Understanding Online Bill Entry
This section lists common elements and discusses:
New invoice number assignment.
Invoice line number assignment.
Chunking.
Invoice line summarization.
Defaults.
ChartField Security.
ChartField combination edits.
Affiliate ChartField Defaulting feature.
Entry types and entry reasons.
Online bill inquiries.
Online bill entry enables you to enter bills directly into the system and bypass the Billing interface. Although the manual method is less common than using the billing interface, it is useful for miscellaneous billing activity and for small departments that do not warrant their own tracking systems.
Online bill entry, whether for standard or express billing, enables you to view and modify online bills that have been imported through the Billing interface. You can review the bills before converting them into invoices.
When entering bills online, you should understand the difference between bill header and bill line data:
Information that you enter on bill header pages applies to the invoice as a whole.
For example, if you enter a contract number on one of the header pages, all billing activity for the invoice corresponds to that contract number.
Information that you enter on bill line pages applies only to a particular line of a bill.
For example, to combine billing activity for more than one contract number in a single invoice, enter the contract number on each bill line, not in the header.
Note: Information that you enter at the line level overrides information at the header level.
Most components in this topic operate in deferred processing mode. The system does not update or validate most fields until you save a page or refresh it by clicking a button, link, or tab. This delayed processing has implications for the field values on a page. For example, if a field contains a default value, any values that you enter before the system updates the page override the default. Also, the system updates quantity balances or totals only when you save or refresh the page.
Field or Control |
Description |
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Click the Pro Forma button to save the current component and run the Pro Forma process (BIIVC100) on the default server. If the invoice format is a Structured Query Report (SQR), the system saves the list file for the bill on the default server. The print pro forma job will run online if the invoice form is in BI Publisher format and the online invoice rendering installation option is enabled. This means that single bill pro forma (BIIVC100), the billing extract (BI_IVCEXT), and BI publisher application engine programs will be run online (called from peoplecode), and then the invoice document will be rendered online in PDF format. |
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Click the Invoice button to save the current component and run the invoice job on the default server. If the invoice format is an SQR report, the system saves the list file for the bill on the default server. If the installation option requires the invoice to be rendered online, the pro forma process will be run online and the invoice will be immediately displayed to the user. If your organization uses the Thresholds feature for the Finalization process, and the invoice amount is less than the threshold amount established on the Billing Definition - Business Unit 4 Page, the system displays a message indicating that the invoice cannot be finalized. Note: If one or more invoice lines have a summarization template, then the system generates a summarized invoice or pro forma. If no lines have a summarization template, then the system generates a detail invoice or pro forma. |
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Click the ChartFields Display Override button to access the Online Override of ChartField Display Template page, where you can define the ChartFields that you use on the bill entry pages. Note: Bill entry accounting templates affect the ChartFields that appear online. They do not determine whether a ChartField is populated with a value. The system can populate a ChartField automatically with a value defined in the distribution code. |
Line |
Displays the line number that the system assigns once you have run the Pro Forma Pre-process or invoice Finalization process steps if you enable the system to automatically assign line numbers automatically. The system assigns this line number according to the sort-by criteria that you specify for the invoice form. The field is blank until you perform either the preparation or finalization steps. If you enable manual line numbering on the Installation Options - Billing - General Options page, you can enter this value manually. You can enter invoice line numbers on new bills or change existing bills by entering new lines, deleting lines, or updating invoice line numbers. When you save the page, the system re-sorts the invoice line numbers according to the line numbers that you enter. The system checks for duplicate line numbers, and if one is detected, it displays a Duplicate Invoice Line Number error message when you press Tab to exit the field. |
Identifier |
The value that you select in the Table field determines the options that are available. For example, if the bill line identifier comes from the Charge Code table, select the table value ID. The values available in the Identifier field would come from the Charge Code table. You can, for example, select from the Discount table or the Surcharge table to enter dollar amount discounts and surcharges. Values for the Identifier field include:
To enter a one-time only identifier (one that does not come from any pre-established table), leave the Table field blank and enter an identifier and description. |
Bill Line Description |
