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Naviga initially defines the format and contents of account invoices, invoice export files, and the Account Billing Journal. However, users have some flexibility and can change these settings—both in Business Rules and by using this option.
Business Rules contain a number of settings relating to the format and contents of account invoices and the Account Billing Journal. See the Account Invoice, Account Export, and Account Journal sections in Business Rules for more information.
Information that is included on the invoices and journal (known as billing areas—see the table below for a complete list) can be defined here.
Account Information
—
Not Valid
Advance Draw Charge
Draw, Recap
Draw, Recap, Summary
Advance Drop Comp
Detail, Recap
Detail Summary
Account compensation for advance drops
Advance Misc Charge
Detail, Recap
Detail, Recap, Summary
Advance miscellaneous charges.
Aging
—
—
Balances for each aging period.
Balance Forward
—
—
The account’s previous balance. Make this the first item that appears on the account bill.
Bill Message
—
—
Predefined billing messages.
Bonus
Draw, Recap
Draw, Recap, Summary
A draw calendar for the insert draw bonus, summary, or recap by publication, district, etc., as specified in Recap Format.
Collection Message
—
—
Collection messages for overdue amounts.
Current Bill Amount
—
—
Amount of the current bill.
Debit Memo
Detail
Detail, Summary
Debit memos to offset credits interfaced to AP.
Discount Amount
—
—
Account discount (for prompt payment).
Draw Charge
Draw, Recap
Draw, Recap
Draw charges and credits for each route, or recap by publication, district, etc., as specified in Recap Format. Recap formats are useful for agents or bill-to accounts that have many routes and do not wish to see route-level detail.
Drop Compensation
Detail, Summary
Detail, Summary
Account compensation for drops. This is a recurring credit.
Drop Credit
Detail, Recap
Summary, Detail
Account drop credits for home delivery, based on drop rates.
Finance Charge
Not Valid
—
Finance charges.
GL Detail
Not Valid
Total, Recap, Both
A total for each GL account affected by the account in Circulation.
Levy Balance
Summary
Summary, Detail
The current balance of the account’s levies (summary and detail), and any miscellaneous adjustments to the levy balance (detail only).
Misc Charge
Detail, Recap
Detail, Recap
Miscellaneous charges and credits for each route or recap as specified in Recap Format.
Misc Charge Reversal
Detail, Recap
Detail, Recap, Summary
Advance miscellaneous charge reversals.
Net Due
—
—
Net amount due from the account if paid by due date.
Office Pay Audit
—
New Page, Continue
Office pay subscribers—starts on a new page or continues on same page.
Payment
Detail
Detail, Summary
Account payments.
Recurring Charge Bal
—
—
Recurring charge balances.
Returns
Draw, Recap
Draw, Recap
Draw returns for each route or recap as specified in Recap Format.
Returns Worksheet
—
All, Days, Summary
All—Full worksheet Days—Display only the seven days fields Summary—Display only the three totals fields
Running Subtotal (0-5)
—
—
Special Format 1 Special Format 2 Special Format 3
Active, All, Bill-To, Distrib, Other
Active, All, Bill-To, Distrib, Other
Active—Includes all accounts that match the sort criteria (e.g., if the sort criterion is truck, then any accounts found with the current truck/sequence are included). All—Includes all accounts. Bill-To—Includes accounts set up as “memo” and reports both t he memo bill and invoice. Distrib—Includes accounts set up as “single” or the memo portion of accounts set up as “memo.” Other—Includes accounts missed by “active” criteria or excluded from the primary selection for some other reason.
Total Due
—
—
Total amount due from the account according to aging.
User Defined Line (0-9)
Center, Left, Right
Center, Left, Right
In character Circulation, select Bill Format from the Account Billing menu to display the Bill Format Setup screen.
Select Add and complete the following fields.
BILL AREA
predefined
Enter the bill area you wish to define. The areas are listed in the table below.
BILL REPORT
predefined
Indicate if you are defining a bill format for the Account Invoice, Account Billing Journal, or Invoice Export.
TYPE OF BILL
predefined
COMPANY
setup
Enter the company for which this bill format is valid. Enter an asterisk (*) to indicate all companies.
BILL SOURCE
setup
Enter the bill source for which this bill format is valid. Enter an asterisk (*) to indicate all bill sources.
PRINT ORDER
integer (8)
Specify the order in which this bill area should be printed on the account invoice, invoice export, or Account Billing Journal. Use increments of ten so additional areas can be defined later, if desired.
DESCRIPTION
open (30)
When the display format for this bill area is for a single line (for example, for “Balance Forward”), enter the description, or heading, that should be printed on the same line as the item on the bill. This description is not used in exports.
AREA HEADER
open (50)
Enter the heading that should appear above the (potentially) multi-line bill area. You can incorporate the publication and route into the header by using tokens. For example, for the Miscellaneous Charges header, you might enter PUBLICATION <PUBL>, MISC CHARGES FOR ROUTE <ROUTE>.
SUBTOTAL
yes/no
Indicate whether the items in the bill area should be subtotalled.
DISPLAY FORMAT
predefined
If this bill area has more than one possible format, enter one of the formats for the bill area. Note that these formats have different meanings, depending on the bill area.
RECAP FORMAT
predefined
If a display format of “Recap” is selected, indicate the level at which information should be recapped: publication, district, route type or route. Note that recapping at the “route” level is different from having a non-recap display format. For example, if a route was delivered by two carriers and had a bill-to account, the recap format would just list draw, returns, etc. for the route, while non-recap format would list draw for each delivery account separately.
EXPORT FORMAT
predefined
For a BILL REPORT of “export”, indicate the export format: delimited, fixed width, progress, or quoted.
DELIMITER
open (4)
Enter the delimiter character(s), such as a pipe symbol ( | ). This field is required if the export format is “Delimited”, optional if the export format is “Progress” or “Quoted”, and skipped if the export format is “Fixed Width”.
