Prepaid Services
In the Prepaid Service Card information and details about the specific Prepaid Service can be entered. Among other things, the current status of the credit can be seen here. After the customer has topped up a Prepaid Service, it can be used as needed.
A new Prepaid Service can be created with the New action both via the list and the card and via the action of the same name on the Customer (action group New Document).
The overview of all Prepaid Services can be accessed via the search (Alt+Q). In addition, the card provides further details (see next section).
Overview of the fields of the Prepaid Services
*The Customer No. and Customer Name fields respectively indicate the number and name of the customer for whom a Prepaid Service is created.
- In the Description field, provide a reasonably detailed description of the Prepaid Service. The description is printed in the details output.
- For an explanation of Accrual, see Different types of accruals below.
- The Type field controls whether a Prepaid Service consists of an amount or a quantity. Prepaid Services of type Amount are often used as a budget for services for which it is not yet known in advance which services will be used later. Prepaid Services of the type Quantity, on the other hand, are used as units of time, e.g. as hours for support services or number of tickets per month.
- Start Date and End Date can be used to record the start and end of the Prepaid Service. Both of these entries are optional.
- The Closed field indicates that the Prepaid Service is already closed. It is hidden by default in overviews.
- Outstanding Amount (LCY) indicates the amount still available in local/client currency (applies to One-time Prepaid Services).
- Posted Usage Amount (LCY) displays the amount already consumed in local/client currency (applies to One-time Prepaid Services).
- Outstanding Quantity indicates the quantity still available (applies to Periodic Prepaid Services).
- Posted Usage Quantity displays the quantity already consumed (applies to Periodic Prepaid Services).
- The optional Dateformula in the Valid until Dateformula field indicates the validity of the Prepaid Service. In order for the specification to be taken into account for a new receipt, the value must be specified before the receipt is created. If the field is empty, new additions are valid for an unlimited time.
- The Dimension Value used for postings around the Prepaid Service is specified in the Dimension Value for Prepaid Service field. In the Prepaid Services Setup, the Auto-insert Dimension Value for Prepaid Services field controls whether the custom number is automatically created as a new Dimension Value for each Prepaid Service.
- The No. of Projects assigned field specifies the number of assigned Projects for Prepaid Service. It is possible to assign multiple Projects to a Prepaid Service. Clicking on the field opens the Assigned Projects for Prepaid Service page. Here you can assign one or more Projects to the Prepaid Service.
Overview of actions in Prepaid Services
In the action group Process the actions Expire Residuals and Create items are available.
When the Expire Residuals action is called, batch processing is performed for the release of expired items. This is always useful when the already expired remaining amounts and quantities are to be released explicitly for this Prepaid Service. This functionality can also be automated. Please refer to the link above for more information on this action.
Via the action Create Ledger Entry there is the possibility to create them manually. This may be necessary in exceptional cases for correction purposes. For more details on this action, please refer to the link above.
Prepaid Services Statement (action group Reports) provides a detailed overview of the Ledger Entries (inflows and outflows) that form the basis for the Outstanding Amount or the Outstanding Quantity of the Prepaid Service. The call is available both in the overview and in the card. Alternatively, you can enter the term Prepaid Services Statement in the search function (Alt+Q) and run the report.
Different types of accruals
Prepaid Services are differentiated based on type (see above). This also affects the handling of the related revenue entries. For both types, revenue that has not yet been used must be deferred. The manner differs based on the following selection:
- One-time
An item identified as a Prepaid Service is sold to a customer once. The amount from the sale is available as a credit in the Prepaid Service. Until the credit is used, the amount is treated as a kind of prepayment. - Periodic
Prepaid Services marked as Periodic are invoiced via Customer Contracts. The credit is topped up when the contract invoice is posted. In this case, the deferral is done via Customer Contract Deferrals. This selection can only be made if the app Subscription & Recurring Billing is also installed.
One-Time Prepaid Services can only be set up as Amount, while Periodic Prepaid Services can be set as both Amount and Quantity.
| One-time | Periodic | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | x | x |
| Quantity | x |