Enter or modify the description of the bill line. Note: If you enter or modify a bill line description or a discount or surcharge description when you are signed onto the system in a language other than the base language, the system saves the description to the billing tables in the sign-on language only. Modifications that you make in languages other than the base language might not be appropriate for other users who sign on to the system using a different language and view the same bill. Additionally, the system prints bill line and discount or surcharge descriptions on invoices, which might not be appropriate when a customer's language is different from the user's sign-on language. Consequently, the system saves the modified description to the billing tables in the sign-on language only. Users who sign on to the system using other languages will not have access to the modified description, they see the description in their sign-on language, or in the base language (if available). Additionally, when the invoice is printed, the system might not print the modified description if the invoice language is different from the language in which the description was modified. |
Percentage |
Displays the percentage of the bill line to be applied to the general ledger ChartField. Important! You cannot save this bill in RDY (ready) status unless the total of all accounting lines for any non-zero bill line equals 100 percent. If you have already tried to save in RDY status and have encountered an error, first change the status to something other than RDY. After you correct the accounting line percentages, change status back to RDY and save it again. |
Amount |
You can enter an amount instead of a percentage of the gross amount to send to the account. When you do, the system calculates the percentage in the Percentage field. The restrictions on saving in RDY status still apply if you use amounts to calculate the percentages. |
Stat Amount (statistical amount) |
Displays the quantity of the unit of measure that is associated with the statistics code. This field must not equal zero (0) when you track data using a statistics code. When you enter a value in the Stat (statistics code) field, the Stat Amount field becomes available for entry. Note: To track statistical information in conjunction with contract liability bills, use the Standard Billing - Acctg - Statistical Info page to enter the data by way of statistics account. Statistical data is passed to PeopleSoft General Ledger with current period entries on a separate accounting entry line. Statistical information might also be passed to PeopleSoft General Ledger with current period accounting entries from the Standard Billing - Acctg - AR Offset page, Standard Billing - Acctg - InterUnit Exp/Inv page, and Standard Billing - Acctg - InterUnit Payables page, as these accounting entries are not prorated into future periods. |
Budget Date |
The Load GL process (BILDGL01) searches for this value in the bill line distribution record for revenue, discount or surcharge, or interunit expense. If no value appears on these pages, the Load GL process uses the default value from the Accounting Date field in the bill header. |
Percent |
Displays the total percentage of account distribution. |
Amount |
Displays the total dollar amount that is assigned to all accounts. |
Gross Extended |
Displays the total gross extended amount for the bill line. |
PO (purchase order) |
Displays the associated purchase order number. |
Contract, Contract Date, and Contract Type |
If a sales contract is associated with the order, you can enter the contract number, date, and type. |
Service Cust (service customer) |
Use this reference field for unique business needs. This field is optional and prompts against the customer tables to enable you to select a customer from that list. You might enter a service customer if you are billing a customer for a service, but you are sending the bill to a different bill-to customer. |
Resource Category and Resource SubCategory |
Select to identify additional levels for defining and tracking resources. For example, you might have a general resource type, Labor, but want to track labor more specifically. By creating resource categories, you can track different types of labor such as architect, carpenter, plumber, and electrician labor. You could then create resource subcategories of standard labor and overtime labor. In this example, by using the resource types, resource categories, and resource subcategories, you could easily calculate total labor costs for a project, total overtime hours, architect overtime hours, or carpenter standard hours. |
Open Item Key |
When an Open Item account applies to or is chosen for a bill line, you must set the Open Item Key (unless the system is configured so that Receivables creates General Ledger accounting entries). The system displays the Open Item Key field on the Reference Information tab of the accounting lines only when you select an Open Item account. |
Journal Line Reference |
The system displays the Journal Line Reference on the Reference Information tab of the accounting lines whether an Open Item account applies. You may leave this value blank. |
Progress Payment Sequence Number |
Identifies a progress payment term in a contract. |
When you enter a new bill online, you can enable the system to automatically assign an invoice number, or you can manually enter individual invoice numbers. To assign invoice numbers manually at bill entry, select the User Definable - For New Bills check box on the Invoice Number page. If you enter your own invoice number, the system ensures that a unique number is assigned to the business unit when you save the bill.
To assign a new invoice number to a bill:
Select a business unit on the Standard Billing - Add A New Value search page.
Enter the bill type identifier, bill source, and customer to have the system populate the fields on the bill header pages that use the default information associated with these values.
Click Add to accept the next system-assigned invoice number; alternately, enter an invoice number manually and click Add.
Two methods of assigning invoice line numbers are available in PeopleSoft Billing:
Assign invoice line numbers manually during bill entry on the Standard Billing - Line - Info 1 page.
