If you regularly invoice some of your customers for the same charges, such as monthly rent, you can automatically create invoices for all or a selection of the charges and customers at once.
The ability to create separate recurring charge batches saves you from having to enter an invoice for each recurring charge and customer yourself. It also provides an specific audit trail for the recurring charges by assigning them a separate batch type (Recurring).
You use the Recurring Charge setup screen from the Customers menu to add records for the recurring charges you use and to assign them to customers. For information about setting up recurring charge records, see About Recurring Charges.
When you process recurring charges, Accounts Receivable:
If you subsequently adjust the unposted invoices, Accounts Receivable updates these fields accordingly.
The schedule attached to a recurring charge record determines the invoice frequency as well as the day on which to bill the charge, so that the charge is invoiced only if you create a recurring charge batch on or after that day.
If you assigned a billing cycle to a recurring charge, you invoice it at the frequency entered for the billing cycle.
Note: Accounts Receivable warns you if you try to process statements before you have created current recurring charge invoices.
When you are ready to invoice recurring charges, you use the A/R Create Interest Batch screen. You can create recurring charge invoices by customer number, customer group, national account, billing cycle, or recurring charge code. For more information, see A/R Create Interest Batch Screen.
Recurring charge invoices use the terms code from the recurring charge setup record. If the terms code was left blank, the customer's terms are used.
When you create a recurring charge batch, Accounts Receivable automatically assigns a document number to each invoice. The document numbers use the prefix and start with the next number assigned for recurring charges on the Numbering tab of the A/R Options screen.
Accounts Receivable creates invoices for the amounts specified in the selected recurring-charge records.
When you post a recurring charge invoice, Accounts Receivable checks to ensure that the invoice total (including taxes) does not exceed the recurring charge limit. If the invoice exceeds the limit, the invoice is not posted and it is placed in an error batch.
You can have as many recurring charge batches as you need in your Accounts Receivable system at a time. Accounts Receivable warns you when you create a recurring charge batch while there is another unposted recurring charge batch in the system, in case you created the second batch by accident. You can edit the batches, print listings for them, and post them in the same way you process other types of batches.
If you delete a batch of recurring charge invoices before posting them, Accounts Receivable does not automatically reset the next invoice number for recurring charges on the A/R Options screen. To prevent gaps in your audit trail of recurring charge invoice numbers, you should change back to the number assigned to the first invoice in the deleted batch.
If you accidentally delete a recurring charge invoice, or if you need to create an additional invoice for another reason, you can invoice a recurring charge manually. For more information, see Invoicing a Recurring Charge Manually.
Invoices for recurring charges are shown as transaction type RC on all listings and reports in Accounts Receivable, and the batch type is Recurring. The G/L Transactions report assigns AR-RC as the source code for recurring charge invoices.
When you post a batch of recurring charges, the program adds the recurring-charge amounts to customer period-to-date and year-to-date invoice totals. It also updates the last run date in the recurring charge record. The same date is entered in the billing cycle record, if you processed the charges by billing cycle.