Adjustments can NOT be applied against a 'prior' period (such as January of last year). Any adjustments that are entered are included in the current Month End totals.There are a few different procedures to use to apply charges and credits to a customer's account.
Taxes and Fees - the i-Pak system has the ability to automatically charge taxes and fees based on the customer and the Charge Codes used on their account. This includes sales tax, disposal tax, franchise fees, etc. 'Taxation' can be very easy or very involved depending on your service area and the requirements of local, city, and state taxing entities. However, the charging of taxes and fees is seamless to the user as the system will calculate amounts based on the set up in the Tax Body Master.
Fuel Surcharges - there are many ways to charge a Fuel Surcharge, depending on your company's needs and wants. Many of our customers use the 'fuel/fee surcharge' method to levy a fuel surcharge as that is the EASIEST way to ensure the fees are charged and the end user does not have to manually do any calculations. However, we suggest you contact the Soft-Pak Support Department and discuss this with a Support Rep.
Auto Charges - these are recurring charges (monthly, quarterly, etc) that are set up on a customer's account; such as a 2yd container 1x/week for $35.00, rental on a 42yd Packer of $250.00, 2 96gal toters for a residential homeowner for $29.75. They are entered on the Customer Profile screen or on the Services screen. These charges are generated on the customer's account when the Auto Charges option on the Billing Menu is run for the cycle. This procedure is typically performed by an Accounting or Billing person. Click here for instructions on running Auto Charges.
Finance Charges - also known as late fees. These charges are automatically generated by the system when the Finance Charges option on the Billing Menu is run for the cycle. The finance charge defaults are stored in the Cycle Master, and the system looks at these defaults to determine how they should be generated: if the cycle default is Yes or No to charge finance charges, on what balance amount, how old the balance should be (60 days, 90 days past due), what percentage to charge, and if there is a minimum amount to charge. However, even though a cycle may be set up to charge finance charges, a specific customer can be set up to NOT charge finance charges (such as government agencies, brokers, friends, etc). Click here for instructions on running Finance Charges.
Prorations - these are charges and credits that are related to a customer's monthly charge. They are amounts that are calculated by the system to charge or credit customers that start or stop their service at some point during the month/billing period. Instead of manually calculating an amount to adjust the customer, the system will automatically calculate the adjustment based on the # of days or # of pickups entered. In addition, you can use the proration procedure to change from one service to another and do the calculation, or calculate a period of non service - like vacation. Prorations can either run during Day End or they can be done 'on line' (right away). Click here for instructions on doing Prorations.
Charges/Credits 'After the Fact' - known as Sales and Adjustments in i-Pak. These are transactions that have already occurred such as extra yardage noted on a route sheet (around a container), NSF charges, credits to prior invoices or balances, misapplied payments, etc. They can be entered either individually on the customer's account ('on line Sales and Adjustments') or in a batch with other customers' adjustments through the Sales & Adjustments batch function on the Accounting Menu. In addition, when entering charges from a Route List, the Route Follow Up feature can be used for easy entry of line items.
Adjustments can NOT be applied against a 'prior' period (such as January of last year). Any adjustments that are entered are included in the current Month End totals.
Charges for services that are 'pre-planned' or 'proactive' are entered on Work Orders. Work orders take the place of writing a 'service ticket' for a customer. They are entered on the Customer's account, dated for the day the service is to take place, and an amount is usually entered on the work order (amounts are usually not printed on the work order itself). Work orders are then printed for the driver as individual tickets or a list of work orders for that route for that day called a log. When the Work Orders come back from the drivers and noted as 'done', charges can be added through Toggling or Driver's Logs. Once the work orders are posted, the charges appear on the customer's' accounts.
There are other fields and functions available in the system to use for generating charges and credits on an account.
Variables 1 & 2 - These files are defined in the Company Master and will appear on the Customer's Profile screen on the Variables Tab. They can be used to add or subtract a flat amount, add a percentage or subtract a discount from the monthly charge. Please see the Company Master documentation for additional information.
Global Sales & Adjustments - this is a feature that is restricted by Security level. This involves using Query to 'mass' create a batch/batches of Sales & Adjustments. For example, if Auto Charges were run twice for the same cycle by accident, the Global Sales & Adjustments feature can be used to 'back them out' for all customers affected instead of manually keying each adjustment. Please contact our Support Services Department for additional information.