Defining Activity Milestones

Milestone billing is a method by which customers are billed specified amounts when a milestone (a significant point in the activity) is reached. Milestones can be defined manually or as days, dates, or percent complete. You can define milestones either for personal tracking or for automatic billing when a task is complete. This procedure describes how to define activity milestones.

Before you can define an activity milestone, you must define your activity billing parameters.

To define activity milestones

  1. Access Milestones (BR05.1).
  2. To define activity milestones, use the following guidelines to enter field values:
    Activity

    Select the activity for which you want to define milestones.

    Milestone Type

    Select B (Billing) to indicate the milestone is for billing.

    Post To Account Category

    Select the account category that will be attached to the Account Receivable transaction.

  3. To define billing milestones in terms of days, click the Days button. Use the following guidelines to enter field values on Days Milestones (BR05.2):
    Activity

    The activity you selected on Milestones (BR05.1) displays here.

    Milestone

    Type a code that identifies the milestone and a description of the milestone.

    Days

    Type the number of days expected to reach the milestone.

    Note: Calculate the number of days after the Begin Date defined on Activity (AC10.1).

    For example, enter 30 for contract acceptance, 60 for installation of servers, 75 for IS training, 90 for installation of applications, and 120 for application training.

    Amount

    Type the amount to bill for each milestone.

    Percent

    Type a percent to calculate the milestone billing amount. If you enter a percent here, the billable amount in the Amount field above is calculated automatically.

    Status

    Select the milestone status:

    • 1 (To Process): The milestone is ready to be billed when the milestone (number of days) is met. To Process is the default.

    • 2 (Processed): The milestone was billed.

    • 3 (Hold): The milestone is held from billing for one billing cycle.

  4. To define significant dates on which to automatically bill for activity tasks as they are completed, choose the Date button. Use the following guidelines to enter field values on Date Milestones (BR05.3):
    Activity

    The activity you selected on Milestones (BR05.1) displays here.

    Note: Billing detail for this activity must be defined on Billing Detail (BR00.2).
    Milestone

    Type a code that identifies the milestone and a description of the milestone.

    Date

    Type the date the milestone is expected to be reached.

    Note: Type a date after the Begin Date defined on Activity (AC10.1).

    For example, if the application training is to be completed by December 15, 2000, enter 121500 as the milestone.

    Amount

    Type the amount to bill for each milestone.

    Percent

    Type a percent to calculate the milestone billing amount. If you enter a percent here, the billable amount in the Amount field above is calculated automatically.

    Status

    Select the milestone status. Value values are:

    • 1 (To Process): The milestone is ready to be billed when the milestone (date) is met. To Process is the default.

    • 2 (Processed): The milestone was billed.

    • 3 (Hold): The milestone is held from billing for one billing cycle.

  5. To define billing milestones in terms of percentage of completion, click the Percent Complete button. Use the following guidelines to enter field values on Percent Complete Milestones (BR05.4):
    Activity

    The activity you selected on Milestones (BR05.1) displays here.

    Note: Billing detail for this activity must be defined on Billing Detail (BR00.2).
    Milestone

    Type a code that identifies the milestone and a description of the milestone.

    Percent Complete

    Type a number representing the percentage of the activity which is completed. For example, 50 percent of the servers are installed.

    Budget Type

    Type a value that determines whether you are calculating the percent complete for activity units or amounts.

    Amount

    Type the amount to bill for each milestone.

    Percent

    Type a percent to calculate the milestone billing amount. If you enter a percent here, the billable amount in the Amount field above is calculated automatically.

    Status

    Select the milestone status. Value values are:

    • 1 (To Process): The milestone is ready to be billed when the milestone (date) is met. To Process is the default.

    • 2 (Processed): The milestone was billed.

    • 3 (Hold): The milestone is held from billing for one billing cycle.

  6. To define billing milestones manually, choose the Manual button. Use the following guidelines to enter field values on Manual Milestones (BR05.5):
    Activity

    The activity you selected on Milestones (BR05.1) displays here.

    Note: Billing detail for this activity must be defined on Billing Detail (BR00.2).
    Milestone

    Type a code that identifies the milestone and a description of the milestone.

    Amount

    Type the amount to bill for the milestone.

    Note: If you enter a percent in the Percent field, leave this field blank. The billable amount for this field is calculated automatically.
    Percent

    Type a percent to calculate the milestone billing amount. If you enter a percent here, the billable amount in the Amount field above is calculated automatically.

    Note: This percent is multiplied by the bill ceiling amount when you run Invoice Calculation (BR120).
    Status

    Select the milestone status:

    • 1 (To Process): The milestone is completed and should be included in the next bill. To Process is the default.

    • 2 (Processed): The milestone was billed.

    • 3 (Hold): The milestone is held from billing for one billing cycle.

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