Creating a standing order/recurring bills

Practice Manager only

Standing orders are also know as recurring bills. These are used when you want to bill the client a fixed amount each month or each quarter for example.

All time processing periods for the month must exist if you are using standing orders, including Saturdays and Sundays. A standing order may fall on a Saturday or Sunday, and if it is not included in the processing period the standing order will not be created.

To set up the Client’s > Bills tab to view standing orders

Open the Client page > Bills tab. The Bills tab displays any draft bills and a Full Billing History for the client.
Right-click on Full Billing History list to access the Field Chooser.
Drag the S/O option to the heading row of the Full Billing History list. This will allow you to see any bills that have been linked to standing orders. A standing order is identified by a tick in the checkbox of the S/O column.
Close the Field Chooser.

To create a standing order

Open the Client page > Bills tab. The Bills tab displays any draft bills and a Full Billing History for the client.
From the Full Billing History list on the client, highlight a bill that has been created as an estimate to complete or a miscellaneous charge. This will be the template for the standing order.

You will need a previous estimate to complete or miscellaneous charge bill listed in the Full Billing History list to be able to create a standing order template. The bill you select will define the content and billing information for all the standing orders you base on it.
If you need to confirm you are using the correct bill before you create the standing order, select the bill in the list and click the Preview icon below the Full Billing History list. This will allow to view the paragraphs within the original bill.
To view the actual bill entries, click the Report button.
Click the S/O button. This is located below the client’s Full Billing History. The Create New Standing Order Template window opens. The Client field will automatically display the name of the client who is being billed.
Select the date of the next bill from the Next Date field drop-down calendar.
Select the Frequency of the standing order from the drop-down list.
In the Entries field, enter the number of the standing order bills that will be created. If the Entries field is left blank then an unlimited number of standing order bills will be created. For example, a year would be 11 entries, as the first month is the template bill.
Click OK.

What happens next

The bill template defaults to the one used for the bill you based the standing order on.
The paragraph text on the original client bill that you based the standing order on will be displayed on each subsequent standing order created. This can be changed, if required, if you open the bill before posting it.
When the standing orders are generated each period, they will be displayed in the Draft Bills page. They are identified in the Draft Bills page by a tick in the S/O column. Standing orders are processed in the same way as any other bill.
(AE) If for any reason, the standing order fails to be created, it will be displayed on the Bills Approve homepage with a status of Not Created.