1 Getting Started with Billing Care

You can use Oracle Communications Billing Care to manage billing, payments, and accounts receivable for customer accounts. Billing Care provides an account view that contains functionality for performing account transactions as well as an interface for viewing and allocating suspended payments.

For an introduction to Billing Care, see the following topics:

About the Billing Care User Interface

The Billing Care user interface works in a web browser. When using Billing Care:

  • Do not use browser commands, such as Back, Forward, and Refresh, to avoid losing data. If you accidentally use a browser command, navigate to the primary link and, if required, sign in to Billing Care again.

  • Do not open multiple instances of Billing Care in different browser windows or tabs of the same browser.

  • Ensure that cookies are enabled in your browser.

About Authorization

Depending on your job and company policies, you might not be able to access all areas of Billing Care. For example:

  • You might not be able to see all the menus and dialog screens described in the Help.

  • You might be able to view the results of actions, such as adjustments, but not be able to perform them yourself.

Additionally, you might have limits on how much and how little you can write off, adjust, and so on.

About the User Menu

The user menu located at the top right corner of the Billing Care user interface contains links to Billing Care Online Help, application version information, and sign-out functionality.

To access the user menu:

  1. From the Billing Care user interface, click the menu in the top right containing the signed-in user’s name.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • To view Billing Care Online Help, click Help.

    • To view release version and build version information, click About.

    • To sign out of Billing Care, click Sign Out.

About the Account Bar

When you open a customer account, the account page header at the top displays:

  • Account Name (with status badge if applicable)
  • Account Number
  • Company Name

When you open a customer account, the account bar displays the following account information:

  • Contact Details: Address and other contact information.
  • Security Details: Security hint and security answer.
  • Collections: If the account is in collections, displays the number of days past due, minimum payment due, last and next action scheduled, writeoff or billing information, and links to all collection actions and collection views.
  • Hierarchy Details: If the account is part of an organization hierarchy, displays hierarchy information, including number of days, hierarchy type (site, etc.), and organizational parent or child links.
  • Installments: Shows the number of schedules on the account.
  • Deposits: Displays the total deposits for the account.
  • (Optional) The three-letter currency abbreviation is displayed per account or per bill unit for multi-bill unit accounts.

About the Actions Menu

The Actions menu lists the actions that can be performed on an account. Using this menu, you perform actions such as updating account information, creating payments, viewing accounts receivable, and setting up financial information such as taxation configuration.

Action Description

Account

Click to update an account's profile or status. See "Account Information".

Payments

Click to make a new payment or allocate existing payments. See "Payments".

Note: For wholesale child accounts, Payments is not shown.

Installment Schedule

Click to view all installment schedules or create a new installment schedule. See "Installments".

Deposits

Click to view all deposits for the account or create a new deposit. See "Deposits".

Accounts Receivables

Click to perform currency adjustments, distribute existing adjustments, or write off an account. See "Accounts Receivable".

Note: For wholesale child accounts, Accounts Receivables is not shown.

Hierarchy

Click to create or modify the relationship among accounts in the same company or organization. See "Organization Hierarchies".

Financial Setup

Click to create or update payment methods, configure bill units, or set up taxation. See "Financial Setup".

Sharing Groups

Click to create or modify sharing groups. See "Sharing Groups".

About the Home Section

The Home section provides a high-level overview of an account's subscriptions, account history, current balances, and account and status change activity. You initiate new payments from the Home section by using the Make Payment button.

Field Description

Notes

Displays the number of notes that have been added to the account in the last 24 hours and in the last month. Select this section to view the notes.

See "Working with Account-Level Notes".

Account History, All Bill Units, Bill Unit

Displays service, payment, and billing information for an account or for a bill unit if the account has multiple bill units. The Account History area or an individual Bill Unit area must be selected to make the Bills Graph area, the Balance area, and Balance and News Feed links appear.

Depending on the age of the account and payment history, information about past due amounts, current amounts, and the bill in progress is shown here:

Note: The bill in progress is not shown for wholesale billing hierarchies.

Make Payment

Click to make a payment on the account or bill unit. If the account has multiple bill units, select a bill unit to make this button appear. See "Making a Payment".

Show Bill Units

Click to see information about each bill unit if the account has multiple bill units.

If an account has multiple bill units, you must select a bill unit to see the billing cycle, the Bills graph, and the Balances section.

Balances

Click to see a graphic overview of the account or the bill unit information and balances. The Bills graph displays information about bills, purchases, payments, A/R transactions, and customer interactions. See "About the Bills Graph" and "Viewing Account Balances".

Newsfeed

Click to see a history of activity for the account and its bill units. You can view a listing of all events or only A/R transactions, payments, charges, or account changes. See "Working with the Newsfeed".

About the Bills Graph

The Bills graph provides a visual overview of account activity, including billing and customer interactions.

  • The horizontal axis represents billing periods, displaying the last 12 bills and the bill currently in progress.

