In this article
Align to Header
Use this page to set a billing schedule to automatically align the billing schedule lines with the billing periods based on the start date, billing interval and billing frequency specified on the billing schedule header.
Extending the First Partial Period Example
A billing schedule is created with the following information:
- Start date: February 12, 2021
- End date: February 11, 2022
- Billing frequency: Quarterly
If Align to month is No, the Extend first partial period is automatically set to No and cannot be changed. The billing periods are as follows:
| Align to month | No | |
| Extend first partial period | No | |
| Billing period | Start date | End date |
| Period 1 | February 12, 2021 | May 11, 2021 |
| Period 2 | May 12, 2021 | August 11, 2021 |
| Period 3 | August 12, 2021 | November 11, 2021 |
| Period 4 | November 12, 2021 | February 11, 2022 |
If Align to month is Yes, the Extend first partial period option can be set to Yes or No.
When Extend first partial period is No, the billing periods are as follows:
| Align to month | Yes | |
| Extend first partial period | No | |
| Billing period | Start date | End date |
| Period 1 | February 12, 2021 | April 30, 2021 |
| Period 2 | May 01, 2021 | July 31, 2021 |
| Period 3 | August 01, 2021 | October 31, 2021 |
| Period 4 | November 01, 2021 | January 31, 2022 |
| Period 5 | February 01, 2021 | February 11, 2022 |
For the first billing period, the quarter is considered to be February 01 to April 30. Because the billing schedule start date is February 12, the first billing period becomes February 12 to April 30. Each subsequent billing period uses the quarterly billing frequency. The final billing period would be a partial billing period.
When Extend first partial period is Yes, the billing periods are as follows:
| Align to month | Yes | |
| Extend first partial period | Yes | |
| Billing period | Start date | End date |
| Period 1 | February 12, 2021 | May 31, 2021 |
| Period 2 | June 01, 2021 | August 31, 2021 |
| Period 3 | September 01, 2021 | November 30, 2021 |
| Period 4 | December 01, 2021 | February 11, 2022 |
For the first billing period, the partial month is added to the first full quarter. For example, February 12 to 28 is the partial month, and the first full quarter is March 01 to May 31. As a result, the first billing period becomes February 12 to May 31. Each subsequent billing period uses the quarterly billing frequency.
Aligning Billing Schedule Lines to the Header Example
A billing schedule is created with the following settings in the header:
- Start date: February 12, 2021
- End date: February 11, 2022
- Billing frequency: Quarterly
- Align to header: Yes
- Align to month: Yes
- Extend first partial period: Yes
The following table shows the billing periods and the projected invoice dates.
| Billing period | Start date | End date | Projected invoice date |
| Period 1 | February 12, 2021 | May 31, 2021 | February 12, 2021 |
| Period 2 | June 01, 2021 | August 31, 2021 | June 01, 2021 |
| Period 3 | September 01, 2021 | November 30, 2021 | September 01, 2021 |
| Period 4 | December 01, 2021 | February 11, 2022 | December 01, 2021 |
Billing Line 1: An item is added for the first billing schedule line with the following settings.
- Start date: March 12, 2021
- End date: February 11, 2022
- Billing frequency: Quarterly
- Align to header: Yes
- Align to month: Yes (option is read-only and value is from the header)
| Billing period | Start date | End date |
| Period 1 | March 12, 2021 | May 31, 2021 |
| Period 2 | June 01, 2021 | August 31, 2021 |
| Period 3 | September 01, 2021 | November 30, 2021 |
| Period 4 | December 01, 2021 | February 11, 2022 |
Billing Line 2: An item is added for the second billing schedule line with the following settings.
- Start date: March 12, 2021
- End date: February 11, 2022
- Billing frequency: Quarterly
- Align to header: No
- Align to month: Yes (option can be edited)
| Billing period | Start date | End date |
| Period 1 | March 12, 2021 | May 31, 2021 |
| Period 2 | June 01, 2021 | August 31, 2021 |
| Period 3 | September 01, 2021 | November 30, 2021 |
| Period 4 | December 01, 2021 | February 11, 2022 |
Billing Line 3: An item is added for the third billing schedule line with the following settings.
- Start date: March 12, 2021
- End date: February 11, 2022
- Billing frequency: Quarterly
- Align to header: No
- Align to month: No (option can be edited)
| Billing period | Start date | End date |
| Period 1 | March 12, 2021 | June 11, 2021 |
| Period 2 | June 12, 2021 | September 11, 2021 |
| Period 3 | September 12, 2021 | December 11, 2021 |
| Period 4 | December 12, 2021 | February 11, 2022 |
Fields
The following field boxes are available:
| Field | Description |
| Align to header |
Determines whether the billing start date of a billing schedule line uses the same date as specified on the billing schedule header. This option is available for a billing schedule line when the billing frequency of a line is the same as the billing frequency of the header. Also, the billing frequency must be longer than Monthly.
If invoices for any of the billing schedule lines are created, the following billing schedule header field boxes become read-only: Billing start date, Frequency, Interval, Billing end date. This option is independent from the Align to month and Extend first partial period options. When setting the value for this option, remember the following:
|
| Extend first partial period |
Determines whether the first partial month is added to the first full billing period to extend it. This option can be changed only when Align to month is Yes.
For example, a billing schedule line has a start date of April 15 and a quarterly billing frequency. The partial month is April 15 to 30. The first full billing period is May 01 to July 31. When this option is set to Yes, the first partial month is added to the first full billing period. As a result, the first billing period becomes April 15 to July 31. For an example on how this option works, see Extending the First Partial Period Example. |
| Billing Periods Preview |
Displays a list of the calculated billing periods based on the billing schedule start and end dates and billing frequency. The list displays the following information:
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