EXPORT FILE NAME
open (30)
Enter the file name for the export.
yes/no
Indicate whether this bill area should be printed on the invoice or journal, or exported.
Select Specifics | Draw Format, if appropriate, to further define the format (see below).
If you are defining a format for Invoice Export, select Specifics | Export Element from the Bill Format Setup or Publication Draw Format screen to set up the appropriate file map (see Appendix B of the User Manual for a list of data elements that can be used in the invoice export).
Select Accept to enter the format of the billing area and associated specifics into the database.
Define another billing item, or press F4 and select Exit to exit to the Setup menu.
Select this option to enter product-specific format information for the bill area. This determines format for draw at the calendar (daily) level.
Note:
Specifics | Draw Format information applies only to the following bill areas: Advance Draw Charge, Bonus, Draw Charge and Returns.
Select Specifics | Draw Format from the Bill Format Setup screen to display the Publication Draw Format Setup screen.
Select Add and complete the following fields.
PRODUCT
setup
Enter the product that should use this bill format for this bill area.
DRAW FORMAT
predefined
Enter the desired draw format: calendar or recap. Recap will print summary information for daily draw. Calendar will print draw totals for every calendar day. Note that the “Advance Draw Charges” bill areas must have a “recap” draw format.
CALENDAR HEADING
open (50)
If you entered calendar in Draw Format, enter the heading that should appear above the individual draw calendars (optional). This is discussed below.
EXPORT FORMAT
predefined
For a Bill Report of “export”, indicate the export format: delimited, fixed width, progress, or quoted.
DELIMITER
open (4)
Enter the delimiter character(s), such as a pipe symbol ( | ). This field is required if the export format is “Delimited”, optional if the export format is “Progress” or “Quoted”, and skipped if the export format is “Fixed Width”
EXPORT FILE NAME
open (30)
Enter the file name for the export.
SUBTOTAL CHARGES
yes/no
Indicate whether the draw charge recap should print a draw charge subtotal.
SUBTOTAL CREDITS
yes/no
Indicate whether the draw credit recap should print a draw credit subtotal.
COMBINE SCHEDULES
yes/no
Indicate if all delivery schedules should be combined into one calendar (rather than printing on separate calendars for each delivery schedule).
COMBINE ROUTES
yes/no
Indicate if the draw should be combined for all routes for which an account is responsible or a separate calendar for each route.
Select Accept to accept the format information.
Enter format information for another publication that will use this bill area, or press F4 and select Exit to return to the Bill Format Setup screen.
If you enter calendar in Draw Format and enter a heading in Calendar Heading, the heading displayed depends on the following:
If neither delivery schedules nor routes are combined, the route and schedule are positioned at the beginning of the heading to form a new title for the draw calendars.
If delivery schedules are not combined, but routes are, this heading is appended to the delivery schedule to form a new heading which is displayed above the draw calendars.
If delivery schedules are combined but routes are not combined, the account and route are positioned at the beginning of the heading to form a new title for the draw calendars.
If both delivery schedules and routes are combined, the heading entered displays as the title for the draw calendars.
For draw charges and returns, if routes are not combined, you can enter <CARRIER> after your calendar heading. This will print the delivery account for the route above the calendar on invoices for non-delivery accounts.
You can enter <PUBL> in your calendar heading to print the name of the product above the calendar.
Select this option to control the file mapping elements of the invoice export. To learn more about file mapping, refer to File Map. To see a list of data elements that can be used in the invoice export, see Appendix B of the User Manual.
This menu option is available for both bill format setup and draw format setup, and the process is the same.
Select Specifics | Export Element from the Bill Format Setup screen to display the Export Element Setup screen.
Select Add and complete the following fields.
SEQ
integer (4)
Enter the sequence order of this field as it relates to other fields in the record. We recommend giving the first field a sequence of 10, the second field 20, and so on, so additional fields can be inserted later if needed.
DATA ELEMENT
predefined
Specify the DATA element that maps to this field in the format. Press F2 for a list of valid elements or see Appendix B of the User Manual for a list. If the field should be ignored by Circulation, enter “Filler” here.
LENGTH
integer (3)
If this is a fixed length format, enter the character length of this field.
FORMAT
predefined
Some data elements have a variety of possible formats. For example, dates could have the format “dmy” (day, month, year), “mdy”, etc. If this field is open, press F2 and select the correct format for the data element.
Select Accept to accept the format information.
Enter format information for another publication that will use this bill area, or press F4 and select Exit to return to the Bill Format Setup screen.
Bill periods are used for applying recurring charges and/or credits to accounts. The bill period does not have a length of time; rather, you select one or more bill periods during a specific billing run. All of the recurring charges and credits that use the bill periods selected will be billed. For example, if you bill weekly, you may want some recurring charges to appear only on the first bill of the month. Other recurring charges may appear on every bill. You could set up a “Monthly” bill period for the once-a-month charges, and an “Every” period for the weekly charges. Circulation uses bill periods only for recurring charges and/or credits.
Select Bill Period from the Account Billing menu to display the Bill Period screen.
Click the Add icon and complete the following fields.
Click OK to save the bill period in the database or Add Another to save the existing record and add another bill period.
This option allows you to enter messages that will be printed on account invoices.
Select Bill Message from the Account Billing menu to display the Bill Message screen.
Click the Add icon and complete the following fields.
Click OK to save the bill message in the database or Add Another to save the existing record and add another bill message.
Assigning bill sources to accounts allows you to bill different categories of accounts at different times. For example, if you bill single copy outlets weekly and home delivery routes monthly, two bill sources must be set up.
Select Bill Source from the Account Billing menu to display the Bill Source screen.
Click the Add icon and complete the following fields.