  • The vertical axis now shows activity counts (not specific account information or communications). Each point on the chart reflects the number of activities associated with a particular bill period.

Activity Series and Indicators

Account activities and statuses are now represented as distinct points or symbols grouped into series, making it easier to identify the type of interaction:

  • Inquiry and A/R Activity: Includes payment- and accounts receivable–related actions such as payments, disputes, and inquiries.

  • Technical Problem: Represents technical issues such as service outages or incomplete installations.

  • Notification: Covers notification-related activities for the account.

  • CSR Alert: Highlights customer service representative alerts.
  • Financial Setup: Groups activities related to financial configuration or changes.
  • Subscriptions: Includes activities related to subscription management.
  • Other: Any activities not covered by the above categories.Bill status indicators (such as Bills Overdue or Bill in Progress) are also displayed as unique symbols within the graph.

The legend below the Bills graph provides up-to-date definitions for each series and indicator used. You can click on a symbol within the Bills graph to view more information about the associated bill or activity.

Note:

Indicator symbols and activity series are automatically generated based on available data. Always refer to the legend for accurate, current definitions.

About the Bills Section

The Bills section provides information about specific bills. The upper area is an overview of the selected bill unit. The initial view is of the bill in progress. If there are multiple bill units, the bill in progress for the default bill unit is shown.

For wholesale parent accounts, the Bills section displays the consolidated charges and A/R actions of all the child accounts. The A/R actions that are generated after the billing cycle and the consolidated amount of these A/R actions are shown in this section. However, the individual A/R actions of the wholesale child accounts are not shown in this section.

The information shown depends on the bill and bill history. The information may include:

  • The payment method. If there is no payment method, the Assign link appears. Click the link to add a payment method. See "Adding a Payment Method" for more information.

  • The account's service charges.

  • The date when the bill unit's status was last modified.

  • Charges from other accounts. If there are charges from other accounts, click the link to see the charge details.

  • A/R actions. If there are A/R actions, click the link to see the adjustment or dispute details.

  • Payment applied. If there is a payment, click the link to see the payment details.

  • Total due for this period.

    Charges and other billing-related items of the wholesale child accounts in the hierarchy are shown in the respective accounts until the billing is in progress. Once the billing cycle is completed, charges and other billing-related items of the wholesale child accounts in the hierarchy are rolled up to the wholesale parent bill unit and the Total due for this period in the wholesale child accounts shows 0.

  • Number of days overdue.

Field Description

Switch Bills

Click to access other bills. If there is more than one bill unit, select the one you want to work with. The list displayed includes the bill in progress and the bills for the 12 past billing cycles.

For child accounts in a hierarchy, the list includes the bills that are generated before and after moving the account into the hierarchy.

Click the Bill Search link to search for an older bill that may not be available in the list.

Note: The Bill Search link does not appear if the account contains less than 12 bills.

Actions

Use this menu for these bill-related activities:

  • Make Payment

  • Move Payment to Suspense

  • Reverse Payment

  • Adjust Bill

  • Dispute Bill

  • Write Off Bill

  • Refund Bill

  • Produce Corrective Bill

  • Transfer Negative Balance

  • View Invoice PDF

The Actions menu appears once a bill is selected.

Bill Details

Use this field to find specific charges. Enter all or part of the service type, service ID, or device ID.

My Charges

Shows the charges for the selected bill that are generated by the account. Click the charges in the following areas to view more information:

  • Account Charges

  • Account and Sharing Charges

  • Service Charges

You can view an invoice from the details window.

Note: For wholesale parent accounts, the Charge Sharing link is shown under My Charges. Click the Charge Sharing link to view the consolidated amount due for the wholesale billing hierarchy.

Charges from Other Accounts

Shows the charges for the selected bill that are generated by other accounts. Click the charges in the following areas to view more information:

  • Account Charges

  • Account and Sharing Charges

  • Service Charges

You can view an invoice from the details window.

Note: For wholesale parent accounts, the Charges from Other Accounts area is not displayed.

About Exporting Grid Contents

The following Billing Care account information grids contain data that can be exported to CSV files:

  • All Unallocated Payments

  • All Unallocated Adjustments

  • Allocate Payments - Simple

  • Allocate Payments - Advanced

  • Allocate Adjustments - Simple

  • Allocate Adjustments - Advanced

  • Payment Details

  • Adjustment Details

  • Payment Details Item Affected

  • Adjustment Details Item Affected

  • AR Actions

  • All Open Disputes

  • Bill Adjustments Details

  • Bill Adjustments Details Item Affected

  • Payment Applied

  • Past Due

To export grid data to CSV:

  1. View the grid in Billing Care.

  2. Click Export.

  3. Save the file.

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

You can use keyboard shortcuts for many actions in Billing Care.

Action Shortcut
Move focus to the next field or element from top to bottom and left to right. Tab
Move focus to the previous field or element, from bottom to top and right to left. Shift + Tab
Click a link, a button, or a command on a menu. Enter or Spacebar

In a table, move to the next row.