Enable the system to assign line numbers automatically by using the sort-by ID tied to the invoice during the Finalize process (BIIVC000).
System-Assigned Line Numbering
The system assigns a line number to each line once you perform the pro forma preparation or invoice finalization steps. The system assigns this line number according to the sort-by criteria that you specify for the invoice form. The Line field on the bill entry bill line pages remains blank until you perform either the preparation or finalization steps.
Manual Line Numbering
The manual invoice line numbering feature enables you to enter invoice line numbers during online bill entry. You can control invoice line numbers when you insert bill lines into a new or existing bill or delete existing bill lines, or when you update invoice line numbers for existing bill lines. Manual invoice line numbering applies only to bill lines that you enter online; it does not apply to bill lines that you import through the Billing Interface.
To enable manual line numbering, select Enable Manual Line Numbering on the Installation Options - Billing - General Options page. The Manual Line Numbering option on the Standard Billing - Header - Info 2 page is automatically set to On.
Use the Line field on the Standard Billing - Line - Info 1 page to enter invoice line numbers. You can enter invoice line numbers on new bills or change existing bills by entering new lines, deleting lines, or updating invoice line numbers. When you save the page, the system re-sorts the invoice line numbers according to the line numbers that you enter. The system checks for duplicate line numbers, and if detected, displays a duplicate invoice line number error message when you press Tab to exit the Line field.
The system also checks for blank invoice line numbers. The system does not change the status of a bill to RDY (ready) if any invoice line numbers are blank. If you change the status of a bill with any blank invoice line numbers to RDY and click Save, the system issues an error message.
You can:
Have the system assign invoice line numbers.
Enter invoice line numbers manually.
Cancel the save.
If both assigned and unassigned invoice line numbers exist, the system generates a warning. You can have the system assign invoice line numbers to the unassigned line numbers, or you can cancel the save.
If you enable manual line numbering, the Pre-Process and Finalization process (BIIVC000) does not assign line numbers to those bill lines. In that case, the line numbers that you assign at bill entry remain intact. If, however, any of the conditions for manual line numbering are not met, then the Pre-Process and Finalization process assigns the invoice line numbers.
When you copy a bill or define groups of bills to be copied together, the bill copy is an exact replica of the original invoice. The copy includes the same invoice line numbers and retains the value of the manual invoice line numbering option on the Standard Billing - Header - Info 2 page of the original bill.
Recurring bills are exact replicas of the original invoice. They include all of the same invoice line numbers and retain the value of the manual invoice line numbering option on the Standard Billing - Header Info 2 page of the original bill.
For returned material authorization (RMA) adjustments, the invoice line numbers and manual invoice line numbering option on the original bill carries over to resulting bills.
Bill Adjustment
When adjusting an entire bill (credit entire bill, credit and rebill), the system copies invoice line numbers to the resulting bill.
When adjusting selected lines (for example, when creating net adjustments, reversal and rebill, and credit lines), you can:
Add to an existing bill.
The system does not copy Invoice line numbers over to the existing bill. The system detects blank line numbers using RDY save logic.
Elect not to add to an existing bill.
The system does not copy Invoice line numbers over to the new bill. The system detects blank line numbers using RDY save logic.
Bills can consist of hundreds of bill lines. Chunking enables you to control the number of rows that appear for the corresponding bill. You view rows of data in chunks so that you do not have to wait for the system to retrieve and display all bill lines at once.
Specify a value on the Installation Options - Billing - General Options page for Bill Entry Max Rows (bill entry maximum rows) to define the maximum number of rows that appear when you display a bill. After the system returns the first chunk, use the arrow command buttons to select a chunk to view.
Note: A chunk is not the same as the amount of data that appears on screen at one time. It represents all of the rows in the scroll at a given point in time.
If a bill is subject to value-added tax (VAT), processing is performed to check for line information that may be out of synchronization with header information. All bill lines have to be loaded into the chunking group so that all lines can be assessed when determining if data is out of synchronization. If there are more bill lines than your chunking group, and the bill is subject to VAT, then you can load all bill lines into the chunking group by increasing the size of the maximum row. Or, if the number of bill lines is prohibitive, another option is to changes the bill status through the Change Bill Status process (BIIVCSTS).
