You can set up billing schedules by state and by policy type by accessing the Edit Billing Schedule dialog box.
Use the following documentation as a guide for setting up and editing billing schedules.
Select state and policy type for billing schedule
- Navigate to Settings > Modules > Policies.
- Under Policy Lifecycle, select Edit.
The Confirm pop-up window will open, stating:You’re about to leave the page. Would you like to save your data before proceeding?
To save your data and open the Policy Lifecycle screen, select Yes.
To open the Policy Lifecycle screen without saving your data, select No. - On the Policy Lifecycle screen, from the Choose a State dropdown list, select the state the billing schedule will be or is currently associated with. When you select a state, radio buttons will display on the right side of the screen.
- Select one of the following radio buttons:
- Lifecycle Parameters Are the Same for All Business
- Lifecycle Parameters Are Defined Per Policy Type
Note:If you select theLifecycle Parameters Are Defined Per Policy Typeradio button, you will be prompted to select the policy that the billing schedule will be or is currently associated with from thePolicy Typedropdown list.
Select billing schedule
- Navigate to the Billing Schedules section on the Policy Lifecyclescreen.
- Select one of the following:
- + New Billing Schedule: This will open the Edit Billing Schedule dialog box, where you can create your new billing schedule.
- The pencil icon next to the billing schedule you want to edit, which will open the Edit Billing Schedule dialog box for an existing billing schedule.
When you open the Edit Billing Schedule dialog box, you will see the following items in the top section:
- Name of Billing Schedule field
- Remind BriteQuote users to complete the Automated Payments Enrollment form checkbox
- Policy Term Length checkboxes
Below this section, you will see the following sections:
- Limit Availability To
- Installments
- Timeline
- Renewal Configuration Options.
Complete the top section of the Edit Billing Schedule dialog box
- In the Name of Billing Schedule box, type the name of the billing schedule.
- TheRemind BriteQuote Users to complete the Automated Payments Enrollment form checkbox is for auto-pay billing schedules. If you select this checkbox, when an agent is on the Billing tab while quoting, a pop-up window will open reminding the agent to have the potential insured complete the Direct Debit Letter. Select this checkbox to enable this reminder. Leave the checkbox unchecked if you don’t want to enable this reminder.
- In the Policy Term Length section, select the checkbox(es) associated with the policy term length(s) to which the billing schedule will be applied.
Limit Availability To
The Limit Availability To section is broken down into subsections that allow you to customize who the billing schedule is available to, the minimum amount of premium the billing schedule applies to, where the billing schedule displays, and installment fees by payment method.
Bill to Whom
By default, all checkboxes underBill to Whom are selected. You can limit who the billing schedule is available to by deselecting roles. For example, the Escrow Billingschedule would only be available to mortgagees, so you would deselect all roles underBill to Whom except for Mortgagees.
- In the Bill to Whomsection, deselect the role checkbox(es) you want to restrict the availability of the billing schedule for. If you don’t want to restrict availability to specific roles, continue to the next section. If you want to add billing schedule availability to roles and the role checkboxes are unchecked, select the role checkboxes you want to add availability for.
Minimum Pro-Rata Premium
In the Minimum Pro-Rata Premium section, you can restrict the availability of the billing schedule by the amount of premium on a policy. For example, you can choose not to offer a monthly billing schedule on policies with less than $100 of pro-rata premium. To limit the availability of the billing schedule by premium:
- In the Minimum Pro-Rata Premiumbox, type the premium amount. Using the example above, if you don’t want to offer monthly billing schedules on policies with less than $100 of premium, type $100 in the Minimum Pro-Rata Premium box.
Note:If the premium on a policy drops below the specified minimum premium as a result of an endorsement, the billing schedule will automatically be dropped from the policy. If this happens, you will need to reselect the billing schedule.
Display Options
By default, all checkboxes under Display Options are selected, meaning the billing schedule is visible throughout the system. When a billing schedule isn’t visible, it can’t be selected as an option.
- In the Display Options section, to limit the visibility of the billing schedule, deselect the checkboxes for locations you want to hide the billing schedule from. If you want to increase visibility and Display Optionscheckboxes aren’t selected, select the checkboxes for locations where you want to add billing schedule visibility.
Notes:
- Billing schedules can’t be hidden from staff within the Provider Administrator portal.
- DeselectingShow in Public Gatewayremoves the billing schedule from theSecure Checkoutscreen. TheSecure Checkoutscreen is where outside payors make electronic payments, so when this checkbox is deselected, outside payors are prevented from selecting the billing schedule when making an electronic payment.
- If you select theShow in Public Gatewaycheckbox and enable thePrevent agents and external users from making Billing Schedule changes Mid-Termsetting, an outside payor can select the billing schedule only at renewal.
- DeselectingShow in Payment Sweepremoves the billing schedule from thePaymentsmodule in the Agent portal. ThePaymentsmodule is where agents make sweep payments, so when this checkbox is deselected, the agent is prevented from selecting the billing schedule when making sweep payments.
