A billing run finds certifications and applications that need attention, then prepares an action for each one. For example, it can remind holders that their certifications are expiring or activate approved applications in bulk. When you create the run, you only set up what it will do; Rhythm does not take action until you review and schedule the plan. A billing run has two separate steps: preprocessing, when Rhythm gathers the certifications and applications the run affects and stores the planned action for each one for your review, and processing, when Rhythm carries out those planned actions.
When to Use This
Create a billing run when you want Rhythm to run one of the seven billing actions on a schedule, either once or repeatedly. A run can remind holders or applicants, drop lapsed certifications, activate approved applications, expire stalled applications, forecast renewal revenue, or invoice training providers. You can start from a saved billing template, build a run from scratch, or copy an existing run.
Prerequisites
- Permission to work with billing runs.
- If you want to start from a template, at least one active billing template must exist. Otherwise, the wizard only offers Create a Billing Run from Scratch.
Create a Billing Run
- Go to Certifications › Billing and select Create Billing Run.
- On Select Billing Template, choose an active template, or select Create a Billing Run from Scratch at the bottom of the list.
- On Select Actions, switch on at least one action: Send Renewal Reminders, Drop/Terminate Expired Certifications, Bill Training Providers (offered only when your Rhythm account has training-provider billing enabled), Forecast Renewals, Activate Applications, Send Application Reminders, and Archive/Deactivate Expired Applications.
- On Enter Billing Run Info, enter a Name: and Notification Email:, answer When would you like to process this billing run?, and complete the settings for each action you selected.
- On Review Billing Run, check the summary, then select Schedule Billing Run.
Result
Rhythm saves the run with a status of Scheduled. If you started from scratch instead of using a template, Rhythm adds today's date to the beginning of the run name. Rhythm then plans the run automatically; see Review, Refresh, and Schedule a Billing Run's Plan for what happens next.
Tip
The question When would you like to process this billing run? and its In the future option do not currently change when Rhythm builds the run's plan. Rhythm always sets a new run's plan to be built shortly after you save it, no matter what you choose here. If you want the run to wait until a later date before the plan and reviews are ready, schedule that from the run's own page after you save it.
What Each Action Needs
Each action has its own filters, so you can narrow one action without changing the others. You can filter by certification program, training provider, and status reason; application actions also include application type. Status reason filters use the configurable status reasons under Certifications › Applications › Status Reasons. The available reasons depend on the action, so if those configured reasons do not cover the distinction you need, billing automation based on another administrator-selected status would need to be requested as a feature. Each action also needs its own settings:
- Send Renewal Reminders / Send Application Reminders. Add one or more reminders, each with its own date range and notice. Rhythm sends the first reminder in the list whose date range matches the certification or application, so place reminders in the order you want Rhythm to check them.
- Drop/Terminate Expired Certifications. Set the expiration-date range to search, and optionally choose a drop notice.
- Bill Training Providers. Set the date range, choose an invoice template and payment terms, and decide whether to email invoices to training providers.
- Forecast Renewals. Set the expiration-date range to search; this action has no notice. This action estimates revenue by generating pro forma orders for the application fee tied to the renewal process you're forecasting. It does not create renewal applications or payable renewal orders.
- Activate Applications. Optionally choose a notice; this action has no date-range window.
- Archive/Deactivate Expired Applications. Set the expiration-date range, and optionally choose a notice.
If an action's setup help text or a billing template describes something different from this article, follow this article. Some help text is shared with membership and finance billing runs, so it can use language that does not quite match certification billing.
Warning
Rhythm lets you save a run even when a selected action is missing required settings, such as a reminder action with no reminders defined. That action has nothing to do when the run executes, so review each action's settings on the review step before scheduling.
Copy an Existing Run
To reuse an existing run's actions, filters, and notices, open the run you want to copy and select Clone. The copy keeps the original run's planning time. If that time has already passed, the copy is due to be planned again almost immediately after you save it. The copy does not include the original run's statistics or history, so it starts with no plan until Rhythm plans it fresh.
Why a Save Is Refused
Rhythm refuses to save a billing run when the run has no name or the notification email is blank. Identifiers on a run, such as its name, may only use letters, digits, underscores, hyphens, and vertical bars. Rhythm refuses anything else.
Related Reading
After you save a run, see Review, Refresh, and Schedule a Billing Run's Plan to check what it plans to do and start it. To change a saved run's filters, schedule, or notices, see Edit a Billing Run's Filters, Schedule, and Notices. To find a run you already created, see Find Billing Runs and Their History. For how a run decides which certifications and applications to include, see How a Billing Run Selects Its Records.