When you assign summarization templates to the lines in a bill, you can print an invoice in which the lines are grouped and summarized according to the criteria in the template. The print options on most invoicing run control pages enable you to print a summarized invoice, a detail (regular) invoice, or both types of invoice for any bill. If the print options are not available, such as when you use the Invoice or Pro Forma buttons from the bill entry pages, Billing will print the summarized invoice if any lines in a bill are assigned a summarization template (and a detail invoice will not be printed).
Bill lines can be grouped and summarized by any of the bill line fields. In addition, the system can use two summarization fields, Summarization Group Type and Summarization Group.
Note: The Summarization Group Type and Summarization Group fields may not be used in the configuration of a particular summarization template. When they are used in the template configuration, the fields must be populated for the bill lines to be summarized correctly.
Bill line values inherit default values from the bill header only when you first enter the bill line in online bill entry. If you change information on a bill line or the bill header, the new information might not appear in both the header and line unless you manually entered it.
When you assign a header value and insert a new line, the system initializes the fields that derive default values from the header to correspond to the header values. Although you can override the bill line default values, changing the value of a bill line—even if you change that value for all bill lines—does not update the header value. Similarly, if you assign a header value and enter bill lines, and then change the header value and enter additional bill lines, the bill header value retains the second value and matches only those line values that you entered after you changed the header value.
Bills that come from the Billing interface have values on the bill header that the system might have assigned using bill-by options. A bill that you create with this option has the same field value in the bill header and all bill lines.
Warning! If you have installed both PeopleSoft Receivables and PeopleSoft Billing, enter receivables data that is consistent with the accounts receivable level and accounts receivable option on the Installation Options - Billing - Integration Options page. For example, if you send data to PeopleSoft Receivables at the header level only (that is, you select Header is an AR Open Item), then enter the data at the header level. Conversely, if you send data to PeopleSoft Receivables at the line level only (that is, you select Bill Line is AR Open Item), enter the data at the line level. The Load AR Pending Items process (BILDAR01) sends to PeopleSoft Receivables only the data at the level that is defined on the Installation Options - Billing - Integration Options page.
PeopleSoft ChartField security provides a flexible, rule-based approach to administer security at a data level. ChartField security is supported in PeopleSoft Billing and across other PeopleSoft Financials and Supply Chain Management (FSCM) applications.
The main functions performed by ChartField security are to:
Enforce security rules by user, role, or permission list.
Enable ChartField security for all products or selectively by product.
Enable or disable ChartField security selectively by component.
Define rules to accommodate end-user areas of responsibility.
Refine access rules by product feature or component.
Support super user access to minimize setup.
Define components as exceptions to override security rules.
Note: The component registry entries for the Billing components are delivered with only a subset of detail records enabled for ChartField Security. You can enable or disable the detail records from ChartField Security depending on the business requirements. Keep in mind that each detail record that is enabled adds overhead to open the component.
In the Billing product, many chartfields and distribution codes are provided as defaults. Therefore it is possible for a chartfield to default onto a bill that a particular user is creating that they do not have access to. In this case the user will be allowed to save the bill with the information that was given as default. But when the user tries to view that transaction after leaving the component, they will get a ChartField Security error.
ChartField combination edits prevent errors in the combination of ChartFields that PeopleSoft Billing passes to the general ledger system. Enable combination edits on the Installation Options - Billing - Integration Options page by selecting Edit Chart of Acct Combinations. To enable validation of Combination Edits during bill entry, select Combo Edit Online check box. If the check box is not selected, then there will be no validation performed in Bill Entry. Select Combo Edit Batch check box to enable batch combo edits. Bills with inheritance enabled will be combo edited regardless of the value of the Combo Edit Batch check box when combo editing is turned on for the installation.
If you enable the combination edits feature and combo edit online, you must enter account combinations that are defined as valid combinations. The PeopleSoft Billing system validates the accounting entries against the predefined combination edit rules. If you enter an invalid ChartField combination, you cannot save the bill. If you use distribution codes for entering ChartField values, ensure that the ChartField values that are defined with the distribution codes satisfy the combination edit rules. Otherwise, the system generates an error and does not save the bill until you correct the ChartField information by entering a valid combination.
Note: If you enable ChartField inheritance or ChartField balancing, the system performs combination edits during the Pre-Load process. ChartField inheritance is required when balancing is enabled and the ChartField being balanced must be inherited.
