How to Use Description on Bill

Enter the verbiage to appear on the bill segment in the Description On Bill. Turn on Print if the verbiage should appear on the printed bill.

Note:

Suppressing calculation details on the printed bill. Only calculation rules that are used to calculate intermediate values are typically suppressed on a bill. For these types of calculation rules, we recommend using Description on Bill to show users how the line was calculated, but select No from the Print dropdown menu. This way, users will see the calculation details on the Bill Segment - Calc Lines window, but the customer won't see it on their bill.

Many lines that appear on a bill do not contain static verbiage. Rather, the printed lines contain information from the calculation process. For example, the bill line for state tax would typically contain the tax percent.

You control exactly what is substituted in the bill line by entering one or more of the following substitution variables in the Description on Bill field:

Note: If none of the following substitution characters satisfy your need, there is a plug-in option on the calculation rule business object that allows customer modified variables. Algorithms can be attached to the business object as a Build Line Description system event.


Substitution Character	What It Does
%A	Replaces the substitution character with the amount of the bill line. Please be aware of the following: If the calculation rule isn't designated as being "for calculation purposes only" (FCPO), all trailing zeroes up to the decimal position of the rate's currency will be removed. If the calculation rule is designated as being "for calculation purposes only" (FCPO), the number of decimal places as defined in the calculation rule's precision will be shown. All leading zeroes will be removed unless the value is between 1 and -1 in which case a leading 0 will appear before the decimal place. The Symbol on the Currency control table will prefix the value. The position of the negative sign and currency symbol is dependent on the display profile of the user who generate the bill (or who submitted the batch billing process).
%B	Replaces the substitution character with the begin/start date covered by the bill calculation line. If the charge is proratable, %B may be used in conjunction with %E to display the period covered by the bill calculation line.
%C	Replaces the substitution character with the number of items being billed. Leading zeroes are suppressed.
%D	Replaces the substitution character with message 10101 from message category 11109. This message is maintained in the standard message table. We recommend this message be set to "(prorated for %1 of %2 days)" where %1 will be substituted with the number of days of prorated consumption charged on the bill line and %2 will be the "normal" days associated with the rate's prices. This message will only be substituted when the calculation rule is prorated. Note, neither %1 nor %2 are required. Either this character OR %F should be used when you desire to substitute the price / percent into the bill line. If the charge is proratable, %D should be used in conjunction with %R to print an appropriate message when the charges are prorated.
%E	Replaces the substitution character with the end date covered by the bill calculation line. If the charge is proratable, %E may be used in conjunction with %B to display the period covered by the bill calculation line.
%F	Replaces the substitution character with message 10102 from message category 11109. This message is maintained in the standard message table. We recommend this message be set to "(prorated by %1)" where %1 will be substituted with the factor used to prorate the charge. This message will only be substituted when the calculation rule is prorated. Note, %1 is not required. If the charge is proratable, %F should be used in conjunction with %I to print an appropriate message when the charges are prorated.
%H	Replaces the substitution character with the high value defined on the calculation rule used to calculate the specific stepped charge on the bill line.
%I	Replaces the substitution character with the value specified in the calculation rule / bill factor. If the value is a percent, all leading and trailing zeroes will be suppressed, and a "%" will be suffixed to the resultant value. If the value is not a percent, all trailing zeroes up to the decimal position of the rate's currency will be removed, and all leading zeroes will be removed unless the value is between 1 and -1 in which case a leading 0 will appear before the decimal place, and note that the position of the negative sign and currency symbol is dependent on the display profile of the user who generate the bill (or who submitted the batch billing process). Either this character OR %R should be used when you desire to substitute the price / percent into the bill line. Using %I will cause the value as specified in the calculation rule to be substituted regardless of whether the charges are prorated. If the charge is proratable, %I should be used in conjunction with %F to print an appropriate message when the charges are prorated.
%L	Replaces the substitution character with the low value defined on the calculation rule used to calculate the specific stepped charge on the bill line.
%M	Replaces the substitution character with the item type defined on the calculation rule used to calculate the specific item type charge on the bill line. This is only applicable to calculation rule-based rates.
%O	Replaces the substitution character with the description of the time-of-use (TOU) code being billed on this line
%Q	Replaces the substitution character with the service quantity being billed. Leading zeroes are suppressed. The decimal places shown are specified in a field on the Unit Of Measure control table. If you wish to suppress trailing zeroes after the decimal, you must set up the Allow Consumption Zero Suppression In Bill Description option type on the Financial Transaction Options Feature Configuration.
%R	Replaces the substitution character with the value specified in the calculation rule / bill factor. Either this character OR %I should be used when you desire to substitute the price / percent into the bill line. Using %R causes the prorated price / percent to be printed in the bill line (%I causes the price / percent as specified in the rate to be printed during proration situations). If the charge is proratable, %R should be used in conjunction with %D to print an appropriate message when the charges are prorated.
%S	Replaces the substitution character with the summed amount. All trailing zeroes up to the decimal position of the rate's currency will be removed. All leading zeroes will be removed unless the value is between 1 and -1 in which case a leading 0 will appear before the decimal place. The Symbol on the Currency control table will prefix the value. If the value is negative, a "-" will prefix the value. This character should only be used with Minimum, Apply To, and Summary calculation rules.
%T	Replaces the substitution character with message 10103 from message category 11109. This message is maintained in the standard message table. We recommend this message be set to "(%1% exempt)" where %1 will be substituted with the tax exemption percent as specified in the service agreement. This message will only be substituted when the calculation rule's bill factor is eligible for tax exemptions AND the customer is exempt from the tax. Note, %1 is not required.
%V	Replaces the substitution character with the "C1-ADDSC" characteristic ad hoc value retrieved by the calculation rule used to calculate the charge on the bill line.
Lines that don't print	If the bill line is not printed (as defined by the Print option), message 10104 from message category 4 will be appended to the bill line. This message is maintained in the standard message table. We recommend this message be "NOT SEEN BY CUSTOMER!" This message appears in the bill line that appears in the billing windows but does not appear on the customer's bill.

The following are examples of the content of common Description on Bills along with how the line would look on the customer's bill:


Description on Bill On Calculation Rule	How It Looks On A Bill
%C lamp pole(s) at %I per pole %F	1,234 lamp pole(s) at $5.00 per pole (prorated by .3333)
%C lamp pole(s) at %R per pole %D	1,234 lamp pole(s) at $1.50 per pole (prorated for 10 of 30 days)
First %Q kWh at %I per kWh %F	First 100.32 kWh at $0.12349 per kWh (prorated by .3333)
First %Q kWh at %R per kWh %D	First 100.32 kWh at $0.12349 per kWh (prorated for 10 of 30 days)
%Q kWh at %I per kWh	100.32 kWh at $0.12349 per kWh
State sales tax %R %T	State sales tax 6.25% (50% exempt)
Minimum charge of %I %F	Minimum charge of $10.00 (prorated by .3333)
Subtotal of %S	Subtotal of $1,123.23
Charges for %O: %Q kW at %I per kW	Charges for Off Peak Winter: 234.43 kW at $0.05 per kW

The prorated references will only appear if the calculation rule’s charges are prorated due to a short or long bill period.