optional.
Bill Cycle – This field indicates how frequently the Customer will be invoiced for the Recurring Item. Select from one of the available choices: monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual. This field is required.
RMR Amount – If the Bill Cycle of monthly was selected in the previous field, enter the monthly charges for the recurring line. If a Bill Cycle other than monthly was selected in the Bill Cycle field, this field will be grayed out and the amount to invoice will be entered in the Cycle Amount field (next field below). If the Bill Cycle is not monthly, when the User enters an amount in the Cycle Amount field, the RMR Amount field will automatically fill in. This field is required.
Cycle Amount – If a Bill Cycle other than monthly was selected, this field will be available to enter the cycle amount. If the monthly charge for this service is $25.00 per month, and the bill cycle selected was quarterly, the User would enter the Cycle Amount of $75.00. This field is required.
Next Cycle Date – From the drop-down list, select the next cycle date that this recurring line will begin billing by clicking the arrow to the right of the field. If it is needed to back date the start of the recurring prior to the current accounting month, the User may go back as far as 12 months to begin billing. Scroll to the bottom of the Next Cycle Date list to locate and select older billing periods. This field is required.
Prorating Recurring
If it is your company policy to prorate recurring lines, the User will select the Month/Year that services begin, then in the RMR Start Date field enter the date you will begin billing for the recurring line. For example if the recurring is billed monthly and the services started on May 14, 2017 and the May 2017 cycle billing has already been generated, by entering the Next Cycle Date of May 2017 and the RMR Start Date of May 14, 2017, when the June 2017 cycle is generated, the customer will be invoiced for the period of May 14, 2017 through June 30, 2017.
Note: Some companies re-run the current cycle period once a day or once a week to pick up any new recurring that was activated after the main cycle batch was run.
Reason for Add – Select the RMR reason code from the drop-down list that identifies the reason for the creation of this Recurring Line. This field is required.
RMR Start Date – Enter the date that recurring services will begin billing for this Recurring Line. If it is your company policy to prorate Recurring Lines that start after the beginning of a normal billing cycle, this may be accomplished by entering the actual start date of the Recurring Line in this field and then selecting this same month/year in the Next Cycle Date field. This is a required field.
Invoice Group# – The Invoice Group Number will default to 0 when the recurring line is saved. If you need to separate some recurring lines into various groups to be invoiced at different times, you may create your own groups numbered from 1 to 9. Some customers may only be billed in arrears; creating a group for arrears billed customers is very common.
Renewal – This field is used in conjunction with the following field Rate Increase (date) by the Company Rate Change program within SedonaOffice to select recurring lines which are eligible for rate increases. If your company will not be using the Company Rate Change program, information entered into this field may be used for reporting purposes. This field is optional but recommended.
Rate Increase – This field is used in conjunction with the previous field Renewal (date) by the Company Rate Change program within SedonaOffice to select recurring lines which are eligible for rate increases. This date represents when the recurring line is eligible to be rate increased. If your company will not be using the Company Rate Change program, information entered into this field may be used for reporting purposes. This field is optional but recommended.
Override % – Information entered into this field is used by the Company Rate Change program. If a value is entered into this field, this will be the percentage by which this recurring line will be increased when using the Company Rate Change program. This field is optional.
PO Number – If your customer has provided a purchase order number which needs to be printed on the cycle invoice, enter that number into this field. This field is optional.
PO Expires – If a PO Number was entered in the previous field and will expire on a particular date, you may enter the expiration date of the PO in this field. This field is optional.
Note: If a PO Expiration date is setup on the recurring line, this will not cause the customer to stop billing as of that date; this is for informational purposes only. We recommend that you generate the Cycle PO Expiration report every month so that you may contact your customers for a new PO Number prior to the expiration date of the current PO. This report is found on the Report Manger within the Client Management report listing.
Reference – This is a free form text field to enter information specific to this recurring line. This field is for information purposes only and will only print on certain Custom Invoice forms. The User may enter up to 255 characters into this field. This field is optional.
Comments – This is a free form text field to enter comments specific to this recurring line. This field is for information purposes only and will only print on certain Custom Invoice forms. The User may enter up to 255 characters of information into this field. This field is optional.