Click OK to save the bill source in the database or Add Another to save the existing record and add another bill source.
Set up additional billing information related to the new bill source, such as aging periods and the statement calendar.
Indicate the type of bill for which this definition is valid. The Choices are single, memo, summary, or an asterisk (*) to indicate all types. Accounts are assigned a bill type of “single” or “memo” during account setup—see for more information. The “summary” setting is used only for bill-to accounts that have a bill type of “memo” (a summary invoice will be produced for the bill-to account, and memo invoices will be produced for each delivery account billed to them).
This section guides the user through the menu options that are available under the Account Billing menu.
BILL PERIOD
open (8)
Enter a bill period in which recurring charges and credits should be applied to account bills.
DESCRIPTION
open (30)
Enter the description for this bill period.
BILL SOURCE
setup
Enter the bill source for which this message should be displayed.
ENTITY TYPE
predefined
Enter the entity type for which this message should be displayed. Valid choices are route, account, distribution method, District Manager, truck, AAM Zone or all.
ENTITY
setup
Enter the entity ID for the entity type. For example, if you enter distribution method in Entity Type, enter any of your route types or single copy types.
START DATE, END DATE
date
Enter the date range during which this message should appear on the invoice.
PRINT ORDER
integer (8)
Enter the order in which this message should be printed on the invoice within the bill format for messages. Number by tens to make it easier to insert new messages at a later time.
MESSAGE
open
Enter the message.
BILL SOURCE
open (10)
Enter a bill source. For example, if you bill both weekly and monthly, you might assign a “weekly” bill source to accounts that receive bills on a weekly basis and a “monthly” bill source to accounts that receive bills on a monthly basis.
DESCRIPTION
open (30)
Enter a description for this bill source.
START DATE, END DATE
date
Enter the date range during which this bill source may be used.
Aging periods are used to classify carrier/dealer accounts that are overdue; finance charges and collection messages are driven by aging period. By default, Circulation uses the billing periods on the Statement Calendar to determine aging periods for each bill source. For example, if an account belonged to a bill source that billed every 30 days, any balance past due for 30 days would fall into aging period 1. If after 60 days it was still not paid, it would fall into aging period 2 and, after 90 days, into aging period 3.
However, you may want your aging periods to run on a different schedule than the billing cycle. You would then use this option to define aging periods of your own for each company and bill source. For example, if the Tribune’s aging periods are 1-30 days past due, 31-60 days past due, and 61-90 days past due for accounts that are billed weekly, the following aging periods would be set up:
Tribune
Weekly
1
30
Tribune
Weekly
2
60
Tribune
Weekly
3
90
Business Rules determine whether bill sources age by days, billing periods, or the Aging Calendar. You need define aging periods here only if you select “days”. Business Rules also determine the most recent aging period for which a finance charge can be applied.
Aging is reported in the and (see the Circulation User Manual).
Select Age Period from the Account Billing menu to display the Age Period screen.
Click the Add icon and complete the following fields.
COMPANY
setup
Enter the company for which the aging periods should apply.
BILL SOURCE
setup
Enter the bill source for which the aging periods should apply.
AGE PERIOD
predefined
Enter the aging period, 0 through 13, that you are defining for this company and bill source. Age period zero (0) indicates the current period (i.e., no days past due).
AGE DAYS
integer (3)
Click OK to save the aging period in the database or Add Another to save the existing record and add another aging period.
Note: If your invoices are printed on 8½ x 11 inch letterhead, it is not necessary to set up this option.
You use Address and Occupant specifics here to set up the remittance address for your account invoices. Business Rules determine whether or not the remit address prints on account invoices.
In character Circulation, select Remit Address from the Account Billing menu to display the Remit Address Setup screen.
Then select Add and enter in formation in the fields described in the table below.
COMPANY
setup
Enter the company that will use this remittance address.
BILL SOURCE
setup
Enter the bill source that will use this remittance address.
Select Specifics and enter your company’s address and name in Address and Occupant. See the Circulation User Manual for information about setting up addresses and occupants.
Select Accept to accept the remittance address.
Set up a remittance address for a different company or bill source, or press F4 and select Exit to exit to the Setup menu.
You may set up collection messages to print on account invoices that are a certain number of days past due. These messages are defined by company, bill source, and aging period. The table below gives an example of how you would set up collection messages for company “DS”, bill source “monthly”:
DS
Monthly
2
Payment of your account balance is due by return mail.
Select Collection Message from the Account Billing menu to display the Collection Message screen.
Click the Add icon and complete the following fields.
COMPANY
setup
Enter the company to which this collection message applies.
BILL SOURCE
setup
Enter the bill source to WHICH this collection message applies.
AGE PERIOD
predefined
Enter the aging period for this collection message.
MESSAGE
open
Enter the collection message.
Click OK to save the collection message in the database or Add Another to save the existing record and add another collection message.
The billing dates for a particular bill source are defined by the Statement Calendar. It is therefore the Statement Calendar that drives the entire billing cycle.
Note: When setting up the Statement Calendar for a new bill source, you should define the previous billing date as a billing date in the calendar. This will give Circulation a starting point when billing the bill source for the first time (the billing date range will be the previous billing date to the current billing date).
In character Circulation, select Statement Calendar from the Account Billing menu to display the Statement Calendar Setup screen. Statement calendars can also be set up in the Calendars option in Graphical Setup—see Calendars.
Enter the company and bill source for which you wish to define billing dates. The screen will appear as shown below.
Select specific days for billing, using the table below as a guide. For example, to pick June 14, you would highlight that day and press Enter.
Execute an action (such as a cancel) or select a specific day.
