Creating a New Billing Report Configuration

Creating a New Billing Report Configuration

  1. Click the System Admin
  2. In the Navigation pane, click Billing Settings.
  3. Click Billing Report Setup.
  4. Select either Official Report Setup or Unofficial Report Setup.
  5. Within the Actions pane, click either Add New Official Report Setup (when creating an Official Report) or Add New Unofficial Report Setup (when creating an Unofficial Report).

The General – Alternate Billing Report Setup window opens.

  1. Within the Report General Settings pane complete the following information (required fields are marked with an asterisk (*)):
    • Report Name* – within the field type-in the name of the report, this should be as specific as possible so the user knows what the report will generate
    • Report Separation Option* – click on the dropdown arrow to access a list, from the list select whether to separate the report based on of the following options:
    • Entire Account – when you generate the report, the entire account is contained within one report
    • By Number – each telephone number associated to the account creates a new report.
    • Generate For Portal – click on the field to insert a checkmark in the field, this indicates that the report generates to your Subscriber Portal. Leave the field blank to generate the bill to email or mail.
  1. At this point, it is a good idea to save your progress, within the Actions ribbon group click on the Save button.

Report Header – Element Types

  1. The next step is to build the header of your report, within the Report Header Rows pane you can start to add elements into the report. To start adding in items, click on the row marked with an asterisk (*), this row is always used to add new items. There are two different ways to proceed
  2. First, you can select an Element Type; these are items like page numbering, text, etc. To add an Element Type, click on the dropdown arrow to access the following list, make the appropriate selection:
    • Data Field Value – when you select Data Field Value, you must also select a option within the Element Data Field. This allows the report to pull information from the account to place into the report. For example, the account number, previous balance, etc. Please remember that you are still working in the header of your report, so you may want to add only basic elements and information.
    • Date and Time Generated – inserts the date and time of when you generated the report
    • Empty Row – inserts an empty row
    • Horizontal Line – inserts a horizontal line
    • Page Numbering – inserts that page numbers
    • Text Only – when you select Text Only, you can type the text into the Text column or you can click on the Text Editor tab at the bottom of the Report Preview pane to type-in or edit the text.
  1. If you selected the Data Field Value in the Element Type column you must make a selection within the Element Data Field, there are several selections available. Please keep in mind when making a selection that the information that will display is a single piece of information, there will be no details.
  2. If you selected Text in the Element Type column, you must type-in the text within the column. If there is, a large amount of text to type-in you can click on the Text Editor tab, located at the bottom of the Report Preview pane, and type-in the complete text.
  3. Once you have completed the first three columns, it is time to determine how you want the element to appear, complete the following information:
    • Text And Data Output Option – click on the dropdown arrow to access a list of the following options:
    • Text Space Data – this options place a space after the text and then starts the next column of information
    • Text Tab Data – this option places a tab after the text, this allows the report to be formatted more evenly
    • Keep with Next Text – this option keeps the text and data information together, if selected, multiple items will print on one line, for example, if you have 3 data field value, they will appear on the same row
    • Left Justify Text Right Justify Data – this options left justifies the text and right justifies the data, for example, if you have the text of Account Number, the text ‘Account Number’ is justified to the left and the actual number is justified to the right.
    • Center – this options centers the information on the page
    • Right Justify – this options justifies the information to the right hand side of the page

! If you have multiple Data Field Values group together, you can decide whether to place them on the same line. If you select either the Text Space or Text Tab Data, each new data field appears on its own line. If you select Keep with Next Text for each of the values listed together, then they appear on the same line.

    • Font Name, Size, and Style – click on the row to highlight. Within the Report Header Actions ribbon group, click on the Change Font button to access the Font pop-up opens. Make any necessary changes to the font, style or size, when complete click on the OK button. The names of your selections appear in the fields. Alternatively, you can type in the font name and size into the fields. Within the Font Style field, click on the dropdown arrow to access a list, from the list select one of the following: Regular, Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikeout.
  1. Within the Begin Include Date and End Include Date, you can determine what date ranges you want to include within the report. Click on the dropdown arrow to access a calendar, from the calendar select the first date to include in the report and/or the last date to include within the report. To change the month and year click the right or left arrow, and once at the appropriate month and year, click the number to select the date. The date populates in the box.
  2. You can also select a specific billing cycle to include in the report, within the Include On Billing Cycle field, click on the dropdown arrow to access a list of the billing cycles setup within your database, from the list select the cycle to include in the report.
  3. Continue adding Element Types and/or Element Data Fields into the header of your report. When you are finished, click on the Save button within the Actions ribbon group.

