Summary

Some organizations charge for certain types of service requests such as the installation of a new device. To create a billable service request, create a service request code (UB> Maintenance> Service Request Code) that is attached to a fee code. The fee code will determine the billable amount and the general ledger accounts used to create the journal entry when the service request is billed. The fee code will also display on the billing statement line item as the description of the charge.

After the service request code has been set up, create a service request using the billable service request code. Service requests can be created using the Service Request Input Wizard and it can be launched from the Service Requests window (UB> Service Requests> Input) or from the Service Requests tab of a customer account (UB> Maintenance> Account> Service Requests tab> Create icon).

Close the service request after the service has been performed and commit the service request (UB> Service Requests> Commit). If there is a meter reading on the service request, the meter reading will display on the device after the service request has been committed. Closing and committing the service request will not create an uncommitted transaction on the customer account.

After the billable service request has been closed and committed, the billing can be generated on the Bill Service Requests window (UB> Adjustments and Fees> Bill Service Requests). The Bill Service Request window will display all committed service requests attached to a fee code. Select the billable service requests you would like to process in the Bill Service Request window. This will create an uncommitted billing type transaction on the customer account using the fee code that was attached to the billable service request code. Print the Proof List and GL Distribution on the UB Adjustments and Fees batch to commit the billing. The journal entry created will debit the accounts receivable account and credit the revenue GL account set up on the fee code (UB> Maintenance> Fee Code> AR Account and Revenue Account fields). Commit the UB Adjustments and Fees batch to commit the journal entry.

When a New Billing batch is created on the customer account, the fee code attached to the billable service request will display on the billing statement if the billing statements are set up to display the line item detail of the billing. If the billing statement does not display line item detail, the billed service request code amount will be included in the service that is attached to the fee code.

Step by Step

1     Set up the UB module to process billable service requests.

• In order to create billable service requests, a service request code must be attached to a fee code. No other set up is necessary.
• Create a fee code to bill with the service request on the Fee Code Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Fee Code).
  • If the billing statements generated in the New Billing process are set up to display line item detail, the description of the fee code will display on the billing statement.
• The description of the fee code is entered in the Description field on the Fee Code Maintenance window.
  • Enter the amount to charge for the service request in the Flat Amount field.
• The amount charged for the service request can be modified when the service request is generated using the Service Request Input Wizard. If the billable amount of the service request is changed zero in the Service Request Input Wizard, the service request will still display in the Bill Service Requests window (UB> Adjustments and Fees> Bill Service Requests), but the customer account will not be charged for the service.
  • The service selected in the Service to Charge field must be attached to the customer account that is billed for the service request. If the service is not attached to the customer account, you will receive an error message in the Jobs Viewer window when you try to generate the billing (UB> Adjustments and Fees> Bill Service Requests).
• If the line item detail does not display on the billing statement, the billed service request amount will not display are a line item on the statement and will be included in the billed amount of the Service to Charge.
  • Select the GL accounts to be used in the transaction.
• The GL account in the AR Account field will be debited and the GL account in the Revenue Account field will be credited when the billing is generated (UB> Adjustments and Fees> Bill Service Requests).
• Attach the fee code to the service request code on the Service Request Code Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Service Request Code> Fee Code field).
  • The Default Charge will default to the flat amount entered on the Fee Code Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Fee Code> Flat Amount field).
• If you change the Default Charge field to zero, you can still add a billable amount to the service request when it is created using the Service Request Input Wizard, but this will change how the Bill Service Requests window will function. If the Default Charge is left blank, and a zero is entered on the Charge field when the service request is created, the service request will not display on the Bill Service Requests window.

2     Create a service request for a UB account using the Service Request Input Wizard.

• Service requests are created using the Service Request Input Wizard which can be launched from the Service Requests window (UB> Service Requests> Input) or directly from a UB customer account (UB> Maintenance> Account> Service Request tab> Create icon).
• Select the billable service request code in the Request Code field on the first step of the wizard.
• The Charge field will populate with the flat amount set up on the fee code attached to the service request code.
  • Modify the amount in the Charge field to change the amount of the billing.
  • If you change the Charge amount to zero, the service request will still display in the Bill Service Requests window (UB> Adjustments and Fees> Bill Service Requests), but the customer will not be charged.

3     Close and commit the service request after the service has been performed on the UB customer account.

• Closing and committing the service request will not create the billing. The billing will not be generated on the UB customer account until the service request has been processed (UB> Adjustments and Fees> Bill Service Requests).
• Close the service request by either manually changing the status of the service request to Closed (Service Request Input Wizard> Status field) or by highlighting the service request and clicking the Close icon   from the Service Request window (UB> Service Requests> Input).
• Service requests are committed on the final step of the Service Requests batch process (UB> Service Requests> Commit).

4     Create a UB Adjustments and Fees batch.

• Select the Adjustments and Fees palette (UB> Adjustments and Fees). This will expand the Adjustments and Fees palette and display the steps of the Adjustments and Fees process.
• Select New from the batch number drop-down menu. This will open the New Batch window.
  • The Bill Service Requests process will overwrite the transactions entered into an existing batch, so you must create a new Adjustments and Fees batch.
• Enter a Batch Month and Batch Year. These fields will default to the current calendar period and calendar year and are used for reference only. The batch month and batch year do not affect the transaction or journal entry date of the transactions in the batch.
  • The fiscal period the transactions in the batch are posted to is determined by the Journal Entry date entered when creating the GL Distribution report (UB> Adjustments and Fees> GL Distribution).
• Enter a Batch Number or click the Generate icon   to create a batch using the next available batch number.
  • The batch number is used to identify a specific batch within a batch month and batch year. They are limited to five digits and must be unique with the batch month of the batch year.
  • If you enter a batch number, click the Save icon to create the batch.

