Create a Certification Billing Run from Scratch

When creating a Billing Run in Rhythm, you have the option to select one of your preconfigured templates or you can make one from scratch. Making one from scratch is a great option when:

• You want to drop certifications or applications in bulk as a way to clean up old data from your legacy system
• You noticed an automated billing run didn't pick up certain certifications or applications and you want to include them before the next cycle
• You noticed certification renewals are lower than you expected, so you want to send one more reminder
• You prefer to manage this process manually
• You thought of something we haven't 😉

Creating a Billing Run from Scratch

1. Access the Certifications application and navigate to the Billing tab. 
2. Select the Create a Billing Run button.
3. Select Create Billing Run from Scratch option at the bottom of the list.

Select Actions

Select the Actions you want this billing run to take.

• Send renewal reminders: Send out reminders to those whose certifications are approaching the expiration date or have already expired
• Drop/terminate expired certifications: Set a termination date and drop certifications that have not been renewed
• Bill training providers: Generate invoices for training providers who owe money for applications, courses, or exams
• Forecast renewals: Generate pro forma orders for the application fee associated with the selected renewal process to determine the amount of forecasted revenue for a specified certification
• Activate applications: Process completed applications to generate new certifications or extend existing ones
• Send application reminders: Sent reminders to those who have unfinished applications nearing expiration
• Archive/deactivate expired applications: Change the status of applications that have passed their expiration dates

Enter Billing Run Info

With every billing run, there is standard information you will need to provide:

• A name for the billing run
• An email address for completion notification
• A date and time to process the billing run

Helpful Hint: No matter when you choose to process a billing run, Rhythm will ask you to preview the results before it is executed. So, when you schedule a run for a future date, you will also need to determine how many hours of notice you'll need on the processing day.

As for the rest of the information we need, that really depends on the actions you selected in the previous step. Let's take a look at what that looks like:

Send Renewal Reminders

• Notice: Click the "+ Add Reminder" button to add one or several reminders to the process
• Date range: Determine expiration date ranges using the date selection fields
• Certification programs: Segment the billing run by only including certain certification programs
• Training providers: Segment the billing run by only including certain training providers
• Status reasons: Segment the billing run by only including certain status reasons

Drop/Terminate Expired Certifications

• Expiration dates: Search for certifications that have an expiration date within a specific date range. This is helpful when you're targeting a specific period of time
• Drop notice: Select one of the Billing Notice templates you created in Billing Setup to notify the certificant of their upcoming expiration. This allows you to have unique emails for different certification programs. If you do not want to send a billing notice, simply leave the dropdown selection blank
• Certification programs: Segment the billing run by only including certain certification programs
• Training providers: Segment the billing run by only including certain training providers
• Status reasons: Segment the billing run by only including certain status reasons

Bill Training Providers

• Expiration dates: Search for transactions that have an expiration date within a specific date range
• Invoice template: Select which invoice template to use for billing
• Invoice payment terms: Select the payment terms for generated invoice
• Email invoice: Determine if you want to email the invoice to the training provider billing contact
• Certification programs: Segment the billing run by only including certain certification programs
• Training providers: Segment the billing run by only including certain training providers

Forecast Renewals

• Expiration dates: Search for certifications that have an expiration date within a specific date range. This is helpful when you're targeting a specific period of time.
• Certification programs: Segment the billing run by only including certain certification programs
• Training providers: Segment the billing run by only including certain training providers
• Status reasons: Segment the billing run by only including certain status reasons

Activate Applications

• Notice: Select one of the Billing Notice templates you created in Billing Setup to notify the certificant of their application activation. This allows you to have unique emails for different certification programs. If you do not want to send a billing notice, simply leave the dropdown selection blank
• Certification programs: Segment the billing run by only including certain certification programs
• Training providers: Segment the billing run by only including certain training providers
• Status reasons: Segment the billing run by only including certain status reasons
• Application types: Segment the billing run by only including certain application types

Send Application Reminders

• Notice: Click the "+ Add Reminder" button to add one or several reminders to the process
• Certification programs: Segment the billing run by only including certain certification programs
• Training providers: Segment the billing run by only including certain training providers
• Status reasons: Segment the billing run by only including certain status reasons
• Application types: Segment the billing run by only including certain application types

Archive/Deactivate Expired Applications

• Expiration dates: Search for applications that have an expiration date within a specific date range. This is helpful when you're targeting a specific period of time
• Drop notice: Select one of the Billing Notice templates you created in Billing Setup to notify the certificant of their upcoming expiration. This allows you to have unique emails for different certification programs. If you do not want to send a billing notice, simply leave the dropdown selection blank
• Certification programs: Segment the billing run by only including certain certification programs
• Training providers: Segment the billing run by only including certain training providers
• Status reasons: Segment the billing run by only including certain status reasons
• Application types: Segment the billing run by only including certain application types

Review Billing Run for Pre-Processing

1. Review the information and actions associated with your billing run.
2. Once you're sure everything looks correct, click the Schedule Billing Run button. 
3. Once you have scheduled the billing run, Rhythm will take you to the Billing Run 360° page.
   
   Helpful hint: If you navigate away from this page, you can always return to it by heading over to the Billing tab in the Certifications app. Use the search functionality or Recently Viewed Billing Runs to find what you're looking for.

The Billing Run 360° Page

The Billing Run 360° page has all of the relevant information about the run. From here, you can clone, execute, or cancel a run.

At the top of the page, you can easily see the pre-processing date and the status of the run. In the tabs below, you can see the Details, Statistics, and Actions on the run.

Execute a Billing Run

1. Take a look at the information in the Statistics tab for a high-level look at your billing run. From here, you can see statistics for each action by status. 
2. See which items will be included in the run under the Actions tab. You can choose to review the entire list or use the available filters to search by a specific item, action, or status.
   • Error Status: If Rhythm identifies any error that would prevent an item from completing an action, the platform will notify you in the Status column. Hover over the error to determine the cause of the issue so that you can correct it before executing the run.
   • Exclude / Include: If you want to exclude a specific item, you may do so by clicking the actionable text in the far-right column. If the exclusion was made in error, you can always choose to include them later.
     

     Helpful Hint: You will not be able to exclude an item once a billing run has been executed, so be sure to review the list carefully.

3. Once you have corrected any errors and made any necessary exclusions, refresh the billing run by clicking the green Refresh button at the top of the page.
4. Review the information under the Statistics tab one more time to make sure all of the information looks right.
5. Once it does, click the blue Run Now button. 

Cancel

If for any reason you decide you don't want to execute a billing run, simply click the red Cancel Run button at the top of the page.

Helpful Hint: You will not be able to cancel a billing run once it has been executed.

Clone

If you want to make a similar run in the future, click the Clone button at the top of the page. This will bring you back to the billing run editor with all of the previous settings pre-selected. From there, you can make any necessary adjustments.