Optional Preferences for SuiteBilling

SuiteBilling has several optional preferences.

Setting Optional Preferences

You can streamline your subscription creation and management process with optional preferences.

To set optional preferences for subscription creation and management:

1. Go to Setup > Accounting > Accounting Preferences.

2. On the Classifications subtab, check the box for each preference that you want to set:

   • Make Classes Mandatory

   • Make Departments Mandatory

   • Make Locations Mandatory

   • Allow Per-Line Classes

   • Allow Per-Line Departments

   • Allow Per-Line Locations

   If you check the Make Classes Mandatory, Make Departments Mandatory, or Make Locations Mandatory preferences, these fields are required while you are creating the subscription or subscription line. If any of the Allow Per-Line preferences are checked, the line-level value is used in revenue reporting. If Allow Per-Line preferences are cleared, the class, department, and location values on the subscription line record are sourced from the billing account. For more information about the Class, Department, and Location, see Class, Department, and Location Fields on Subscription Lines.

3. Go to Setup > Accounting > Invoicing Preferences.

4. On the Subscription Management subtab:

   Note:

   The Subscription Management subtab does not appear until after you enable SuiteBilling.

   1. Check the box for each preference that you want to set:

      • When Sales Order Gets Approved, Auto-Change Subscription Status to ‘Pending Activation’. This moves subscription lines in Draft status to Pending Activation status if the subscription is saved on a sales order and the order gets approved.

      • First Activation Change Order Creation Sets the Subscription Start Date. With this preference enabled, the start date and activation date need to be the same. Otherwise, the start date changes to the line item activation date.

      • Request Credit Memo for Off-Cycle Change Orders. This preference automatically creates credit memos when doing off-cycle invoicing.

      • Create Delta Charges for Changes to Invoiced Service Periods. If this preference is not visible in your account, contact your NetSuite account representative or NetSuite Customer Support. There is no additional cost to activate delta charges.

        When set, the global invoicing preference Create Delta Charges for Changes to Invoiced Service Periods can generate a delta charge. A delta charge occurs when changes to invoiced service periods result in a change to the amount the customer owes. The amount of the delta charge is the difference between the invoiced amount and the new amount for the service period. If there is a change in quantity, the quantity of the delta charge will be the difference between the invoiced quantity and the new quantity for the service period. If there is no change in quantity, the quantity will be the new quantity for the service period.

        Note:

        You cannot turn off delta charges after the first delta charge is created.

        To see how to set this preference, view the video:

      To learn SuiteBilling change order fundamentals, see SuiteBilling Change Orders.

   2. To align subscription charges with the subscription start date, check the Align Charge Amounts with Subscription box.

      When you activate a subscription, its current preference setting dictates the subscription charge pattern.

      When you check the Align Charge Amounts with Subscription preference, and then activate subscriptions:

      • All lines within a single activated subscription have a charge pattern aligned with the subscription header start date instead of its bill dates.

      • Multiple-year subscriptions with multiple charge frequencies, such as monthly, quarterly, and annual, recur based on the subscription start date for better alignment of charge periods.

      The subscription charge patterns of the Align Charge Amounts with Subscription preference are shown in the following figure.

      

      Existing subscriptions activated before setting this preference may display the original recurrence pattern.

      If the Align Charge Amounts with Subscription preference is cleared, charges align with the billing schedule of the billing account.. When this preference is set, charges align the recurrence start date with the subscription start date. When the preference is set but you have not selected a billing account for the subscription, the recurrence start date is the subscription start date. When the subscription has no billing but Align Charge Amounts with Subscription is cleared, the start date is not calculated until you save, when you must select a price book.

      When you select a billing account for the subscription and click Save, the recurrence start date updates to align with the billing account recurrence pattern. This changes the ratable events that are generated in Draft mode, which may affect the Sales Order synchronization or other processes that depend on the ratable event amounts. When you select a billing account, rating runs.

      If Align Charge Amounts with Subscription is cleared, the total contract value may change when you select a billing account on the subscription.

   3. To automatically extend the Estimated Revenue Recognition End Date for evergreen subscriptions, enter a value between 1 and 120 for the following preference:

      Months To Extend Estimated Revenue Recognition End Date

      Tip:

      Set this preference according to your billing schedule.

      • If you bill evergreen subscriptions monthly, set this preference to 1 or greater.

      • If you bill evergreen subscriptions quarterly, set this preference to 3 or greater.

      • If you bill evergreen subscriptions annually, set this preference to 12 or greater.

      Evergreen subscriptions do not have an end date unless there is a Terminate change order for the line. For all other evergreen subscriptions, the Estimated Revenue Recommended End Date field on the subscription header is used as the end date.

      For more information about revenue recognition, see Revenue Recognition for SuiteBilling.

