Miscellaneous charges are occasional charges (and credits) that are not applied on a regular basis. Regular charges (such as a monthly charge for rubber bands) should be set up as recurring charges (see Account in the Setup Manual), which are automatically applied by bill period. Miscellaneous charges must be entered manually, using this option.
An example of miscellaneous charges and credits entered for an account is given below:
Mileage +17.00 New paper bag -3.00 Subscriber Tip +5.00
Like other charges, miscellaneous charges must be set up with a charge code (see Charge/Credit Code in the Setup Manual). The charge code describes the charge and indicates whether it is a debit (charge) or credit to the carrier account. It also defines the GL accounts involved with the charge and may have a default charge amount (this amount can be overridden).
Miscellaneous charges and credits are entered in batches.
Select Misc. Charge from the Misc. Charge/Credit menu to display the miscellaneous charges window.
Enter default batch information in the Batch Entry pane.
BATCH
open (10)
Assign a batch ID to the batch of miscellaneous charges/credits you are entering.
BATCH DESCRIPTION
open (30)
Enter a description for this batch of charges/credits.
PRODUCT
setup
Enter the product for which these miscellaneous charges/credits apply. Only carriers who deliver this product may be charged or credited.
BATCH DATE
date
Specify the entry date that should be given to this batch (the current date defaults).
CONTROL TOTAL
decimal (14)
A control total is the net total for the batch you are processing. This is total amount of charges minus the total amount of credits (use a “-” sign if the credits exceed the charges). For example, if you have:
5.00 charge 10.00 charge 15.00 credit 3.00 charge
The control total would be 3.00. Enter the control total for this batch of miscellaneous charges/credits.
Click OK to accept the batch defaults.
Click Add to enter misc. charges or credits one at a time, or click the Wizard icon ()to run the miscellaneous charges utility. This utility will populate a miscellaneous charge/credit batch for selected accounts, based on edition, route type, and management level (see Misc. Charge/Credit Wizard for more information).
You can now enter the charges and credits, one at a time. The following table describes the charge/credit entry fields.
ACCOUNT
setup
Enter the account name, ID, social security number, telephone number, or route ID.
COMPANY
display
The company will be displayed.
ROUTE
setup
Enter the route associated with this charge. If a route ID was entered in ACCOUNT to locate the account, it defaults here. The route is displayed if this carrier only delivers one route.
BILL ACCOUNT
setup
More than one account may qualify for charges and credits for this route. For example, you may want to enter a charge for the delivery carrier of the route, even though the carrier is no longer billed for it (Business Rules determine whether this is allowed). If more than one carrier/dealer qualifies for charges/credits, enter the billing account here. Otherwise, the account entered in the ACCOUNT field will be displayed.
CHARGE CODE
setup
Enter the miscellaneous charge/credit code. This code will determine whether the entered amount is a charge or credit.
AMOUNT
decimal (10)
Enter the amount of this miscellaneous charge/credit. A suggested amount may default. Do not enter amounts with minus signs. Circulation determines whether the amount entered is a charge or a credit based on the charge/credit code entered in Charge Code.
DESCRIPTION
open (30)
A description of the miscellaneous charge or credit defaults from the code. You can modify this description.
After entering a charge/credit, click Add Another to add additional charges/credits to the batch, or click OK.
After all of the charges and credits have been entered, click Accept to accept the batch and exit to the main menu. If you click Reject, the batch will be rejected. You may also Suspend the batch and restart it later. Once a batch is accepted, the charges and credits are applied to the carriers’ accounts during account bill processing. In order to be accepted, the control total for a batch must equal the total of actual charges and credits entered.
The Miscellaneous Charge/Credit Wizard populates a batch by creating a flat amount or per-piece charge/credit for a group of accounts selected by edition, route type, and management level (area, region, zone, or district). For example, you may want to give all delivery carriers a per-piece credit for working on a difficult route.
Answer the questions on the card.
What is the charge date?
Enter the effective date for these charges or credits. Note: In order for per-piece calculations (below) to occur, there must be draw on this date.
What charge code will be used for this selection?
Enter the code to be applied to these charges or credits. This code will determine whether the entered amount is a charge or credit.
What is the rate type?
Enter per piece (charge or credit is applied to each newspaper delivered) or flat amount (charge or credit is applied to each account selected). If you enter “per piece”, the next two questions will become active.
What is the calculation method?
Enter the type of draw to which the per-piece charge or credit will apply. You can enter: • Gross—The regular home delivery or single-copy draw for the day. • Net—The gross draw, plus returns and draw adjustments for the day. • Adjusted—Only the returns and draw adjustments for the day. • Gross + Adjusted—To include both gross and draw adjustments for the day (returns will not be included in the calculation).
What % of the draw should be used in the calculation?
Enter the percentage of the draw that will receive this per-piece charge or credit.
What is the charge amount?
Enter the amount of this charge. Do not enter amounts with minus signs; Circulation determines whether the amount entered is a charge or a credit based on the charge/credit code entered above.
What is the description for the charges?
A description of the charge or credit defaults from the charge/credit code. You can modify this description.
Click Next to display the second card, where you will select the routes for which miscellaneous charges will be created.
Answer the questions to create the selection criteria (described below).
Include all editions? Which edition are these charges for?
Enter the edition to which these charges apply, or include all editions.
Include all route types? Which route type should be used?
Enter the route type to which these charges apply, or include all route types.
Include all management levels? Which management level should be used?
Enter the management level (area, region, zone, or district) to which these charges apply, or include all management levels.
Which [management entity] should be used?
If you specified a management level for the previous question, select the area, region, zone, or district for which these charges will be created.
Include all trucks? Which truck sequence should be used? Which truck should be used?
Select this checkbox if you want to include all trucks. Choose the truck sequence that should be used. Enter the truck ID, enter “*” to multi-select trucks.
Include all delivery carriers?
Select this checkbox if you want to include all delivery carriers.
Include non delivery carriers?
Select this checkbox if you want to include non-delivery carriers (such as agents, trainees, etc.)
Include all non delivery carriers? Which account type should be used?
Select this checkbox if all non-delivery carriers should receive the charge or credit. Otherwise, deselect it and choose the account type (agent, trainee, etc.) that should receive the charge or credit.
Click Add to save the selection criteria. If you have more criteria to enter, answer the questions again, then click Add again to save those criteria.
When you have finished entering criteria, click Commit. You will be returned to the Miscellaneous Charges window, where the selection results of the Wizard will appear in the table.
Continue to add, modify, or delete individual items in the batch as needed.
Accept, reject, or suspend the batch as usual.
Click the Wizard icon () to display the first card of the wizard, which is used to enter charge information.