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Advanced Recurring Contract Billing Parameters
Modules > Advanced recurring contract billing > Setup > Advanced recurring contract billing parameters
Use this page to set up the default values for creating a billing schedule in Advanced Recurring Contract Billing (ARCB). All billing schedules that you create begin with these default values, but you can change the values for each billing schedule as needed.
Billing schedules are created on the Billing Schedules page.
General tab
Use this tab to set the default values for creating billing schedules.
Processes
You set up the default values in the General tab:
- Select the Billing schedule group.
- In Termination type, select how the final invoice is calculated when a billing schedule is terminated.
- In Unique schedule type, select whether customers are limited to a single billing schedule or the type of restriction if a customer can have more than one billing schedule.
- In Align to month, select whether to align the billing schedule detail lines to the end of a month when a billing schedule is created or updated.
- Select whether to Prorate partial periods and the Proration method.
- Select whether new billing schedules are on Hold.
Also, as an option, you can specify a Remove hold password to restrict who can remove holds placed on billing schedules. - Select the default Invoice transaction type.
- In Align deferral to billing, select whether to align the dates of a corresponding deferral schedule to use the same dates as the billing schedule.
- For sales orders created from billing schedules, you can specify the following:
- Whether invoices are consolidated by customer, item, or item group. You can select any combination for consolidating the invoices.
- Whether to split renewal items by item groups.
- The Posting option for invoices:
- Create sales order: Creates the sales order only.
- Create sales order and show posting invoice from: Creates the sales order and opens the page where you can manually post the invoice.
- Post invoice automatically: Creates the sales order and automatically posts the invoice.
- Whether to Add billing dates to item description.
- If you use the support and renewal feature, set the following values:
- Select Auto enable support and renewal to automatically use the support and renewal feature.
- Select the default Support and renewal level, and specify the Support and renewal quantity.
- Select the Default support and renewal start date.
- Select whether to Include discount in calculation of the support or renewal amounts.
- Select the support and renewal frequencies.
- In Align by item group, select whether to align the start and end dates of additional items to existing items based on the item group.
- In Align to next unbilled period, select whether alignment date for a renewal item is determined by the date of the next unbilled period after the renewal starts.
- In Copy serial number, select whether to copy the item serial number from the initial sales order line is copied to the corresponding billing schedule line.
- When using escalation on the billing schedule, select the method used for the CPI escalation calculation.
- Select how records are filtered on the Invoice Creator page.
- If you use the Unbilled revenue feature, ensure to specify which options you want to use.
- Specify the default Termination options to use for terminating a billing schedule and its lines.
- Select Save.
Field | Description |
Billing schedule group |
Select the default billing schedule group when new billing schedules are created. Billing schedule groups are created on the Billing Schedule Group page. |
Proration method |
Select the calculation for proration:
For example, the annual amount for a contract is 12,000. The contract is from March to May. The amounts are calculated as follows:
If this option is changed, existing billing schedules are not affected. Only future calculations are changed. For more information on proration, see Proation Method: Examples. |
Termination type |
Select the default termination type:
|
Unique schedule type |
Select the schedule type:
|
Align to month |
Select whether to align the billing schedule line to the end of a month when a billing schedule is created or updated:
Note: When this option is set to No and the start date of the billing cycle is near the end of a month, the way the alignment start and end dates are determined do not follow the standard functionality. For details, review the following examples.
|
Align deferral to billing |
Select whether to align the start and end dates for the deferral schedule to use the same dates as the billing schedule.
|
Prorate partial periods |
Select whether to prorate the partial billing periods:
|
Hold |
Select whether a billing schedule is on hold when it is created:
|
Remove hold password |
Specify a password to restrict users from changing the status of a billing schedule from On Hold to Active. Available when set to Yes. You cannot create an invoice for a billing schedule that has a Hold status. |
Invoice transaction type |
Select the invoice transaction type you want to process. |
Customer split |
Indicates whether the customer split functionality is used. This functionality allows you to split the invoice for an item among multiple customers.
