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Run Upcoming Billing

Updated

What this does: Reviews who is due for recurring billing, creates their renewal invoices, and tracks the run until every invoice is ready to send.

Applies to: GrowthZone associations that bill recurring fees such as membership dues. GrowthZone must turn on Run Upcoming Billing for you. If it is off, you see a message asking you to finish billing setup and contact GrowthZone Support.

Before you start: If you are changing prices, do that first: see Review and adjust renewal prices before billing. For autopay members, we recommend turning on Invoice Before Autopayment in General Billing Settings. If it is off, cards are charged the day you run billing.

Time needed: 10 to 20 minutes, plus time for the run to finish.

Using Automated Scheduled Billing? Then GrowthZone creates these invoices for you and you don't need to run billing by hand. See Automated Scheduled Billing.

Step 1: Review who will be billed

Only the members shown in the list get invoices, so check it before you run.

  1. Go to Finance, Billing section, click Upcoming Billing. The list shows every member with scheduled billing, filtered to the current month. A member appears only if their contact record has scheduled billing.
    Upcoming Billing page showing members with scheduled billing, filtered to the current month
  2. To change the month or narrow the list, click Filter. The Recurring Billing Filter window offers Month, Membership Types, Frequency, Fee Item Type and two payment profile options. Click Done.
    Recurring Billing Filter window with the Frequency and Fee Item Type fields and the payment profile check boxes boxed
  3. Check the list and the month shown beside Filter.
Important: Be careful with Frequency, Fee Item Type and the payment profile options. Some combinations, such as Membership Dues with Has a payment profile assigned, leave voluntary fees behind without an invoice. With Invoice Before Autopayment on, you don't need to split autopay members from the others.

Step 2: Run upcoming billing

Create the invoices for everyone in the list.

  1. Click the arrow beside Add Billing and select Run Upcoming Billing. This option appears only after you pick a month.
    Top of the Upcoming Billing page with the Month filter boxed and the arrow beside ADD BILLING open, showing Run Upcoming Billing boxed
  2. Review the summary: Invoices to Create, Invoices to Email, Scheduled Billing Items, Value of Invoices and Next Bill Date Range. The window warns that payment profiles are charged when invoices are created. If you don't want that, go back and filter out members with a payment profile.
    Run Upcoming Billing summary with the payment profile charge warning and the summary fields boxed

  3. (Optional) Select Advanced Options to change settings for this run only:

    • Invoice Date: the next bill date, unless you change it.
    • Due Date and Invoice Terms: the term from General Billing Settings, unless you change them.
    • Invoice Template and Email Template.
    • Invoice Message: a message printed on the invoices.
    • Scheduled Payment Date: when autopay invoices are charged. Shows only when Invoice Before Autopayment is on.

    Advanced Options aren't shown when Automated Scheduled Billing is on.

  4. Click Run. Invoices are created right away. Members with a payment profile are charged now, unless Invoice Before Autopayment is on or you changed the scheduled payment date.
  5. Send the invoices from Unsent Invoices. See Deliver invoices by email or print.
Which invoice template is used: GrowthZone uses the first one it finds: the membership type's template, then the fee item's template, then the default in General Billing Settings.
Autopay charges: Members get a receipt when a charge succeeds, or a charge-failed message when it doesn't. GrowthZone retries a failed charge every 24 hours for five days. See When stored payment profiles are charged.

Step 3: Track the billing run

Big runs take a while. Check progress before you send invoices.

  1. On Upcoming Billing, click the arrow beside Add Billing and select Billing Runs.
    Upcoming Billing page with the arrow beside ADD BILLING open and Billing Runs boxed
  2. On the Scheduled Billing Runs page, check your run:
    • Start Date and Processor Type: User Initiated, or Automated for Automated Scheduled Billing.
    • Invoice to Create and Scheduled Billing to Run.
    • Scheduled Billings Started and Scheduled Billing Invoices created so far.
    • % Complete.

Checkpoint: % Complete shows 100%. All invoices are ready to send.

Common pitfalls

  • Billing the wrong month: the page always opens on the current month. Check the month before you run.
  • Members missing from the run: a filter was still on. Only the members shown are invoiced.
  • Voluntary fees not invoiced: a Fee Item Type or Frequency filter combined with a payment profile option left them out.
  • Cards charged the same day: Invoice Before Autopayment was off.
  • No Run Upcoming Billing option: pick a month first.

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