Table of Contents
Billing Defaults
Updated
by Kristen Fiddes
Read Time: 14 mins
The Billing Defaults page allows you to configure a set of billing instructions for specific account types, allowing fine control for each account type created as part of the billing setup. When a new account is created, the billing parameters for that account will be automatically set to any billing defaults where that account type is listed.
Billing Default Form Overview
Tax Exempt
If enabled, will prevent any accounts which fall under the Billing Default as configured from being charged taxes.
Bill Mode
This drop-down menu can be switched between Invoice and Statement. An invoice in Sonar will display only the current amount due, while a statement will show all line items and any prior unpaid balance.
Type
This drop-down menu will display all the created account types in your instance, allowing you to add one or more account types that will fall under the umbrella of this default Billing Setting.
Bill Day Mode, Bill Day, & Invoice Day
The Bill Day Mode option allows accounts to auto inherit its Bill Day or Invoice Day based on the setting.
Anniversary Bill Day can be used if you want the day an account is activated to become the Bill Day for that account, then add X number of days to this value to set the Invoice Day. A newly activated account will create an initial invoice that includes a prorated partial month as well as a complete month of service.
Anniversary Invoice Day will set the Invoice Day based on when the account is activated, then set the Bill Day X number of days backward from the day the account is activated. A newly activated account will create an initial invoice for one complete month, then create the next invoice.
Please note: When Anniversary billing is selected, the billing will run immediately as opposed to Fixed Billing, which runs daily at 12:05 AM local to your instance's time zone.
Fixed Bill Day can be used if you want all accounts to bill on a specific day. Manually setting the Bill Day and Invoice Day here will result in newly activated accounts creating an initial invoice that is a prorated partial month.
Due Days, Grace Days, Auto-Pay Days
Due Days: The Due Days will determine how many days later payment for an invoice is due. If the Due Day is set to 'Billing day', the invoice will be due that many days after the invoice generates. If the Due Day is set to 'Invoice Day', the invoice will be due that many days after the invoice date.
Grace Days: The Grace Days determine how many days after the due day will be granted until non-payment renders the account delinquent.
Auto-pay Days: The Auto-pay Days will determine how many days later any payment methods set to automatic will first attempt a payment. If the Auto Pay Day is set to 'Billing day', the invoice will first attempt payment that many days after the invoice generates. If the Due Day is set to 'Invoice Day', the invoice will first attempt payment that many days after the invoice date.
Invoice Options
Print Invoice: If enabled, this will include any accounts in the print invoice batch. This will also generate a printed invoice fee if one is enabled in the billing settings.
Months to Bill: This sets the number of months to bill for this billing default. What this means is that each time billing runs, it will run for X months and then not run again until the X months have passed.
Aggregate Taxes on Invoice: Without this enabled, any applicable taxes will appear as a line item below the corresponding service. Whereas if this option were enabled, any applicable taxes on the invoice would be aggregated and viewable under a header titled Taxes/Fees.
The billing default includes Lifeline subscribers: Used in conjunction with Avalara, this option should be checked if you have Lifeline subscribers in your customer pool; how to configure Lifeline on customer accounts is detailed here.
Delinquency Options
Move accounts into another status after being delinquent for a preset period: If this setting is enabled and the customer becomes delinquent on their due amount (does not pay the invoice amount within the Grace Period), this option will switch their status to a delinquent one, set in the next few drop-downs.
Days of Delinquency For Status Switch: This setting determines the number of days an invoice can remain delinquent on an account until the status on the account changes automatically; a "0" here will cause it to change immediately upon delinquency, whereas a "1" would result in a 1-day delay, "2" in a 2-day delay, and so on.
Delinquency Account Status: This setting controls what status gets set after the Delinquency days have elapsed. Generally, people will set the account to a non-activated status that suspends billing and shows the account as in arrears.
Delinquency Removal Account Status: This setting controls what status accounts will enter after having paid their past due balance and leaving delinquency status. Most of the time, this will be set back to 'Active' if enabled.
In our example, Peter Parent's invoice should have gone delinquent on Saturday, August 14th, 2021, but as the Days to check delinquency excludes weekends, his invoice instead went delinquent on Monday, August 16th, 2021. As the Days of Delinquency for Status Switch is set to 10 days, the account status will now switch on Thursday, August 26th, 2021.Billing Default Examples
Monthly Billing Customers on the 1st
In this example, the Billing Defaults are set for Fixed Bill Day Mode - Bill Day is the 15, and Invoice Day is the 1.
Bill Day is set for 15. The Invoice Day is 1. The invoice will generate on the 15th with the service period of the 1st to the end of the month. Example: On July 15th, the invoice will generate and it will be for the service period of August 1st to August 31st.
Due Days is set for 1; add this to the Invoice Day or Bill Day to get the Due Date. Example: If the invoice is generated on July 15th, the Invoice Day is 1 and the Due Days is based on Invoice Day, the Due Date will be August 2nd.
