Contract Services
Contents
What is a Contract Service
A contract service is created for all products/services where the number of units, per product, are fixed for the period selected. When a contract service is set up there is no need to source billing data from your various source systems. The system will automatically bill for these fixed quantities for as long as the service is active. Billing records are created for the dates specified and can be viewed on Billing Data Maintenance. Varibill does not limit the number of Contract Services created for each product and contract combination.
Where You Are At In The Process
Before You Start
- Create a Contract (Manage Contracts)
- Create a Product (Products)
Contract Service Attributes
Contract
Select the contract to which this service will apply. Only contracts that have not expired are displayed. You can add a contract by selecting the button next to the field.
Code
A system generated code is allocated to each contract service created. This code can be overwritten with a unique code. This code will be used to uniquely identify pricelists created and is not used during billing validation, billing processing or updating your accounting system.
Contract Service Items
Multiple contract service items can be added to the same contract service. Contract services can be set up for products with a billing principle of Average, Discrete or Maximum.
Product Name
Select the product to which this service applies. If the product is not available in the drop down, first ensure you've selected the correct contract and that the product master of the contract and the product master of the product are the same. If the product does not exist, you can create it by selecting the button next to the field.
Recurrence Type
Contract services can be set up to bill once off or recurrently until the end date is reached.
Billing Type
- In Advance
- Contract services can be created to bill [in-advance] if the [product] has been set to allow in-advance billing.
- In Arrears
- Contract services can be created to bill in arrears if the [product] has been set to allow in arrears billing (This is allowed by default).
- This option should also be selected to compare in arrears usage that has been collected against the in-advance billing for the same period.
- Bill Over-Usage
- If the Contract Service has been set up to bill in-advance and in arrears, it can be set up to bill over-usage by comparing the in-advance quantity (for a period) with the in-arrears usage (of that same period). If the in-arrears usage is more than the in-advance quantity, then over-usage is billed (for that same period).
- Credit Under-Usage
- If the Contract Service has been set up to bill in-advance and in arrears, it can be set up to credit under-usage by comparing the in-advance quantity (for a period) with the in-arrears usage (of that same period). If the in-arrears usage is less than the in-advance quantity, then under-usage is credited (for that same period).
Quantity
Capture the amount of units you wish to bill for every month. A billing record is created for the first day of the billing cycle, or the start date of the contract service (whichever comes first) and the last day of the billing cycle, or the end date of the contract service (whichever comes first) for each active contract service.
Start Date
The contract service will be effective from this date and line items will be created from these dates.
End Date
The contract service will be effective up to this date and line items will be created up to these dates. Contract service billing records will be created until the contract service is ended. Once the contract service is ended, ensure no remaining billing records exists on Billing Data Maintenance. A Contract Service's end date will be updated if the end date of the Contract to which it is linked gets updated.
Description
Contract service descriptions can be added for internal use or to be displayed to the customer on the invoice.
Description Visible on Invoice
Select this option to display the Contract Service Description to the client when a line item is expanded.
