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Accessing or Updating Billing Information in Siebel Energy (End User)

Siebel Energy allows end users to access the same invoice information through different views. By selecting one view or another, end users can find the information most relevant to them, according to the procedure they need to perform at that moment.

Most views allow end users to record interactions with a customer and to update the customer's information, depending on the system setup and the end user's access rights.

From these views, end users can access information on billing, such as the account balance, invoice history, payment history, and adjustment history.

NOTE:  The procedures described in this chapter contain the most frequently used method for performing each task, including which view to access, although other methods may exist.

End-User Views

The end-user views are:

• Billing Portal view (call center agent). The Billing Portal view summarizes the billing information that a call center agent would most likely need to review while talking to a customer. It also makes it easy for call center agents to handle the most common transactions associated with invoices.

  The Billing Portal view serves as a starting point for most customer inquiries. Among other tasks, the Billing Portal views allow call center agents to:

  • Review the account status, such as the balance, delinquency information, and pending financial transactions (credit and debit) that have not yet been applied to the balance.
  • View the most recent invoices of a customer and drill down to access detailed information about an invoice.
  • View the history of payments and adjustments.

    This is useful if customers claim that they have already made a payment and that the balance is not correct.

  • Access the usage history of different services that the customer has so that unexpected hikes can be explained to the customer.
  • Begin transactions, such as recording payments or adjusting balances.

    Table 15 describes the information available in the Billing Portal view.

    Table 15.  Billing Portal View

    Views	Description
    Account	Displays account information that corresponds to the Accounts screen, More Info view. End users can edit this information.
    Account Balance	Displays balance information for the account. Retrieves this information from an external billing system. Information is read-only. Pay button. Takes end users to the Invoices screen, Payments view, where a payment has been created to settle the entire account balance. Refresh button. Updates the information with the most current data.
    Invoice History	Displays information from the Invoices screen. Information is read-only. Invoice # hyperlink. Takes end users to the Invoices screen, Line Items view.
    Payment History	Displays the payment history for the account. Information is read-only. Payment # hyperlink. Takes end users to the Invoices screen, Payments More Info view, Invoices subview, where they record payments.
    Adjustment History	Displays a subset of the information from the Invoices screen, Adjustment Requests view. Information is read-only. Request # hyperlink. Takes end users to the Adjustment Requests view, Line Items subview.
    Additional Info	Billing Profile hyperlink. Takes end users to the Accounts screen, Profiles view, Billing Profile form. Usage Detail hyperlink. Takes end users to the Accounts More Info form, Usage Detail view. Unbilled Charges hyperlink. Takes end users to the Account More Info form, Unbilled Charges view.

• Invoices views (call center agent). The Invoices views allow call center agents to view all bill details. These views are generally accessed to reply to customer complaints regarding a specific charge on the bill. The Invoices views also allow call center agents to start transactions, such as adjusting an invoice, recording a payment against the invoice, requesting a bill duplicate.

Sequence for Accessing Billing Information

To resolve customer inquiries, end users first locate the billing account, where they generally record payments. For most other transactions, end users record information at the invoice level.

End users can access the most recent invoice or retrieve past invoices. They can view invoice details, such as line items, after selecting the invoice. In addition, they can view the image of an already-sent invoice bill in HTML format.

NOTE:  Some customers have a consolidated billing account for a number of service items. Siebel Energy allows end users to view charges associated with a billing account, service account, or parent account. For more information about accounts and subaccounts, see Accounts in Siebel Energy.

To access the Billing Portal view

1. Navigate to the Accounts screen.
2. In the Accounts list, click the name of the account.
3. Click the Billing Portal view tab.

   The Billing Portal view appears with several lists and forms summarizing the billing information for that account.

To access the Invoice views

1. Navigate to the Invoices screen.
2. In the Show drop-down list, select All External Invoices.

   When you select All External Invoices, the Invoices list displays the bills that have been generated by an external system. The information found in the Invoices list (header information) is generally stored in the Siebel database. However, due to the large volume of data, it is not recommended that your company store the Invoice Line Item information in the Siebel database, but instead access that data in real time through integration.

   NOTE:  When you select All Invoices from the Show drop-down list, the Invoices list displays all invoices, including external invoices.

3. In the Invoices list, perform a query in the Bill To Account field for the account name.

   The Invoices list displays all invoices for that account, sorted by invoice number.

4. In the Invoices list, select the invoice you want to view.
5. Click a view tab to access specific information for that account.

To view invoice line items

1. Navigate to the Invoices screen.
2. In the Show drop-down list, select All External Invoices.
3. In the Invoices list, drill down on the Invoice # hyperlink.

   The Invoices form appears with the Line Items list beneath it. From the Invoices form, end users can also click the Pay, Adjust, or Usage Detail buttons to continue with a transaction.

4. If the service item does not appear in the list, perform a query.

   For example, enter the service ID in the Service field.

To view the image of an invoice

1. Navigate to the Invoices screen.
2. In the Show drop-down list, select All External Invoices.
3. In the Invoices list, select an invoice.
4. Click the Invoice Image view tab.

   The invoice appears as a graphic at the URL that the administrator set up. For instructions on setting up this feature, see Setting Up the Invoice Image Feature in Siebel Energy.

To view the invoice history

1. Navigate to the Accounts screen.
2. In the Accounts list, click the name of an account.
3. Click the Billing Portal view tab.

   The Invoice History list displays the most current records for the invoice.

4. If the information does not appear in the Invoice History, perform a query to access the correct records.
5. Drill down on the Invoice # hyperlink.
6. In the Line Items list, click the view tab for the information you want to view.