8 Batch Payments, Refunds, and Reversals

You can process customer payments collected by banks and payment processors by providing batch payment files to Billing Care for allocation to customer accounts. Batch payment files are text files containing payment information, such as account number, payment amount, and payment date, in delimiter-separated rows.

Starting in Release 15.0.1, you can also create and process batches for payments, refunds, and reversals in Billing Care. Using this method, you can also import files and manually edit and process them. You can create and edit templates for processing batches as well.

For more information, see the following topics:

Importing a Batch Payment File

You can upload payment files created externally either by placing them in the appropriate directory or by uploading them manually

The following sections contain information about methods of creating or importing a batch payment file:

About Batch Payment File Directories

Billing Care stores uploaded and imported batch payment files in the following directories on the Billing Care server:

  • Middleware_home/BatchPaymentFiles/unprocessed contains unprocessed files

  • Middleware_home/BatchPaymentFiles/processed contains processed files

  • Middleware_home/BatchPaymentFiles/processing contains processing files

  • Middleware_home/BatchPaymentFiles/error contains files with processing failures

where Middleware_home is the home directory of the Oracle WebLogic Server installation where Billing Care is installed.

About Batch Payment File Names

Each batch payment file that you upload and import into Billing Care must have a unique file name. Otherwise, the batch payment file fails.

Sometimes, you may need to re-import the same batch payment file into Billing Care, such as after you correct errors in its content. To maintain auditing data, rename the batch payment file before you import it into Billing Care again.

Configuring Auto Processing of Batch Payment Files

Configure Billing Care to either automatically process transferred batch payment files or require manual processing in the Batch Payment interface. This setting applies to batch files uploaded to the Billing Care server or imported in the Batch Payment interface.

Note:

When auto processing is enabled, Billing Care continues to automatically process files uploaded or imported even when Batch Payment interface browser sessions are closed.

To configure Billing Care auto processing behavior:

  1. Log into Billing Care.

  2. Click Batch Payment.

  3. Click Auto Process to enable or disable auto processing of batch files immediate after upload.

Processing Payments in Foreign Currencies

Billing Care can process batch payment files in a currency different from an account's primary currency if the connected BRM system has been configured with currency conversion rates. An error is displayed if a batch payment file contains payments for accounts in a currency different from the accounts' profile currency.

See "Changing Currency Conversion Rates" in BRM Managing Customers for more information about configuring currency conversion rates.

Uploading Batch Payment Files to the Billing Care Server

Upload batch payment files in supported formats to the following directory on your Billing Care server:

Middleware_home/BatchPaymentFiles/unprocessed

where Middleware_home is the home directory of the Oracle WebLogic Server installation where Billing Care is installed. This is the default location for unprocessed batch payment files. The Billing Care installation allows specifying an alternative location. Confirm with your administrator to determine where your unprocessed folder is located.

Batch payment files placed into the unprocessed folder are uploaded into Billing Care and viewable in the Batch Payment interface.

To view uploaded files:

  1. Log into Billing Care

  2. Click Batch Payment.

    Note:

    If Auto Process is enabled, uploaded batch payment files are automatically processed by Billing Care.

Importing Batch Payment Files Manually Using Billing Care

To manually import and process batch payment files:

  1. Log into Billing Care.

  2. Click Batch Payment.

  3. Click Import to upload a batch payment file.

  4. Select the batch payment file.

    Note:

    If your batch file includes any non-standard data in the header area, it will be ignored. Standard header data which must be named which must have the exact name listed below:
    • Locale
    • Batch Date
    • Batch Total
    • Currency ID
    • Channel
    • Batch Size
    • Batch Name
    • Lockbox ID
    • Lockbox Date
  5. Click Open.

    The payment file is imported and listed as Unprocessed.

  6. (Optional) Click File Details to view general information about the payment file.

  7. Click View File to confirm the contents of your payment file.

    The payment file is rendered in a separate tab or window.

  8. Click Process to process the batch payment.

    Billing Care processes the batch payment file.

Viewing Imported File Status and Errors

Uploaded and imported batch payment files are displayed as summary cards, each containing a status, in the Active tab of the Batch Payment interface. The displayed status indicates which Billing Care server batch payment folder a file is currently located in. See "About Batch Payment File Directories" for more information of file locations.

