Customer Care Settings

To access the settings for Customer Care, with Customer Care selected on the Applications menu, click MANAGE.

Customer Care has the following items which may require configuration:

CPNI Settings

This is only required if you use CPNI in Customer Care. It involves enabling CPNI and options for requiring verification. See .

General:

• Create Adjustments as Blocked - This can be used to default the Block Posting property to checked when creating a new Adjustment.

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  When enabled, all adjustments created in Customer Care, including click-to-credit adjustments, will have Block Posting checked by default.

  This setting is off by default. It can be enable for all users, or for specific user groups.

  Selecting no user groups in the Applies To property applies this setting to all users (Everyone).

  Notes:

  • For user groups to work, user IDs between SaaS security and CostGuard Client need to by synched.

  • This does not control whether a user can check or uncheck the Block Posting property; that is based on permissions. The Block/Unblock Adjustments permission is required to change this property.

    

• Enable Starting Blocks - This can be used to enable Starting Block functionality for Web Sales.

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  There are two new settings for enabling this functionality – one in Orders and one in Customer Care. The setting in Orders is required to enable this functionality. The setting in Customer Care is only needed if you want to use this functionality in Customer Care.

  • Enabling Starting Blocks in Orders

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    • When disabled (default), there is no change to the current user experience in Orders and Customer Care. Also starting blocks cannot be configured in Product Catalog.

    • When enabled, the Product Catalog supports starting block configuration. Also the NEW (+) button in Orders is relabeled as START > and clicking it displays a dialog for selecting a starting block as a means to start a sale/order. Also, starting block functionality is supported in Customer Care if the corresponding setting is enabled there as well.

  • Enabling Starting Blocks in Customer Care

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    • When disabled (default), starting block functionality and sale transactions are not supported in Customer Care. In this case you can enable the functionality in Product Catalog and Orders using the Orders setting and leave it disabled in Customer Care.

    • When enabled a Start Transaction button is provided on the Account Summary page (all views) to initiate account-level transactions. A button is also provided on Services and Features page when a service is selected to support service-level transactions. In both cases, clicking Start Transactions displays the dialog for selecting a starting block.

• Use Updated Customer Navigation - This setting is enabled by default (use the static navigation menu).

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  • To replace this menu with the color coded drop down menu click the associated Edit (pencil) icon and uncheck Use Updated Customer Navigation.

  • See Menus and Icons for a description of the two menu presentations.

    Default Summary View - This lets you set the default view for the main customer account page to either Account Summary or Service Summary. Click the associated Edit (pencil) icon to enable the drop-down menu.

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• Unit Display for Data - This setting defaults to Dynamic which lets Customer Care select the most appropriate unit for each individual data value on a usage display. You may choose to display all data values in one of these fixed units: The setting is applied on an environment basis and applies to all users.

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• Partner Portal Name - This setting lets you specify a custom name for the Partner Portal. The name defaults to Partner Portal.

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• Enable MSAG Validation - This is required to use MSAG validation in Customer Care.

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  Note

  Other setup is also required in Desktop Client, Admin Console and Config Console if not already done. This setup is described in Desktop Client Online Help.

• Desktop Client Navigation - These settings enable seamless navigation from Customer Care to Customer Management and POS functionality in Desktop Client.

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  One setting is for navigation to Customer Management. The other is for navigation to POS Make Sale and Tender Bill Payment. To enable these settings, click the associated edit (pencil) icon, then check the associated check box and click SAVE.

  Notes:

  • Integrated Security must be enabled in the environments where you intend to use this functionality. This requires assistance from an authorized IDI associate. For more on Integrated Security and how to enable, refer to the IDI Knowledge Center article here.

  • Click here for .

    browser recommendations

    To use the CostGuard Client Navigation links, IDI recommends using the Microsoft Edge browser for the best user experience. If using Google Chrome, users will need to install a Chrome ClickOnce extension. Using Chrome without the extension will require you to re-log in and use Customer Search to open the applicable account.

    Note

    You may also add a Chrome ClickOnce extension to Microsoft Edge. This further streamlines transitioning to CostGuard Client by eliminating an Open this file warning/step.

    Note

    Customers can download any ClickOnce extension from the Chrome store. The following Chrome ClickOnce extensions have been tested for use with this functionality. These are third-party extensions and are not created or supported by IDI.