Report Header – Element Data Fields

  1. As stated earlier, the Element Data Field takes bits of information from the account to place into the report. An example would be, if you wanted the account number to appears somewhere within the report or the previous balance. To learn more about the Element Date Fields, please the next section. It is important to note that when make a Element Data Field selection, the field name that appears in the field does not print in the report, you must add your own text.

Report Body– Element Data Fields

  1. Now that you have created the header of your report, it is time to determine what you want in the body. What information do you want to see within your report? It is best to start entering the single value before you start adding in a large group of information. This is where you will use the Element Data Field to place information into the report.
  2. Within the Element Data Field, click on the dropdown arrow to access a list of the items that you can place into your report. These elements are fields from the account that contain a single value, for example, the account number, previous balance, etc. When you select the data field, Element Type auto-populates with Data Field Type. Below is a list of the values within the dropdown, if special circumstances are needed they are indicated next to the value:
    • Account Number
    • Account Previous Balance
    • Bill Cycle Period No Fiscal Year
    • Bill Cycle Period With Fiscal Year
    • Bill End Date
    • Bill End Month and Year

**Often times charges from Vendors arrive later than when you produce the bills, the following fields allow you to report on charges from previous months that may have arrived late.

    • Bill End Month and Year 2 Months Previous
    • Bill End Month and Year Next 2 Months
    • Bill End Month and Year Next Month
    • Bill End Month and Year Previous Month
    • Bill Start and End Date
    • Bill Start Date
    • Configured Item Name or Number – displays the telephone number, cell phone number, circuit name, etc that is associated to the account
    • Configured Item Type – displays the type of item whether a circuit, telephone number, etc

**The Directory fields pertain to those accounts associated to a telephone number or cell phone number. If these fields are placed into a report you should always select the report separation by number, this allows the proper information to appear for each new number.

    • Directory Building Name
    • Directory Directory Building Name
    • Directory Job Description
    • Directory Office Symbol
    • Directory Personnel
    • Directory Site Name
    • None
    • Organization Name – this field displays the bottom most name of the associated organization hierarchy.
    • Organization Path – this field displays the complete path the associated organization. If you want to display the organization this is, the better choose of the two fields.

**If you select Report Separation by Number then you should select a total report based on report separation.

    • Total Call Charges By Account
    • Total Call Charges By Report Separation
    • Total Charges by Account
    • Total One Time Charges By Account
    • Total One Time Charges By Report Separation
    • Total Payment and Adjustments By Account
    • Total Recurring Charges by Account
    • Total Recurring Charges by Report Separation
    • Total Reimbursable Call Charges By Account
    • Total Reimbursable Charges by Account
    • Total Reimbursable One Time Charges by Account
    • Total Reimbursable Recurring Charges by Account
  1. Once you have selected the element to place in the report, it is time to determine how you want the element to appear, complete the following information:
    • Text And Data Output Option – click on the dropdown arrow to access a list of the following options:
    • Text Space Data – this options place a space after the text and then starts the next column of information
    • Text Tab Data – this option places a tab after the text, this allows the report to be formatted more evenly
    • Keep with Next Text – this option keeps the text and data information together, if selected, multiple items will print on one line, for example, if you have 3 data field value, they will appear on the same row
    • Left Justify Text Right Justify Data – this options left justifies the text and right justifies the data, for example, if you have the text of Account Number, the text ‘Account Number’ is justified to the left and the actual number is justified to the right.
    • Center – this options centers the information on the page
    • Right Justify – this options justifies the information to the right hand side of the page

! If you have multiple Data Field Values group together, you can decide whether to place them on the same line. If you select either the Text Space or Text Tab Data, each new data field appears on its own line. If you select Keep with Next Text for each of the values listed together, then they appear on the same line.

