Metering Invoicing—Key Exercises
Basic Data Setup
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to show you how to set up a
new maintenance organization and connect it to a site. This basic data record is required when
running the Work Processing course.
Windows:
Organization Basic Data/Maintenance Organizations
- Create a new maintenance organization.
General exercise
for Maintenance
Organizations
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to show you how to enter and
link an employee and connect this employee to a certain maintenance
organization. This basic
data is required when running the Work Processing course.
Windows:
Organization Basic Data/Employees
- Create a new employee.
- Link the employee to a maintenance organization.
- Link a craft to the employee.
General exercise
for Enter and Link Employee to
Maintenance Organization
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to show you how to set up a
parameter for which metering invoicing lines will later be defined. The
meter/parameter is used to measure the usage of an object.
Windows:
Organization Basic Data/Parameters
- Create a new line to define a new parameter (F5).
- Enter CC as the parameter ID, and Copy Counter as the description.
- Select the Accumulated value type.
Note: The Limit type parameter is used to specify a maximum and/or
minimum value, e.g., an oil level which must be kept between a minimum and
maximum point. The Accumulated type parameter is used to specify a cumulative
value, e.g., operation time.
- Save the new parameter.
General exercise
for Parameters
Required Data
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to show you how to enter a
non-inventory sales part that will be used for invoicing the usage of an object.
In this example, you will define a sales part that will charge a customer by the
copy.
Windows:
Non-Inventory Sales Part
- Create a new sales part (F5).
- Optionally, define an optional sales part number ID, and enter Charge per
Copy as the description.
- Select an appropriate unit of measure, e.g., Pieces.
- Select an optional sales price group and sales group.
- Define an optional price per copy.
- Enter a VAT code.
- Save the new record.
General exercise for Entering Non-Inventory Sales Part
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to show you how to enter a
non-inventory sales part that will be used for invoicing the fixed service
charges, in combination with usage. In this example, you will define a sales
part that will charge a customer a monthly service charge regardless of usage.
Windows:
Non-Inventory Sales Part
- Create a new sales part (F5).
- Enter an optional sales part number ID. Enter Monthly Service Charge as
the description.
- Select an appropriate unit of measure, e.g., Month.
- Select an optional sales price group and sales group.
- Define an optional price (monthly charge).
- Enter a VAT code.
- Save the new record.
General exercise for Entering Non-Inventory Sales Part
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to show you how to set up a
customer that will be used in the metering invoicing function.
Windows:
Customer
- Create a new customer.
General exercise for Creating
Customer
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to show you how to establish
an object that will later be used for metering invoicing.
Windows:
Functional Object
- Create a new functional object with the description: copying machine.
- Connect a parameter (e.g., copy counter) to the object. You do not have to define a test
point. Specify the unit in which you will measure the usage.
- Optionally, define a customer for the object. However, this
customer will be selected by default when you define a metering invoicing
line for the object.
Note: It does not matter whether the object is a
functional object or a serial object. We will use a functional object because it
is easier to create.
General exercise for
Creating
Functional Object
Main Exercises
Exercise 1
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to show you how to set up an
object for invoicing usage. In this example, we will charge a fixed price per
month (rent charge) of $200.
Windows:
Functional Object
- Create a new object, or query for the object you already entered for
metering invoicing (or use serial object ID 6600-3)
- Click the
Metering Invoicing tab.
- A parameter should appear for the object. If not, click the
Parameters
tab, and define a new parameter.
- Create the metering invoicing line that should result in a charge to the
customer of $200 per month, regardless of usage, according to the following
steps.
- Select a sales part to charge for the monthly fee (6500/Rental).
- Select the Interval generation type.
- Define a start value (YYMM) and use previous month or earlier as start
value.
- Specify Month as the start unit, 1 as the interval, and Month as the
interval unit. This will generate an invoice on the first day of every
month.
- Define a fixed price of $200.
- Select a coordinator (ALAIN), customer (3000), and customer order type (SEO),
if not yet entered.
- Save your changes.
Note: In order to invoice for the monthly charge, you will still need
to report a usage, even though the customer is charged a fixed price. If no
usage is reported, no invoice can be created. Another alternative to invoice
fixed charges is to use the customer agreement's payment plan functionality.
Exercise 2
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to show you how to set up an
object for invoicing usage. In this example, we will charge 3 cents per copy,
which will be invoiced monthly. The minimum charge should be $150 for each
invoice interval (month).
Windows:
Functional Object
- Create a new object, or query for the object you already entered for
metering invoicing (or use serial object 6600-3).
- Click the
Metering Invoicing tab.
- A parameter should appear for the object. If not, click the
Parameters
tab, and define a new parameter.
- Create the metering invoicing line that should result in a charge to the
customer of 3 cents per copy, and a minimum charge of $150, according to the
following steps.
- Select a sales part to invoice charge of 3 cents per copy (6600/Copy
machine usage).
- Select the Interval generation type.
- Define a start value (YYMM) and use previous month or earlier as start
value.
- Specify Month as the start unit, 1 as the interval, and Month as the
interval unit. This will generate an invoice on the first day of every
month.
- Define a Min amount of $150.
- Select a coordinator (ALAIN), customer (3000), and customer order type (SEO),
if not yet entered.
