The billing procedure is the series of tasks you will perform within AUJS in order to prep the information for invoicing and export. This document will walk you through the step-by-step procedures of the billing function. The majority of what is involved in the billing procedure has to do with checking information for accuracy, making modifications at the order level, and making modifications at the ticket level. Once the information has been verified as being accurate through the billing procedure, invoices can then be printed, and lastly, data can be exported into the accounting system. Although verification steps are not required, we strongly encourage billing staff to follow the procedures outlined below to ensure the accuracy of invoices.
Following the steps below will ensure accuracy of information throughout the procedure and validate the invoice information to be accurate.
This document is intended to train staff involved in the billing procedure. This document is applicable to staff involved in the following tasks:
Staff Modifying tickets/orders after the delivery has completed
Staff creating or printing invoices
Staff with involvement in the accounting software
Internal accountants
Any staff seeking to understand how information flows from AU into the accounting software
The complete billing procedure consists of the following series of six tasks:
Running the batch edit tickets tool
Running the ticket proof report
Editing tickets and orders as needed, based on the information from the ticket proof
Running the ticket proof again to verify changes were made in step 3
Once information has been verified as accurate, print invoices
Once invoices have been printed and verified for accuracy, export data from AU into acct software via “export ticket data.”
Step 1: Batch Edit Tickets Tool | Preparing orders to be billed
The first step in the billing procedure is to run the batch edit tickets tool. The batch edit tickets tool basically tells AU that you are ready to perform the billing procedure on a group of completed orders. When you pull up the batch edit tickets tool, you will indicate which orders you are ready to process by selecting the order numbers within the tool window. By selecting the orders in the tool window, you are instructing AU to internally flag the order(s) as officially “prepped for billing.” Each ticket from an order is marked with an internal flag that indicates it is “prepped for billing.”
If this internal flag is checked on, the order will be considered to be in the process of being billed, thereby, allowing you to move forward in the next step in billing. If you do not select orders to be processed in this step, the unselected orders will not show up in the next step, or have the ability to be invoiced.
Important note: skipping this step will not prevent you from moving to the next step in the billing process, rather, if you skip this step, you will be forced to skip to step 3 to manually flag each ticket as “prepped for billing” by editing the individual tickets and saving then in “Edit Tickets.” If you do not flag an order as “prepped for billing” in batch edit tickets in step 1, the flag will need to be manually set on each ticket when you go into edit tickets in step 3.
Additionally, if a group of orders are not “prepped for billing,” they will not show up on the ticket proof report on the next step. The only way to have the tickets show up on the ticket proof is to prepare them for billing, which is done by the batch edit tickets tool or editing each individual ticket. When you edit the individual tickets, the “prepped for billing” flag is automatically set for that ticket when the ticket is saved.
How to run the batch edit tickets tool:
On the AUJS main menu, select: Ticket processing > batch edit tickets
Select the appropriate parameters for system type, date, order type, and plant.
Hit search.
You will notice that after you hit search, orders will show up on the “order numbers” window at the bottom of the screen.
If you want to select only a few orders to prepare, you can individually select each order.
If you would like to select all orders to prep, hit the “select all” button.
Select the “prep for billing” button to mark those orders as prepped. This will allow you to consider those orders as officially marked included in the billing process. You may now proceed to the next step.
After the tickets have been marked as “prepped for billing” in the batch edit tickets tool, the tickets/orders will then be available to be invoiced. Skipping step 2, 3, and 4 is highly discouraged, since these steps ensure the accuracy of the orders/tickets.
Step 2: Ticket Proof Report | Verifying the accuracy of the delivered tickets
This step allows you to view the accuracy of what has been shipped and what will be invoiced. Once the orders have been marked as “prepped for billing’” you may run the ticket proof report. The ticket proof report allows the billing staff to take a look at what information has been recorded on each ticket and identify what needs to be changed on each ticket. Billing staff can take the ticket proof and use it to compare “what was recorded” to “what should be recorded.” The ticket proof is not required; however, it is a highly useful tool for speeding up the ticket verification process in detail and ensures the correct information goes onto the invoices.
The ticket proof report provides the billing staff with the following information:
Ability to identify order inaccuracies at the ticket level in detail
Ability to compare the information in AU with hard copy information
View ticket detail and breakdown at a high level
Where to find the Ticket Proof Report:
Reports > Ticket Processing > Ticket proof
Step 2b (Optional): Order Exceptions Report | Checking for pricing discrepancies on orders that have quotes applied to them
If your sales department applies quotes to orders, you may find it beneficial to run the order exceptions report. This step is completely optional, depending if your company wishes to add a layer of verification in checking pricing discrepancies.
This step allows you to view and identify “exceptions,” which apply to orders that have quotes; exceptions are when there are price discrepancies between the quote and the order. Should you identify an exception on the exception report, you can fix the discrepancy in “Audit Orders,” discussed in the next section.
Here are the Possible Order Exceptions
How to prevent Order Exceptions:
Making sure a Quote and Job exists before the Order is placed by the customer.
Make sure all products that the customer requires, are assigned to the Quote.