Enter
Move the cursor to previous day
Backspace or left arrow
Move the cursor to previous week
Up arrow
Move the cursor to next week
Down arrow
Move the cursor to previous month
Page Up
Move the cursor to next month
Page Down
Move the cursor to next year
Esc - right arrow
Move the cursor to previous year
PF13
To enter a date range
- (hyphen)
To enter the “to date” range
/ (slash)
To multiply
X or * (asterisk)
Accept
F1
Reject
F4 or End
To display help
F2
Press F1 to accept the dates selected. Set up a calendar for another company and bill source, or press F4 to exit to the Setup menu.
Aging can be based upon:
Billing periods (specified in the Statement Calendar)
A specified number of days (specified in Terms and Age Period), or
Aging periods as specified using this option, Aging Calendar.
Business Rules determine which method is used, and if “Aging Calendar” is selected, the aging periods must be specified here.
In character Circulation, select Aging Calendar from the Account Billing menu to display the Aging Calendar Setup screen. Aging calendars can also be set up in the Calendars option in Graphical Setup—see Calendars.
Enter the company and bill source for which you wish to define aging dates. The screen will appear as shown below.
Select specific days for aging, using the table in the Statement Calendar section as a guide. This calendar works the same as the Statement Calendar.
Press F1 to accept the dates selected. Set up a calendar for another company and bill source, or press F4 to exit to the Setup menu.
Note: Use this option only if you are finance charging past due balances for your carriers/dealers.
During account billing processing, Circulation calculates the finance charge amount based on answers to certain Business Rules and whether or not the account can be charged finance charges (as defined during account setup).
Business Rules determine the first aging period with which to apply finance charges, and whether the charges should be flat or a percentage. Business Rules also determine the finance charge amounts, as well as the minimum and cutoff amounts, and the charge code that should be used.
It determines the type of finance charge to apply to past due account balances (flat or percentage). If “flat”, selects the amount defined in Business Rules if the account has any past due balances in applicable aging periods. If “percentage”, determines the percentage amount of the past due balance.
It determines the cutoff finance charge, based on Business Rules. If the calculated amount is less than the cutoff amount, the finance charge is waived.
It determines the minimum applicable finance charge, based on Business Rules. If the calculated amount is less than this minimum, Circulation applies this minimum.
It determines the maximum allowed by the state/province for this route (set up using this option, as described below). If the calculated amount is greater than the maximum amount entered here, Circulation applies the maximum. Otherwise the calculated amount is applied.
As an example of finance charge calculation, suppose a account’s balance is 3.50, and the answers to certain Business Rules indicate that the finance charge percentage is 2%, the minimum finance charge is 1.00, and the maximum percentage for this state is 10%.
Circulation would calculate the finance charge as 0.07 (2% of 3.50 balance), but the minimum amount (as defined in Business Rules) is 1.00.
However, the maximum percentage allowed for this state is 0.35 (10% of the 3.50 balance); therefore, 0.35 would be the finance charge applied.
Select Finance Charge from the Account Billing menu to display the Finance Charge screen.
Click the Add icon and complete the following fields.
STATE
setup (3)
Enter the state for which finance charges apply.
MAXIMUM FINANCE CHARGE PERCENT
decimal (5)
Enter the maximum finance charge percentage, such as 5%. This is usually defined by law.
MAXIMUM FINANCE CHARGE
decimal (6)
Enter the maximum late fee amount, such as 25.00. This is usually defined by law.
Click OK to save the finance charge in the database or Add Another to save the existing record and add another finance charge.
Use this option to specify the dates on which you will run accruals. See the User Manual for more information about accruals.
In character Circulation, select Accrual Calendar from the Account Billing menu to display the Accrual Calendar Setup screen. Accrual calendars can also be set up in the Calendars option in Graphical Setup—see Calendars.
Enter the company and bill source for which you wish to define accrual dates. The screen will appear as shown below.
Select specific days for accruals to be run, using the table in the previous section as a guide. This calendar works the same as the Statement Calendar.
Press F1 to accept the dates selected. Set up a calendar for another company and bill source, or press F4 to exit to the Setup menu.
Terms govern the due date of an account bill, as well as discounts for on-time payment. You might offer accounts different payment terms based on their particular situation or account type. For example, you may offer different payment terms to youth and adult carrier/dealers. Or, terms may differ for payments received monthly and payments received weekly. Terms are assigned to accounts on an individual basis during account setup (see ).
Select Terms from the Account Billing menu to display the Terms screen.
Click the Add icon and complete the following fields.
Click OK to save the terms in the database or Add Another to save the existing record and add another terms record.
Enter the maximum number of days a balance can be past due and still be in this aging period. Due dates for invoices are defined in Terms (see ).
TERMS
open (8)
Enter an ID for these account payment terms.
START DATE, END DATE
date
Enter the date range during which these terms may be used.
DISCOUNT TYPE
predefined
If there is a discount for payment with these terms, indicate the discount type: flat or percentage.
CASH DISCOUNT
decimal (4)
Enter the discount (percent or flat amount) for payment within a time period by accounts with these terms. If you do not offer a cash discount to accounts with particular terms, do not enter any values in the related discount fields (accept the default values zero).
DISCOUNT APPLIES TO
predefined
Indicate what this discount applies to—total, gross draw, or net draw. Total indicates account’s total current charges - total current credits; Gross includes gross draw charges; Net indicates gross draw charges - returns.
DISCOUNT NUMBER OF DAYS
integer (3)
If discount depends on payment made within a number of days after bill date, enter the number of days here. Business Rules determine the number of days after the discount date that accounts can qualify for a discount.
DISCOUNT DAY OF MONTH
integer (2)
If discount depends on payment made by a specified day of the month, enter that day here.
CAN DISCOUNT PAST DUE
yes/no
Indicate whether a cash discount can be given if the account is past due at the time the bill is produced.
DUE NUMBER DAYS
integer (3)
If payment is due within a specified number of days after the bill date, enter that number here.
DUE DAY OF MONTH
integer (2)
If payment is due on a specified day of the month, enter that day here.
