Creating Billing Accounts
A billing account record shows all billing information, including the billing schedule, default payment terms, ship-to address, and currency, for a customer or sub-customer.
To enable billing accounts, you must first set the Consolidate Projects on Sales Transactions preference and enable the Charge-Based Billing and Billing Accounts features. For more information, see Setting the SuiteBilling Preferences and Enabling SuiteBilling Features.
If you have multiple billing accounts for a customer, NetSuite uses the billing account marked as customer default when creating transactions. For example, when creating a new invoice or new subscription, NetSuite assigns the default customer billing account. On the billing account record, you can change the start date of a billing account only if it is not yet used in an active subscription.
A single company may choose to set up multiple billing accounts to accommodate different billing schedules. For example, they may want to bill recurring annual charges in advance and bill usage monthly, with a separate billing account for each.
Use Case Example: A coffee shop franchise purchases software using multiple billing accounts as follows:
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The licensing fees and maintenance are billed to the parent company annually on January 1st. This is the first billing account, with a fixed bill date of January 1st and the address of the parent company used as the ship to address and bill to address.
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The usage for the service is billed to the individual locations. For each location, there is a separate billing account with a monthly billing schedule. The bill to address and ship to address for each account correspond to the individual franchise location.
To create a new billing account:
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Go to Lists > Relationships > Billing Accounts > New.
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If required, from the Subsidiary list, select a subsidiary or change the subsidiary from the primary subsidiary to a secondary subsidiary.
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Indicate the customer for whom you are creating a billing account:
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For an existing customer, select the customer name.
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To create a new customer, click the plus icon.
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From the Currency list, select the customer’s currency.
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From the Billing Schedule list, select a billing schedule.
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Enter or select a Start Date.
Note:After you click Save, you cannot:
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remove the subsidiary from this customer
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delete billing accounts related to this customer and their secondary subsidiaries
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Click Save.
The following screen is an example of a completed Billing Account record.
You also can create a new billing account while you are working in several other records, such as the Customer record and the Subscription record. To create a create a new billing account from the Customer record, on the Billing Account subtab, click -New-. Follow the instructions above. To create a new billing account while creating a new subscriptions, see Creating a New Stand-alone Subscription.
Viewing Records Related to the Billing Account
You can view a list of records related to the billing account, such as subscription records, charge records, and billing schedules.
To view records related to the billing account:
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Go to the Billing Account page.
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Click the Related Records tab.
Billing Addresses
The Bill-To Select list on the billing account determines the billing address for invoices, cash sales, and credit memos associated with the billing account. If you do not select a billing address, NetSuite uses the default billing address defined on the customer record. If needed, you can change the billing address on the billing account.
Customers with multiple subscriptions on the same billing account receive one single invoice based on the billing schedule defined by the billing account.
The Ship-to Select list on the billing account works the same as the Bill-To select. This determines the shipping address. If no shipping address is selected, NetSuite uses the default shipping address defined on the customer record.
Billing Schedules
Billing accounts work with charge-based billing schedules. Charge-based billing schedules support two types of recurrence patterns:
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Fixed bill date billing schedules indicate that the recurring invoice is generated on a fixed-date basis. Billing is based on the selected bill date, frequency, recurrence frequency, and Repeat Every settings. Fixed date billing schedules work best when you want to invoice customers on a specific day of the month, or any other specific frequency.
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Anniversary bill date billing schedules indicate that the recurring invoice is generated on an anniversary date basis. Billing is based on the billing account start date, frequency, recurrence frequency, and Repeat Every settings. Use the anniversary bill date billing schedule to invoice the customer on the same date each year as the service start date.
If you define a billing schedule with a date that does not exist in every month, the billing schedule adjusts accordingly. For example, if you specify billing on the 31st, for months that have fewer days, NetSuite bills on the last day of that month. February 28th and April 30th are two examples.
Changing the Billing Date for Future Invoices to a Billing Account
You must have edit permissions for billing accounts to change the next bill cycle date.
To change the billing date for future invoices to a billing account:
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Go to the saved a billing account with an associated billing schedule.
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From the Next Bill Cycle Date list, change the date for the next bill cycle.
The list shows the possible dates for which you can advance the billing date up to a maximum of 10 billing cycles.
You can move the next bill date backward, but only to the next bill date after the creation cycle of the latest recurring invoice. For example, you prematurely generate a bill run and need to perform a bill run for the first bill cycle date. You can accomplish this by moving the next bill date backward.
Creating Recurring Invoices for Subscriptions with Billing Accounts
You can create subscription invoices that automatically recur with a designated frequency.
Usage and overage must be billed in arrears, but recurring, committed, and one-time charges can be billed in advance. For example, bill from the electric company is based on your usage and is billed in arrears. To generate revenue as early as possible, most SuiteBilling customers bill recurring charges in advance. For example, cable and internet service companies bill their customers for the coming month at the beginning of the billing cycle. Charges begin the day the service is activated.
There are several ways to create a recurring invoice with a billing account.
To create a recurring invoice with a billing account:
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Go to Lists > Relationships > Billing Accounts.
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Click View next to the billing account for which you want to create a recurring invoice.
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Click the Next Bill button.
Note:You also can create a recurring invoice by clicking the Next Bill button from the Billing Account subtab of the customer record.
The Create Invoice page opens with the Recurring Bill box checked. The invoice date defaults to the next bill date on the billing account.
In addition, you can create a recurring invoice the following ways:
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Invoicing billable customers from the Invoice Customers page
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Using Billing Operations (Process Billing Operations and Schedule Billing Operations)
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Creating invoices from the Invoice page
For each customer, NetSuite reviews all billing accounts eligible for a bill run. NetSuite creates one recurring invoice per billing account per period when there are charges. To send an invoice to your customers, you can generate a statement of the bill run.
NetSuite uses the next bill cycle date on the billing account to determine the invoice date. When NetSuite creates the invoice, the Last Bill Cycle Date and the Last Bill Date change to the date of the invoice. The Next Bill Cycle Date advances to the next billing date. If you delete the invoice, the Last Bill Cycle Date and the Next Bill Cycle Date return to the date they were before you generated the invoice. Also, the Last Bill Date changes to the date of the previous bill.
Using Billing Accounts with Off-Cycle Invoices
Use off-cycle invoices to bill for charges that require immediate (mid-cycle) billing. NetSuite uses the date on which you manually enter the invoice as the invoice date.
To create an off-cycle invoice using a billing account:
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Go to Transactions > Sales > Create Invoices > List.
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Click the Edit link for the invoice for which you want to create an off-cycle invoice.
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Clear the Recurring Bill box.
When you create the invoice, the Last Bill Date updates to the date of the invoice. When you delete an invoice, the Last Bill Date changes to the date of the previous bill.