What's the difference between the transaction dates and the billing period dates?

The transaction dates are the dates invoices are generated for the bill plan by a run of the Generate Recurring Billing Data process.

The process generates invoices in either of these ways, depending on whether you use the second transaction date:

• First transaction date, followed by first transaction date + billing frequency.

• First transaction date, followed by second transaction date, followed by second transaction date + billing frequency.

The billing period is the period of time covered by a single invoice for goods shipped or services rendered.

The billing periods are defined in either of these ways, depending on whether you use the second billing period start date:

• Contract start date, followed by contract start date + billing frequency.

• Contract start date, followed by second billing period start date, followed by second billing period start date + billing frequency.

  If the first invoice is for a partial period, you can enter a first transaction start date later than the contract start date but within the first billing period.