Batch Manager Billing tasks
Infor Public Sector Billing makes heavy use of the Batch Manager for processes such as bill generation and payment posting. The table below describes each Billing task in the Batch Manager.
In addition to setting up these tasks in the Batch Manager, you may want to adjust some of the Batch Manager settings in the Configuration Editor to improve your performance. This particularly applies to eight tasks that use multiple threads due to the large numbers of records involved: Bill Run Schedule, Delinquency Refresh Assignments, Delinquency Run, Direct Debit Run, Journal Run, Penalty Run, Post Payments Run, and Reconcile Run.
The Number of Task Threads attribute in the Batch Manager configuration sets the number of threads the Batch Manager will use for these processes. In the Billing configuration, each task has a CommitNumber attribute that sets the number of records to be processed in each thread. (The one exception is the Direct Debit Run task, which uses the CommitNumber for a different purpose.) For example, if you set the number of threads to 4 and the commit number for the bill run task to 600, the Batch Manager will process four threads simultaneously, each of which will include 600 records.
| Task | Description |
|---|---|
| Apply Deposits | Applies deposits to unpaid charges on a selected group of accounts. You can apply deposits to final bills, or as a reward to customers who consistently pay their bills on time. You can enter parameters such as account class or bill type to determine which deposits will be applied. Note that if there are no unpaid charges on an account, no deposit will be applied. This task is typically run once a week. |
| Average Annual Consumption Run | Calculates the average annual consumption for a group of utility accounts so that it can be used to calculate monthly charges. Average annual consumption refers to the average monthly consumption recorded for a utility account service for the previous year. You can limit the accounts that are included in a run by entering parameters such as a billing cycle, account class, or account area. This task is typically run once a year. |
| Bill Run Schedule | Creates bills for a selected
group of accounts. You can enter selection parameters such as the
bill type or account class, and you can set parameters for
previewing the bill run in My Infor. Note that the selection
parameters you can enter for this task are the same ones that are
displayed when you use Create Bill Run to create a bill run
manually. This task is typically run once a day. This is a multithreaded task. The Number of Task Threads attribute in the Batch Manager configuration sets the number of threads the Batch Manager will use. |
| Budget Billing Payment Review | Reviews accounts that are on budget billing plans to ensure that they are keeping up with their payment schedules. Accounts that are not making sufficient payments are listed in the Budget Billing Payment Review item in My Infor so that appropriate actions can be taken, such as canceling budget billing. |
| Certify Addresses | Performs CASS validation on all billing service addresses. Note that you can also use CASS Tasks on the Infor Public Sector Resources menu to run this task manually. This task is typically run on a monthly or quarterly basis. |
| Close Accounts Run | Reviews accounts with a Final status and closes the accounts if they meet the closure criteria. You can enter a condition formula and a number of days that accounts must have passed without transactions before they’re eligible for closure. You can also enter an account log and an alert that Infor Public Sector will add to all closed accounts. This task is typically run once a day. |
| Collection Run | Moves accounts between
collection and lien levels, and resolves collections and liens if
accounts meet the defined criteria. This task is typically run once
a week. Note that the Collection Run task only works on accounts that are already in collections. Sending accounts to collection is a manual process. |
| Deferred Penalty Run | Calculates deferred penalty amounts and creates one off charges and penalty transactions for past due bills. This task is typically run once a day. |
| Delinquency Refresh Assignments | Reviews accounts in delinquency and
updates the assigned delinquency managers and delinquency officers
as required. This is a multithreaded task. The Number of Threads for Generation Processes attribute in the Batch Manager configuration sets the number of threads the Batch Manager will use. |
| Delinquency Run | Sends eligible accounts to
delinquency processing, moves accounts between delinquency levels,
and resolves delinquencies if accounts meet the defined criteria.
You can enter selection parameters such as the account class or bill
type, and you can indicate what kind of delinquency processing you
perform in the run. You can only enter new accounts into
delinquency, only advance accounts that are already in delinquency,
or both. Note that the parameters you can enter for this task are
the same ones that are displayed when you use Create Delinquency Run
to create a run manually. This task is typically run once a day. This is a multithreaded task. The Number of Threads for Generation Processes attribute in the Batch Manager configuration sets the number of threads the Batch Manager will use. |
| Direct Debit Run | Creates payments batches,
payments, and ACH output files for accounts that have signed up to
pay bills by direct debit. You can enter selection parameters such
as the bill type or the billing cycle, and you can indicate whether
you want to create an ACH file during the run. If you don’t create
the ACH file, Infor Public Sector only
creates the payment batch and the payments, so you can review this
information before creating the ACH file. This task is typically run
on a daily or weekly basis. This is a multithreaded task. The Number of Threads for Generation Processes attribute in the Batch Manager configuration sets the number of threads the Batch Manager will use. |
| Finalize Move In | Processes accounts with a status of Initialized and a move in date that is on or before the current date. If the initial meter readings have been found for metered services, Infor Public Sector will set the account status to Active, allowing the account to start receiving bills. This task is typically run once a day. |
| Finalize Move Out | Processes accounts that are active, have a move out status of Pending or Exception, and a move out date that is on or before the current date. If the final meter readings have been found for metered services, Infor Public Sector sets the account status to Final and the move out status to Moved Out. This task is typically run once a day. |
| Journal Run | Creates a journal entry for
each newly added transaction. This task is typically run on a weekly
or monthly basis. This is a multithreaded task. The Number of Threads for Generation Processes attribute in the Batch Manager configuration sets the number of threads the Batch Manager will use. |
| Payment Arrangement Review Run | Reviews accounts with payment arrangements to ensure that they're current. This task will change the arrangement status to In Notice or Broken if payments are behind schedule, and can also send notices, create service requests, or close broken arrangements. This task is typically run once a day. |
| Payment Import Run | Creates payment batches and payments based on payment import files. This task is typically run once a day. |
| Payments Only Arrangement Review Run | Reviews accounts with "payments only" payment arrangements to ensure that the arranged payment amounts are within a specified percentage or amount of the actual billed amounts. |
| Penalty Run | Calculates penalty amounts
and creates penalty transactions for past due bills for a selected
group of accounts. You can enter selection parameters such as the
bill type, billing cycle, and address route. This task is typically
run once a day. This is a multithreaded task. The Number of Threads for Generation Processes attribute in the Batch Manager configuration sets the number of threads the Batch Manager will use. |
| Post Payments Run | Posts eligible payment
batches. This task is typically run once a day. This is a multithreaded task. The Number of Threads for Generation Processes attribute in the Batch Manager configuration sets the number of threads the Batch Manager will use. |
| Recalculate Budgeted Amounts | Recalculates budgeted amounts for accounts on budget billing plans. Because the budgeted amount that an account is charged under a budget billing plan is only an estimate, it must be recalculated from time to time to ensure that it is as accurate as possible. |
| Reconcile Run | Applies available credits on
accounts to unpaid debits. You can enter selection parameters such
as a range of account numbers or an account group/cycle. This task
is typically run once a day. This is a multithreaded task. The Number of Threads for Generation Processes attribute in the Batch Manager configuration sets the number of threads the Batch Manager will use. |
| Refund Credits | Refunds credits for a selected group of accounts. This task is typically run once a week. |
| Winter Average Run | Calculates winter averages for account services. This task is typically run once a year. |