    • Option 1: Meta4 ClickOnce Launcher - Link

    • Option 2: Windows Remix ClickOnce Handler - Link

    • Option 3: ClickOnce for Google Chrome - Link

      Note

      If your organization has special security concerns and places any restrictions on Windows default behavior for ClickOnce functionality, you may need to consult with your IT team to ensure Client Bridge functionality works properly in your system. This applies whether you use Microsoft Edge (with or without extensions) or Google Chrome.

  • Once enabled, you can subsequently disable one or both settings if needed by editing and unchecking the associated check box.

Invoice

• Generate Preview Invoices - This lets you control whether or not to let users generate a preview of the next (unbilled) invoice for the purpose of comparing to a previous (billed) invoice. This setting is disabled by default. To enable, click the edit (pencil) icon and check the Generate Preview Invoices check box.

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  Note

  This functionality works in your PRODUCTION environment where it is intended to be used. It is not supported in non-PRODUCTION environments without a work order.

• Display Invoice PDFs - This lets you control whether or not to permit viewing invoices in PDF format. When the setting is checked, the View PDF option is available on invoices. When the setting is unchecked, the option is not available. This setting defaults to checked.

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• Separate Charge Adjustments - This lets you break out credit and charge (debit) adjustments on invoices.

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  The setting is disabled by default such that all adjustments are combined on one line. When enabled, the invoice displays will break out credit and charge adjustments separately, moving the charge adjustments down into the My Charges section and including the charge adjustment amount in the My Charges and Total New Charges sub-totals.

  Note

  Desktop Client also has a Separate Charge Adjustments setting that, when enabled, breaks out credit and charge adjustments separately on invoices. Due to architectural constraints, Customer Care and Desktop Client cannot share the Client setting. These settings must be maintained separately.

• OSG NPAY Invoice Configuration - Due to changes by OSG, IDI platform users that do not use IDI platform-based invoice storage and rely on OSG for invoice storage need to have OSG NPAY settings configured in order to view the invoice PDFs. When enabled, you can configure the Client ID, Passphrase and URL parameters. Also Desktop Client and Customer Care have been updated to open the invoice PDF using NPAY parameters when this functionality is enabled and the parameters are configured.

  Note

  Only enable and configure these settings if you use OSG to store invoice PDFs. Disable this functionality if/when this is no longer the case (you opt to use invoice storage in the IDI platform).

  Click the edit (pencil) icon for OSG NPAY Invoice Configuration at the far right to display the enable check box. Then check the check box to display the Client ID, Passphase and URL settings. Get your specific values for these settings from OSG.

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Port Request Settings

This is only required if you use Port Requests in Customer Care, and you need to resubmit billing orders on initiating a Port Request.

Installment Plans

Several settings need to be configured if you use The Pay In Full functionality for Installment Plans in Customer Care.

Corporate Accounts

This is only required if you use Corporate Accounts in Customer Care, and you need to auto-set the Suppress Invoice Print flag so as not to generate XML invoices for non-invoice responsible accounts.

Forced Journals

Several settings need to be configured if you use Forced Journals in Customer Care. This provides the ability to determine if, and when, the system forces a Journal entry on View and/or Edit Customer.

E-Pay Accounts

This section provides a setting to enable auto pay notification, and another to enable notifications for expiring recurring credit card accounts.

• Auto Pay Notifications Enabled - This setting is disabled by default. To enable, click the associated Edit (pencil) to open the dialog. See Auto Pay Notifications Enabled.

• Send Notifications for Expiring Credit Cards - This setting is disabled by default. To enable, click the ENABLE button to open the dialog. See Enable Send Notifications for Expiring Credit Cards.

E-Pay Transactions

• Take Action on Declined E-Pay Transactions - This enables a process within the IDI platform to take action on declined E-Pay payments through a configured workflow. See Enabling and Configuring an Automated Action on a Declined E-Pay Transaction.

  To learn more about this functionality, refer to the article on Automated Action on Declined E-Pay Payments in the IDI Knowledge Center.

Payment Restrictions

• Disable ACH/Checks - Use this to enable and configure functionality to automate setting the account-level Disallow Checks/ACH setting based on one or more account types. The Disallow Checks/ACH setting is used to block ACH payments on customers in bad standing.

  To use the automated functionality, click the Edit (Pencil) Icon. Then check the box for Disable ACH/Checks and select the required account types from the drop down menu. The menu lets you select multiple account types as needed.

