Billing Rules

Form ID: (PM207000)

You can use this form to define the rules for billing customers by project.

Form Toolbar

The form toolbar includes only standard buttons. For the list of standard buttons, see Form Toolbar and More Menu.

Summary Area

By using the elements in this area, you can specify the settings for a new rule or select an existing rule to view or modify its details.


Element	Description
Billing Rule ID	The unique identifier of the billing rule.
Description	The description of the billing rule.
Active	A check box that you can select to make the rule available for use in projects and project tasks.

Left Pane

In the table in the left pane, you can define the sequence of steps for the selected billing rule. You then define the actual calculation rules and invoice settings for each step by using the right pane.

The table toolbar includes only standard buttons. For the list of standard buttons, see Table Toolbar.

Table 1. Table Columns
Column	Description
Active	A check box that indicates (if selected) that the step is performed as part of the billing process of the project with this billing rule applied.
Step ID	The identifier, which can be only a numeric value, of the step in the billing rule. The steps are performed in ascending order by identifier.
Description	The description of the step.
Invoice Group	The identifier that is used to group the pro forma invoices generated by the steps of the billing rule. You can enter any symbols in this column. The lines generated by the steps of the billing rules of the project tasks with the same Invoice Group (except for those for which the Bill Separately check box is selected on the Summary tab of the Project Tasks (PM302000) form) are grouped into a single invoice. Note: A task with the selected Bill Separately check box on the Summary tab of the Project Tasks (PM302000) form is billed by a separate invoice.

Right Pane

In the right pane, for the step selected in the left pane, you can specify the rules and calculation settings that the system will use for the process of billing projects.


Element	Description
Billing Type	The data source for the project billing of the step. The following options are available: Time and Material: The project is billed by the time and material spent during its implementation. As the data source for billing, the system uses the project transactions associated with the project tasks within the billing period of the project. The transactions are selected by the account group of the billing step they are associated with. Progress Billing: The project is billed gradually by the percentage of work completion. As the data source for billing, the system uses billable project revenue. A revenue budget line can be billed based on quantity or amount, which is specified for each revenue budget line separately in the Progress Billing Base column on the Revenue Budget tab of the Projects (PM301000) form. Important: Project-related invoices, debit memos, and credit memos that have been created manually on the Invoices and Memos (AR301000) form are not included in pending invoice quantities and amounts. You can mix both types of steps in a single billing rule if needed, but we recommend that you create no more than one Progress Billing step per billing rule.

Table 2. Transaction Selection Criteria Section
The settings of the section define the selection criteria for the project transactions used for billing.

This section is shown only if the selected step has the *Time and Material* billing type.
Element	Description
Account Group	The account group whose transactions are involved in this billing step.
Rate Type	The rate type to be used for this step of the billing rule.
If @Rate Is Not Defined	The default action to be performed on execution of the step if the value for @Rate has not been defined on the Rate Tables (PM206000) form. Select one of the following: Set @Rate to 1: To set @Rate to 1 Set @Rate to 0: To set @Rate to 0 Raise Error: To show the error message and stop the billing process Do Not Bill: To skip the use of the transaction for billing

