Invoices

This document will walk you through printing invoices (invoicing). There are three ways you can print invoices: manually as you close the contract, manually for an entire day, or automatically at the end of the day. The automatic method removes the human element, ultimately eliminating errors (invoices not being sent to a customer). This expedites getting an invoice into your customer’s hands, you getting paid, and reducing accounts receivable aging. We will cover the last two methods in this guide.

 

Topics in this article include

• Creating or Editing the Invoice Format

• Print Invoices VS Print\Email\Fax Invoices 

• Manual Method for Specified Date Range

• Automatic Method for End of Day

• Set Billing Date

• Troubleshooting

How to get there

Expert: Program Menu > Accounts Receivable > Print\Fax\Email Invoices
Elite: Left Menu> Accounting > Print\Fax\Email Invoices
 

Creating or Editing the Invoice Format

Invoice formats are created using Laser Contract Formats. Follow the path below for your product. If you want to learn how to create or modify an invoice format, see our article, Laser Contract Formats. 

• Expert: Program Menu > #9 Configurations > System Configurations > Laser Contract Formats
• Elite: Gear icon > App Configurations > System Configurations > Laser Contract Formats

Print Invoices VS Print\Email\Fax Invoices 

What should I use? Which is better?

PrintEmailFax Invoices is the better option for generating and sending invoices. It has more features, like Operations, to specify which invoices to generate. Unlike Print Invoices, it also checks your customers’ account settings to determine how to send them their invoices. Please keep in mind that Print Invoices is no longer being maintained and will be replaced by Print\Email\Fax Invoices.

If you still want to use Print Invoices... 

If you’re using Print Invoices, it’s important to know that the first generated invoice will determine the format for all the following invoices. For example, if the first invoice generated is a Work Order, all following generated invoices will sent/printed in the Work Order format. 

The Print Invoices option is no longer being maintained or updated and will be replaced by Print\Email\Fax Invoices.

Manual Method for Specified Date Range

Important!

•  A copy of the generated invoices will be saved to the Contracts Temp folder within the POR root folder. If sequential invoicing is turned on, the filename will save the invoice number generated rather than the original contract number. This is useful for further verification or if using a third-party invoicing program.
     
• Once invoices have been generated, they will be uploaded to S3 so that they can be retrieved through our API endpoint should they need to be uploaded into a third-party program like Bill Trust. If the invoice is modified after it has been sent, the new version will be sent up to override the original in S3.
    
• If set to Transaction mode in one of Elite's accounting API integrations, the closed contracts will automatically get a billed date and not appear when this program is run unless the box to 'Include invoices previously billed' is checked.  This is because users set to this mode have chosen to run their A/R out of their external accounting program and would run invoices from that platform rather than from within Elite.

1. Select the beginning date for the invoices.
     
2. Select the ending date for the invoices.
     
3. Select the store to invoice.
       
4. Select whether to include either Account, Cash, or both types of customers. It is recommended that both Account and Cash be included.
      
5. Select all or which transaction Operations to generate invoices for. 
      
6. Check or uncheck the Include invoices previously billed box. If checked, a new invoice will be generated for contracts that have already been invoiced. Please note, if set to Transaction mode in one of Elite's accounting API integrations, the closed contracts will automatically get a billed date and not appear when this program is run unless the box to 'Include invoices previously billed' is checked.  This is because users set to this mode have chosen to run their A/R out of their external accounting program and would run invoices from that platform rather than from within Elite.
      
7. Set your printer selection.
   
   
8. In the Send Via section, specify how your customers will receive their invoices. 
      
9. Select Preview to view the invoices that will be generated. If you’re satisfied with the list, click Generate. 
   
    

Automatic Method for End of Day

Run an End-of-Day, and invoices will automatically generate based on the method selected for each customer. Only contracts that were closed since your last End-of-Day and have a balance due at the time of running your end-of-day procedure will generate invoices.  Please note, Invoices use a #10 windowed envelope. Your customer accounts may need to be configured to determine invoice delivery method. 

Important! You must have the Mass Fax/Email Module to automatically invoice your customers at the end of the day. Without this module, you will not be able to automatically print, email, or fax invoices at the End of the Day.

Important! Once invoices have been generated, they will be uploaded to S3 so that they can be retrieved through our API endpoint should they need to be uploaded into a third-party program like Bill Trust.

Customer Record Setup

To learn how to set up invoicing for your customer, see the section "Determine how your customers will receive invoices" in this article, Mass Fax/Email. 

Set Billed Date

For users who would like the billed date to be set to the last day of the month, no matter what day it is run through the invoicing program, this configuration will need to be enabled. It is located in Transaction Configurations in the browser configuration setup. It is a company-wide setting. When enabled, the AR Dashboard will also use the billed date, rather than the closed date, to group contracts into their appropriate aging buckets.

Troubleshooting

Not all invoices are being sent.

This only applies if you are licensed for the Mass Fax/Email module. When sending an invoice, Point of Rental generates a PDF. This process may take a few seconds. If your Mass Fax/Email settings do not allow enough time for the PDF to generate, the invoice may not be sent. To increase the amount of time, follow these steps.
 

1. Go to your Mass Fax/Email Settings. Follow the below path for your product.
   • Expert: Program Menu > Configuration > Reports and Notifications > Mass Fax/Email Settings
   • Elite: Gear icon > App Configurations > Reports and Notifications > Mass Fax/Email Settings
         
2. Update the email delay to 5 seconds. 

How can I confirm which invoices have been generated?

Run the Print/Email/Fax Invoices report

Expert: Program Menu > Accounts Receivable > Print/Fax/Email Invoices
Elite: Accounting > Print/Fax/Email Invoices
 

1. Select your invoice settings.

2. Check 'Include invoices previously billed.'

3. Select Preview.

Add a BCC email to Mass Fax/Email Settings
 

Expert: Program Menu > Configuration > Reports and Notifications > Mass Fax/Email Settings
Elite: Gear icon > App Configurations > Reports and Notifications > Mass Fax/Email Settings
 

1. Select Email Setup.

2. Enter BCC address.

I have confirmed that not all of the invoices were sent. Do I have to resend all of the invoices to send out the ones that were not sent?

No. You can mark the invoices as "not sent". This will prompt Point of Rental to resend the invoices at the end of the day or the next time you generate invoices. To do this, follow the steps below:
 

1. Identify one invoice that you have confirmed was not sent.

2. Open the Transaction file. Follow the path for your product. 

   • Expert: Program Menu > File Maintenance > Transaction File

   • Elite: Gear icon > App Configurations > File Maintenance > Transaction File

3. Find the contract the invoice was generated from and open it.

4. In the top left corner, select Functions > Modify. If you are unable to perform this action, please contact your Point of Rental administrator. 

5. Remove the displayed billed date and then press Enter.

6. Press Save.

7. Regenerate the invoice manually via the Print/Fax/Email feature. Configure the options below.

   • Set the date range for this invoice so that current invoices are not included.

   • Set the Payment Type.

   • DO NOT check the box "Include Previously Billed Invoices."

8. Confirm this invoice was sent. See section How can I confirm which invoices have been generated? for information on how to do this.

9. If successful, repeat for each invoice that was not received in steps 2-6. 

10. After updating the Transaction files, you can manually generate invoices or wait for the end of the day (only applicable if you are licensed for Mass/Fax).