- Save your changes.
Exercise 3
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to show you how to set up an
object for invoicing usage. In this example, we will charge the customer three
cents per copy, and this should be invoiced every 5,000 copies.
Windows:
Functional Object
- Create a new object, or query for the object you already entered for
metering invoicing.
- Click the
Metering Invoicing tab.
- A parameter should appear for the object. If not, click the
Parameters
tab, and define a new parameter.
- Create the metering invoicing line that should charge the customer three
cents per copy.
- Select a sales part (6600/Copy machine usage).
- Select Limit as the generation type.
- Define a quantity of 5,000.
- Select a coordinator, customer, and customer order type.
- Save the new record.
Exercise 4
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to show you how to set up an
object for invoicing usage. In this example, we will charge the customer a
monthly rent of $100. In addition the customer should pay 3 cents per copy for
the usage reported since the last invoice opportunity. The minimum charge (for
the usage - not the rent) should be $100, and the maximum should be $500.
Subsequently, the minimum, total charge for a month will be $200 and the maximum
will be $600. To define these criteria we create two metering invoice lines for
the same object parameter.
Windows:
Functional Object
- Create a new object, or query for the object you already entered for
metering invoicing.
- Click the
Metering Invoicing tab.
- A parameter should appear for the object. If not, click the
Parameters
tab, and define a new parameter.
- Create the metering invoicing line that should result in a charge to the
customer of $100 per month, regardless of usage.
- Select a sales part to charge for the monthly rent (6500/Rental).
- Select the Interval generation type.
- Define a start value (YYMM) and use previous month or earlier as start
value.
- Specify Month as the start unit, 1 as the interval, and Month as the
interval unit. This will generate an invoice on the first day of every
month.
- Define a fixed price of $100.
- Select a coordinator (ALAIN), customer (3000), and customer order type (SEO).
- Save your changes.
- Create another metering invoicing line for the same meter to charge to the
customer of 3 cents per copy, and a minimum charge of $100 and a maximum
charge of $500.
- Select a sales part to invoice charge of 3 cents per copy (6600/Copy
machine usage).
- Select the Interval generation type.
- Define a start value (YYMM).
- Specify Month as the start unit, 1 as the interval, and Month as the
interval unit. This will generate an invoice on the first day of every
month.
- Define a Min amount of $100.
- Define a Max amount of $500.
- Select a coordinator, customer, and customer order type (the system will
default to Order Type SEO, but this can be changed).
- Save your changes.
Note: In order for the two metering invoice lines to be invoiced on
the same customer order, you need to use the Generation of Metering Invoices
dialog box (window: IFS Navigator/Metering Invoice).
If invoices are created manually (directly from the metering line), one customer
order will be created for each metering invoice line.
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to show you how to report the
usage of the two objects for which you established metering terms in the
previous exercise.
Windows:
Measurements
- Create a new measurement line for the object for which you defined
metering invoicing terms in Exercise 1. Specify the object ID and choose a
suitable parameter. Use the List of Values. Report a measured value of 200 copies.
- Create a new measurement line for the object for which you defined
metering invoicing terms in Exercise 2. Specify the object ID, and choose a
suitable parameter. Use the List of Values. Report a measured value of 4,500
copies.
- Create a new measurement line for the object for which you defined
metering invoicing terms in Exercise 3. Specify the object ID, and choose a
suitable parameter. Use the List of Values. Report a measured value of 5,500
copies.
- Create a new measurement line for the object for which you defined
metering invoicing terms in Exercise 4. Specify the object ID, and choose a
suitable parameter. Use the List of Values. Report a measured value of
21,000 copies.
- Return to the Functional Object window. The last
measured value is updated in both the
Parameters and the
Metering
Invoicing tabs.
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to show you how to invoice
for the usage of an object according to terms defined in previous exercises. In
addition to the method described in the exercise you can also generate invoices
directly from a metering invoice line. Note however, that you can only process
one line at a time with this method.
Windows:
Generation of Metering Invoices
Customer Order
Quick Order Flow Handling
- Open the Generation of Metering Invoices window.
- Specify the generation type for which you want to generate invoices
(select Interval). To
limit the invoice generation to only the metering invoicing terms you
defined, select your customer in the Customer field by clicking List.
- Define the maintenance organization and authorizer by clicking List.
These values are necessary for the creation of a work order.
- To also generate invoices for the generation type Limit you need to repeat
step 1-3.
Note: By default, this job will run online. When the
Generation of Metering Invoices window disappears, the job is ready.
- To see what has been invoiced for one particular metering invoice line,
click the
Metering Invoicing tab.
- Select one metering invoicing line, right-click, and then click Metering
Invoicing History. A window appears with information about the amount
invoiced, on which customer order, etc.
- Click the
Customer Order window, and query for the customer
orders. If the customer orders are not in the Invoiced/Closed status, you
can return to the
Quick Order Flow Handling window and process
the customer order to invoicing. You may also want to use a different order
type on the metering invoicing lines that will go through without any
stops.
Note: It is possible to schedule the invoice generation.
This way invoices are automatically generated based on the metering invoicing
terms.
Note: To see everything that has been invoiced for an
object you can go to Metering Invoicing History.