Combo Change

A combo change transaction allows you to switch active non-combo subscribers to a combo subscription, or switch active combo subscribers to a different combo with the same primary product. See About Combos for more information on combos.

Note: Combo change and end combo transactions cannot be entered if the subscriber currently has an unprocessed combo change or end combo (or an unprocessed start or stop related to the combo change).

To enter a combo change for a subscriber:

• Find the subscriber to switch over to a combo subscription.

• Click the Combo Change icon () and select Combo Change from the pull-down menu.

• If the subscriber has other active subscriptions that could qualify as components of the combo, you will be alerted with a message. Click Yes to continue. By default, the existing subscription will be included as a component in the combo (rather than starting a new subscription for that product). You can override this by clicking the Accounts button, as described below.

• Enter the following information.

Field	Type	What to enter
Combo Information
CAMPAIGN	setup	If this combo change is the result of a campaign, select the campaign ID to automatically populate certain details of the campaign. Note that if the source code, reason code, and delivery schedule entered all match a campaign, the appropriate campaign ID will be selected automatically based on that information.
COMBO	setup	Select the combo to which the subscriber is switching.
SOURCE	setup	Enter the person or process that initiated the transaction, such as “customer” or “promo.”
SUB-SOURCE	setup	If this field is active, enter the sub-party who initiated the transaction. For example, if the source was “Telemarketing”, the sub-source might be “John”, a particular telemarketer.
REASON	setup	Enter the reason for the combo change. Note that the reason code entered here must be valid for the “ComboChange,” “Start,” and “BillingChg” transaction types. When moving from a non-combo subscription to a combo, the expire date for the primary publication will be retained, if the reason code has Update Expire set to “n” in setup. There will be either a positive or negative discount created, depending on whether the combo rate is more expensive or less expensive than the original non-combo rate.
DELIV METHOD	predefined	The delivery method will default based on combo setup.
ROUTE or LABEL GROUP	setup	The route/label group will default based on combo setup.
DELIV SCHEDULE	setup	The delivery schedule will default based on combo setup.
START DATE	date	Enter the first date the customer should begin receiving the combo.
MERCHANDISE	setup	If the subscriber will be awarded some merchandise for switching to the combo, enter the merchandise code(s) here. The available merchandise codes depend on the reason code entered above.
FULFILL DATE	date	When the merchandise order is fulfilled, the fulfill date will be displayed.
ACCEPT BONUS DAYS	yes/no	Indicate if this subscriber should receive papers on special days that are not normal delivery days for the subscription—for example, on New Years, even though it is on a Tuesday and the delivery schedule is weekend-only.
REMARKS	unlimited	Enter any remarks pertaining to this combo change.
Billing Information
BILLING METHOD	predefined	The billing method will be Office Pay.
INVOICE SUBSCRIBER	yes/no	Indicate whether an invoice should be sent for this combo.
AUTO PAY	yes/no	Indicate if this combo should be automatically renewed to the customer’s credit card or bank account. Click the Auto Pay button to enter auto-renew information (described below). Note: If the Auto Pay checkbox is selected, then the term, length, and billing group must be set up in advance for all of the combo’s component publications.
RENEW AFTER THIS TERM	yes/no	Indicate whether a renewal notice should be sent for this combo.
EXPIRE DATE	date	The default expiration date is the day the combo starts (unless a payment has already been entered). It indicates the first date of the grace period for a start and bill subscription. You will not be able to change the expire date here. Keep in mind that although the expire date will be the current date, the subscriber will still get the paper—they will be in grace. You may be able to modify the expiration date as a separate transaction.
Miscellaneous Information
ZONE	setup	Enter the AAM Zone for the delivery address, such as “city,” for this combo.
PLACEMENT	setup	Enter a delivery placement for the newspaper, if applicable. For example, the subscriber might request that the paper be put under the mat. Delivery placements can default from the router.
OCCUP TYPE	setup	Enter the occupant type for this subscriber, such as “regular” or “student.”
RATE	display	The rate is based on combo rate setup.
DELIVERY FEE	setup	The delivery fee, if any, is displayed. Delivery fees cannot be added, deleted, or modified when entering a combo change.
P. O. NUMBER	open (20)	Enter the purchase order number for the combo, if needed on the customer’s renewal notices.
PREV DELIVERY	yes/no	If this field opens, indicate whether a previous day’s paper (such as the previous Sunday) should be delivered to the new subscriber. This field defaults based on Business Rules.

• You can optionally click the Accounts button to view and change the combo components in the Account Selection window. If the new combo adds additional subscriptions, they will display as “New” in the Status column.

  
• When entering a combo change for an existing combo subscriber, if the new combo does not include some subscriptions in the existing combo, they will be listed in the “Dropped Combo Accounts” area of the Account Selection window. If you leave the Stop checkbox flagged, a dropped subscription will be permanently stopped as part of the combo change. If you uncheck the Stop field, the subscription will remain, but will no longer be part of the combo.

• Click OK to accept the combo change.