The billing subsystem provides for the entry and printing of invoices. During the entry process, the general ledger income distribution information is specified, either explicitly or based on product codes. When the invoices are actually printed, they are booked into general ledger and the accounts receiveable subsystem.
Product MaintenanceAlthough it is not necessary to the operation of the billing subsystem, users often find it convenient to enter often-used billing items into the billing code database. This provides a connection between a 5-character item code and the appropriate general ledger number for income distribution, the unit price and the description. There is a separate maintenance function for this database in the billing subsystem.
To Enter a New Product Code:
Each invoice requires a customer number, invoice date, and invoice type code as header data. The type code identifies the print format, either Goods or Services.
In addition to the header information, an invoice requries at least one line item; each line item consists of a general ledger number, a quantity, a price, and a description. These line items will print as separate lines on the actual invoice when produced. If the ledger number is entered as an asterisk followed by one or more characters, the system assumes that it is to retrieve the appropriate information from the billing code database.
Proofreading Invoices
Each invoice also includes a field called "OK to send". Normally this field is set to "N" on entry to provide an opportunity to proofread the entries before invoices are printed and booked. This can also be used to enter invoices when orders are received but not print them until goods are shipped. One of the functions of the billing system is the printing of proofreading copies of invoices; the responsible person should check the content of the invoices before releasing them for printing and booking.
Since the invoice date is used to book activity to general ledger, it is important to note that the use of the billing subsystem adds a step to the closing process for A/R and G/L subsystems. As part of the month-end processing of A/R, the user should ensure that there is no unprinted invoice waiting in the billing database for the month to be closed.