Memo – The Memo field is used to enter information pertaining to the Recurring Line. This information prints on certain custom invoice printing forms. This field is typically used for internal company information. This information will not print on the customer invoice unless a custom invoice form that prints this field is selected during printing, or the printing option of "Show Item Memos" has been selected on the Printing Preference/Item Detail form. The User may enter up to 2,000 characters of information into this field. This field is optional.
Royalties/Commissions Form
Recurring Royalty/Commission Setup for an Employee
The Royalties/Commissions form is used to setup commission amounts for a Salesperson or a Vendor. If a record is setup for either an Employee or an Accounts Payable Vendor, each time the recurring line is invoiced, the amount entered in setup will record an entry into a commissions table and will post amounts to the general ledger. When your company is ready to pay the commission/royalties, a report may be produced to determine the amounts to pay.
Royalties/Commissions Data Entry Fields:
Amount - Enter the monthly dollar amount of the Royalty. If the recurring line is being cycled quarterly and the User enters the amount of $2.00, a Royalty will be generated for $2.00 for each month in the service period; i.e. a total of $6.00.
Deferred Royalty - If this option is selected, and the recurring line billing cycle is other than monthly, the Royalty amount will be divided up into monthly amounts for each month within the service period being cycle invoiced. For example, if a customer was cycled for the service period of October through December(quarterly), and the monthly Royalty amount is $2.00, three Royalty records will be created for $2.00 each; October, November and December.
Employee Royalty - Select this option.
Employee - From the drop-down list, select the name of the Employee to receive the Royalty.
Post to General Ledger - If the Royalty amount is to be posted to the General Ledger when cycle invoices are posted for this recurring line, select this option then select the GL Account Numbers to use for the debit and credit side of the transaction in the next two fields.
Debit Account - This field is only available if the Post to General Ledger option was selected. Select the GL Account Number for the Debit side of the Royalty. This is typically cost of goods sold or an expense account such as Recurring Royalties.
Credit Account - This field is only available if the Post to General Ledger option was selected. Select the GL Account Number for the Credit side of the Royalty. This is typically a liability account such as Deferred RMR Royalties. When checks are written to the employee, this GL Account should selected for the expense.
Start Date - Enter the date on which the Royalty will begin. This is typically the next cycle date for the recurring line. If the recurring line has never been invoiced and the first invoice will be prorated for a partial cycle, the Royalty will also be generated as a prorated amount. For example, if the next cycle date is 08/01/2014 and the recurring start date is 08/15/2014, the Royalty will be prorated for the period of 08/15/2014 through 08/31/2014.
End Date - If the Royalty will only be paid for a limited period of time, enter the last date for the Royalty. For example, if the Royalty will only be paid for the first year of services billed to the customer, and the start date was entered as 08/01/2014, then the end date would be set to 07/31/2014. If the Royalty is to be paid as long as the customer is actively being billed, do not enter a date into this field.
Memo - The User may enter up to 256 characters into this field; this is for information purposes only and does not print on any customer document.
Recurring Royalty Setup for a Vendor
Amount - Enter the monthly dollar amount of the Royalty. If the recurring line is being cycled quarterly and the User enters the amount of $2.00, a Royalty will be generated for $2.00 for each month in the service period; i.e. a total of $6.00.
Deferred Royalty - If this option is selected, and the recurring line billing cycle is other than monthly, the Royalty amount will be divided up into monthly amounts for each month within the service period being cycle invoiced. For example, if a customer was cycled for the service period of October through December(quarterly), and the monthly Royalty amount is $2.00, three Royalty records will be created for $2.00 each; October, November and December.
Vendor Royalty - Select this option.
Vendor - From the drop-down list, select the name of the Vendor to receive the Royalty.
Post to General Ledger - If the Royalty amount(s) is to be posted to the General Ledger when cycle invoices are posted for this recurring line, select this option then select the GL Account Numbers to use for the debit and credit side of the transaction in the next two fields.
Debit Account - This field is only available if the Post to General Ledger option was selected. Select the GL Account Number for the Debit side of the Royalty. This is typically an expense account such as Recurring Royalties.
Credit Account - This field is only available if the Post to General Ledger option was selected. Select the GL Account Number for the Credit side of the Royalty. This is typically a liability account such as Royalties Payable. When checks are written to the vendor, this GL Account is selected for the expense.
Start Date - Enter the date on which the Royalty will begin. This is typically the next cycle date for the recurring line. If the recurring line has never been invoiced and the first invoice will be prorated for a partial cycle, the Royalty will also be generated as a prorated amount. For example, if the next cycle date is 08/01/2009 and the recurring start date is 08/15/2009, the Royalty will be prorated for the period of 08/15/2009 through 08/31/2009.
