How To Correct A Bill Segment That's In Error

A bill segment will exist in the Error state if a problem was encountered during the generation of a bill segment. To fix an error bill segment you must correct the cause of the error and then regenerate the bill segment. Refer to Bill Segment Errors for background information.

Note:

Error segments created during batch billing. If the error bill segment was created as part of the batch bill process, the system attempts to fix the offending segment(s) each night during the account's bill window by regenerating it. Therefore, if the cause of the error is fixed during the day, the system will automatically regenerate the bill segment when batch billing next runs; you don't have to manually correct each bill. And once a bill is error-free, it will be completed and sent to the customer. Refer to Batch Billing for more information.

Correcting the cause of a bill segment error can be difficult or trivial; we hope that the error messages (along with their long descriptions) provide a good description of how to resolve the issue.

After you have corrected the cause of the error, you should regenerate the bill segment. There are two ways to do this:

  • You can use the Generate action on Bill - Bill Segment to regenerate one or more bill segments. We recommend using this method if the cause of the error affected many bill segments because you can regenerate many bill segments at a time on this page. Also, be aware that this transaction shows the estimated value of error bill segments so you can gauge whether to invest a lot of time in correcting the problem. For example, if the bill segment's estimated value is $10,000, it's probably worth correcting the problem before sending the bill out. However, if the bill segment's value is small, you may decide to simply delete the error bill segment and send the bill without it (the system will attempt to create a bill for the deleted period the next time the account is billed).
  • You can use the Generate action on Bill Segment - Main to regenerate an individual bill segment. We'd recommend using this method if the problem is bill segment-specific and you need to examine the information that is snapshot on the bill segment to resolve the error (e.g., you need to look at calculation/audit read details and service quantities).
Note:

Drilling Into Bill Segment Errors. When you use the bill segments in error To Do list to work through errors, you will be transferred to Bill Segment - Main with the bill segment displayed.

After all errors have been resolved on a bill, return to Bill - Main. The Bill Segment Freeze Option on the installation option controls the next step:

  • If this option is set to Freeze At Bill Completion, click the Freeze / Complete button.
  • If this option is set to Freeze At Will, click the Freeze button and, if everything looks clean, click the Complete button.