Custom Invoice Overview

Introduction

This article provides a comprehensive overview of the Custom Invoices feature on the platform. It highlights the scope of its functionality, user flows and benefits for partners and vendors. The Custom Invoices feature can help you deal with such challenges as lengthy invoice workflows, time-consuming approval chains and increasing number of correction requests. Also, the feature lets users create and manage debit and credit memos directly through the UI of the platform which can significantly reduce the time of processing invoices and changing charges resulting from missing invoices or incorrect subscription purchases.

In this article:

• What do you need to use this feature?
• Custom Invoices Feature Overview
• Custom Invoice Creation
• Additional Features
• Field-specific Logic and Rules
• Key Benefits

What do you need to use this feature?

To use custom invoices, you need:

• To be a partner of AppXite
• An active AppXite account with the Billing Manager role (note that the Billing Manager is not a standalone role, and it requires the user to have the Seller Admin role or higher).

Custom Invoices Feature Overview

The Custom Invoices feature allows users to create tailored invoices that support unique business scenarios such as credit or debit memos for refunds or additional consultancy charges.

Such custom invoices:

• Allow for detailed configuration of fields such as Vendor, Contract Type, Channel, Currency, Charge type, Custom Charge Details and Charge dates.
• Allow linking with subscriptions or creating standalone entries.
• Are accessible to all parties in the invoicing chain, ensuring seamless multi-tier invoicing.
• Provide flexibility without impacting recurring invoice calculations.

Custom Invoice Creation

The platform gives you the possibility to quickly create custom invoices using the Invoices tab.

Users can:

1. Select the Create Custom Invoice button above the invoice grid.
or
2. Select the icon next to selected invoice in the Custom Invoice column.

• • Manual Configuration:
    • You need to specify the following mandatory fields:
      • Channel
      • Vendor
      • Contract Type
      • Currency
      • Invoice Date
      • Quantity
      • Unit Price
      • Charge Type
      • Charge start date
      • Invoice date
  • Pre-Populated Values: When initiated from the invoice grid, fields such as Channel Tier, Vendor, Contract Type, and Currency are automatically pre-filled based on the selected line and are non-editable.

To create a Custom Invoice, follow these steps:

1. Use your credentials to log in to the platform as a user with Billing Manager permissions.

2. Go to the Invoices tab.

3. Select the Billings tab on the Invoices page.

4. Go to the Outgoing tab.

5. Click on the Create custom credit or debit invoice lines button or click on the invoice icon in Custom Invoice column:

6. The form appears in which you can add the details for the Custom Invoice.

7. Fill in the fields in the form. The descriptions of the fields below can help you to do that:

Vendor:

• Default state: Empty (mandatory selection).
• Options: All vendors that are available to a specific partner. 
• Behavior: This field needs to be selected for other fields to become active.

Contract Type:

• Options: All contracts available under the selected vendor.
• Default state: Empty (mandatory selection).
• Behavior: Becomes selectable only when the Vendor field is selected. Selecting another vendor resets this field.

Channel:

• Options: Indirect or Direct.
• Default state: Empty (mandatory selection).
• Tooltip:
  • Multi-Tier: Enables indirect partner selection in the invoice chain.
  • Direct: Enables customer selection as the invoice receiver.

Invoice Receiver:

• Options: Partners available under the selected contract.
• Default state: Empty (mandatory selection).
• Behavior: Field allows searching by partner name.

Currency:

• Options: All currencies available for the selected Contract Type.
• Default state: Empty (mandatory selection).
• Behavior: Becomes selectable only after the Vendor, Channel, Contract Type, and Invoice Receiver fields are specified. Changing any of these resets Currency.

Subscription ID:

• Options:
  • Use Default Subscription ID (default if no particular subscription will receive the charge).
  • Select Existing Subscription: Allows searching and selecting using internal Subscription IDs.

Quantity and Unit Price:

• Default state: Empty.
• Behavior: Users can enter numeric values (mandatory fields).

Charge type:

• Default state: Empty.
• Behavior: Users can enter one of the types listed (mandatory field).

Custom Charge Details:

• Default state: Empty (optional field).
• Behavior: Users can enter free text (up to 128 characters). If left blank, the default value is Created On: [Date/Time].

Charge start and end date:

• Options: Any date within the last 12 months.
• Behavior: Those fields allow you to specify start and end dates for the entered custom charges.

Invoice Date:

• Options: Any date within the last 12 months.
• Behavior: This field does not reset when other selections (for example, Vendor, Channel) are modified.
  
  Custom invoices can be used to create debit and credit memos e.g., to invoice additional charges for consultancy or to provide refund for a service.

Additional features

1. Tooltips for User Assistance
   • Channel: Explains selection impact on invoice receivers.
   • Invoice Receiver: Lists values based on Vendor and Channel selections.
   • Subscription ID Options: Clarifies usage for default and existing IDs.
2. Error Handling Messages
   • For invalid inputs across fields like Invoice Receiver, Subscription ID, Quantity, and Unit Price.
3. Pre-Defined Permissions
   • Only users with the Billing Manager role can create custom invoices.
   • Role assignments are restricted to Billing Managers (if possible).
4. Usability
   • Pre-populated values streamline repetitive tasks.
   • Custom Charge Details are optional, reducing unnecessary effort.
5. Invoice Source Differentiation
   • Custom invoices are identified separately in the database for clarity and reporting purposes.
6. Auditing
   • Additional columns in the Invoice Details include Updated By and Updated On for tracking.
7. Logic Extensions
   • Custom invoices can be created or modified at any status of the invoice.
   • They are ignored in recurring invoice calculations to avoid unintended effects.
8. New Default Settings
   • Custom invoices are created with a status of New Corrected.
9. Custom Invoice Delete
   • Custom Invoices can be deleted by going to the Outgoing Billings details section and clicking on the trash bin icon in Custom Invoice column.
     
     Click on Save to retain changes.

Field-specific logic and rules

The custom invoice feature has the following rules that govern its functionality:

• It is important to choose the existing subscription ID because the default subscription ID may lead to rejection of an invoice.
• You can enter multiple subscription IDs separated by commas in the subscription ID field.
• The total correction amount should reflect the combined adjustments for all specified subscriptions.
• You should add notes in the Custom Charge Details section that shows the specifics of each charge so that the resellers know why an adjustment on their invoice took place.

Key benefits

The key benefits of the custom invoice feature include:

• Flexibility: Supports credit/debit memos for refunds or consultancy charges.
• Accuracy: Built-in validation and error handling ensure data integrity.
• Usability: Simplified workflows reduce user effort and errors.
• Transparency: Adding detailed notes and linking adjustments to specific subscriptions improves clarity for resellers and partners.
• Efficiency: The new functionality reduces the time required for processing billing adjustments by allowing direct issuance of credit and debit notes through the UI of the platform.

Summary

The Custom Invoice feature provides a user-friendly, flexible, and secure way to manage invoicing. With robust field-specific rules, permissions, error handling, and support for complex billing scenarios, this feature allows you to manage invoices with precision and ease.