A billing template saves the actions and options you use for billing runs, so you do not re-enter the same settings for renewal reminders, drops, or invoicing. A recurring billing run connects a template to a schedule, so Rhythm creates those billing runs automatically instead of waiting for staff to start them by hand.
What It Controls
A billing template controls what a billing run does, such as sending renewal reminders, dropping expired certifications, or billing training providers. Each action has its own options, including date windows based on the day Rhythm creates the run. A recurring billing run controls how often Rhythm turns that template into a planned billing run, and how far in advance staff can review it.
Where to Find It
Templates: Go to Setup › Billing › Templates. Select Create Billing Template to add a template, or use a row’s Edit or Clone action.
Recurring runs: Go to Setup › Billing › Recurring Runs. Select Create Recurring Billing Run to add a recurring run, or use a row’s Edit or Clone action.
The Settings
| Setting | Options | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template — Name / ID / Notification Email | Text / suggested from name / a valid email | Your own email address on new templates | Identifies the template and tells Rhythm where to send completion notices for runs created from it |
| Template — Status | Active, Inactive | Active | Hides an inactive template from the template pickers used to start a new run or set up a new recurring schedule. It does not stop an existing recurring schedule that already uses the template from creating runs |
| Template — actions (Send Renewal Reminders, Drop Expired Certifications, Forecast Renewals, Bill Training Providers, Activate Approved Applications, Send Application Reminders, Expire Applications) | Each on/off | All off | Shows that action’s date window, notice or reminder, and any filters by program, training provider, status reason, or application type when you turn on the action |
| Recurring — Billing Template | Any active template | None | Sets the template this schedule uses each time it creates a run |
| Recurring — Pre-Processing Lead Time (days) | A number of days | 1 | Sets how many days before the schedule’s target date Rhythm creates the run, so staff have time to review it before it is due. For a daily schedule, a lead time of 0 has been observed to either push the run to the next day instead of preprocessing later the same day, or produce an error when you try to save. If that happens, use a lead time of at least 1 day instead. Certifications recurring runs have historically been more limited than Membership recurring runs when preprocessing later the same day. Reports on whether this is fully resolved have been mixed, so test a short lead time before you rely on it |
| Recurring — Billing Run Schedule | Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or an advanced cron expression | Monthly, on the 1st at 23:00 | Sets how often the schedule runs. In some cases, a schedule set to run every day has been observed to create or execute runs only every other day. If your daily schedule seems to be skipping days, contact Support |
For Send Renewal Reminders and Send Application Reminders, add a separate reminder entry for each notice you want to send, such as a first, second, and third reminder. Give each entry its own notice and date range, which determines which certifications or applications it includes.
Dependencies and Precedence
- Deactivating a template only affects new selections. Inactive templates are hidden from the one-off run wizard and from the template picker on recurring schedules. Any recurring schedule that already points to the template keeps creating runs from it.
- Editing a template used by a recurring schedule warns you, but doesn't stop you. When one or more recurring schedules use the template you are editing, Rhythm shows a notice on the form with the number of schedules affected. You can still save, and your changes apply to every future run those schedules create.
- Every hour, Rhythm checks for schedules that are due and queues them, so a due schedule can run up to an hour late. Each due occurrence creates a new billing run from the schedule’s template. Rhythm uses the current date and time to resolve the template’s relative date windows, then sends the run to your regular planning and review queue. If Rhythm cannot create the run, it retries a few times before giving up on that occurrence. Nobody in your account is notified if an occurrence never produces a run.
- A recurring schedule only automates preprocessing, not execution. Once a run reaches Ready for Execution, it waits there until a staff member reviews it and clicks Run. A recurring schedule never executes a run by itself. The completion notification tells you the run is ready, not that it has processed, so always plan to log in and run it yourself.
Change Impact and How to Revert
When you edit a template or recurring schedule, the change applies to every run created from that point forward. Runs that already exist keep the settings they had when Rhythm created them. Marking a template Inactive does not undo runs already scheduled from it. To stop a recurring schedule from creating more runs, set its Status to Inactive. This is the practical way to pause automation because you cannot delete a schedule after it has created a run.
Permissions
You need administrator-level access to Certifications Setup to open Billing Templates or Recurring Runs setup, and to create, edit, clone, or delete records there.
Validation and Errors
- A template needs a valid Notification Email, and every action you turn on needs its required options filled in. Rhythm does not save the template when required options are missing or invalid.
- Delete a template is refused while any billing run or recurring schedule still names it. Deactivate the template instead if you need to stop it from being used for new work.
- Delete a recurring schedule is refused once it has created even one billing run. After that, deactivating the schedule is your only practical way to stop it.
- Rhythm also refuses to delete a certification notice, application notice, invoice template, or payment terms while any billing template or run still names it. You may need to update or remove the billing template’s reference before you can delete that item elsewhere in Setup.
Related Tasks
Starting a one-off run from a template is covered in Create a Billing Run. After a recurring schedule creates a run, Review, Refresh, and Schedule a Billing Run’s Plan explains how to review, refresh, and schedule it for execution. Find Billing Runs and Their History explains how to find runs a schedule has already created. Notices you reference on a template are set up in Define Certification Notices.