Budget Billing Plan Type
The Budget Billing Plan Type page allows users to enter the values to define a budget billing plan (e.g., for a particular utility service (e.g., gas).
- The Budget Billing Plan Type is required. Enter a code or short name to identify the plan type. The value may contain up to 16 characters. More
- A Description of the plan type is required. Enter a detailed description that will help to uniquely identify the plan type. The value may contain up to 32 characters. More
- The Active check box is selected by default, indicating that the budget billing plan will be available for use once it is saved.
The Calculation Variables section contains the values that will determine how the budget bill amount is calculated, as well as the duration of the plan. All of the fields are required.
- An Adjustment Factor is the value by which the budget bill average amount will be multiplied to obtain the amount due. The acceptable range is 0.01 through 9.99. If your organization does not use an adjustment factor, enter 1.00 in this field.
- Enter the number of past billing cycles that should be used to determine the budget bill amount. The Base on Past Cycles value can range from 0 to 24. The calculation also considers the following transactions:
- Move Out and Out of Cycle Exception Bills in the recalculation process.
- Bill transactions for the previous tenant(s) bill transactions for the specified number of cycles.
- Bill Raise or Bill Lower Adjustments for the previous tenant(s) adjustments for the specified number of cycles.
- Move Out and Out of Cycle Exception Bills for the previous tenant(s) for the specified number of cycles.
- Select a Round Up To value: no rounding, round to the nearest dime, or round to the nearest dollar.
- Select the Default Length of the budget billing plan. The plan may be revised if necessary. The options are 4 Months, 6 Months, 1 Year, Fixed Date, and Open Ended.
- If Fixed Date is selected as the Default Length, the Default End Date field displays. Select the month and day on which the plan should end.
- Select the Catch Up Month check box if the last bill in the plan should reflect the true amount due on the account. This will allow the account to go into the next budget billing plan without a balance.
The Mid-Plan Revision Criteria fields determine balance and tolerance information for audits. A mid-year revision might be done if the budget bill amount is consistently either too high or too low based on the consumption actually used. The revision would bring the budget bill amount closer to the true amount due so that the organization’s revenue and the customer’s bill amount will be more consistent throughout the plan year.
- If a Maximum Credit Balance should result in a recalculation, enter the credit threshold in this field. This will result in an audit; a recalculation would cause the bill amount to be lowered.
- If a Maximum Debit Balance should result in a recalculation, enter the debit threshold in this field. This will result in an audit; a recalculation would cause the bill amount to be raised.
- If a certain tolerance above the historical bill average should result in an audit, enter the percent value in the Tolerance Above New Average field. The acceptable range is 0.00 through 999.99 percent.
- If a certain tolerance below the historical bill average should result in an audit, enter the percent value in the Tolerance Below New Average field. The acceptable range is 0.00 through 999.99 percent.
The Charge Categories Affected section includes a list of all charge categories defined in the system.
- Select the check box in the Selected column for each charge category that should be included in the calculation of a budget billing plan amount. At least one charge category must be selected.
- Enter a Priority value for the charge category. A priority is required for each selected charge category. The acceptable range is 1-999. This value determines the payment priority of the charges when a budget bill payment is received.
Click Save to store the plan type.
See Also