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Check Scheduled Billing Before You Run Billing

Updated

What this does: Runs five quick checks before each billing cycle, so every member who should be invoiced is, for the right amount, on the right date, to the right person, and nobody else is.

Applies to: GrowthZone staff with access to Finance and Reports.

Before you start: Four checks use the Membership Report: go to Reports, click All Reports and open Membership Report. We recommend saving each report once it is set up, so next cycle you only change the Next Bill Date range.

Time needed: About 30 minutes the first time, 10 minutes after that.

The checklist

Check What it catches
1. Every active member has a scheduled billing Members who won’t be invoiced at all
2. Scheduled amounts are right Members billed the wrong amount
3. Next bill dates are right Members billed in the wrong month
4. Billing contact and email are set Invoices that can’t be delivered
5. No dropped or non-members have a schedule Invoices that shouldn’t exist

1. Every active member has a scheduled billing

Upcoming billing only invoices members who have a scheduled billing on their contact record.

  1. In the Membership Report, filter to Active membership status.
  2. Under Additional Criteria/Filter, add Total Recurring Fees = 0.
    Membership Report with Membership Status set to Active and the Additional Criteria/Filter Total Recurring Fees Equals 0 boxed
  3. Run the report. Each result is an active member with no fee schedule.
  4. For each one that should have a schedule, add it by upgrading or downgrading the membership from the contact’s Profile tab. A schedule can’t be added to an active membership directly. See How to add a Recurring Billing when a Contact has an active membership without a schedule.

NOTE: Complimentary or honorary members may have no fees on purpose. Not every result needs fixing.

2. Scheduled amounts are right

  1. In the Membership Report, set:

    • Membership Type: one type at a time. All types at once makes discrepancies hard to spot.
    • Membership Status: Active
    • Additional filter: Next Bill Date Between your billing range
    • Fields to Display: at least Contact Name and Scheduled Billing Amount
    • Summarize by: Membership Type

    Membership Report criteria screen with Membership Type and Membership Status set to Active, the Next Bill Date Between filter under Additional Criteria / Filters, and RUN REPORT boxed

  2. Click Run Report and compare each Scheduled Billing Amount with what the member should pay. Correct any differences.
  3. Repeat for each membership type.

3. Next bill dates are right

For annual billing on a fixed renewal date (for example, January 1 for most REALTOR® Associations). Enforce Date Rules on Fixed Renewal Month Memberships must be on: go to Memberships, click Settings and select General Membership Settings.

  1. Go to Finance, Administrative section, click Mass Updates and select Review Next Bill Dates. The panel opens as Fix Memberships With Wrong Next Bill Dates.
  2. Any members listed have a next bill date that doesn’t match their membership type’s renewal date. Compare Current Next Bill Date with Proposed Next Bill Date.
    Review Next Bill Dates under Finance, Administrative, Mass Updates, full results grid, with the Current Next Bill Date and Proposed Next Bill Date columns boxed
  3. (Optional) Filter by Status, Membership Type or Current Next Bill Date and click Load.
  4. If more than 500 are listed, click Download first to review them all.
  5. Click Update. Every filtered result is changed to the proposed date, not just the 500 shown.

4. Billing contact and email are set

  1. In the Membership Report, set Membership Status to Active, Next Bill Date to your billing range, and add Membership Billing Contact Is Empty. (Run it again with Membership Billing Contact Email Is Empty instead.)
  2. Display at least Contact Name, Membership Billing Contact, Membership Billing Email and Next Bill Date, then click Run Report.
    Membership Report criteria screen with Membership Status set to Active and a Membership Billing Contact Name / Is Empty filter under Additional Criteria / Filters boxed, with RUN REPORT visible
  3. Add the missing billing contact or email for each member.

5. No dropped or non-members have a schedule

  1. In the Membership Report, set Membership Status to Dropped and Non Member, and add Scheduled Billing Amount Is Not Empty. Display at least Contact Name and Scheduled Billing Amount.
    Membership Report criteria screen with Membership Status set to Dropped and Non Member and a Scheduled Billing Amount / Is Not Empty filter under Additional Criteria / Filters boxed
  2. Click Run Report. You should get no results.

NOTE: Any result is rare and points to a data issue. Contact GrowthZone support to resolve it before running billing; don’t edit the record yourself.

Common pitfalls

  • Skipping the checks: run them every cycle, not only when something looks wrong.
  • Review Next Bill Dates is empty or blocked: turn on Enforce Date Rules on Fixed Renewal Month Memberships. It covers annual billing only.
  • More dates changed than expected: Update changes all filtered results, including those beyond the 500 shown. Download first.
  • Trying to add a schedule directly: use an upgrade or downgrade instead.

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