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  • You can only make changes to the Account Type drop down when Disable ACH/Checks is checked.

  • You can only save the changes if Disable ACH/Checks is checked and at least one account type has been selected.

  • You can disable the functionality by unchecking Disable ACH/Checks. This removes the system-defined triggers; however, it preserves the selections you made in the Account Types menu. This makes it easier to re-enable the functionality later if needed.

  • If your business rules change you can use the edit option and update the account type drop down as needed.

  For more on how disallowing ACH payments works see Blocking ACH Payments for Customers in Bad Standing.

Catalog Display

• Catalog Group - Clicking the associated Edit (pencil) icon enables the drop-down menu with a list of defined Catalog Groups from which to choose. These settings determine the account-level plan and feature SKUs presented in the Service Summary view, Account Information section.

• Use Web Description - This lets you choose whether the web or alternate invoice description is used instead of the catalog description for account-level plans or feature SKUs.

Billing

• Alternate Billing Cutoff for In Advance – No Prorate.

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  • When this option is enabled, transactions done on the first day of the next period for In Advance No Prorate products/packages will be included on the bill for that period rather than the previous one. These products/packages will be invoiced if they are active on the last day of the bill period, regardless of when billing is run. Also, In Advance No Prorate products/packages disconnected on the first day of the next bill period will be included on the bill for the current period.

  • When this option is disabled (default), transactions done on the first day of the next period for In Advance No Prorate products/packages will be included on the previous bill if the transactions are done before billing has run for the previous bill period.

  Notes

  • The setting defaults to disabled. This will result in no impact on billing for In Advance No Prorate products/packages (current functionality is maintained). It is recommended that you carefully consider all ramifications prior to using the alternate billing cutoff.

  • For more on this topic, refer to the article titled New Monthly Billing Cutoff Option for No Prorate in the IDI Knowledge Center.

• Capture Billing Address - This setting lets you choose to capture address information used for taxing purposes. This includes the address of the account, as well as the addresses of all services on the account. When stored this way, it can easily be accessed in the future, for example to fulfill an audit request for street address information when taxing jurisdiction is not sufficient.

  Address(es) used for taxing purposes are accessible for each invoice generated during billing. Additionally, the IDI platform also stores any tax jurisdiction overrides on the account or service at the time of billing so that situations where the address does not match the jurisdiction used can be identified.

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  Notes:

  • This only applies to invoices generated after this enhancement is deployed. It does not apply to prior invoices.

    Address information for invoices is available in the core database only. The information is not available on IDI platform displays or standard reports.

Taxes

• Do Not Charge US Federal Tax Outside United States - This lets you skip Federal Taxing if the customer is outside the US. Click the Edit (pencil) icon to check (enable) or uncheck (disable) this setting.

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• Remove Tax Jurisdiction Overrides on Address Change

  Rather than having service representatives evaluate and clear tax jurisdiction overrides when the tax jurisdiction address is changed, you can configure the system to automate this process. This can reduce mistakes and help ensure taxes are charged correctly following an address change.

  The functionality is off by default. To enable, click the associated edit (pencil) icon and then check the check box and click SAVE.

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  Click  for more on this.

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  A Tax jurisdiction for an account is determined through address validation. When the address that determines tax jurisdiction is changed, any existing tax jurisdiction override related to that account or service should be evaluated and removed if the new address is physically in a different tax jurisdiction than the previous address. Failure to remove overrides that are no longer applicable following an address change can result in charging taxes incorrectly. Rather than having service representatives evaluate and clear tax jurisdiction overrides when appropriate, you can configure the system to automate this process. This can reduce mistakes and help ensure taxes are charged correctly following an address change.

  When a change is made to an address used for taxing purposes, if any Tax Jurisdiction Overrides are associated with the address, they will be automatically cleared. The Tax Jurisdiction Override will only be cleared if the updated address falls in a different tax jurisdiction than the previous address.

  When enabled this functionality applies whether the address change is made in Desktop Client or Customer Care and applies to the following addresses:

  • Primary Customer Contact

  • Service Contact

  • Service Address (when editing from the context of an account or a service). This functionality does not apply when changes are made to service addresses from Service Address Management (client) or Manage > Service Addresses (Customer Care).

    Audit Log entries will show when the tax jurisdiction override is cleared in this way.