This chapter contains these topics:
This chapter is an overview of the recurring billing process, which you use to bill tenants automatically on a period-by-period basis for receivable billings and accrual billings (general ledger only). Examples of recurring billings include regular office rent, parking space, apartment rent, estimated expense participation, escalations, and so on.
These billings are normally set up for monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual cycles. However, the system allows numerous other cycles such as 13 period, quarter-days, and irregular month or period combinations. An example of an irregular combination is recurring billings for January, February, and July with the exclusion of all other months.
You can also create prorated billings and catchup billings. Prorated billings involve recurring billings that either start or end within a billing period. Catch-up billings include all unbilled periods from the current period back to the last billed period or the starting date for the recurring billing.
Be aware that you can also use the recurring billing process for A/P vouchers in much the same way as A/R invoices. For more information about the basic operations related to invoices and vouchers, see Chapter 16, "Manual Billing Process" in this guide
Before you begin the recurring billing process, set up the following information:
Real Estate Management constants and user defined codes
Facility, tenant, and lease information
General accounting and accounts receivable/accounts payable constants
Bill codes with their automatic accounting instructions (AAIs)
Billing frequencies
The recurring billing process involves the following tasks:
Set up the recurring billing information.
Generate the recurring billings.
This screen lets you set up and work with the information that the system uses to create the recurring billings for a lease. One setup for a lease can include an unlimited number of bill code lines that are related to multiple buildings and units. The system automatically supplies much of the necessary information from the lease. The setup information is stored in the Recurring Billings Master file (F1502).
With changes in rent as a result of global (large-scale) updates, the system also automatically adds new bill code lines. At the same time, it suspends the obsolete bill code lines. This means there is little need to manually change a lease's setup for recurring billing.
This report, which is made up of the Recurring Billings section of the Lease Master Listing, provides the setup information for recurring billings. If you run the report and review the information before you generate invoices or vouchers, you can save time and billing errors. It is based on the Recurring Billings Master file (F1502).
This report provides a comparison between the amounts for recurring billings from two periods. The system compares a billing period that you choose, referred to as the current period, with one prior to that period. The report helps you identify the differences between the recurring billing setup for the current period and the setup for the prior period.
It is based on the Recurring Billings Master file and also includes information from the Address Book Master and Tenant/Lease Master files (F0101 and F1501, respectively).
This report includes the transactions related to leases and their changes in rent. The report is based on the Tenant/Lease Master file (F1501) and also includes information from the following files: Building (Business Unit) Master (F0006), Address Book Master (F0101), Recurring Billings Master (F1502), and Unit Master (F1507).
This report provides a proof report of recurring billings without actually running the Recurring Billing Generation program and updating the Tenant/Lease Billings Detail file (F1511). You can also use the report to review past recurring billings that have been posted. The facsimile is based on the Recurring Billings Master file and also includes information from the following files: Automatic Accounting Instructions Master (F0012), Tenant/Lease Master (F1501), and Tax Area Master (F4008).
This program creates the recurring billings for a lease and places them in the Tenant/Lease Billings Detail file(F1501). These billings are based on the setup information in the Recurring Billings Master file.
JD Edwards World recommends that you set up a different DREAM Writer version for each billing period and for each company that has a different fiscal pattern and fiscal year. This eliminates the need to change the processing options and data selection for each billing generation.
After you have created the billings, the process is similar to the process for manual billings. For more information about the following programs, see the related chapters in Part III, "Manual Billing" in this guide.
This screen, which is the first level of detail in the review process, lets you review and approve batches of transactions for posting. Except for the title, the screen is identical to the Manual Billing Journal Review screen. In fact, all the screens in the journal review process for recurring billings are identical to the ones for manual billings. They display and update information in the Batch Control Records file (F0011) and the Tenant/Lease Billings Detail file.
Note the following:
Processing option 1 must be set to generation type 1 to review batches of recurring billings.
You can require a manual review for a recurring billing after it has been generated. This requirement is controlled by the Manual Rev Reqd field in the fold area of the Billings Detail Modifications screen (P1511), which is the third level in the review process.
From the Billings Detail Modifications screen, you can access the Extended Invoice Text screen to set up and work with free-form text for a recurring billing.
The system initially assigns a status of Error to all batches of invoices in the Tenant/Lease Billings Detail file. When you run Print Billing Edit/Register for a batch, the system verifies the invoices against other system information and changes the status of the batch to either Pending or Approved. The status to which it changes depends on how the Manager Approval of Input field is set in the General Constants file (F0009). If an error exists or if a manual review is required for a document, the batch retains a status of Error.
The system also prints a report that can include a list of the transactions, total amounts, errors, and warnings. A processing option for the Recurring Billing Generation program controls whether the system runs the Print Billing Edit/Register program at the time of the generation.
For recurring billing invoices in the Real Estate Management system, the version of the post program does the following:
Runs a DREAM Writer version of G/L Transaction Generation (P15199), which creates the A/R and G/L transactions. At this time, it also marks the documents as posted in the Tenant/Lease Billings Detail file.
Selects unposted invoices from the G/L Account Ledger file.
Verifies the information in each transaction.
Posts the transactions to the G/L Account Balances file (F0902).
Marks the transactions as posted in the following files: G/L Account Ledger (F0911), A/R Account Ledger (F0311) or A/P Account Ledger (F0411), and Batch Control Records. The posted codes in the three files are P, D, and D, respectively.
Creates and posts the automatic offsets to accounts receivable or accounts payable.
You must set up the Batch Type Selection processing option for tenant A/R invoices (batch type 2) or for tenant A/P vouchers if processing A/P vouchers (batch type /).
You use the Print Invoices program to print an invoice that includes information created during the billing process. You use the Print Statements program to print many kinds of customer statements that include posted A/R information such as an account summary, current balance due, aging amounts, and so on. The Print Statements - Enhanced program is an alternative method for printing statements.
To ensure that all the information is current, verify that you have posted all invoices before you print statements.