DESCRIPTION
open (30)
Enter a description of these terms.
Account invoices can be distributed by various methods—by mail, for example, or by having carriers pick them up at the office. The distribution codes you set up here can be used to sort invoices for ease of distribution. For example, you could have a “truck” code for truck-delivered invoices, and a “mail” code for invoices delivered by mail. Individual accounts can be assigned one of these codes (in account setup), and when invoices print, they will be sorted in distribution code order (for example, mail delivered first, and then truck delivered).
Within each distribution code, invoices will still be sorted in one of the standard sort options: by account, depot, district, name, publication/district, route or truck.
Select Distribution Code from the Account Billing menu to display the Distribution Code screen.
Click the Add icon and complete the following fields.
DISTRIBUTION CODE
open (8)
Enter an ID for this distribution code.
DESCRIPTION
open (30)
Enter a description of this distribution code.
SORT ORDER
predefined
Indicate how account invoices should sort within this distribution code: by account, depot, district, name, publication/district, route or truck.
PRINT SEQUENCE
integer (10)
Indicate in the order in which this distribution code should be printed, relative to other distribution codes. For example, if you enter a print sequence of 10 for code A and 20 for code B, code A will be printed first.
Click OK to save the distribution code in the database or Add Another to save the existing record and add another distribution code.
A draw adjustment is an adjustment made to a route’s draw figures after transaction processing has been completed for the final time.
Suppose that after a publishing day is complete, a major story breaks and you add papers to each newsstand manually. You then enter draw adjustments for these papers so that the routes are billed for the extra draw. A draw adjustment code, such as “latedraw”, might be defined to update the draw figures.
Draw adjustment codes can be linked to charge codes or credit codes, depending on whether they increase or decrease the draw. Business Rules determine the draw adjust code to be used when a subscriber converts from Carrier Collect to Office Pay with a payment (which creates an automatic draw adjustment).
The Business Rule— Should Draws and Draw Adjustments be billed based on End Publishing run or Final Tran Processing? (Account Finance section) determines whether the draws and draw adjustments will be billed based on the "End Publication Run" or "Final Tran Processing."
Select Draw Adjustment from the Accounting | Account Billing menu to display the Draw Adjust Code screen.
Click the Add Draw Adjust Code icon () and enter the following fields.
Click OK to accept the draw adjustment code in the database or Add Another to save the existing record and add another draw adjustment code.
Draw charges, returns, recurring charges, miscellaneous charges, account levies, finance charges, minimum daily draw charges and taxes must all be assigned charge codes using this option. Charge codes for most account charges and credits are defined in Charge/Credit Code setup. This includes all charges and credits that appear on an account bill, except payments, credit memos and discounts. Charge amounts are not defined here, however. The different types of charge codes set up here include:
Draw charges, which are used to bill accounts for newspapers delivered. This includes office pay credits, return credits and draw adjustment charges/credits. Draw charge codes should not be used as miscellaneous or recurring charge codes; both the Recurring and Miscellaneous fields should be set to “n”. GL account information does not need to be specified, as it is defined elsewhere for draw. Draw charge and credit amounts are automatically calculated by account rating.
Recurring charges, which are used for credits or charges that are the same each billing period; for example bonds and insurance. The Recurring field should be set to “y” and the Miscellaneous field to “n”. These codes should have a mirror code that is miscellaneous. For example, if an account was set up to be charged 4.00 for insurance instead of 0.40, a miscellaneous charge for insurance would be entered to adjust the carrier/dealer account. These codes must always have a GL account set up. Recurring charge amounts are assigned individually in account setup (see Account).
Miscellaneous charges, which are entered for accounts on an ad-hoc basis in Miscellaneous Charge (see the User Manual). The Miscellaneous field should be set to “y” and the Recurring field to “n”. These codes should always be set up in pairs, such as BagsDR and BagsCR. This allows the clerks to correct any posting errors and at the same time the correction will affect the correct GL account. These codes must always have a GL account specified.
Account levy charges. Levies are court-ordered deductions to a carrier/dealer’s net income used to pay such things as child support or auto loans. Levy charge codes must have the Levy flag set to “y”, and a GL account should be specified. Levy amounts are assigned in Account Setup (see Account).
Finance charges, tips, and minimum daily draw charges. Both the Recurring and Miscellaneous fields should be set to “n” for these charges, and GL accounts must be specified. Amounts for these charges are assigned in Business Rules.
Taxes. Both the Recurring Miscellaneous field should be set to “n” for these charges, and GL accounts must be specified. Tax amounts are defined in Tax Authority (see Tax Authority).
Interest charge codes, which are used to calculate interest for other charge codes. For example, an account bond charge (typically recurring) may have an interest charge code that adds interest to the account’s bond balance. Interest codes must always have a GL account set up. The Recurring field should be set to “n”, and Miscellaneous field to “y”. In addition, the charge code that the interest charge code updates should be entered in Update Bal Chg Code and Update AR should be set to “n”.
The charge/credit codes themselves are used to classify and report on the various charges and, in some cases, they specify the GL account to be used with the charges.
As an example of how you might set up a charge code, suppose you have a miscellaneous charge for supplies of bags. This charge should be applied to Accounts Receivable (in the GL). Suppose further that you charge accounts 15.00 per month for bond insurance and that you pay interest on any accumulated bond balance on the account. In this case, two charge codes should be set up—a bond charge code and a bond interest credit code that updates the bond charge balance rather than Accounts Receivable.
