Customer Recurring Invoices

Customer Recurring Invoices

Purpose

This document outlines the process of creating Recurring Invoice Templates for AR Customers in COSTAR. The Recurring Invoice function eliminates the need to manually create the same Invoices, for the same charges, for Customers on a regular basis. The key advantage of this feature is it reduces ongoing manual invoice creation for the same charges and ensures data accuracy as a result.
Creating a base Recurring Invoice Template for each customer provides the ability for the system to create new Invoices, which can then be reviewed, amended or sold at a time that suits your business flow.

Setting up the feature

Enable Recurring Invoice Function

  1. Navigate to Settings
  2. Select Accounting Setup
  3. Select Accounts Receivable
  4. Tick Generate Recurring Invoice Functionality box

Enable user permission for Access

  1. Navigate to Employees
  2. Select Permissions
  3. Locate the user who will be managing the Recurring Invoice Templates and click on the ‘+’ to expand their permissions
  4. Ensure the Order Entry permission is set to EDIT then click on the ‘+’ to expand the Order Entry permissions
  5. Change the Menu Item Contract (this will be displayed as Recurring Invoice in the Order Entry Menu) to EDIT by clicking on the drop-down arrow and selecting EDIT
  6. Ensure the Sales Reporting is set to EDIT then click on the ‘+’ to expand Sales Reporting permissions 
  7. Change the Menu Item Generate Recurring Invoices to EDIT by clicking on the drop-down arrow and selecting EDIT 
  8. Exit COSTAR and Log back in
Notes
NOTE: Setup may require higher level permissions to access.  


Using the Feature

Creating a Recurring Invoice Template

  1. Navigate to Order Entry
  2. Select Recurring Invoice
  3. Click Add New
  4. Select the customer by entering in the customer account number or use the magnifying glass to search
  5. If prompted add Written by
  6. Add Item/s as required by entering the item code, or lookup using the magnifying glass.
  7. The Comment field in the top right of the document is visible from the WIP (Work-In-Progress) screen and can be used to add a message for internal purposes. 
  8. Click Back to close the document and return to the WIP screen



Generating Recurring Invoices

This process will generate a new Invoice in the Invoice WIP screen from each document with an Active status in the Recurring Invoices WIP Screen.
Notes
NOTE: There is no validation in this process to check an invoice for the same date or run that has taken place. Check the invoice WIP screen or document history first to avoid any duplicated invoicing.
  1. Navigate to Sales Reporting 
  2. Select Generate Recurring Invoices
  3. Enter the date to appear on the invoices (must be current day or later). NOTE: The number of invoices that will be generated is listed in the Generate Recurring Invoices window per figure below.
  4. Click OK
  5. Click Yes to proceed when asked, “Are you sure?’
  6. Click OK when asked 'Invoices have 




Finalise and Sell Recurring Invoices

  1. Navigate to Order Entry
  2. Select Invoice (The new Invoices created are now available in the WIP Screen)
  3. Select an invoice by double clicking the invoice line or click on the invoice line and click OK to open.
  4. Make any alterations if required
  5. Click Sell to finalise
  6. Choose the payment method (if required), click OK. (See tips below for how you can streamline this step)
  7. Choose to print or email the invoice, click OK to finalise.  (Invoices will appear on the customer accounts following Day End being processed for the branch)


Notes and Tips

Alert
Important: If using Customer Pricing Matrix, a price change will not be reflected in a recurring invoice unless the item is deleted and re added to the Recurring Invoice Template BEFORE generating the invoices.
  1. To make a Recurring Invoice inactive, go into the invoice in Order Entry> Recurring Invoice. Untick the Active Check box

  1. Updating the configuration to remove the cashier screen as it is an account sale removes 1 mouse click from selling each invoice. This can be set by navigating to Settings>>Order Entry Options>> Payment methods and selecting the radio button for Only if Cash Terms given in the ‘Cashier screen required’ per below. The mouse click is saved because customers are account only and therefore invoice value is applied to the customer account.  NOTE: This is a global setting and affects all documents sold.







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