Table 3. Invoice Settings SectionThe settings of the section are used to create a pro forma invoice and fill it in with the billing data.
Element	Description
Invoice Description Formula	The formula to be used to generate the description for the pro forma invoice that is created during billing. To enter the formula, click the magnifier icon to open the Formula Editor dialog box. For more information on working with formulas in the Formula Editor dialog box, see Formulas in Inquiry Results: General Information. For the list of parameters and objects you can use in the formula, see Formulas and Parameters in Billing Rules and Allocation Rules. If multiple steps of the billing rule are used in the creation of a single pro forma invoice, the formula of the topmost step is used for the invoice description. The maximum length of the invoice description is 256 symbols. If the calculated value exceeds the limit, the description is truncated to fit the maximum length.
Line Quantity Formula	The formula for calculating the quantity of a line of the pro forma invoice. To enter the formula, click the magnifier icon to open the Formula Editor dialog box. For more information on working with formulas in the Formula Editor dialog box, see Formulas in Inquiry Results: General Information. For the list of parameters and objects you can use in the formula, see Formulas and Parameters in Billing Rules and Allocation Rules. In addition to the quantities specified in the underlying transactions, you can use any other transaction parameters to calculate the quantity. If you define no formula in this box, the billable quantity of the transaction will be used. This box is shown only if the step has the Time and Material billing type.
Line Amount Formula	The formula for calculating the amount of a line of the pro forma invoice. To enter the formula, click the magnifier icon to open the Formula Editor dialog box. For more information on working with formulas in the Formula Editor dialog box, see Formulas in Inquiry Results: General Information. For the list of parameters and objects you can use in the formula, see Formulas and Parameters in Billing Rules and Allocation Rules. In addition to the amount specified in the underlying transactions, you can use any other transaction parameters to calculate the amount. This box is shown only if the step has the Time and Material billing type. Note: Instead of the `@Rate` parameter, you can also use the `@Price` parameter to retrieve the effective sales price to calculate the billing amount. For more information about sales prices, see Sales Prices: General Information.
Line Description Formula	The formula to be used to generate the description for a line of the pro forma invoice that is created during the billing. To enter the formula, click the magnifier icon to open the Formula Editor dialog box. For more information on working with formulas in the Formula Editor dialog box, see Formulas in Inquiry Results: General Information. For the list of parameters and objects you can use in the formula, see Formulas and Parameters in Billing Rules and Allocation Rules. The maximum length of the line description is 256 symbols. If the calculated value exceeds the limit, the description is truncated to fit the maximum length.
Use Destination Branch From	The branch to be used for billing as the destination branch. The following options are available: Source Transaction: The branch of the source transaction. This option is available only if the step has the Time and Material billing type. Current Branch: The current branch selected on the form title bar. This option is available only if the step has the Progress Billing billing type. Billing Rule: The branch associated with the billing rule, specified in the Destination Branch box. Project: The branch of the project, which is defined on the Summary tab of the Projects (PM301000) form. Task: The branch of the project task, which is defined on the Summary tab of the Project Tasks (PM302000) form. Customer: The branch of the customer location, which is defined on the Financial tab of the Customer Locations (AR303020) form. Employee: The branch of the employee, which is defined on the General tab of the Employees (EP203000) form.
Use Sales Account From	The account to be used for billing as a sales account. If the step has the Progress Billing billing type, the following options are available: Account Group: The default account of the account group of the revenue budget line, which is defined on the Account Groups (PM201000) form. Project: The default sales account of the project, which is defined on the Defaults tab of the Projects (PM301000) form. Task: The default sales account of the project task, which is defined on the Summary tab of the Project Tasks (PM302000) form. Inventory Item: The sales account of the inventory item, which is defined on the GL Accounts tab of the Stock Items (IN202500) or Non-Stock Items (IN202000) form. If the revenue budget level does not include inventory items, or if the empty item code is selected as the inventory item in the revenue budget line, the system uses the Default Sales Account of the project specified on the Defaults tab of the Projects (PM301000) form. If the step has the Time and Material billing type, the following options are available: Source Transaction: The sales account of the source transaction. Attention: If this option is selected, all the check boxes in the Aggregate Transactions By section on this tab (Date, Employee, Vendor, and Inventory ID) must be cleared. Billing Rule: The account associated with the billing rule, specified in the Sales Account box. Project: The default sales account of the project, which is defined on the Defaults tab of the Projects (PM301000) form. Task: The default sales account of the project task, which is defined on the Summary tab of the Project Tasks (PM302000) form. Inventory Item: The sales account of the inventory item, which is defined on the GL Accounts tab of the Stock Items (IN202500) or Non-Stock Items (IN202000) form. If the revenue budget level does not include inventory items, or if the empty item code is selected as the inventory item in the revenue budget line, the system uses the Default Sales Account of the project specified on the Defaults tab of the Projects (PM301000) form. Customer: The sales account of the customer, which is defined on the GL Accounts tab of the Customers (AR303000) form. Employee: The sales account of the employee, which is defined on the Financial Settings tab of the Employees (EP203000) form.
Sales Subaccount Mask	The subaccount mask to be used for generating sales subaccounts for billing. To set up the rule for selecting segment values, select a segment, press F3, and select the source of the segment value, which is one of the following options: B: The subaccount associated with the billing rule, specified in the Sales Subaccount column. C: The sales subaccount of the customer, which is defined on the GL Accounts tab of the Customers (AR303000) form. E: The sales subaccount of the employee, which is defined on the Financial Settings tab of the Employees (EP203000) form. This option is available only if the step has the Time and Material billing type. I: The subaccount associated with the inventory item specified on the GL Accounts tab of the Stock Items (IN202500) or Non-Stock Items (IN202000) form. If the empty item code is selected as the inventory item, the system uses the Default Subaccount of the project specified on the Defaults tab of the Projects (PM301000) form. J: The default sales subaccount of the project, which is defined on the GL Accounts tab of the Projects (PM301000) form. R: The sales subaccount of the branch, which is defined on the GL Accounts tab of the Branches (CS102000) form. S: The sales subaccount of the source transaction. T: The default sales subaccount of the project task, which is defined on the Summary tab of the Project Tasks (PM302000) form. For a segment, the characters designating each option are repeated as many times as there are characters in the segment. For more details, see Combined Subaccounts: General Information. This box is available only if the Subaccounts feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
Destination Branch	The destination branch to be used for billing if Billing Rule is selected in the Use Destination Branch From box.
Sales Account	The account to be used for billing if the Billing Rule option is selected in the Use Sales Account From box. This option is available only if the step has the Time and Material billing type.
Sales Subaccount	The subaccount to be used for billing or as a source of segment values for the mask specified in the Sales Subaccount box. This box is available only if the Subaccounts feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.

