How Billing schedules work on JRNY Ops

What is a Billing Schedule?

A Billing Schedule is a predefined set of rules that determines when customer invoices are generated and when payments become due throughout the lifecycle of a booking.

In JRNY Ops, a billing schedule is automatically created when an Ops user approves a booking. During the approval process, the user confirms key details, such as the booking start date, which the system then uses to generate future invoices based on the configured billing cycle.

Key Components of a Billing Schedule

A billing schedule is built upon three fundamental components:

1. Frequency of Billing

The billing frequency determines how often invoices are generated for a booking.

Depending on the client's configuration, billing can occur:

• Weekly
• Monthly

This frequency forms the foundation of the billing schedule and dictates how often customers are invoiced during the booking period.

2. Invoice Date

Invoice dates are the designated dates on which the system generates invoices.

On JRNY Ops, invoice dates are calculated based on the booking start date confirmed during the booking approval process:

• For monthly billing cycles, invoices are generated on the monthly anniversary of the booking start date.
• For weekly billing cycles, invoices are generated on the weekly anniversary of the booking start date.

Example:

If a booking starts on 15 January and follows a monthly billing cycle:

First Bill: 15 January

Second Bill: 15 February

Third Bill: 15 March

When approving a booking, the Ops user effectively establishes the invoice schedule by confirming the booking start date.

3. Payment Terms

Payment terms define the period within which a customer must settle an invoice after it has been issued.

These terms determine:

• When a payment is considered due
• Whether payment should be collected immediately or after a specified number of days
• The timeline used for collections and auto-retries

The payment terms configured for the client work alongside the billing frequency and invoice dates to complete the overall billing schedule.

Correct Process for Setting Up a Billing Schedule in JRNY Ops

To ensure billing functions correctly, a booking should ideally be approved before its scheduled start date and time. This approval step is what creates the booking's billing schedule.

The typical process is as follows:

Approve the Booking

• The Ops user approves the booking before its start date and time.
• During approval, the system creates the billing schedule based on the booking start date, billing frequency, and payment terms configured for the client.

Generate and Collect the First Bill

• The Bill is triggered based on the client's predefined criteria.
• The customer then makes the payment.
• Ideally, these steps are completed while the booking is still in the Approved tab and before the booking start date.

Recurring Billing Begins

• Once the booking is moved to the In Progress tab, the recurring billing process becomes active.
• The recurring billing monitor is responsible for generating future recurring bills according to the established billing schedule and billing frequency.
• These recurring bills are then raised on the relevant anniversary dates throughout the booking lifecycle.

How to Edit a Billing Schedule on JRNY OPs

There may be occasions where a booking cannot start as originally planned due to customer delays, vehicle availability, operational constraints, or other unforeseen circumstances.

In JRNY Ops, editing a billing schedule is achieved by re-approving the booking with a new start date. Since the billing schedule is created based on the booking start date, changing the start date automatically updates the billing schedule and future invoice dates accordingly.

To reapprove a booking, please click the link to the article here.

Example:

A booking is due to start on 10th June, but the vehicle will not be available until 15th June.

The Ops user can re-approve the booking and update the start date to 15th June. Once saved, the billing schedule will be recalculated, and future invoice dates will be aligned with the new booking start date.

What Happens if the Ops User Does Not Re-Approve the Booking?

If a booking is delayed but the Ops user does not re-approve the booking and update its start date, the original billing schedule remains unchanged.

Since the billing schedule is created based on the start date confirmed during approval, the system will continue to assume that the booking started on the originally approved date.

This can result in:

• Invoices being generated earlier than expected, based on the original billing schedule.
• Recurring bills being raised on incorrect anniversary dates, which may no longer align with the actual booking period.
• Payment collection occurring earlier than intended, depending on the client's billing configuration.
• Discrepancies between the customer's actual vehicle usage period and the billing period shown on invoices.

Example

A booking is approved with a start date of 1st June, creating a billing schedule based on that date.

The customer does not collect the vehicle until 8th June, but the booking is not re-approved to reflect this delay.

As a result:

• The billing schedule continues to use 1st June as the booking start date.
• Monthly recurring bills will be generated on the anniversary of 1st June, not 8th June.
• The customer is billed for a period that does not accurately reflect when they received the vehicle.

Therefore, it is important to re-approve the booking while it is in the Approved tab, in case of any delays in the booking start date, so that the billing schedule is recalculated and aligned with the actual start of the booking.

Article by Roshel Jose

Please note:

1. The JRNY platform is constantly evolving and new features and functionalities are added all the time. We are constantly updating the Knowledge Base, but some instructions and/or images you see in these articles may vary slightly from what you can see in your own environment. Get in touch with support@tomorrowsjourney.co.uk when in doubt.
2. Some features and functionalities may require configurations or additional development to work in your environment. Please speak to us if you have any questions.