To embellish the example even further, let us also add a draw charge and a route bonus, which both affect 1099 forms for accounts. To indicate that the draw charges should be included in Box 9 of the 1099 form, you would enter “y” in Include In Resale Value. The route allowance credits should be included in Box 7 of the 1099 form, so you would enter “y” in Include in Payments. The charges and credits would be set up as follows:
Start Date
01-01-07
01-01-07
01-01-07
01-01-07
01-01-07
End Date
Description
Rubber bands
Bond charges
Bond interest
Daily Draw charge
Route allowance
Charge or Credit
Charge
Charge
Charge
Charge
Credit
Default Rate
0.95
15
0
0
0
Include in Resale Value
No
No
No
Yes
No
Include in Payments
No
No
No
No
Yes
Recurring
No
Yes
No
No
Default Bill Period
1 (Monthly)
Default Advance Bill
No
Charge Rate Type
Flat
Calculation Type
Flat
Default Percentage
Default Max Factor
Print Balance on Bill
Yes
Refund Charge Code
Miscellaneous
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Apply AR Now
No
No
No
Print on Bundle
Yes
Yes
Yes
Update Balance Charge Code
BondChg
Update AR
Yes
No
Yes
Follow the procedure below to define a charge or credit code.
In character Circulation, select Charge/Credit Code from the Account Billing menu to display the Charge Code Setup screen.
Select Add and complete the following fields.
CHARGE CODE
open (8)
Enter a charge code ID for this credit/charge, such as “bond”.
START DATE, END DATE
date
Enter the date range during which this charge/credit code may be used.
DESCRIPTION
open (30)
Enter a description of this charge/credit code. The description appear on the account bills.
LEVY, LEVY ORDER
yes/no integer (5)
If you are defining a charge code for an account levy, enter “y” in Levy and specify the levy order, which defines the order in which the levy should be imposed in relation to other levies. For example, a court may stipulate that child support levies be deducted from wages before levies for loans. None of the fields after Levy Order will be open for levy charge codes.
CHARGE OR CREDIT
predefined
Indicate whether this charge code is a charge or a credit. This determines whether the account is debited or credited by the charge/credit amount.
DEFAULT RATE
decimal (11)
If desired, enter a default rate that should be displayed during miscellaneous charge and credit entry or when recurring charges are linked to accounts.
INCLUDE IN RESALE VALUE
yes/no
Indicate whether charges/credits with this code should be included in Box 9 on the 1099 form.
INCLUDE IN PAYMENTS
yes/no
Indicate whether charges/credits with this code should be included in Box 7 on the 1099 form.
RECURRING
yes/no
Indicate if this is a recurring charge/credit (a charge or credit that is applied regularly). Enter “n” here for all except recurring charges/credits.
DEFAULT BILL PERIOD
setup
If this is a recurring charge, enter the default bill period in which this charge should be added to account bills.
DEFAULT ADVANCE BILL
yes/no
When recurring charges are assigned to accounts, you can specify whether or not they should apply to advance bills. Indicate whether this field should default to “y” or “n”.
CHARGE RATE TYPE
predefined
Indicate if this recurring charge/credit is for a flat amount, a percentage of draw, a per-drop compensation amount, or multiplied by the total draw of the route.
CALCULATION TYPE
predefined
Flat is displayed if you entered “flat” or “drop” in the preceding field. If you entered “percentage”, indicate whether the recurring charge/credit should be a percentage of draw charges or draw credits. For example, for a bond, you might want to have a monthly charge that is a percentage of the account’s office pay credit (i.e., draw credits).
DFLT PERCENTAGE
decimal (5)
If the rate type is percentage, enter the default percentage for the recurring charge/credit (the actual percentage is entered for each account in account setup).
DFLT MAX FACTOR
decimal (5)
If the rate type is percentage, enter a default maximum factor for the recurring charge/credit (the actual maximum factor can be entered for each account in account setup). The maximum factor is multiplied by the draw charges or credits to determine the total maximum balance allowed for the charge.
PRINT BAL ON BILL
yes/no
Indicate whether or not the balance for the recurring charge should print on the account bills.
REFUND CHARGE CODE
—
This field is not currently used by Circulation.
PRORATE CHARGE
yes/no
Indicate whether this recurring charge is prorated. When a charge code is prorated, the number of days in the billing period and the number of days the account is active are compared. If there is a difference, the flat rate is divided by the days in the period and multiplied by the days the account is active to arrive at the prorated amount.
MISCELLANEOUS
yes/no
Indicate whether this charge/credit code is valid for miscellaneous charges. Enter “y” here for all miscellaneous charges and credits.
APPLY AR NOW
yes/no
For miscellaneous charges/credits, indicate whether the charge/credit should be applied immediately to the account balances or deferred until account billing Processing for the billing period. For example, you might set up a miscellaneous charge code for writing off account balances, and enter “y” in this field.
PRINT ON BUNDLE
yes/no
Indicate whether this miscellaneous charge/credit code should appear on the bundle top.
UPDATE BAL CHARGE CODE
setup
You may have a miscellaneous charge code for updating a recurring charge balance. For example, if you have a recurring bond charge, you might have a miscellaneous charge code for moving the bond balance to accounts receivable (crediting the carrier). If this miscellaneous charge updates a recurring charge balance, enter the recurring charge code here.
UPDATE AR
yes/n
If this miscellaneous charge updates a recurring charge, indicate whether the Accounts Receivable should also be updated. For example, if you have a miscellaneous charge to credit carriers for their bond deposit balance, you would enter “y” here. If you are transferring the balance elsewhere (for example, entering the amount in Accounts Payable so that a check can be cut) enter “n” here.
Optionally, select Specifics | BAS Category, as documented below, to assign BAS categories to the charge codes (BAS categories are used in tax reporting in Australia).
Select Specifics | Charge GL Account to link the charge code with a GL account, if necessary. For each charge/credit code you set up, you must define a Charge GL Account, except for draw charges/credits (whose Charge GL Accounts are defined by selecting CR GL Account) and finance charges.
Select Specifics | Charge Tax Authority to link the charge code with a tax authority, if this charge is taxed. Do not select this if you are defining tax charge codes themselves.