    • Font Name, Size, and Style – click on the row to highlight. Within the Report Header Actions ribbon group, click on the Change Font button to access the Font pop-up opens. Make any necessary changes to the font, style or size, when complete click on the OK button. The names of your selections appear in the fields. Alternatively, you can type in the font name and size into the fields. Within the Font Style field, click on the dropdown arrow to access a list, from the list select one of the following: Regular, Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikeout.
  1. Within the Begin Include Date and End Include Date, you can determine what date ranges you want to include within the report. Click on the dropdown arrow to access a calendar, from the calendar select the first date to include in the report and/or the last date to include within the report. To change the month and year click the right or left arrow, and once at the appropriate month and year, click the number to select the date. The date populates in the box.
  2. You can also select a specific billing cycle to include in the report, within the Include On Billing Cycle field, click on the dropdown arrow to access a list of the billing cycles setup within your database, from the list select the cycle to include in the report.
  3. Continue adding Element Data Fields into the body of your report. When you are finished, click on the Save button within the Actions ribbon group.

Report Body – Element Types

  1. The element types within the report body are a little different than those within the heading, these element types represent a large amount of data that you want to place into your report. For example, the call record detail for an account, this selection is going to print all the call records associated to the account for the specified period.
  2. Click the dropdown arrow to access a list, from the list select one of the following element types:
    • Call Record Detail
    • Call Record Detail Separated By Call Type
    • Call Record Summary By Call Type
    • Data Field Value
    • Empty Row
    • Horizontal Line
    • NonReimbursable Call Record Detail
    • NonReimbursable Call Record Detail Separated By Call Type
    • NonReimbursable One Time Charge Detail
    • NonReimburable Recurring Charge Detail
    • One Time Charge Detail
    • Recurring Charge Detail
    • Reimbursable Call Record Detail
    • Reimbursable Call Record Detail Separated By Call Type
    • Reimbursable Recurring Charge Detail
    • Text Only
  1. Once you have selected the element to place in the report, it is time to determine how you want the element to appear, complete the following information:
    • Text And Data Output Option – click on the dropdown arrow to access a list of the following options:
    • Text Space Data – this options place a space after the text and then starts the next column of information
    • Text Tab Data – this option places a tab after the text, this allows the report to be formatted more evenly
    • Keep with Next Text – this option keeps the text and data information together, if selected, multiple items will print on one line, for example, if you have 3 data field value, they will appear on the same row
    • Left Justify Text Right Justify Data – this options left justifies the text and right justifies the data, for example, if you have the text of Account Number, the text ‘Account Number’ is justified to the left and the actual number is justified to the right.
    • Center – this options centers the information on the page
    • Right Justify – this options justifies the information to the right hand side of the page

! If you have multiple Data Field Values group together, you can decide whether to place them on the same line. If you select either the Text Space or Text Tab Data, each new data field appears on its own line. If you select Keep with Next Text for each of the values listed together, then they appear on the same line.

    • Font Name, Size, and Style – click on the row to highlight. Within the Report Header Actions ribbon group, click on the Change Font button to access the Font pop-up opens. Make any necessary changes to the font, style or size, when complete click on the OK button. The names of your selections appear in the fields. Alternatively, you can type in the font name and size into the fields. Within the Font Style field, click on the dropdown arrow to access a list, from the list select one of the following: Regular, Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikeout.
  1. Within the Begin Include Date and End Include Date, you can determine what date ranges you want to include within the report. Click on the dropdown arrow to access a calendar, from the calendar select the first date to include in the report and/or the last date to include within the report. To change the month and year click the right or left arrow, and once at the appropriate month and year, click the number to select the date. The date populates in the box.
  2. You can also select a specific billing cycle to include in the report, within the Include On Billing Cycle field, click on the dropdown arrow to access a list of the billing cycles setup within your database, from the list select the cycle to include in the report.
  3. Continue adding Element Data Fields into the body of report. When you are finished, click on the Save & Close button within the Actions ribbon group to return to the Billing Report Setup list.