New Features

The following features are new to Conga Billing in this release.

Separate APIs to Create a Credit Memo and Calculate Tax for Credit and Rebill

Conga Billing introduces a new API calculateTaxForCreditRebill, which allows you to calculate the tax for credit memos generated through credit & rebill. You must call the calculateTaxForCreditRebill API after calling the createCreditRebill API when:

  • You have defined the TestTaxCallbackWithExternalCallout callback class in Setup > Develop > Custom Settings > Config Custom Classes > Tax Callback Class.

  • You must pass values for both Auto Approve credit memo and Unrate the usage inputs options (True or False).

Previously, the createCreditRebill API generated credit memos through credit & rebill and performed tax calculation. Now, the API calculateTaxForCreditRebill performs the tax calculation.

Unrate Usage Inputs for Usage Asset Line Items During Credit & Rebill

You can reverse the usage inputs while performing the Credit & Rebill functionality in the following scenarios:

  • While performing Credit & Rebill: Billing introduces the Unrate the usage inputs checkbox on the Credit & Rebill page. If you select this checkbox and execute Credit & Rebill, Billing will unrate the usage inputs for the respective billing schedules, generate a credit memo, and auto-approve the credit memo. 
  • While approving credit memos of Credit and Rebill type: Billing introduces the Unrate the usage inputs checkbox on the Approve Selected Credit Memos page while manually approving credit memos at All Tabs > Credit Memos. If you select this checkbox and approve the credit memo, Billing will unrate the usage inputs for the respective billing schedules while approving the credit memo.

In both scenarios, Billing changes the status of billing schedules and the corresponding usage schedules to Pending Billing. Billing unrates all associated usage inputs for the respective billing schedules and changes the Fee Amount on billing schedule and usage schedule to 0.00. If there are more than 1000 usage inputs, Billing performs unrating of usage inputs in an asynchronous batch mode.

Control the Effect of the Global Custom Setting “No Proration on Renewal”

Conga Billing introduces a new setting Ignore Renewal Proration Setting at Billing Preference to control the effect of the global custom setting No Proration on Renewal on the associated asset line items.

  • If you select the new Ignore Renewal Proration Setting checkbox, Billing does not apply the effect of No Proration on Renewal to the asset line item during the progressive ABO operations. Billing considers No Proration on Renewal as False for that asset line item. 
  • If you do not select the new Ignore Renewal Proration Setting checkbox, Billing applies the effect of No Proration on Renewal (only if this custom setting is enabled at Billing System Properties) to the asset line item during the progressive ABO operations.

Create Billing Schedules and Invoice Line Items Using Custom Billing Plan with 0.00 Fee Amount

The feature of generating 0.00 Fee Amount billing schedule is optional now. Conga Billing introduces a new setting Create 0 FeeAmount BS at Billing System Properties to control the generation of 0.00 Fee Amount billing schedules.

  • When you select this checkbox, Billing generates billing schedules with 0.00 Fee Amount for both normal billing schedule generation and billing plan.
  • When you clear this checkbox, Billing does not generate billing schedules with 0.00 Fee Amount for both normal billing schedule generation and billing plan.

Billing Schedules for Decremented and Merged Asset Line Items

For Decrement & Merge, Conga Billing now supersedes the old billing schedule and creates a new billing schedule for the remaining quantity. When a Sales Representative decreases the quantity of an asset:

  • If the billing schedule is "Pending Billing", Billing supersedes the old billing schedule and creates a new billing schedule for the remaining quantity.
  • If the billing schedule is "Invoiced", Billing creates a negative billing schedule to refund the amount.

Enhancements

The following section describes the existing features that are changed (or are no longer supported) in this release.

Flexibility for Populating Ready for Invoice Date and Validation of Dates for "Fixed" Billing Plan

As a sales representative, while defining a "Fixed" billing plan, you want to set the "Invoice Date" of the first installment with a date earlier than the period start date of that installment.

Current Behavior

For a "Fixed" billing plan, what you select for the "Billing Start Date" and "Billing End Date" governs the ability to define the periods and set the invoice dates on the billing plan installment lines. This feature has some limitations.

  • The ability to set the "Ready for Invoice Date" of the first installment with a date earlier than the start of the service is not supported.
  • It is possible that you can potentially advance or delay the billing before or after the overall service period resulting in approval or audit concerns and potential collection problems.

New Behavior

As a part of the change, the fields Billing Start Date and Billing End Date are non-mandatory. You can choose to enter or skip these fields. If you enter the date fields and proceed, the behavior of the billing plan will be the same as the “current behavior” as described above. If you keep them blank and proceed, this is where the “new behavior” comes in. This will avoid the problems stated in the “current behavior” and will offer the flexibility to advance the “Ready for Invoice Date” for the first installment. The following are the highlights of this “new behavior.”

  • Because you chose not to enter the “Billing Start Date” and “Billing End Date” while defining the plan, the Billing engine will auto-determine the “Period Start Date” of the first installment and “Period End Date” of the last installment from the “Start Date” and “End Date” of the selected line items.
  • By reading the "Payment Term" on the transaction, Billing allows you to populate the "Ready for Invoice Date" outside the billing period for that installment. For example, if the number of offset days in the Payment Term is 30 days, the Ready for Invoice Date can be in the range of [Period Start Date – 30 days, Period End Date + 30 days].
  • There are several use cases possible based on the dynamics of date population.

If you want the billing plan to be defined in the current method, you can achieve it by populating the "Billing Start Date" and "Billing End Date."

Key Criteria to Use the New Functionality

  • Upgrading to the current release
  • Using Conga's "Payment Term" (and not a custom Payment Term)
  • Populating the field Offset Early Invoice Date (Days) on the "Payment Term" that will be used for that quote transaction. The offset days must match the number of grace days allowed for that payment team. For example, if the Payment Term is 30 days, Conga recommends that the offset days must be 30 or less but not more than 30. Not following this guideline creates an early revenue forecast followed by unwanted collection problems later.
  • Selecting Conga's "Payment Term" at Account, Quote Header, Quote Lines, or at the Billing Plan Line Level.