Auto-Pay Days is set for 0; add this to the Bill Day to get the Auto-Pay date. Example: If the invoice is generated on July 15th and the Auto-Pay Days is set to Bill Day, the Auto-Pay will run on July 15th.
Grace Days is set for 5; add this to the Due Date to determine when the account will be considered delinquent. Example: If the invoice is generated on July 15th and the invoice is past due starting August 2nd, the account will become delinquent after August 7th.
Anniversary Bill Day with Billing Day Same as Invoice Day
In this example, the Billing Defaults are set for Anniversary Bill Day with 'Days After The Account Activation Day' left blank.
Anniversary Bill Day and Invoice Day are set for activation day. The 'Days After the Account Activation Day' is left blank. The invoice will generate on the activation day with the service period starting when the account is activated. Example: On July 15th, the invoice will generate and it will be for the service period of July 15th to August 14th.
Due Days is set for 1; add this to the Bill Day to get the Due Date. Example: If the invoice is generated on July 15th, the Due Date will be July 16th.
Auto-Pay Days is set for 0; add this to the Bill Day to get the Auto-Pay date. Example: If the invoice is generated on July 15th, the Auto-Pay will run on July 15th.
Grace Days is set for 5; add this to the Due Date to determine when the account will be considered delinquent. Example: If the invoice is generated on July 15th and the invoice is past due starting July 18th, the account will become delinquent after July 23rd.
Move accounts into another status after being delinquent for a preset period is set for 15 days. The account will remain delinquent for 15 days and then switch to the 'Delinquency Account Status'. Example: If the invoice became delinquent on July 24th, the account would move into an 'inactive' status on August 8th.
Anniversary Day Invoice Day: Invoice Day Same as Activation and Generates the Bill 7 Days Prior
In this example, the Billing Defaults are set for Anniversary Invoice Day with 'Days Before The Account Activation Day' set to 7.
If the other settings are in place but the "Prorate Account Status Change" field is not enabled, the invoice will not be generated until the next billing period.
Anniversary Bill Day and Invoice Day are set for activation day. The 'Days After the Account Activation Day' is left blank. The invoice will generate on the activation day with the service period starting when the account is activated. Example: On August 9th it was activated, the invoice will generate and it will be for the service period of August 9th to September 9th.
After Activation:
Bill Day is set for 2 and next Bill Date is September 2, 2021; as the activation date of August 9th minus 7 days is 2. The bill day is 2.
Invoice Day is set for 9; as the activation service period is the 9th to 8th.
Due Days is set for 1; add this to the Invoice Day to get the Due Date. Example: If the invoice is generated on September 2nd for the Service Period of September 9th to October 8th, the Due Date will be September 10th.
Auto-Pay Days is set for 0; add this to the Invoice Day to get the Auto-Pay date. Example: If the invoice is generated on September 2nd for the Service Period of September 9th to October 8th, the Auto-Pay will run on September 9th.
Grace Days is set for 5; add this to the Due Date to determine when the account will be considered delinquent. Example: If the invoice is past due September 11th the account will become delinquent after September 16th.
Anniversary Billing Considerations
There are considerations for anniversary billing due to varying billing behaviors. If an account is activated on the 29th, 30th, or 31st of a month, the customer's initial transaction will be significantly different from that of an account activated between the 1st and the 28th. This is because the 29th, 30th, and 31st are not present in every calendar month. Below, we detail the key differences between a bill date of the 28th and the 29th. If you have any further questions, please contact the Sonar support team at support@sonar.software.
For both examples, we will be using the billing parameters as shown below:
Bill Date of the 28th
Bruce Banner's Internet service is activated on September 28th, 2021. The Sales representative ensures the "Pro-rate" option is enabled before switching Bruce's account into an active status. Once activated, the Billing Configuration tab of his account will reflect that his Next Bill Date is set to October 28th, 2021 and his Next Service Period Start will commence on November 28th, 2021. Bruce's Invoice Day will fall on the 28th of every month moving forward.
If we move over to the Transactions tab, we can see a debit transaction for Gold 50Mbps Fiber of $179.90. Taking a further look into the details, we can see that the service Bruce has subscribed to costs $89.95. So, why was Bruce charged twice this amount? As Bruce's account was pro-rated upon activation, he was charged for the period of September 28th, 2021 through to November 28th, 2021, as reflected in the Prorated From and Prorated To subsections.
Bill Date of the 29th
Stephen Strange's Internet service is activated on September 29th, 2021. Like Bruce's account, Stephen's was pro-rated upon activation; however, because his activation fell on the 29th, his billing will look substantially different to start. Shown under the Billing Configuration tab of his account, we can see that the Next Bill Date is set to October 1st, 2021 and the Next Service Period Start for October 2nd, 2021. As the 29th is not included in every month, Stephen's Invoice Day will fall on the 2nd moving forward.
Moving over to the Transactions tab, we can see a balance of $9.31. The reason Stephen's first transaction is so much smaller than Bruce's is due to the proration period. Digging into the Details, we can see that this balance was calculated on a Pro-ration period of September 29th, 2021 through to October 2nd, 2021; this is because Stephen's next service period begins on the 2nd.