The Affiliate ChartField Defaulting feature enables you to automatically populate the Affiliate ChartField value on accounting entries in bill entry when you are using the Affiliate Defaulting method.
When you select the Customer Supplier Affiliate option on the General Ledger business unit that corresponds to the PeopleSoft Billing business unit (BUS_UNIT_TBL_GL1.CUST_VNDR_AFFILIATE = Y), the system provides automatic defaulting. If you provide Affiliate values when importing bills through the Billing Interface, the system does not use these values when affiliate defaulting applies. In that case, the Billing Interface uses Affiliate default values for accounting entries rows, and the Affiliate field is not available for entry in bill entry. For transactions created within the From General Ledger business unit, the system maps the To business unit to the Affiliate field. For transactions created within the To business unit, the system maps the From business unit to the Affiliate field.
Note: For transactions within the To business unit, PeopleSoft Billing does not pass the Affiliate field value to PeopleSoft Payables during the Generate AP Vouchers process (BIGNAP01). PeopleSoft Payables assigns this value and overrides any values that were provided.
When you select the Affiliate Defaulting Applies option, the system overrides any inheritance rules that you specify in InterUnit and IntraUnit setup.
The system uses entry types and entry reasons to categorize pending items when passing PeopleSoft Billing information to the PeopleSoft Receivables system. You can define these default entry types and reasons for debit and credit activity at multiple levels. You can define them at the business unit, bill type, and bill source levels. In addition, you can override the defaults during bill entry at the bill header and bill line levels.
This last option enables you to assign entry types and reasons when you make adjustments to invoices. When you click the link next to the invoice numbers on the Adjust Entire Bill page and the Adjust Selected Bill Lines page, the system displays the bill entry so that you can make changes.
In bill entry, you can enter an entry type and entry reason on the bill itself if you define the accounts receivable level on the Installation Options - Billing - Integration Options page with the value Header is Open Item. The Load AR Pending Items process (BILDAR01) uses the value that you enter online when passing items to the PeopleSoft Receivables system instead of using default values for this information from the bill source, bill type, or business unit at the time of bill entry.
The system verifies that the entry type is the appropriate debit or credit type for the invoice amount and that the reason code corresponds to the entry type. If the combination is invalid, a warning message instructs you to click the prompt button for a list of values. This message is only a warning at the bill header level, because it is possible that the invoice amount may have changed from positive to negative when taxes were applied.
Note: If you enter an entry type and entry reason at the header level but the accounts receivable level is defined as Line is Open Item (on the Installation Options - Billing - Integration Options page), the system does not forward the values to PeopleSoft Receivables.
The entry type and entry reason codes that you establish in PeopleSoft Billing are always passed to PeopleSoft Receivables for the processing of pending items. However, PeopleSoft Receivables uses these values to classify pending items only if on the Installation Options - Billing - Integration Options page you elected to have PeopleSoft Receivables create the accounting entries. If you elected to have PeopleSoft Billing create the accounting entries, then the receivables system uses the receivables account that is defined in one of the following places:
If you select Use Header for Distribution for the accounts receivable options on the Installation Options - Billing - Integration Options page, PeopleSoft Receivables uses the accounts receivable account that you define on the Standard Billing - Header - Info 1 page to categorize the pending items.
If you select Use Line for Distribution for the accounts receivable options on the Installation Options - Billing - Integration Options page, PeopleSoft Receivables uses the accounts receivable offset account that you define on the Standard Billing - Acctg - AR Offset page to categorize the pending items. If do not enter a value on the Standard Billing - Acctg - AR Offset page, PeopleSoft Receivables uses the receivables account that you define on the Standard Billing - Header Info 1 page.
PeopleSoft Billing enables you to inquire about bills in a specified currency: transaction, euro, or base. To view a bill in one of these currencies, access the appropriate page in the Inquiry component or click the currency buttons at the top of the bill entry pages to view the perspective that you want.
Term |
Definition |
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Click the View in Transaction Currency button to retrieve bill information in the transaction currency. |
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Click the View in Euro Currency button to retrieve bill information in Euros. |
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Click the View in Base Currency button to retrieve bill information in the base currency. |
Once you have chosen a currency, the currency perspective remains the same when you select other pages in the component. When you inquire about bill data, the page fields are usually the same as those on the bill entry pages, but you can only view the information. You cannot enter or change data. All of the page examples show the transaction currency perspective.