5     Select the service requests to bill.

• After a service request has been created, closed and committed, it can be billed.
• Open the Bill Service Requests window (UB> Adjustments and Fees> Bill Service Requests).
• The Bill Service Requests window will display service requests attached to billable service request codes that have been committed (UB> Service Requests> Commit).
• Use the fields in the Settings section to filter the service requests that display in the window.
  • The Request Code drop-down menu will filter the service requests that display in the window by service request code. Select a service request code from the drop-down menu.
    • Service request codes are created and maintained on the Service Request Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Service Request Code).
  • The Request From and Request To fields are used to filter the service requests by request date. The request date defaults to the current date when the service request is created.
  • The Account Number field is used to filter the service requests in the window by UB customer account. Click on the label of the Account Number field to select a UB account from a list.
  • The Closed From and Closed To fields are used to filter the service requests by the closed date on the service request. The Closed Date defaults to the current date when the status of the service request is changed from Active to Closed.
• Click the Refresh icon   after filter information has been entered into the window to display the service requests in the window.
  • If you click the Refresh icon   without entering any filter information the window will display all billable service requests that have been closed and committed but not already billed. Service requests being processed in other Adjustments and Fees batches will not display in the window.
  • If you created a service request and it does not display in the window, make sure the service request has been closed and committed. If the service request has been closed and committed and still does not display in the window make sure the service request code attached  to the service request is set up as billable (UB> Maintenance> Service Request Code).
    • Modifications to a service request code will not affect service requests that have already been created. If the service request is closed, you can change the status back to active and modify the service request. If the service request is committed, you will have to create a new service request in order to bill the customer account.
    • If the service request still does not display in the window make sure the Default Amount on the service request code is not set up as zero on the Service Request Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Service Request Code> Default Amount field).
• Check the toggle in the Selected column of the service requests you would like to include in the batch.
  • Click the Select All icon   to check the Selected toggle of all of the service requests included in the window.
• Press ENTER or click the Confirm icon   after the service requests you would like to include in the batch have been selected. This step will be processed on the server as soon as the resources become available. You can view the progress of the step in the Jobs Viewer window.
• After the service requests have been processed, a history line item will display on the UB accounts that are attached to the service requests included in the batch. The line item will be a billing type transaction.

6     Commit the Adjustments and Fees batch.

• The Input Step will display the service requests that have been processed in the batch.
• Print and review the Proof List.
  • Select Proof List from the Adjustments and Fees palette. There are no print options for this report so the Printer Selection window will open.
• Click the Print icon   to process the report immediately or enter a date and time in the field next to the Print icon to schedule the report to generate at a later time. You can view the progress of the report on the Job Viewer window (SS> Utilities> Show Scheduled Jobs).
  • Click the Print icon drop-down menu and select Print Preview to preview the report before printing.
  • Click the Print icon drop-down menu and select Excel to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet as unformatted data.
  • Click the Print icon drop-down menu and select Excel (Formatted) to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet that includes much of the Springbrook formatting found on the printed version of the report.
  • Once the report is generated, you can also display the report using the View Reports window (SS> Utilities> View Report).
• The Proof List will display the amount of the service request charge and will bill the service that is attached to the fee code.
  • The service that will be charged displays in the Service to Charge field on the Fee Code Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Fee Code).
• Print and review the GL Distribution report.
  • Once transactions have been committed, they cannot be uncommitted. The GL Distribution step allows you to view the journal entry created by the process and make changes before the batch is committed.
  • Select GL Distribution from the Adjustments and Fees palette. This will open the GL Distribution window.
  • Enter a Journal Entry Date. The journal entry date will determine the batch month and batch year that the journal entry will be posted to the general ledger, but it does not affect the transaction date of the billing transactions.
  • Select the level of detail you would like to include in the report in the Report Type drop-down menu.
    • The Detail version of the report will display the customer, service and fee code information. The Summary version of the report will not display the line item detail, only the net credit and debit amounts.
    • The Summary version will display the general ledger account number, description, debit and credit.
    • The Detail report will display all the information from the summary report plus the customer number, service number and fee code for each transaction line.
    • Both versions of the report will also be grouped and totaled by fund and display a report total.
  • The general ledger accounts used in the transaction are the accounts receivable and revenue GL accounts set up on the fee code attached to the service request code.
    • The AR GL account will be debited and the Revenue GL account will be credited.
  • If you would like to recreate the GL Distribution Report after the batch has been committed, you can create a Transaction by Date Report (UB> Reports> Transaction by Date) for the committed Adjustments and Fees batch. Select the committed batch (UB> Reports> Transaction by Date> Batch Number field), include all cycles and make sure the date filter includes all of the transactions in the batch.
• Commit the batch.
  • After the Proof List and GL Distribution Report have been reviewed you can commit the batch. The Commit step is only enabled after you have generated all of the required reports on the  Adjustments and Fees palette.
  • Select Commit from the Adjustments and Fees palette. This will open the Commit window.
  • Press ENTER to commit the batch. The server will process the step as soon as the resources are available.
• The transactions created by this process will display on the billing statements the next time a New Billing batch is generated (UB> New Billing).