FAQs - Invoicing

Bill Setup

  1. How do I set a customer’s billing cycle?
  2. How do I set up a customer to receive a paper bill?
  3. How do I set a customer’s email preference for invoice delivery?
  4. How do I set a customer’s tax exemption flags?
  5. How do I set or change a customer's invoice report flags?

Invoicing

  1. Why does a disconnected customer continue to generate a bill?
  2. How do you stop an account from billing?
  3. Does all call detail appear on the bill?
  4. How can I apply an invoice message on customers?
  5. Can the invoice be printed in a different language?
  6. I am unable to open PDF Invoices, what should I do?

Bill Setup

How do I set a customer’s billing cycle?

Search for the desired account.

Select the Account Summary tab then the Invoicing tab.

A customer’s billing cycle can be set by changing the Cycle drop down value.

NOTE: If changes in TBS are forced through orders, a new order will need to be initiated to edit the Invoicing options.

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How do I set up a customer to receive a paper bill?

Search for the desired account.

Select the Account Summary tab then the Invoicing tab.

NOTE: If changes in TBS are forced through orders, a new order will need to be initiated to edit the Invoicing options.

A customer’s paper bill preference can be set by changing the Send Paper Bill drop down value. Available Options include:

  • Always - Always sends a paper invoice to the Bill To location
  • Yes, If over Min - Will send a paper invoice if the current billing is greater than the Client Minimum Billing Amount
  • Never - No paper invoice will be sent to the printer for mailing

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How do I set a customer’s email preference for invoice delivery?

Search for the desired account.

Select the Account Summary tab then the Invoicing tab.

NOTE: If changes in TBS are forced through orders, a new order will need to be initiated to edit the Invoicing options

To turn on email billing ensure that the "Billing Email" field is filled with a valid email address for the customer. The email can also be sent to multiple address by separating them with a semicolon "; ".

A customer’s email bill preference can be set by changing the Send Email Bill drop down value. Available Options include:

  • No Email - never sends an email to the customer
  • Email If over Minimum - will send an email with an attached PDF invoice if Total Current is greater than the Client's Minimum Billing Amount
  • Always Email - will send an email with an attached PDF invoice Always

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How do I set a customer’s tax exemption flags?

Search for the desired account.

Select the Account Summary tab then the Invoicing tab.

NOTE: If changes in TBS are forced through orders, a new order will need to be initiated to edit the Invoicing options

Select the appropriate checkbox corresponding to the tax exemption for that customer. The exempt flags in TBS will only exempt taxes of the corresponding tax level that are exemptible. This is true for Fed, State, County and/or city. However if you select Exempt All Taxes, it will exempt everything.

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How do I set or change a customer's invoice report flags?

Search for the desired account.

Select the Account Summary tab then the Invoicing tab.

NOTE: If changes in TBS are forced through orders, a new order will need to be initiated to edit the Invoicing options

In the Reports section of the page, update the report options as desired.

Invoice Reports for detailed information about available invoice report flags.

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Invoicing

Why does a disconnected customer continue to generate a bill?

Typically, if a Customer has a Disconnect date at the Customer Information level and all products and Fixed Charges have a disconnect date set on them, it is because there are still products on the account that are billing usage.

If any calls come in from the Carrier, regardless of disconnect date, these will trigger an account to still generate a bill for this usage.

Please make sure that all products are disconnected in TBS and at the carrier if applicable.

Be sure to view the FAQ - How do you stop an account from billing? below.

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How do you stop an account from billing?

  • Option 1: Set the Disconnect Date - The best way to stop a customer from billing is to make sure the customer and all products on the account are disconnected (have a disconnect date).

    On the Customer Information tab and for each product (Fixed Charges, Local, Long Distance, Internet, Cable, Internet, Dedicated, Wireless, Details) on the account, be sure to Edit the record and set the Disconnect Date and Status = "Disconnect" using the Action drop down. You must also make sure to set the Disconnect Date on any Product Charges, for example Local Usoc's,Internet Charges, Cable Charges, Integrated Product Details.

    NOTE: If Status Actions are setup to flow from the Customer to the products, the Disconnect Date and Status will automatically be flow down to each active charge or product. An alert message will inform you of any issues with this process.

  • Option 2: Move to a non-billing cycle - An account will only be picked up for billing if they are setup on an active billing cycle. Most clients have a "D - Do Not Bill" or "NB - No Bill" cycle that can be used as a holding tank for accounts that do not need to generate any billing information.

See How do I set a customer’s billing cycle? above.

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Does all call detail appear on the bill?

It depends. There is an option on the bill setup tab in the reports section labeled Call Detail that determines what call detail is displayed on the invoice.

The options are to Not Print, Print Everything, or Print Only Billable Calls (those that do not have free minutes), with our without the rate.

NOTE: This relates to LD Calls only. We do not show local detail on the invoice.

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How can I apply an invoice message on customers?

Invoices Messages can be used to display messages to customers. They can be displayed on the front page and throughout the entire invoice. Invoice Messages are also placed on customers using Message Groups so that only one message needs maintained and can be applied to many customers.

Additionally, Custom Messages can be created and assigned to a particular account number which will only show for that account. This is useful for showing a very specific customer message on the invoice.

More than one Invoice Message can have the same Message Group Name which will indicate that all messages in that Message Group should be printed on an invoice.

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Can the invoice be printed in a different language?

The Invoice cannot be printed in a different language. Different Currencies can be supported, but configuration is required.

Work with your CSE if you are interested in this configuration.

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I am unable to open PDF Invoices, what should I do?

TBS supports all major browser types including:

  • Chrome
  • Edge
  • Firefox

If your PDF Invoices do not open in a different browser, try clearing that browsers cache. If that does not allow the PDF Invoice to become opened then contact your CSE.

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