In a drop-down list, move to the next item in the list.

 Down Arrow

In a table, move to the previous row.

In a drop-down list, move to the previous item in the list.

 Up Arrow
Move from a menu item to its parent menu in the Actions menu, right to left. Left Arrow
Open a submenu from a menu item in the Actions menu, left to right. Right Arrow
Select the Allocate column in a table for allocating payments or adjustments. Ctrl + Enter
Move a selected service from one bill unit to another. Ctrl + X, use Tab to move to the target bill unit, then Ctrl + V.

About Date and Time Formats

Date and time formats are standardized across the Billing Care user interface. The format for dates matches the locale-specific standard. The time uses the 24-hour format, such as 13:00:00 for 1p.m.

Table 1-1 lists the locale-specific standards for date and time formats.

Table 1-1 Supported Date and Time Formats

Locale Supported Date and Time Formats

English (en-US)

  • MMM DD, YYYY HH:mm:SS

  • MMM DD, YYYY

  • MMM DD

  • HH:mm:SS

where:

  • MMM is the abbreviation for the month name.

  • DD is the day of the month.

  • YYYY is the 4-digit year.

  • HH is the hour of the day (0 – 23).

  • mm is the minute of the hour (0 – 59).

  • SS is the seconds (0 – 59).

Russian (ru)

  • DD MMM YYYY HH:mm:SS

  • DD MMM YYYY

  • DD MMM

  • HH:mm:SS

where:

  • MMM is the abbreviation for the month name.

  • DD is the day of the month.

  • YYYY is the 4-digit year.

  • HH is the hour of the day (0 – 23).

  • mm is the minute of the hour (0 – 59).

  • SS is the seconds (0 – 59).

French (fr)

  • DD MMM YYYY HH:mm:SS

  • DD MMM YYYY

  • DD MMM

  • HH:mm:SS

where:

  • MMM is the abbreviation for the month name.

  • DD is the day of the month.

  • YYYY is the 4-digit year.

  • HH is the hour of the day (0 – 23).

  • mm is the minute of the hour (0 – 59).

  • SS is the seconds (0 – 59).

Japanese (ja)

  • YYYY/MM/DD HH:mm:SS

  • YYYY/MM/DD

  • MM DD

  • HH:mm:SS

where:

  • MM is months in digits.

  • DD is the day of the month.

  • YYYY is the 4-digit year.

  • HH is the hour of the day (0 – 23).

  • mm is minute of the hour (0 – 59).

  • SS is the seconds (0 – 59).

Italian (it)

  • DD MMM YYYY HH:mm:SS

  • DD MMM YYYY

  • DD MMM

  • HH:mm:SS

where:

  • MMM is the abbreviation for the month name.

  • DD is the day of the month.

  • YYYY is the 4-digit year.

  • HH is the hour of the day (0 – 23).

  • mm is the minute of the hour (0 – 59).

  • SS is the seconds (0 – 59).

Portuguese (pt-BR)

  • DD MMM YYYY HH:mm:SS

  • DD MMM YYYY

  • DD MMM

  • HH:mm:SS

where:

  • MMM is the abbreviation for the month name.

  • DD is the day of the month.

  • YYYY is the 4-digit year.

  • HH is the hour of the day (0 – 23).

  • mm is the minute of the hour (0 – 59).

  • SS is the seconds (0 – 59).

Korean (ko)

  • YYYY. MM. DD. HH:mm:SS

  • YYYY. MM. DD.

  • MM DD

  • HH:mm:SS

where:

  • MM is months in digits.

  • DD is the day of the month.

  • YYYY is the 4-digit year.

  • HH is the hour of the day (0 – 23).

  • mm is minute of the hour (0 – 59).

  • SS is the seconds (0 – 59).

Chinese (zh-CN)

  • YYYY MM DD HH:mm:SS

  • YYYY MM DD

  • MM DD

  • HH:mm:SS

where:

  • MM is months in digits.

  • DD is the day of the month.

  • YYYY is the 4-digit year.

  • HH is the hour of the day (0 – 23).

  • mm is minute of the hour (0 – 59).

  • SS is the seconds (0 – 59).

Spanish (es-ES)

  • DD MMM YYYY HH:mm:SS

  • DD MMM YYYY

  • DD MMM

  • HH:mm:SS

where:

  • MMM is the abbreviation for the month name.

  • DD is the day of the month.

  • YYYY is the 4-digit year.

  • HH is the hour of the day (0 – 23).

  • mm is the minute of the hour (0 – 59).

  • SS is the seconds (0 – 59).

Chinese Traditional (zh-TW)

  • YYYY MM DD HH:mm:SS

  • YYYY MM DD

  • MM DD

  • HH:mm:SS

where:

  • MM is months in digits.

  • DD is the day of the month.

  • YYYY is the 4-digit year.

  • HH is the hour of the day (0 – 23).

  • mm is minute of the hour (0 – 59).

  • SS is the seconds (0 – 59).