Billing Care displays each payment batch in either the Unprocessed or Processed areas of the Batch Payment interface.

The Unprocessed area includes:

  • Files that have been transferred but not manually processed

  • Files currently being processed by Billing Care

  • Files placed into error status

The Processed area includes all successfully processed batch payment files from the past 24 hours. Select the Stay on This Page if Suspended Payments Remain check box to retain processed payments containing outstanding suspended payments until all suspended payments in the batch have been resolved. See "Viewing Suspended Batch Payments" for more information on suspended batch payments.

About Batch Processing Errors

Unprocessed failed batch payment files result from one of the following errors.

Error Description

Older Version Found

An older version of the same batch payment file has been previously loaded and not processed. When prompted, do one of the following:

  • Click Continue to have Billing Care overwrite the older file version with the newly imported version. In this case, you will lose the previous file data and auditing will not be possible.

  • Click Cancel to leave the file unprocessed. To maintain auditing data, rename the batch payment file and then upload or import the file again.

Processing Error

A Billing Care system error or connection failure occurred. Clear the error and retry processing. Contact your administrator if the problem persists.

Threshold Exceeded

The number of suspended payments in a batch has exceeded a preconfigured threshold. Successful allocations in the payment batch are rolled back. Check the batch payment file for errors before reattempting processing.

Unknown Bank

The batch payment file is readable but cannot be processed due to an unknown/unidentifiable bank. This error occurs when a valid template for the batch payment file cannot be determined. A list of valid templates is shown. If the file complies with an existing template, select the template and click Retry.

Unrecognizable File Type

The file uploaded or imported is not a recognizable batch payment file.

Reversing Failed Batch Payments

Use Billing Care's batch payment functionality to reverse multiple failed payments within a batch processing file. Failed batch processing files contain a list of payments and amounts by payment ID instead of account number.

To reverse a batch of failed payments, upload a batch processing file that complies with the Failed payment template and follow the same procedures for either "Importing Batch Payment Files Manually Using Billing Care" or "Configuring Auto Processing of Batch Payment Files" for uploading reversal batch payment files. Billing Care identifies the payment IDs listed in the batch processing file and reverses the listed amount.

Individual payments can be reversed when viewing an account. See "Reversing a Payment" for more information on reversing payments when viewing an account.

Viewing Batch Payment Processing History

The batch payments History tab includes information on:

  • Currency totals

  • Number of records

  • Process completion date

  • Processing duration

  • Queue duration

  • Source

To view batch payments history:

  1. Click Batch Payment.

  2. Select History.

  3. Sort batch payment processing history using the Sort list.

Viewing Suspended Batch Payments

Payments within a batch that Billing Care cannot apply to a customer account are automatically placed into suspense. Payments can be suspended due to improper information, such as account number, in the batch payment file.

To view suspended payments in a processed payment batch:

  1. Navigate to the Processed section in the Batch Payment interface.

  2. In the payment's card summary, click Suspended.

    The Payment Suspense interface with the suspended payments from the processed batch is displayed.

Note:

The Suspended link is also available in the History tab of the Batch Payment interface for payment batches containing suspended payments.

See "Working with Suspended Payments" for more information on managing suspended payments.

About Batch Payment Template Files

Batch files must conform to one of the following supported template formats:

  • Cash payment

  • Check payment

  • Failed payment

  • Interbank pay order

  • Postal order

  • Wire-transfer payment

  • Custom payment (configured with the Billing Care SDK)

Batch payment templates are installed during Billing Care installation. See your administrator for more information on ensuring your batch payment files are formatted according to a supported template or creating a custom template to support custom payment types. Billing Care will not process batch files that are not properly formatted.

See "Enabling Custom Payment Types in Batch Processing" in Billing Care SDK Guide for more information on batch payment templates.

Creating, Editing, and Processing Payment, Refund, and Reversal Batches (Release 15.0.1 or later)

Starting with Billing Care 15.0.1, you can edit the contents of batch files, whether you have imported them or created them in the Billing Care GUI. With this new mechanism, you can also provide refunds and reversals in batches in addition to payments.

You can work with batches in the following ways:

Creating and Processing a Batch

You can create a batch in Billing Care.

To create a batch:

  1. Log into Billing Care and click More Actions.

  2. Click Batch Payment.

  3. Click More Actions and click Create Batch.

    The Create Batch dialog box appears.

