Ensuring Proper Proration in Hauler Hero Invoices
Proration is a key feature to ensure invoices accurately reflect charges for services based on their start and end dates. Below is a comprehensive guide to setting up your invoices in Hauler Hero for proration and troubleshooting issues when charges are not prorated as expected.
Overview of Proration in Hauler Hero
Proration adjusts charges to reflect partial service periods. Ensure that all charges are tied to recurring billing configurations, as this is essential for Hauler Hero to calculate proration automatically. One-time charges do not support proration.
Steps to Bill a New Customer with Proration
If a new customer begins their service after monthly invoices have been sent, you can follow this process to create a prorated invoice:
Add the Service to the Customer's Profile: - Navigate to the customer’s profile and add the service. - Enter the correct service start date and billing start date. If the billing start date needs to differ from the service start date, enable the Different Billing Dates option. - Adjust the Price field if a specific prorated amount is required based on the desired calculation.
Create a Recurring Invoice: - While creating the invoice, select Recurring for the current billing cycle (e.g., month or quarter). This ensures that proration applies automatically based on the service dates. - Avoid creating a manual invoice, as manual invoices are not tied to recurring services and, therefore, will not prorate automatically.
(Optional) Adjust the Invoice Date: - Modifying the invoice date is optional and primarily affects the invoice’s due date since net terms are tied to the invoice date.
Troubleshooting Non-Prorated Charges
If a charge is not prorating as expected, review the following:
Pricing Period Configuration: - Check the pricing period associated with the charge. If it is set to Once, the charge will not prorate. This configuration represents a flat, one-time fee that does not adjust for partial periods. - To enable proration, select a recurring pricing period such as Monthly. Recurring pricing periods automatically prorate based on the associated service dates.
Correct Service and Recurring Fee Association: - Ensure that the charge is tied to an active service with valid date ranges, and that the service itself is associated with a recurring setup.
Confirm Customer is Set to Prorate: - Confirm the account settings (three dots in the upper right > 'Settings' > 'Billing Suspension') is set to 'On'
Key Tips for Accurate Billing
Always double-check service start and billing dates for accuracy.
Use recurring invoices for any charge that should prorate. Avoid manual invoices if proration is required.
Review pricing periods carefully; ensure they align with your billing needs.
By following these practices, you can ensure that Hauler Hero calculates prorated invoices correctly and eliminates potential billing errors for your customers.