Creating an Invoice

This feature, or some fields and options described, might not be available depending on your settings, security rights, or platform package.

Creating an Invoice

Before you can create an invoice, an amount must exist in either the Premiums and/or the Fees,Taxes, Finance & Down Payments section of a policy transaction. You may want to review these sections of help on the Policy form before accessing the Transaction Premiums / Billingsection >Invoicing sub-section of the form.

An amount displaying in either the Unbilled Premium and/or the Unbilled Fees & Taxes fields of the Premium section of a policy transaction indicates an invoice can be created.

Open the customer and policy requiring invoicing. Make sure premiums and/or taxes & fees are entered in the Transaction Premiums / Billing section of the Policy form
Expand the Invoicing sub-section.
Click the Create Invoice link. The Invoice form displays.

Your login security must allow invoicing, or the Create Invoice link is not visible.

Policy Transaction

Field Name	What's This?
Customer	Defaults from the customer on the policy, and cannot be changed.
Invoice Date	Important things to remember about the Invoice Date field: Defaults to the current system date. You cannot select or type in an invoice date greater than the current system date. You can enter a date earlier than the current system date. To do so is referred to as 'backdating'. If a date is entered that is earlier than the first day of the current fiscal period, it is considered backdating to a closed period, which is only allowed for users with appropriate security authorization.
Total Amount Billed	Total of the unbilled premium entered in the Premiums and Fees, Taxes, Finance and Down Payments sections of the policy form for the selected policy transaction. If the Total Amount Billed is not correct, correct the premium, taxes and fees in the Policy form. If theTotal Amount Billed is correct, but you do not want to bill it all at once, then correct the invoice transactions on theInvoiceform.
Installment Combo Box	This field displays the invoice effective date and bill method for an invoice. If the invoice includes a pay plan, the list displays all installments in the plan.
Backward Button	Backward/Forward Buttons For an installment pay plan, select the installment using the installment combo box described above, or use the backward and forward arrow buttons to scroll through the installments. Select the appropriate installment to edit the Bill To and/or Invoice Transactions sections for that installment. Refresh Button The refresh button is provided here as a convenience to view edits to installments, if not automatically displayed.
Forward Button
Refresh Button

Bill To

The Bill Tosection of theInvoiceform determines who is billed and where that bill is sent.

Field Name

What's This?

Select

Option	What is this?
Additional interests entered for this policy	Selecting this option displays the policy additional interests in the Name list. Select the appropriate name. The address fills and cannot be changed. This option defaults when an additional interest on the policy has the Payorcheckbox checked.
Additional interests entered in setup	These are the additional interests entered via Toolbox > System Administration > Additional Interests. Select the appropriate Type of additional interest (Additional Interest, Additional Named Insured) and select the appropriate name from the Name list.
Billing address from Customer	When this option is selected, the name and address default from the Billing Address section of the Customer form. This option defaults, unless an additional interest on the policy has the Payor checkbox checked.
Broker Setup	This option appears only if there is a broker attached to the policy. The address entered in broker setup defaults.
No Lookup	This option allows you to type in the name and address of the person you want to send the billing to.
Primary address from Customer	Use this option to override the Billing Address in the Customer form with the customer's primary address located in the Name & Address section. This is only necessary if the two addresses differ and the billing address is not correct for the selected invoice.

Make this the default policy billing address for future billings

Checking this box applies the current billing address to all installments and policy transactions in the future. This checkbox defaults as checked. Remove the checkmark if the address is for the current invoice only.

Apply Bill To changes to all installments

Checking this box applies the current billing address to all installments (past and future) for this policy transaction only. This checkbox defaults as unchecked.

Example:

Do you need to correct the billing address for a prior installment and reprint the invoice?

Do not check this checkbox, if you want to selectively change the Bill Toaddress for specific installments. Select the installment from the list in thePolicy Transactionsection and choose or type the appropriate address.

If the current policy transaction is Full Pay this checkbox does not appear.

Print Invoice Options

The default status of the Print Invoice checkbox is based on the selections made in:

Toolbox > System Administration > Agency Setup > Name, Address and Phone Numbers section > Invoice/Customer Statement - Agency Forms Customization subsection > Customer Default Settings to:

Print Invoices for Agency Billed Business
Print Invoices for Direct Billed Business

If the Bill To is to an additional interest, a Print memo invoice for customer checkbox appears. Check this box if you want to send a copy of the invoice to the insured.

If there is a broker on the policy, aPrint memo invoice to brokercheckbox appears. Check this box if you want to send a copy of the invoice to the broker.

Invoice Transactions

For a single billable policy transaction, any premium or non-premium marked as billable, and not 100% billed, is included in the invoice.