Use Product Pricing Flags for customers that typically get list prices. This will “turn off” pricing and Quote validation on the Order Exception Report.
If you previously applied a quote to an order, then changed the quote after it was delivered, you may reapply the quote in Audit Orders to fix the exception.
Step 3: Audit Orders & Edit Tickets | Making changes to the tickets/orders after they have been delivered
The next step involves checking the tickets and orders for accuracy after they have been delivered. With the ticket proof on hand, the billing staff has the ability to spot check for changes to be made on each order and ticket. The tools available for changing details on the orders and tickets are, “Audit orders” and “Edit Tickets.” “Audit orders” allows the user to modify the delivered order after it has been delivered. When you make general changes to the order in Audit Orders, you effectively make changes to the delivered tickets associated with that order. Changes to prices made in Audit orders cascade on to the tickets for that order. If you need to change quantity or add/delete products on the tickets, you will need to use the “edit tickets” tool to make the changes.
When to use Audit Orders:
Adding a product to an order that has already been delivered/ticketed.
Changing product prices on an Order that has already been delivered/ticketed.
After you made changes to a quote that has been applied to a delivered order.
Any time you need to make changes to the order after it has been delivered/ticketed.
How to use Audit Orders:
Find Audit orders: Sales > Audit Orders > Concrete Audit Orders
Enter the correct ship date, and search for the order number by clicking on the search box next to the “Order number” box.
You can now change any information associated with that order. Order information with respect to pricing and products will carry over into the tickets for that order.
If you changed information on the quote recently, search for the quote and click on the quote number to refresh the quote information applied to that order.
Save the information.
When to use Edit Tickets:
When you find discrepancies on the ticket proof and need to change info on the delivered ticket.
When you need to change quantity or product delivered for that ticket.
When you want to change information associated with that ticket.
When you want to create a new ticket for the already delivered product.
When you need to void a ticket after it has been delivered.
Important: Tickets get some of their information from the order (products & pricing). In order to change information with respect to products and pricing, you must ensure that the info is first added/modified on the Audit Orders screen. Once you save information in edit tickets, the “prepped for billing” flag is set for that ticket automatically.
How to use Edit Tickets:
From the main menu, find Ticket processing > Edit Tickets
Select the correct ship date and search for the order number by clicking on the magnifying glass next to the order number.
Search for the correct ticket number by clicking on the search button (magnifying glass) next to “Ticket number.”
You may then change information relating to the ticket.
Save the info.
**Note: Once you hit save, the ticket is automatically flagged as “Prepped for Billing.” If you do not want the order to be prepped, deselect the prepped for billing checkbox on the form. If you already ran batch edit tickets against the order, no further action is needed in edit tickets to prepare an order. A “prepped” ticket simply means it is now in your billing batch.
Step 4: Running Ticket Proof (Again) | Double checking the tickets after changes have been made
After making changes to the orders and tickets, you may run the ticket proof report again to double check the accuracy of the tickets/orders. Once the information on the ticket proof is verified as correct, the information on the invoice can be considered to be guaranteed as accurate.
**Note: the verification process is extremely critical in ensuring the accuracy of the invoices.
Step 4b (Optional): Order Exceptions Report - Again | Verifying the changes you made in Audit Orders
After making the appropriate changes in audit orders, you may print the order exceptions report again to verify changes made in Audit orders in the previous step. Printing out the exception report again after step 3 allows you to double check and make sure there are no outstanding exceptions. the report should be blank, indicating no exceptions exist.
Step 5: Printing Invoices (**OPTIONAL NOT REQUIRED IF PRINTED FROM ACCOUNTING) | Printing the invoices from within AUJS
Once the information has been verified, you may then print invoices from AUJS.
How to print invoices:
On the AUJS main menu, navigate to: reports > Ticket processing > Print invoice.
Click on “Print Invoices” report option.
There is no need to apply any filters. Leaving all default filters will simply print all orders/Invoices that are in the current billing batch.
Step 6: Export Ticket Data | Exporting invoice information from AU
If your system has been configured to export/import into a 3rd party accounting software system, you will need to export the ticket data manually in AUJS. Depending on your accounting integration method and capabilities of your accounting system, AUJS exports either a flat file that is imported later by your accounting system, or, AUJS exports directly into the accounting database.
If AUJS exports the information onto a file, please ensure that the file location in which the file is being saved to is available before you export. If the file location in inaccessible, the export will fail.
General rules of exporting ticket data:
Once the information has been exported from AUJS, it is internally flagged as “Exported.”
After the orders/invoices are marked as “Exported,” the information is locked and cannot be edited.
Important: please make sure to verify ticket and order information before the export.
How to export ticket data:
On the AUJS main menu, navigate to “Modules” > “Ticket Processing” > “Export Ticket Data.”
Select the appropriate system type and order type to export.
Click on “Export” to export the invoice data from AUJS.
If the export is successful, you will see a prompt that reads, “Export successful.”
You are done!
This concludes the billing process as recommended by Jonel Engineering. If you would like detailed documentation of the steps discussed above, please refer to the AUJS user guide. Should you encounter any issues or have any questions, please call our main support number at: (800) 432-4567.
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