Defining an initial deposit charge

An initial deposit charge is a special type of deposit for new business accounts that is payable when the account is opened, rather than on the first bill. The amount of the deposit is based on the estimated consumption of one or more services, such as requiring a deposit equal to two months' bills for a water service.

To define an initial deposit charge, specify one or more service definitions and a formula to calculate a consumption amount for each service. Each consumption amount is passed through the rate table defined for the line item, and the resulting charges are added up to calculate the deposit. You must also designate at least one service as primary. A primary service's average consumption is available for use in the formulas for all services.

Note: More than one service can be designated as primary, but only if no account will have more than one of these services. The calculation for each account assumes that there is only one primary service on that account.

Select Billing > Setup > Billing > Line Item Setup.
In the Line Item Setup tree under Utility, right-click the Deposit node and select Create Deposit Setup.
Specify this information:

Name

Specify a name for the line item.

Description

Describe the line item.

Effective Date

Specify the date the line item becomes effective.

Rate Code

Specify the rate code used to calculate deposits.

Initial Deposit Charge

Select this option.
Click the Services tab.
In the Services grid, add the service types that will be used to calculate the initial deposit charge, and specify this information:

Service Definition

Specify the service type.

Value Formula

Specify the formula for the service.

Is Primary

Specify a service as primary.

Quantity

Specify a multiplier value for the deposit charge. Default is 1.

Round To

Specify a value for how to round the amount of the deposit. For example, to round to the nearest multiple of $10.00, specify 10.00.
Click Save.