A bill run is the process of generating invoices for all customers within a specific bill period. It encompasses processes that ensure usage, charges, payments, and adjustments are calculated and presented in a formal invoice. Accurate bill runs are essential for revenue recognition, customer trust, and compliance.
Key Concepts
Term | Definition |
Bill Cycle | This is a recurring period for which charges are calculated. In the IDI platform, Bill Cycles are defined by the start date and end date within a month, for example, Bill Cycle start date = Monthly on the 15th. Every customer account is assigned to a Bill Cycle. Bill Cycles are established and managed by an IDI billing specialist on your behalf. This involves specifying which Bill Run Steps to include in the Bill Cycle to process bill runs per your requirements:
Your billing associates can view Bill Cycle configurations in the RunCenter. |
Bill Period | This is an instance of a Bill Cycle with an actual start and end date, for example, March 15th to April 14th. Similar to Bill Cycles, Bill Periods are initially established by an IDI billing specialist. Once established, your authorized billing associates can monitor and manage Bill Periods in the IDI RunCenter. |
Bill Run | This is the process of generating invoices for all customers being billed for the Bill Period (by virtue of their Bill Cycle assignment). |
Bill Processing Request | These are set up by IDI and associated to billing steps (via Job Templates). A request kicks off a billing operation as appropriate to complete the step. Your billing associates can view Bill Processing Requests for each step in the RunCenter. |
Job Template | A Job Template is associated to each step in a Bill Cycle. These templates are set up by IDI to include one or more operations as needed to complete the step. |
Usage Records | Raw data (calls, messages, bandwidth, subscriptions, etc) that must be rated and associated to a service. |
Rating | Process that converts usage into monetary charges based on price plans. |
Adjustments | Manual or automated corrections applied before invoicing. |
Invoice | Document delivered to the customer, containing charges, taxes, and balances. |
How Billing Works in the IDI Platform
A bill run typically follows this sequence. The exact steps may vary based on your specific business processes.