|
Sales Order Creation | |
The sales order settings are the default values on the Advanced Recurring Contract Billing Parameters page. | |
Consolidate all periods |
Select whether the billing periods for which invoices are to be created are consolidated into a single sales document:
|
Consolidate by customer |
Select whether sales documents are consolidated by customer:
|
Consolidate by item |
Select whether sales documents are consolidated by item:
If any items belong to item groups that have a Number of top lines greater than zero on the Item Group Setup page, this option is automatically set to No. |
Split by item group |
Indicates whether renewal items are also put into item groups for invoice purposes:
This setting is the default value on the Invoice Creator and Sales Order pages. |
Posting option |
Select the default action for posting the invoice after the sales order is created:
Note: When this option is selected, the invoice must be manually processed . As a result, you cannot process the sales order within a batch job. |
Add billing dates to item description |
Select whether to include the billing schedule dates in the item description:
|
Exclude zero consumption |
Select whether to include the billing schedule lines that are usage items with a zero (0) consumption amount and use the free quantity feature.
|
Support and Renewal | |
Auto enable support and renewal |
Select whether to automatically turn on the support and renewal feature for lines that are manually added or imported to a billing schedule:
|
Support and renewal level |
Select the support or renewal level to use. Support and renewal levels are created on the Support and Renewal Levels page. |
Support and renewal quantity |
Select one of the following options:
|
Default support start date |
Select the support contract start date:
|
Include discount in calculation | Select whether to include the discount when calculating the support or renewal amounts. |
Support frequency |
Select the default support frequency for a billing schedule: Daily, Monthly, Quarterly, Semiannually, or Annually. |
Renewal frequency |
Select the default renewal frequency for a billing schedule: Daily, Monthly, Quarterly, Semiannually, or Annually. |
Align by item group |
Select whether to set the alignment date for a renewal item to be determined by the item group.
When an item is added to a billing schedule, the alignment date is set to use the same date as the first existing item that belongs to the same item group. This feature works only when the billing frequency is annual. |
Align to next unbilled period |
Select whether alignment date for a renewal item is determined by the date of the next unbilled period after the renewal starts.
When this option is used with Align by item group, changes to the Alignment date on the Support and Renewal Process page are overridden, and when the invoice is created, the renewal date is recalculated based on the date of the next unbilled period after the renewal starts. View example:
A billing schedule has the following billing detail lines for an existing renewal item:
The default support and renewal start date is set to Beginning of next month with frequency set to Annual. On November 01, 2019, the invoice for the second billing schedule line is created:
The renewal is created for the period December 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021 (13 months). This renewal for the new item is extended to the next renewal period. The renewal is created for the period December 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 (one month). This renewal for the new item is not extended past the current renewal period. |
Copy serial number |
Select whether to copy the item serial number from the initial sales order line is copied to the corresponding billing schedule line:
|
Escalation | |
CPI index calculation |
Select to determine the method used for the CPI escalation calculation:
For more information about the CPI calculation, see CPI Calculation. |
Invoice Creator | |
Filter by |
Select how records are included in the list grid:
This value is the default value on the Invoice Creator page. |
Unbilled Revenue | |
Auto post general journal |
Select whether the general journal entries for unbilled revenue amounts are automatically posted:
|
Default journal name | Specify the default name for the general journal entry for unbilled revenue amounts. |
Short-term unbilled method |
Select the method you want to be able to use the short-term functionality with the unbilled revenue feature: None (default), Rolling periods, and Fixed year. When None is selected, the short-term functionality is not used with the unbilled revenue feature. If you choose Rolling periods or Fixed year, ensure to specify the default short-term unbilled revenue accounts on the Unbilled Revenue Setup. |
Termination | |
The options selected become the default options when terminating a billing schedule or billing schedule line on the Mass Termination Processing or Terminate Schedule Lines pages. |
|
Credit option |
When termination a billing schedule or a billing schedule line, select how the credit is applied:
|
One time can terminate with refund |
Specify whether One time frequency items will give refund when terminated.
|
Prorate daily |
Specify whether the prorate daily rate is used to calculate the refund.
|
Create deferral for credit |
Specify whether a separate deferral schedule is created for the credit amount when a billing schedule is terminated.
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Sequence Number tab
Use this tab to set the default billing schedule number sequence. Before setting up the number sequences, review Generate Number Sequences.
Process
To set up the automatic number for billing schedules, do the following:
- For the Reference you want to set, check that the Number sequence code has a value.
- If the number sequence code is empty, you must generate the number sequence for the Reference number you want.
For more information, see the Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations documentation. - If the number sequence has a value, continue to the next step.
- If the number sequence code is empty, you must generate the number sequence for the Reference number you want.
- Select Save.
Field | Description |
Schedule number |
Displays the next number ID for a . The number sequences are automatically generated and assigned using the number sequence generation wizard. You do not need to change the number sequence unless you want to make manual changes on top of the generated number sequences. |