  4. Click Continue to continue without uploading a file to create a new batch.

  5. Enter details for the batch such as Number of Records, Projected Total Amount in the Create Batch page. See Create Batch Page (Release 15.0.1 or later) for more details about the Create Batch page.

    Note:

    Type, Payment Method, Currency, Effective Date and Number of Records are populated by default but you can change them if required. The Batch ID field is read-only. It is automatically populated when the batch is submitted.
  6. Add records to the batch. See "Creating a Record in a Batch" for more information.

  7. You can search for records to add to the batch. See "Searching for Records to Add to a Batch" for more information.

  8. You can modify a record in a batch. See "Modifying a Record in a Batch" for more information.

  9. You can allocate payments to bills or items in a batch. See "Allocating Payments to Bills or Items" for more information.

  10. You can manually suspend records in a batch. See "Suspending a Payment in a Batch" for more information.

  11. You can remove suspension from manually suspended records in a batch. See "Removing Suspension from a Payment in a Batch" for more information.

  12. Validate the batch, see "Validating a Batch" for more information.

  13. You can export the batch, see "Exporting a Batch to a File" for more information.

  14. Submit the batch. See "Submitting a Batch" for more information.

Creating a Record in a Batch

You can create a record in a batch in Billing Care.

To create a record in a batch:

  1. Create a batch. See "Creating and Processing a Batch" for more information.

  2. In the Records in Batch table, click Add Record and add records to the table by filling details like Payment Amount, Account Number. See Create Batch Page (Release 15.0.1 or later) to learn about the fields in the table.

Searching for Records to Add to a Batch

You can search for a record in a batch through Account or Bill details while adding an existing record to a batch.

You can search for records or payments to add them to batch in the following ways:

Search for Records Through Accounts

To search for a record by providing Accounts details:

  1. In the Create Batch page, select a row to activate the Search button at the top.

  2. Click the Search button to open the Search dialog box.

  3. In the Search dialog box, keep the default of Accounts in the list. Optionally, you can enter any of the details as search criteria.

    All fields are optional. If no criteria are entered, all accounts are fetched.

  4. Click the Search button to find all the matching accounts.

  5. You can clear existing search results and criteria by clicking the Reset button.

  6. When the results are fetched, select one of the accounts and press Enter.

  7. Click Add To Batch.

    Note:

    You can also double-click the desired record to add it to the batch.
Search for Records Through Bills

To search for a record by providing Bills details:

  1. In the Create Batch page, select a row to activate the Search button at the top.

  2. Click Search to open the Search dialog box.

  3. In the Search dialog box, choose Bills from the list. Optionally, you can enter any of the details as search criteria.

    All fields are optional. If no criteria are entered, all bills are fetched.

  4. Click Search to find all the matching bills.

  5. You can clear existing search results and criteria by clicking the Reset button.

  6. When the results are fetched, select one of the Bills and press Enter.

  7. Click Add To Batch.

    Note:

    You can also double-click the desired record to add it to batch.
Search for Payments in a Reversal Batch

In a reversal batch, you search only for payments which are not suspended or already reversed.

Note:

The type of reversal batch determines the payment being searched. For example, in a "Check Reversal Batch" only check payments can be searched.

To search for Payments in a Reversal type batch:

  1. In the Create Batch page, change the batch Type to Reversal.

  2. Select a row on the table to activate the Search button at the top.

  3. Click the Search button to open the Search dialog box.

  4. In the Search dialog box, you can search for any Payment. Optionally, you can enter any of the details as search criteria.

    All fields are optional. If no criteria are entered, all payments are fetched.

  5. Click Search button to find all the matching payments.

  6. Click Add to Batch to add the desired record to batch.

    Note:

    You can also double-click the record to add it to batch.

Modifying a Record in a Batch

To modify a record in a batch:

  1. Access a batch. For more information, see "Creating and Processing a Batch" and "Importing and Editing Batches Manually Using Billing Care".

  2. In the table, click the Edit Edit icon button to modify a record in a batch.

    Note:

    You can also edit a record by double-clicking the required row.
  3. Click Save.

Allocating Payments to Bills or Items

You can allocate payments in Billing Care. If the payment is already allocated, you can change the allocation using this method.