End Date - If the Royalty will only be paid for a limited period of time, enter the last date for the Royalty. For example, if the Royalty will only be paid for the first year of services billed to the customer, and the start date was entered as 10/01/2008, then the end date would be set to 09/30/2009. If the Royalty is to be paid as long as the customer is actively being billed, do not enter a date into this field.
Changes Form
The Changes form is used to setup a future rate increase, future rate decrease or future cancellation for the Recurring Line. The Changes form is only available when initially creating a new recurring line. If nothing is entered on the form at that time, any changes for the recurring line must be handled manually.
Changes Form Data Entry Fields
Future Rate Increase
When creating a new recurring line, you have the option of setting up a future increase. This is typically used when a promotional rate is offered to the customer for a limited period of time.
RMR Reason - Select the RMR reason code from the drop-down list that identifies the reason for the Rate Increase of this Recurring Line. This field is required.
Increase Start Date - Enter the date on which Rate Increase will go into effect and begin billing for this Recurring Line.
Increase RMR - Enter the monthly amount of the increase. If the current rate is $20.00 per month and the recurring line will increase to $25.00 per month, enter the amount of $5.00.
Comments - This is a free form text field to enter comments specific to this recurring line rate increase. This field is for information purposes only and will not print on the customer invoice. The User may enter up to 255 characters of information into this field. This field is optional. This comment is displayed in the RMR History record for the recurring line increase.
Changes Form Data Entry Fields
Future Rate Decrease (Partial)
When creating a new recurring line, you have the option of setting up a future rate decrease that is a Partial or a Full decrease type. The Partial option would be used if you are setting up a rate reduction. The Full decrease would be used if the recurring line will stop billing as of a particular date.
A Partial Rate Decrease is typically used when a customer begins services at a higher than typical rate due to a credit score that is below the company's normally accepted rate. After a certain period of time, you may automatically decrease the rate for the customer.
Decrease Type - Select the Partial radio button to setup a Rate Decrease.
RMR Reason - Select the RMR reason code from the drop-down list that identifies the reason for the Rate Decrease of this Recurring Line. This field is required.
Cycle Ending Date - Enter the date on which Rate Decrease will go into effect and begin billing for this Recurring Line.
Reduce RMR - Enter the monthly amount of the decrease with a negative value. If the current rate is $25.00 per month and the recurring line will decrease to $20.00 per month, enter the amount of -5.00.
Comments - This is a free form text field to enter comments specific to this recurring line rate decrease. This field is for information purposes only and will not print on the customer invoice. The User may enter up to 255 characters of information into this field. This field is optional. This comment is displayed in the RMR History record for the recurring line decrease.
Changes Form Data Entry Fields
Future Rate Decrease (Full)
When creating a new recurring line, you have the option of setting up a future rate decrease that is a Partial or a Full decrease type. The Full decrease would be used if the recurring line will stop billing as of a particular date; basically this is considered a future cancellation.
Decrease Type - Select the Full radio button to setup a Full Decrease (cancellation).
RMR Reason - Select the RMR reason code from the drop-down list that identifies the reason for the Cancellation of this Recurring Line. This field is required.
Cycle Ending Date - Enter the date on which Cancellation will go into effect and stop billing for this Recurring Line.
Reduce RMR - The amount field will automatically fill in; this amount may not be modified.
Comments - This is a free form text field to enter comments specific to this recurring line cancellation. This field is for information purposes only. The User may enter up to 255 characters of information into this field. This field is optional. This comment is displayed in the RMR History record for the recurring line cancellation.
Escalations Form
The Escalations form is used to setup a schedule to be used for future rate increases. To be able to use this feature, you must first have at least one record in RMR Escalations setup table in SedonaSetup. Using the recurring escalations is optional.
If the User does not have the appropriate permissions, this option will not be available.
Within the Escalations form select the RMR Escalation Type from the drop-down list. Once an RMR Escalation type has been selected, the grid area will auto-fill with the preset Rate Increase schedule. This may be changed if necessary, by clicking on the row within the grid and then making any changes in the lower section of the form. If a modification is made, make certain to click the Save button located at the lower right of this form to save your change.
If you want to remove any of the rows, click on the row within the grid area then click the delete button.