Benefit policies can now be invoiced for agency and direct bill via Customer Center Billing, althoughTiered Commissionsare not yet available.

Grid Elements

Billing transaction rows cannot be added to an invoice within the Invoice form. Use the appropriate sections of the Policy form (Line of Business, Premiums/Fees) to create the lines for invoicing before clicking on the Create Invoice link.

Grid Label	Meaning	Grid Label	Meaning
Eff Date	Invoice Effective Date	Parent Co	Name of the Parent Company assigned to the policy.
Amount	This is the amount to be invoiced by effective date, by line of business/charge type. You can edit the amount invoiced, but this does not flow back to the Policy form. The difference remains unbilled.	Writing Co	Name of the Writing Company assigned to the policy.
Total	This is the total amount of the invoice.	Bill Method	Pulls from the Bill Method selected in the Basic Policy Information section of the Policy form but can be changed. If you select a different bill method in the Invoicing section than the default, a pop-up message informs you that "The Transaction bill method does not match the bill method for this policy". This is a reminder to change the Bill Method field in the Basic Policy Information section of the transaction, if necessary. See System Messages >Policy Form > Invoicing Section for more information.
Transaction	This is the policy transaction (e.g., New Business, Renewal, Policy Change).	Agency Comm	Displays the agency commission rate, for each transaction row, unless the commissions are split, or the policy is subscription. In these cases, a descriptive label displays in place of the commission rate.
LOB/Chg	Line of Business (LOB) short name, if the charge type is premium. Otherwise, this field displays the charge type short name from Billings Charges & Credits Setup.	Agency Amt	Agency commission expressed as a dollar amount.
Description	The description field that displays on the printed invoice. This defaults from a combination of the line of business description, and the transaction description. This description can be changed when the row is in Edit mode.	Add to All	This box displays checked in the Invoice Transactions grid if the transaction is edited and the option to Apply description change to all installments for this LOB/Charge transaction is checked.

Editing Invoice Transactions

Click the transaction row to select it.
Click Edit on the section menu. The transaction opens in Edit mode with the Commissions grid displayed.
Make necessary changes to editable fields and click update.

Fields	What is this
LOB/Chg	You cannot edit these fields during invoicing.
Parent Company
Writing Company
Description	The description field that displays on the printed invoice. This defaults from a combination of the line of business description, and the transaction description. This field can be edited.
Effective Date	This is the installment effective date. This can be modified if necessary.
Amount	This is the amount of the installment by effective date, by line of business/charge type. You can edit this amount, but it does not flow back to the Policy form. The difference remains unbilled.
Apply description change to all installments for this LOB/Charge transaction	Check this box if you want to apply any changes made in the Description of the LOB/Charge transaction row to all installments in the policy transaction. The checkbox is only available on the first installment of a payment plan.

Editing Commissions

Commissions default from Company and Employee setup and may be overridden in the Basic Policy Information section/Agency Negotiated Commission group of the Policy form.

Editing Commissions

Commissions can also be edited during invoicing by installment, by LOB/Charge. You can edit the Commissions grid by typing on the grid or clicking the Edit link.

Split Agency Comm

To split an agency commission row, click the Split Agency Comm link. This creates a second agency commission row. Enter the appropriate premium/commission split by typing on the grid or selecting the row and clicking Edit.

You can continue to click the Split Agency Commlink until the appropriate number of agency commission rows appear, in order to enter your split agency commission correctly.

Fields & Checkboxes	What is this?
Classification	This is the classification of the commission recipient (Agency, Broker, Exec). This field cannot be modified.
Name	This is the name of the commission recipient. This field cannot be modified.
Premium	This is the premium/non-premium amount for the installment LOB/Charge.
Percent	Type in the appropriate commission percent, if applicable. Changing this field updates the Comm Amtfield to reflect the correct commission amount.
Comm Amt	When you type an amount in the Comm Amtfield the system updates thePercentfield to reflect the correct commission percent.
Business Unit	Opens Business Unit Commission Split where you can change the amounts of the split on just this invoice. Changes you make here do not update the Business Unit nor Policy Specific Split amounts on the policy.
Method	Select the method for calculating the commission amount. If you select % of Agencyor% of premium/fees, theComm Amtfield is updated to reflect the correct commission amount. If you select Flat RatethePercentfield is disabled. Type in the flat rate commission in theComm Amtfield.
Status	If the commission recipient (Classification) is other than Agency, select Regular or Memo commissions. Memocommissions allow you to create commission records for an employee without posting this commission to aCommission PayableorCommission Expenseaccount in the agency general ledger. Example: Memo commissions are often chosen if an employee receives compensation on a salaried (non-commission) basis, but the agency wants to base the salary on commissions written or earned and wants to print production reports showing commission statistics for the employee.
Override	This box is checked when the commission percent or amount is changed from the defaulted value(s). This field is system-generated and cannot be changed by the user.
Primary	If checked, this personnel is part of the primary service team.
Active	This field is system-generated and cannot be changed by the user.
All	If you make a change to the defaulted commission percent/amount, check this box to apply the entered amount to the entire invoice, including any installments.