To allocate payments to bills or items:

  1. Access a batch. For more information, see "Creating and Processing a Batch" and "Importing and Editing Batches Manually Using Billing Care".

  2. In the table, identify the row corresponding to the record you wish to allocate and click Allocation.

    The Allocate Payment dialog box appears with the details for the row, such as bill unit, bill ID, due date, and balance.

  3. In the Allocate Payment dialog box, you can switch between Simple View for bill-level allocation and Advanced View for item-level allocation.

  4. Enter the allocation amount which should be lesser than the unallocated amount and click Allocate.

  5. Click Save or Cancel the changes you have made in any view.

    You can also Reset the changes in both the views.

Suspending a Payment in a Batch

You can manually suspend a payment in Billing Care.

To manually suspend a payment:

  1. Access a batch file. For more information, see "Creating and Processing a Batch" and "Importing and Editing Batches Manually Using Billing Care"
  2. (Optional) Click the Validate button to validate the records.
  3. Click More Actions (three dots).
  4. You will get two options, Suspend Payment, and Delete Record. If the status is already Suspended or the records are not validated, the Suspend Payment button is disabled.
  5. If you select Suspend Payment, select a Reason and add Comments in the Suspend Payment dialog box.
  6. Click Suspend.

Removing Suspension from a Payment in a Batch

You can remove suspension of a manually suspended payment in Billing Care.

To remove manual suspension of a payment:

  1. Access a batch. For more information, see "Creating and Processing a Batch" and "Importing and Editing Batches Manually Using Billing Care".

  2. Click More Actions from the Action Column in the end of each row.

  3. From the list, select Remove Suspension.

Importing and Editing Batches Manually Using Billing Care

You can edit imported batches in the same way as created batches using the following mechanism.

To manually import and edit batches:

  1. Log into Billing Care.

  2. Click Batch Payment.

  3. Click More Actions and select Create Batch.

  4. In the Create Batch dialog box, click Upload File.

  5. Browse to and select the batch file and click Continue. Make sure that the batch name in your imported batch .pmt file is the same as the template name.

    Note:

    If your batch file includes any non-standard data in the header area, it will be ignored. Standard header data which must be named which must have the exact name listed below:
    • Locale
    • Batch Date
    • Batch Total
    • Currency ID
    • Channel
    • Batch Size
    • Batch Name
    • Lockbox ID
    • Lockbox Date

    If the system can find a template that matches your batch file, the Matching template ready for processing option will be selected by default, and the Select template field will contain the name of the matching template. If not, the Create Template option will be selected by default.

  6. Do one of the following:

    1. To process the payment file with an existing template, click Matching template ready for processing and select a template from the Select Template list to use as the template you will use to process the file. If the system selected a template by default, you can select a different template if you want. Click Continue.

    2. To process the payment file with a template that you create from scratch, click Create template, click Continue, and create a template to process the file. See “Creating a Batch Template” for more information. When you are finished, click Save.

    3. To process the payment file with an existing template and edit the template before processing, click Edit and use existing template.

      1. Select a template from the Select template list to edit and use.

      2. Click Continue.

      3. In the Edit Batch Template page, set the options to process your batch file. See "Create or Edit Template Page (Release 15.0.1 or later)" for more information.

      4. When you are finished, click Save.

    4. To process the payment file using a new template that is based on an existing template, click Duplicate and use an existing template.

      1. Select a template from the Select template list to use as the basis for the template you will use to process the file.

      2. Click Continue.

      3. In the Create template page, set the options to process your batch file. See “Create or Edit Template Page (Release 15.0.1 or later)” for more information.

      4. When you are finished, click Save.

    The Create Batch page appears where you can edit your batch file.

  7. Make changes in the batch file as appropriate, validate, and submit the file. See "Creating and Processing a Batch" for more information.

Validating a Batch

You can validate the records in a batch in Billing Care.

To validate a batch:

  1. Access a batch. For more information, see "Creating and Processing a Batch" and "Importing and Editing Batches Manually Using Billing Care" for more information.

    Note:

    The Validate button is enabled only after you provide the account number, bill number and payment amount of the respective records.
  2. Click the Validate button to validate the records.

    The status of the validated records will show as validated and you can see a summary table with the validated records. Records that have not been validated successfully will be marked for suspension if you are using Payment Suspense Manager. See "Managing Suspended Payments" in Configuring and Collecting Payments for more information about Payment Suspense Manager.