If you use drop credits (flat fees paid for each home address delivered, without regard to the number of pieces that are delivered to the address), and wish to combine draw and drop credits on invoices, you can select Specifics | Charge Code Combine to combine them by charge code. This will enable you to report separate totals for different draw types or days of the week.
Select Accept to enter the charge code and all associated specifics into the database.
Set up another charge or credit code, or press F4 and select Exit to exit to the Setup menu.
Note: This menu option is not available in the Cloud environment.
Select this option to add BAS categories to charge codes. BAS (Business Activity Statement) categories are used in reporting tax obligations to the Australian Taxation Office. If a BAS category is associated with a charge code, those charges will be picked up when the BAS Reconciliation report is run. BAS categories are set up in BAS Category setup (see BAS Category).
Select Specifics | BAS Category from the Charge Code Setup screen to display the BAS Category Setup screen.
Select Add and complete the following fields.
CHARGE CODE
display
The charge/credit code entered on the Charge Code Setup screen is displayed.
BAS CATEGORY
setup
Enter the BAS category associated with this charge code.
START DATE, END DATE
date
Enter the date range during which this BAS category is valid for this charge code. End Date can be left blank.
Select Accept to accept the GL account for this code.
Add another BAS category to this charge, or press F4 and select Exit to return to the Charge Code Setup screen.
Select this option to set up the general ledger account numbers for this charge/credit code. GL accounts can be set up for a charge/credit code by product, route, AAM Zone, district or a combination of the four. Or, you can have one GL account for all instances of this charge.
The general ledger accounts you enter here must have been defined in advance by selecting Chart of Accounts. Also, do not set up Charge GL Account records for draw charges, credits, and returns, as these are defined by selecting CR GL Account. See CR GL Account for details.
Select Specifics | Charge GL Accounts from the Charge Code Setup screen to display the Charge GL Accounts Setup screen.
Select Add and complete the following fields.
CHARGE CODE
display
The charge/credit code entered on the Charge Code Setup screen is displayed.
PRODUCT
setup
Enter the product for which this charge/credit code should update this general ledger account (enter “*” for all).
AREA REGION DISTRIB ZONE
setup
Enter the area, region, distrib zone, and district for these GL accounts (enter “*” in a field to indicate all).
DISTRICT
setup
Enter the district for which this charge/credit code should update this general ledger account (enter “*” for all).
ROUTE
setup
Enter the route for which this charge/credit code should update this general ledger account (enter “*” for all).
AAM ZONE
setup
Enter the AAM zone for which this charge/credit code should update this general ledger account (enter “*” for all).
GL ACCOUNT
setup
Enter the general ledger account number to which charges/credits with this charge code will be applied for this product/route/AAM zone/district combination.
ADVANCE BILL ACCOUNT
setup
If accounts are billed in advance for this charge code, enter the general ledger account number to which this advance charge/credit will be posted.
Select Accept to accept the GL account for this code.
Link more GL accounts to this charge, or press F4 and select Exit to exit to the Charge Code Setup screen.
For charges or credits that should be taxed, select this option to link the charge/credit code with a tax authority and tax charge code. Tax authorities must have been defined in advance. See Tax Authority for details.
Select Specifics | Charge Tax Authority from the Charge Code Setup screen to display the Charge Tax Authority Setup screen.
Select Add and complete the following fields.
PRODUCT
setup
Enter the product for which this charge/credit code is taxable (enter “*” for all products).
ROUTE
setup
Enter the route for which this charge/credit code is taxable (enter “*” for all routes).
CHARGE CODE
display
The charge/credit code entered on the Charge Code Setup screen is displayed.
TAX AUTHORITY
setup
Enter the tax authority for this charge code/product/route combination.
The tax authority determines what the tax percentage will be. It also determines the geographical area that will qualify for the tax.
TAX CHARGE CODE
setup
Enter the charge code for this tax charge. This will allow you to break out taxes for specific charges on account invoices.
Tax Charge Code may be left blank—the tax charge code defined for the tax authority assigned to the publication will then be used.
If you would like the office pay tax credit printed separately from charges, separate tax charge codes should be defined.
Select Accept to accept the tax authority for this charge code, product and route.
Specify more tax authorities for this charge/credit code, or press F4 and select Exit to exit to the Charge Code Setup screen.
When combining draw and drop credits on invoices, you have the option of combining them by charge code. This will enable you to report separate totals for different draw types or days of the week.
The Charge Code Combine specific allows you to identify which codes should be combined on invoices. It also allows you to enter a description of the combined codes, which will be printed on the invoice.
For example, if you intend to combine draw and drop credits for Monday through Friday deliveries, you could set up the following combinations:
“DropMon” combined with “DropMon”—this will be the parent/anchor code for which there is a description (e.g., “Combine Drop Amounts Mon - Fri”). Note that a description can be entered only for parent/anchor codes.
“DropTue” combined with “DropMon”
“DropWed” combined with “DropMon”
“DropThu” combined with “DropMon”
“DropFri” combined with “DropMon”
Select Specifics | Charge Code Combine to display the Charge Code Combine Setup screen. When this screen displays initially, the Charge Code will be carried over from the Charge/Credit Code screen. In the Combine Charge code field, enter the code you want to combine with this parent/anchor code. Enter a start date and optional end date for this combination.
Select Add and complete the following fields.
COMBINE CHARGE CODE
setup
Select the charge code with which this charge code should be combined.
START DATE, END DATE
date
Enter the date range during which the charge codes should be combined. End Date can be left blank.
CHARGE CODE
display
The charge/credit code entered on the Charge Code Setup screen is displayed.