Deleting Invoice Transactions

Message

Invoice Installment Summary

Complete the sections of the Create Invoice form, then click the File menu at the top of the form and select one of the following actions (or click the corresponding icon):

Menu Option	Icon	Uses
Post		Use to post invoice transactions if printing is done by the agency batch print method; closes the form when posting is complete.
Post and Print		Posts and immediately prints the invoice(s) to the selected printer.
Post and email		Posts and creates a PDF (Adobe Postscript) file as an email attachment. Opens your email program so that the invoice can be emailed to the required recipient.
Preview		View how the invoice will look when printed. Preview does not post the transaction. When the preview window is closed you return to the invoice form.
Suspend		Holds all invoice records in an unposted state to allow for review and later posting. See How To: Suspend an Invoice for more information.
Cancel		Cancels all invoice actions and invokes the Invoice Form Closing window.
Form Letters		Initiates the Form Letters data entry form.
Contacts		Opens the Contacts form.
Activity		Opens the Activity data entry form so you can enter a new Activity.
Suspense		Opens the Suspense data entry form so you can enter a new Suspense.
Notes		Opens the Notes data entry form so you can enter a new Note.
Launch Customer Center		Opens Customer Search so you can search for a customer.
Reports		Opens the All Reports form where you can select reports.

Taking action to close an invoice form without doing a Post, Post & Print, Post & email or Suspend causes the Invoice Form Closing window to display. The text in this window warns that the invoice has not been saved. Your choices for action are:

Action Option	What Happens
Suspend & Close	Holds all invoice records in an unposted state to allow for review and later posting and returns you to the Customer View. See Suspending an Invoice for more information.
Cancel & Close	Cancels all invoice actions and returns you to the Policyform.
Return to Invoices	Returns you to the invoice form you were working on prior to initiating the 'Cancel' action; Allows you another opportunity to take the appropriate invoice action. Use this option if you reached this form in error.

Multiple Entity customers and policies provide a means of grouping and billing customers who are insured by one policy. Examples of these types of customers are condominium associations where owners are covered by one policy and each shares a cost of that policy. Another example is a franchise where one policy covers multiple locations and each location is responsible for a portion of the premium and is billed separately.

Successful invoicing of multiple entity customers depends on careful set up of the necessary Customer and Policy form sections required for multi-entity billing. For important information on the multiple entity process review the following topics

Subscription policies are those where more than one insurance/brokerage company shares in the risk, usually on a percentage basis. Subscription policy billing allows each participating company to have a separate company payable record while consolidating all companies into one invoice for the customer.

Successful invoicing of subscription policies depends on careful set up of the necessary distributions of premiums and non-premiums in the subscription companies form.

Agency Bill

Direct Bill

What's Next?

Now that you've created your first invoice you should also read about Binder Transactions and Invoicing and Suspending an Invoice. Also check the How To's and Related Topics buttons at the top of this topic for more help on invoicing.

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Fields/Checkboxes	Column Heading
Message	Type any desired text in the message text box. This message prints in the body of the Invoice form in the Description section for this invoice. This message can also print in the body of the Customer Statements form for this invoice, if the Print on Statement checkbox is checked. Messages added when invoices and statements are printed appear at the bottom of the form.
Print on Statement	Check the Print on Statementcheckbox if you want the message text to appear in the body of theCustomer Statementsfor this invoice.
Copy to all Installments	Check this box if you want the message text to appear on all installments. This checkbox option only appears on the first installment.

Accounting Basis	General Ledger Postings
Accrual	Open the PDF document to see how Agency Bill invoices post to the general ledger when the agency's accounting basis is Accrual.
Cash	Open the PDF document to see how Agency Bill invoices post to the general ledger when the agency's accounting basis is Cash.

Accounting Basis	General Ledger Postings
Accrual	Open the PDF document to see how Direct Bill invoices post to the general ledger when the agency's accounting basis is Accrual.
Cash	Open the PDF document to see how Direct Bill invoices post to the general ledger when the agency's accounting basis is Cash.

Creating an Invoice

Backward/Forward Buttons

Refresh Button

What's Next?