   4. If you entered a value for the Months To Extend Estimated Revenue Recognition End Date preference, you also must enter a value between 1 and 120 for the following preference:

      Months Prior To Estimated Revenue Recognition End Date To Initiate Auto-Extend

5. To ensure that all days are prorated to the same amount regardless of the number of days in the year, check the Exclude February 29 When Prorating by Days or Months preference.

   To see how to set this preference, view the video:

6. To remove a one-day charge from a subscription line item, check the Default Terminations Effective at Start of Day preference.

7. To use the line item location set on the subscription line as the source for the invoice, credit memo, and cash sale location line item values, check the Use the Location from the Subscription Record on Line Items for Invoices, Credit Memos, and Cash Sales preference. If the subscription line item location is empty, the location from the employee record is used as the invoice line item location.

   

8. Click Save.

To learn SuiteBilling change order fundamentals, see SuiteBilling Change Orders.

Proration Options

Set the Exclude February 29 When Prorating by Days or Months preference in SuiteBilling to ensure that all days are prorated to the same amount regardless of the number of days in the year. When you enable this preference, NetSuite excludes February 29^th when calculating prorated amounts in leap years. To locate the preference, go to Setup > Accounting > Invoicing Preferences and click the Subscription Management tab.

To see how to set this preference, view the video:

On the subscription line, set the Prorate Start Date and Prorate End Date when you want to charge customers only for the portion of the charge period they use. All subscription items have the same end date as the subscription. If you leave the Prorate Start Date and Prorate End Date boxes cleared, NetSuite bills the entire charge period. In most cases, you would either check both boxes or clear both boxes.

On recurring subscription plan items:

• To set proration for the start date of an item, check the Prorate Start Date box.

• To set proration for the end date of an item, check the Prorate End Date box.

By default, if you set the Type field of a subscription plan item to Recurring, NetSuite checks the Prorate Start Date and Prorate End Date boxes.

This is what happens when you check or clear one or both of these boxes:

• If you check the Prorate Start Date box for an item, NetSuite bases the charge on the number of days used. If service begins after the start of the charge period, NetSuite charges the customer for the days used, not the entire charge period.

• If you clear the Prorate Start Date box for an item, the start date of the item is the first date in the charge period. Charges may begin earlier than the activation start date. For example, a customer begins receiving service for a one-year subscription on December 15, and is charged for an entire year.

• If you check the Prorate End Date box for an item, NetSuite stops charges on the day the service ends. If service ends before the full charge period is complete, NetSuite bills the customer only for the days used.

• If you clear the Prorate End Date box for an item, the end date of the item is the last day in the charge period. Charges may extend past the subscription end date. For example, a customer cancels their phone subscription on December 15 but continues to be charged up to and including December 31.

Example: A subscription with a 12–month term and charge frequency set to monthly is activated on January 15. Each item represents one month of service with a charge to the customer of $100 US.

If you clear the Prorate Start Date and Prorate End Date boxes, the customer is billed the full monthly cost for January.

If you check the Prorate Start Date and Prorate End Date boxes, the charge for the month of January is reduced to $54.84. This reduced charge is based on the number of service days the customer received. If the line is terminated prior to 12/31/2019, the end charge is also not a full charge.

Related Topics

SuiteBilling Setup

Setting the SuiteBilling Preferences

Enabling SuiteBilling Features

Creating Usage Records

Creating Price Books

Creating Price Plans

Time-Based Pricing

Creating Billing Accounts

Renaming SuiteBilling Records

Setting the Optional Accounting Preference for Advanced Revenue Management

To create individual revenue elements for each subscription change order, check the Create Revenue Elements for Subscription Revisions accounting preference. When you check the preference:

• All subscription revisions generate a separate revenue arrangement and corresponding revenue elements.

• All subscription revisions generate modification elements that account for the impact on revenue.

Check this preference to:

• Generate the modification element according to the ASC-606 accounting policies for subscription modifications when you have allocated revenue

• Prospectively merge the modification elements

You also can still retrospectively merge the modification element. For instructions, see the help topic, Merging to Combine Revenue Arrangements. The Revenue Summary popup window for revenue arrangements shows merged elements. For more information, see Revenue Summary Details.

Note:

This accounting preference is not compatible with custom revenue recognition events.

For more information about revenue recognition, see Revenue Recognition for SuiteBilling.

To set the optional accounting preference for Advanced Revenue Management:

1. Go to Setup > Accounting > Accounting Preferences.

2. Click the General subtab.

3. On the Subscription Management section, check the Create Revenue Elements for Subscription Revisions box.

   Warning:

   After you set the Create Revenue Elements for Subscription Revisions preference, you cannot change it.

4. Click Save.

For more information, see Revenue Recognition for SuiteBilling.

To learn SuiteBilling change order fundamentals, see SuiteBilling Change Orders.

Related Topics

Enabling SuiteBilling Features

Creating Items for Subscription Plans

Creating Subscription Plans

Creating Usage Records

Creating Price Books

Creating Price Plans

Time-Based Pricing

Creating Billing Accounts

Renaming SuiteBilling Records

General Notices