Table 4. Billing Options Section
Element	Description
Copy Notes and File	A check box that indicates (if selected) that the system will copy to the created invoice the notes and files of the corresponding transactions. If during the billing the system aggregates several transactions according to the settings specified in the Aggregate Transactions By section in this pane, all the files from the aggregated transactions are attached to the generated invoice line. Unlike files, notes are not copied to invoice lines if aggregation applies during billing. This check box is shown only if the step has the Time and Material billing type.
Include Non-Billable Transactions	A check box that indicates (if selected) that the system will include non-billable transactions in the created invoice. If this check box is not selected, the system will not include non-billable transactions in the invoice. This option is available only if the step has the Time and Material billing type.
Create Lines with Zero Amount and Quantity	A check box that indicates (if selected, which is its default state) that the system will add a transaction in the created invoice even if the transaction has a quantity or amount of zero. If this check box is cleared, the system will not add lines with both an amount of zero and a quantity of zero to the created invoice. However, the system will add lines with at least one nonzero amount or quantity to the invoice.

Table 5. Aggregate Transactions by Section
The settings of the Aggregate Transactions by section define how to aggregate the transactions used for billing in invoices.

As the description of an invoice line created based on a batch of aggregated transactions, the system uses the description of one of the aggregated transactions.

This section is shown only if the selected step has the *Time and Material* billing type.

Attention: If the *Source Transaction* option is selected in the **Use Sales Account From** box in the Invoice Settings section on this tab, all the check boxes in this section must be cleared.
Element	Description
Date	A check box that you select to aggregate the transactions with the same date in a single line of the pro forma invoice that is created during the billing.
Employee	A check box that you select to aggregate the transactions with the same employee in a single line of the pro forma invoice that is created during the billing.
Vendor	A check box that you select to aggregate the transactions with the same vendor in a single line of the pro forma invoice that is created during the billing.
Inventory ID	A check box that you select to aggregate the transactions with the same inventory item in a single line of the pro forma invoice that is created during the billing.