Billing Runs

You can create and manage billing runs.

This allows you to pre-configure billing information, such as the type of invoice, for a variety of cases, and then easily generate automated invoice drafts with the push of a button.

For example, you can generate invoice drafts monthly for each department based on the recorded services during that period, according to the desired billing properties. The rates stored at the case level, contact level, or standard level are automatically applied.

In the Billing Runs view, you can create, edit, and delete billing runs. You must assign a name and can limit the billing run to a specific location, HVRA, and/or time period. If you limit the billing run to the period from 06/01 to 06/30, only services recorded by 06/30 will be billed later. The system automatically assigns a sequential number to each billing run.

Billing

To configure a billing run regarding billing information, you need to switch to the Billing view.

In this view, the structure of your billing run is displayed in levels. It shows the connections between invoices (e.g., in a hierarchical collective invoice, the collective invoice with the partial invoices) and from invoice recipients to invoices.

In the Mode ribbon group, you can switch the view between Invoice Recipient View and Invoice View.

In the Structure ribbon group, you have the option to expand or collapse all levels.

By clicking the New button, you can add case billing configurations to your billing run. After adding, the selected case billing configuration appears in the configuration view. The billing information is displayed in detail.

In the case billing configuration, you can set billing information such as invoice type, invoice category, recipient billing configuration, payment terms, tax situation, discount, expense allowance, billing in a secondary currency, billing expenses according to RVG, invoice number range, and invoice cover letter.

Additionally, by clicking New, you can create a new recipient billing configuration. To have this configuration considered in your configuration view, you must assign it to the desired case billing configuration.

The functionality is described in an example further below.

Deactivate Cases in Billing Run

By clicking the icon in front of the case number in the billing run configuration, you can deactivate certain cases in the billing run. This can be useful if you have recorded very few services in the case and do not want to bill them yet. Once enough services have been recorded for billing, you can reactivate the case with another click on the icon, and the desired invoice draft will be generated during the next billing run. The status is indicated by an icon.

For collective invoice configurations, a click on the icon of the collective invoice case is sufficient. The subordinate partial invoice cases are automatically deactivated as well. Of course, you can activate/deactivate individual partial invoices separately.

The activated setting Execute Billing Run: Always Include All Sub-Cases from Hierarchy under Administration > System Administration > General Settings means that in collective invoice configurations, only the entire collective invoice hierarchy can be activated or deactivated. Individual partial invoices cannot be activated or deactivated separately.

Invoice Types

If you want to specify whether the generated invoice drafts for a case should be individual invoices or partial invoices for a collective invoice, you must set the invoice type in the case billing configuration.

For the Individual Invoice type, an individual invoice for this case is generated when the billing run is executed. For the individual invoice type, it is necessary to store the billing information required for this individual invoice draft in the case billing configuration (e.g., tax situations).

For the Partial Invoice type, a partial invoice for this case is generated when the billing run is executed. For this invoice type, it is necessary to assign the associated collective invoice. In the configuration view, the partial invoice is then displayed one level below the collective invoice.

For the Free Collective Invoice type, you decide that the selected case is a collective invoice main case. In the case billing configuration, you must store the required billing information, such as tax situations or payment terms. The billing information is inherited by the assigned partial invoices.

You can assign partial invoices by marking the collective invoice (main case) in the configuration view and then clicking the Update Partial Invoices button.

The Collective Invoice over Case Hierarchy type configures the case as a collective invoice in a case hierarchy. Here too, you must store the necessary billing information so that it can be inherited by the partial invoices.

To assign partial invoices, mark the collective invoice (main case) in the configuration view and then click Update Partial Invoices. This will add all sub-cases of the case hierarchy, as long as they have not already been explicitly assigned to another billing run. If you click the Update Partial Invoices over Hierarchy button, all sub-cases become partial invoices, even if a sub-case has already been configured with the individual invoice type.

You can select the Collective Invoice over Recipient type. This makes the case a collective invoice main case. The same applies to the Free Collective Invoice and Collective Invoice over Case Hierarchy types, with the difference that by clicking the Update Partial Invoices button, those cases with the same unique client are added as partial invoices. If the one client from the collective invoice main case also appears in the partial invoice sub-case, the partial invoice is automatically added. If more than one client is present, you must manually add the partial invoice by setting the invoice type to partial invoice in the case billing configuration and entering the collective invoice.

Update Partial Invoices

In the configuration view, you can mark a collective invoice (hierarchical) and automatically add partial invoices using the Update Partial Invoices button. The functionality is described in the previous chapter.