    Note:

    A payment can fail validation if it is less or more than the amount for a specific bill. If you have the correct permission in Billing Care (noManualAllocationMandatory), you can select to ignore this error and allocate the payment at the account level rather than the bill level by selecting the Deferred Allocation check box.

Exporting a Batch to a File

You can export a batch to a file in Billing Care.

To export a batch to a file:

  1. Create a batch. See "Creating and Processing a Batch" for more information on how to create a batch.
  2. When you have finished creating and editing the records in your new batch, or at any time during the creation process, click More Actions and select Save this payment batch.

    The Export File dialog box appears.

  3. Choose one of the two formats - Grid view to export in default grid format or the uploaded file template format, for example, Cash Refund Batch Template.
  4. If the batch has a different locale than the locale for your browser, choose a locale to export between Original File Locale or Current Locale.
  5. Click Export.

    The data from the table will be saved as Export_BatchName_Date_Time_Locale.pmt where BatchName is the name of the batch template, Date and Time are the date and time of the export, and Locale is the locale of the payments in the file.

Submitting a Batch

You can submit a batch after exporting in Billing Care.

To submit a batch:

  1. Create a batch. See "Creating and Processing a Batch" for more information on how to create a batch.

  2. Validate all the records in a batch. See "Validating a Batch" to learn how to validate records.

    Note:

    The Submit button will be enabled only after all the records are either validated, suspended or manually suspended.
  3. Click Submit.

    A dialog box will be displayed indicating whether the batch submission was successful. If the batch submission is not successful, the number of records which couldn't be processed will also be displayed.

  4. Click OK.

    You are returned to the Create Batch page, with all buttons disabled except Close and Save this payment batch. If any of the records were not successful, there will also be a link at the top to Edit failed records.

  5. If you want to export the final version of this batch, click Save this payment batch.
  6. If there were failed records and you want to correct them, click Edit failed records. This will create a new batch with only the failed records that you can update just like any batch. See "Create Batch Page (Release 15.0.1 or later)"
  7. Click Close.

Working with Batch Templates (Release 15.0.1 or later)

The following sections contain information about batch templates:

Creating a Batch Template

If the batch file you upload doesn't match any existing templates, an error message will appear. The Create Batch dialog box will pop up where you can either choose an existing batch or proceed without uploading a file to create a new batch. You can create, edit, and duplicate existing templates here.

To create a new batch template:
  1. Log into Billing Care and click Batch Payment.

  2. Click More Actions and select Batch Templates from the list.

    The Batch Templates page will appear with a list of templates.

  3. Click Create Template to create a new template.

    The Create Batch Template page will appear.

  4. Enter details for the new template like Name, Number of Fields according to your needs. See Create or Edit Template Page (Release 15.0.1 or later) for information about the fields in this page.

    Note:

    If you have an existing .pit file, you can enter the data from your file to the Create Template page.
  5. Click Create.

    The Create Batch Template dialog box will appear indicating that the template was created successfully.

  6. Click OK.

Creating a Batch Template Based on an Existing Template

You can create a batch template based on an existing template in Billing Care.

To create a batch template based on an existing template:

  1. Log into Billing Care and click More Actions.
  2. Click Batch Templates.
  3. On the Batch Payments page, click More Actions (three dots) on the corresponding row for the template you want to edit.
  4. Select Duplicate from the list.

    The Edit Batch Template page appears.

    The new template is created with the name BaseTemplate_copy and values that match the ones in the source template where BaseTemplate is the name of the source template.
  5. Edit the template according to your needs. See Create or Edit Template Page (Release 15.0.1 or later) for information about the fields in this page.

Editing a Batch Template

You can edit a batch template in Billing Care.

To edit a batch template:

  1. Log into Billing Care and click More Actions.
  2. Click Batch Templates.
  3. On the Batch Payments page, click More Actions (three dots) on the corresponding row for the template you want to edit.
  4. Edit the template according to your needs. See Create or Edit Template Page (Release 15.0.1 or later) for information about the fields in this page.

Viewing Existing Batch Templates

You can view an existing batch template in the Billing Care UI.

To view an existing standard template:

  1. Log into Billing Care and click Batch Payments.
  2. On the Batch Payments page, click More Actions.
  3. Select Batch Templates from the list.