- DeselectingShow on Invoicesremoves the billing schedule from all invoices, which makes the insured unaware that the billing schedule exists as an option.
Installment Fees
In the Installment Fees section, you can customize the billing schedule by setting installment fees for ACH and credit card payments. You can set a fee amount of $0.00 or greater. Customized installment fees can be set for both recurring installments and initial installments, in their respective sections Recurring Installment Fees and Initial Installment Fees.
To set an installment fee:
- Navigate to the Recurring Installment Fees or Initial Installment Fees section.
- Select the corresponding ACH or Credit Card checkbox.
- In the box to the right of ACH or Credit Card, type the amount of the fee.
Installments
In the Installments section, you can define when the installment invoices are issued, what factor of premium each installment accounts for, and the number of core installment fees.
Note:By default, theEffective Dateinstallment invoice appears in theInstallmentssection.
To complete the Installments section:
- In the Send Installment Invoicecolumn, select the number of months after the Effective Date that the installment invoice should be sent. For example, quarterly billing typically has installments issued at 3, 6, and 9 months after the effective date.
Note:If you’re working on theEffective Dateinstallment, you can move to step 2.
- In the Factor of Total Premium Due column, select the factor of premium due for this specific installment. For example, a quarterly billing schedule could have the premium divided equally at 25% per installment. In this case, you would type 0.25 in the Factor of Total Premium Due box for the installment. If a quarterly billing schedule has a higher percentage of premium due on the Effective Date, such as 40%, and then a lower percentage due at each installment, such as 20%, then you would type 0.40 in the Factor of Total Premium Duecolumn for the Effective Dateinstallment and 0.20 in the Factor of Total Premium Duecolumn for each subsequent installment. The numbers entered in the Factor of Total Premium Duecolumn must add up to 1.
- In the Installment Feecolumn, type the fee amount for the installment. This is the core installment fee. Core installment fees can be assessed on a per-installment basis.
Note:Assessing a $0 fee on the first installment can simplify processing of unpaid renewal invoices.
- To add another installment, select+ Add Installment to Billing Schedule, and a new installment line will populate at the bottom of the Installmentstable. Repeat steps 1-3.
Timeline
In the Timeline section, you can define when invoices are generated and due for the billing schedule. TheInitialBilling(new business) and Renewal timelines control when the declaration prints as well, because the declaration and the invoice print together for new and renewal business.
By default, the Send Invoice on Day and Payment is Due on Day columns are pre-filled for Initial Billing, Mid-term Installments, and Renewal.
- Send Invoice on Day: This column displays how many days prior to the effective date the invoice should generate. If your state requires that the renewal invoice is mailed 30 days prior to the effective date, the number in the Send Invoice on Day column for Renewal would be -30, indicating it’s 30 days prior to the effective date. With the exception of weekends and recognized holidays, the date the invoice generates is the same date it prints. To accommodate weekends and holidays, two to three days should be added to the timeline. Again, if your state requires that the renewal invoice is mailed 30 days prior to the effective date, to accommodate for weekends and holidays, you can change the number in the Send Invoice on Day column for Renewal from -30 to -33.
- Payment is Due on Day: This column displays the number of days from the effective date that the payment is due.
- If you type -10 in the Payment is Due on Day column for Renewal, this means payment is due 10 days before the effective date.
- If you type 0 in the Payment is Due on Day column for Renewal, this means payment is due on the effective date.
- If you type 10 days in the Payment is Due on Day column for Renewal, this means payment is due 10 days after the effective date.
To set the billing schedule timeline:
- In the Send Invoice on Day box for Initial Billing, use the arrows in the box (these will appear when you hover over or select the box) to navigate to the number of days prior to the effective date the invoices must be generated and sent. You can also type a value in the box.
- In the Payment is Due on Day box for Initial Billing, use the arrows in the box (these will appear when you hover over or select the box) to navigate to the number of days from the effective date that the payment is due. You can also type a value in the box.
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 for Mid-term Installments and Renewal.
Renewal Configuration Options
In the Renewal Configuration Options section, you can determine if policies on the billing schedule will move to a new billing schedule at renewal. If you don’t want to migrate policies from this current billing schedule at renewal, you can continue to the final step.
- If policies on this billing schedule will move to a new billing schedule at renewal, select one of the following:
-
- On renewal, migrate policies on this billing schedule to the following billing schedule:
Note:When you select this checkbox, select the billing schedule the policies will migrate to from the dropdown list.
- On renewal, use custom billing schedule installments:
Note:When you select this checkbox, an additionalInstallmentssection will populate below it. Complete theSend Installment Invoice,Factor of Total Premium Due, andInstallment Feecolumns for each installment. The number of installments in the custom billing schedule installments will equal the number of installments in theInstallmentssection. Refer to theInstallmentssection above for more information.
- On renewal, migrate policies on this billing schedule to the following billing schedule:
Save the billing schedule
- When you have completed the sections in theEdit Billing Schedule dialog box, select Save and Exit.
Note:If you selectCancel and Exit, the billing schedule won’t be saved.