Update Partial Invoices over Hierarchy

In the configuration view, you can mark a collective invoice (hierarchical) and automatically add sub-invoices using the Update Sub-Invoices via Hierarchy button. Unlike the Update Sub-Invoices function, this feature also changes existing file billing configurations of sub-files to the sub-invoice type. The collective invoice configuration then matches the file hierarchy exactly.

If you want to bill a sub-file as an individual invoice within a file hierarchy, please use the Update Sub-Invoices function or remove this sub-file from the file hierarchy. Otherwise, the Update Sub-Invoices via Hierarchy function would turn the sub-file back into a sub-invoice of the main file (collective invoice).

Agreed Rates

You can view the stored rate of a marked invoice or a marked invoice recipient.

Currency Rates

If you want to create invoice drafts in a secondary currency using the billing run, it is necessary, among other things, to configure the exchange rate between your base currency and the foreign currency. The Currency Rates view is available for this purpose. You can set the effective date of the rate using the Valid From button. By clicking Edit, you can directly enter a new price for your base currency in the list. All currencies stored in your system are available. When you save your change, the new entry will be displayed in the list. You can view the history of your rate entries using the History button.

Further descriptions of billing in a secondary currency in the context of the billing run can be found below in the section Billing Runs in Secondary Currency.

Services

In the billing runs view, the Services button is available. This dialog displays the non-billable services of the invoices (the files) in your billing run configuration. For example, if a recorded time has not yet been completed, you will receive a notice in this dialog.

Completeness

By clicking the Completeness button, you will receive notices about which invoice information still needs to be stored in your billing run configuration to successfully generate invoice drafts. For example, if you forgot to store the tax situation for an individual invoice, this will be indicated when you click Completeness.

Execute

Clicking Execute will carry out the selected billing run. The execution runs in the background. You can continue working in other views in Lexolution during this time. After the execution is complete, the view will automatically switch to the results view.

Results

In the Results View, you will find an entry for each execution in the list at the top, with information on the Execution Time, the Service Period, and the Number of Invoice Drafts generated. When you select one of these entries, the Log tab in the lower area displays technical information about this billing run (e.g., that no billable services were found in one of the files), and the Invoices tab shows the created invoice drafts.

Using the Invoice Draft Overview button, you can access a report with invoice-relevant information from the associated files, including invoice headers, open items, received advances, unfinished invoice drafts, invoice items, and assigned services (RVG, hours, expenses). The report corresponds to the report in the invoice draft view under Overviews > Invoice Draft Overview.

From the results view, you can directly jump to the invoice draft view or, if you have completed the drafts, to the invoice view.

Create Documents

You can Create Documents from the billing run results view. Use the Create Documents button for this purpose.

Documents will be created for those invoice drafts you have marked in the Invoices tab. This way, you can, for example, create two documents at once from a list of ten invoice drafts by marking the first and last invoice draft. Once the documents have been created and you have clicked the refresh button once, you can also print multiple documents at once. To do this, mark several invoice drafts at once if needed.

The Print Dialog allows you to view the documents in a document preview. You can set the number of copies and select a printer or adjust printer properties. The print dialog is only available for invoices for which a document has been previously created.

Billing Runs in Secondary Currency

To carry out a billing run in a secondary currency, the following steps are necessary: For the files to be billed with the billing run in a secondary currency, the secondary currency must be activated in the file views in the file tab Billing Info, and a culture must be stored in the file data. The billing run configuration must be assigned an appropriate hourly rate in the secondary currency. The secondary currency must be activated in the file billing configurations. You must store a conversion factor in the currency table.

Example for Configuring a Billing Run

If, for example, you manage the client Gas Stations Inc., with whom a fixed framework hourly rate is agreed, and you want to bill all files with this client monthly, proceed as follows.

First, create a recipient billing configuration for the contact Gas Stations Inc.

Then store a rate with the contact.

Then, in each file where Gas Stations Inc. is your client, add this recipient billing configuration to the respective file billing configuration. You do not need to store the agreed rate again at the file level. It is inherited from Gas Stations Inc. to the files.

Exception: You want to store a different rate in certain files.

Create a new billing run. Assign a name and, if necessary, information about location, HVRA, and period (monthly).

Add the files to your billing run in the billing run configuration. Configure your files as individual invoices or in the collective invoice/sub-invoice relationship as desired.

Enter the necessary invoice information in the billing run configuration (e.g., the tax situation).

Check the rates valid as of the cutoff date xy using the Agreed Rates / Resulting Rates buttons.

Execute your billing run. The recorded services will be added to the automatically generated invoice drafts with the rates stored at the invoice recipient level.

The Completeness and Services buttons, along with the protocol notes after running the billing process, provide information on whether your configuration and service recording were complete. You can track the hourly rates in the billing process results. For a more detailed analysis at the hourly position level, you can access the invoice draft view directly from the billing process results view.