    A list of standard batch templates will be displayed.

To search for a specific template in the list of standard preinstalled batch templates:

  1. Use the Browse batch templates by name search bar to search for a specific template name.
  2. (Optional) Click More Filters to refine your search by selecting a Type and Payment Method.
  3. Click Update to apply the selected search filters.

Create Batch Page (Release 15.0.1 or later)

Use the Create Batch page to create and make batch payments.

Field Description

Type

Select the type of payment for the batch (Payment, Refund, or Reversal).

Payment Method

States the method of payment of the source template, such as Cash or Check.

Number of Records

Enter the number of records or transactions to include in the batch.

Batch ID

A unique identifier for the batch which is populated by Billing Care automatically.

Effective Date

Select the date of the batch from which it is effective.

Currency

Select the currency for the batch (for example USD for US Dollars or EUR for Euros).

Payment Channel

The delivery method by which customer payments are sent to a financial institution.

Projected Total Amount

The projected total amount for the batch.

Add Record

Click to add a new payment to the batch.

Search

Click to search for a record in a batch.

Validate

Click to validate the batch.

More Actions

Use this menu to access additional commands, like Save this payment batch or Clear Data.

Records in Batch

This table displays the details of the payment, refund, or reversal records, for example, Account Number and Amount. You can edit, allocate, suspend, and delete records in this table.

Create or Edit Template Page (Release 15.0.1 or later)

The Create Template page and the Edit Template page have the same fields. Use these pages to create or edit a batch template.

Field Description

Name

Enter batch template file name.

Type

States the type of batch: Payment, Refund, or Reversal. This field is disabled if you are editing the template after it is created.

Payment Method

States the method of payment, such as Cash or Check. This field is disabled if you are editing the template after it is created.

Delimiter

Select a column delimiter like comma or tab or enter a different delimiter.

Ignore delimiters within specific characters

Select this option to ignore column delimiters within strings, and then select the appropriate string delimiter character in the field below.

Treat consecutive delimiters as one

Select this option to ignore duplicate delimiter characters.

File includes a batch header

File includes a batch footer

Select whether the file includes a batch header and footer and enter start and end line numbers for any headers or footers.

Sample File Contents

Enter some sample payment records from a .pmt file. The data will be displayed in the Field Mapping table.

Records Start Line

Choose the line number in the file of the first record. Ensure that this does not conflict with the lines containing any header rows.

Number of Fields

Choose the number of fields in your template.

Field Mapping

The data entered in Sample File Contents will be displayed here. You can map each column by selecting the fields from the lists as per the data.

Search Dialog Box (Release 15.0.1 or later)

Use the Search dialog box to search for accounts, bills and, payments through account, bill, and payment information.

The default of Accounts is selected. You can use the fields in the following table to search for accounts to add them to batch.

Field Description

Account Information

Enter account information details like Account Number or Company Name in the search filters.

Results

Search results will show in a table with columns like Account Number, First and Last Name, and, Company Name.

Add to Batch

Select the appropriate rows in the table and click to add them to the batch

You can also double-click any record to add it to batch.

When you select Bills in the list, you can use the fields in the following table to search for bills to add them to batch.

Field Description

Bill Information

Enter bill information details like Account details and Bill number in the search filters.

Results

Search results will show in a table consisting of columns like Account Number, Bill Number, Cycle Start Date, Days Overdue, Billed Amount, Balance Due.

Add to Batch

Select the appropriate rows in the table and click to add them to the batch.

You can also double-click any record to add it to batch.

When you search for Payment in a Reversal type batch, you can use the fields in the following table to search for payments to add them to batch.

Field Description

Payment Information

Enter payment information details such as account number, check number, bank code, date in the search filters.

Results

Search results will be displayed in a table consisting of columns like Account Number, Payment ID, Effective Date, Amount, Check Number, Bank Code, Bank Account Number.

Add to Batch

Select the appropriate rows in the table and click to add them to the batch.

You can also double-click any payment record to add it to batch.

Suspend Payment Dialog Box (Release 15.0.1 or later)

Use the Suspend Payment dialog box to manually suspend payments.

Field Description

Reason

Enter the reason that you want to suspend the payment. You can select any reason from the list, or you can enter a reason manually.

Comments

Enter comments about the suspension if needed.