COMBINE QUANTITY
yes/no
This field determines how the quantity count for the charges/credits is displayed on the invoices. Entering “y” will combine the charges/credits into a single quantity. In the above example, combining quantities will result in the total number of Monday-Friday drops being displayed as the quantity. Whether or not to combine quantities depends on how you are combining codes and the type of information you want to appear on the invoice. For example, you would enter “n” on either the drop credit or draw code side if you are combining drops and draw into one dollar value but only want to see one side of the quantity count on the invoice. If 110 subscriptions were delivered to 100 addresses, combining these two quantities would result in a meaningless total of 210. Since you want either 110 (the draw quantity) or 100 (drops) to appear as the quantity next to the dollar value on the invoice, you would enter “n” here, so that the quantities are not combined. You would also enter “n” here if you are combining draw charges and draw credits. Assuming these figures cancel each other out, the result will be a “0” quantity. More likely, you would want to show the quantity for only one side of the transaction—either the charges or the credits.
DESCRIPTION
open
Enter a description for this combine record.
Select Accept to combine the charge codes.
Specify other charge codes with which this charge code should be combined, or press F4 and select Exit to exit to the Charge Code Setup screen.
DRAW ADJUST
open (8)
Enter a draw adjustment code, such as “returns”.
DESCRIPTION
open (30)
Enter a description for this code.
SOLD, SHRINK
yes/no
Check Sold if the draw adjust code is for sold copies, and Shrink if it is for shrink copies (see the User Manual). Only one sold and shrink draw adjustment code may be defined. When defining the sold draw adjustment, other fields except for the code ID and description will be disabled. When defining a shrink draw adjustment, the charge code fields will also be open, and Charge Account will be flagged. Credits to accounts for shrink draw adjustments will use the charge codes entered for each day of week. If the charge code(s) specified for the shrink draw adjustment code has a Charge GL Account defined, that GL account will be used for shrink draw adjustments. If no Charge GL Account is defined for the charge code, the GL account specified for draw adjustments in CR GL Account setup will be used.
RETURN
yes/no
Indicate whether this draw adjustment is for a return. Enter “yes” for draw adjustments that should be entered by selecting ROUTE SERVICE | RETURNS. Enter “no” for draw adjustments that should be entered by selecting ROUTE SERVICE | DRAW ADJUSTMENTS. See the User Manual for more information.
AUTHORIZED RETURN
yes/no
If the Return field is checked, flag this field if this draw adjustment code is for an authorized return. When entering returns, the system will prompt for both a regular and an unauthorized draw adjust codes.
ADJUST AAM HISTORY
yes/no
Indicate if a draw adjustment with this code should cause a corresponding adjustment to AAM history files.
UPDATE SUB-PRODUCT
yes/no
Indicate whether the draw of any sub-products should also be updated when this draw adjust code is used. For more information about sub-products and draw percentages, see Specifics, Draw Percent.
CHARGE ACCOUNT
yes/no
Indicate whether the account should be charged (or credited) when this code is entered. For example, if you dispatch a paper to a non-subscriber (subscription starts after the publishing day is complete), you may want to update AAM but not charge the account.
CHARGE CODE
setup
If the account is to be charged for this adjustment code, enter that charge code for each day of the week. This code determines whether the adjustment is a credit (decrease) or charge (increase) for the draw. The charge code also determines the description that appears on the account invoices and on the Account Billing Journal.
This option allows you to define the default recurring charges for a route. When a new account is assigned to a route using Account Activation, the recurring charges will default based on how they are set up here.
Select Setup | Accounting | Account Billing | Default Recurr Chrg to display the from the Account Billing menu to display the Recurring Charges Default screen.
Click the Add icon and complete the following fields.
Click OK to save the recurring charge default in the database or Add Another to save the existing record and add another default charge.
PRODUCT
setup
Enter a product ID or “*” for all.
ROUTE
setup
Enter a route ID, “*” for all, or leave blank.
ENTITY TYPE ENTITY
predefined setup
These two fields will become available if the Route field is left blank. Enter the entity type (district, route, or “*” for both) and specific entities for which recurring charges are being defined.
CHARGE CODE
open (8)
Enter the recurring charge code. Charge codes need to be set up in advance of recurring charges.
START DATE END DATE
date
Enter the date range during which this recurring charge default can be used.
BILL PERIOD
setup
Specify the bill period to which this recurring charge default will apply.
ADVANCE BILL
yes/no
Indicate whether the recurring charge should be included in the account’s advance bill, if accounts are billed in advance.
RATE TYPE CALCULATION TYPE
display
The rate type (percentage or flat) and calculation type (the percentage can be calculated based on draw charges or draw credits) are displayed. These are defined when the charge code is set up
FLAT RATE
decimal (6)
If the rate type is flat, enter the amount of the charge for this route.
PERCENT RATE
decimal (6)
If the rate type is percentage, enter the percentage that draw charges should be multiplied by to calculate the charge. For example, enter 3% as “3.000”.
MAXIMUM AMOUNT
decimal (9)
Enter the maximum ongoing amount that can be charged to the account with this recurring charge. For example, if an account was charged 10.00 per billing period for a bond, and the maximum was 70.00, the recurring charge would show up for seven billing periods before it would reach its maximum and no longer appear. It is possible to exceed Maximum Amount with interest calculations. For example, if the recurring charge rate is 50.00, Maximum Amount is 150.00, and the account’s current balance is 145.00, only 5.00 of the current recurring charge would be added to the total, but any interest calculations could increase the total amount to more than 150.00.
MAXIMUM FACTOR
decimal (6)
If you did not enter a maximum amount for a percentage charge, you can establish a maximum amount each billing period based on the draw charge/credits. This factor is multiplied by the draw charge or credit to find the maximum amount. For example, if the draw charge is 100.00 and the maximum factor is 2.000, the maximum for this recurring charge would be 200.00. If you use a maximum factor, the maximum amount will be “floating” (i.e., it will be recalculated each time the charge is billed, based on the current draw charges or credits).
