Managing Services
Overview
Section titled “Overview”A service holds charges that are not driven by usage: hosting, support contracts, software licences, hardware rental and one-off fees. It sits under a customer, like a number, but has no tariffs and no call data. Its charges are features attached to it.
Billing administrators use this guide to set up and maintain services. For every field, and step-by-step instructions for each action, see the Services reference.
This guide shows you how to:
- Add a service with its charges
- Drop, reinstate or pause a service
- Fix charges that are missing or wrong
Quick start
Section titled “Quick start”Most common tasks
Section titled “Most common tasks”Add a service -> Customer page > Add menu > Service Find a service -> SmartSearch in the left-hand menu, by service name Add charges to a service -> Service page > Actions menu > Add Features Drop a service -> Service page > Actions menu > Drop Service Reinstate a service -> Service page > Actions menu > Reinstate Service
Adding a service
Section titled “Adding a service”What you need:
- The customer the service belongs to
- The service type
- The charges, with their amounts, charge intervals and start dates
- A saved set of default values for this kind of service, if you have one
Steps:
- Open the customer and go to Add menu > Service.
- Load default values from Default Values > Load, if you have a suitable set. A set saved with New + Service Charges fills in the service and its standard charges together. See Managing Default Values.
- Choose the Service Type. The type decides which Customer Products are available, which transaction codes apply, and any default notice periods.
- Enter the Service Name. It appears in searches, on the customer page and on invoices.
- Add the charges in the charge section: up to two, or up to ten with full feature entry turned on.
- Click Save.
The platform creates the service and its charges, then shows the service’s page. If you gave no start date for a charge, it starts from the Date Sold.
For example, a managed hosting service might be set up with a monthly hosting fee, an annual support charge and a one-off setup fee, all in one step.
Services are added one at a time. There is no bulk entry or bulk import for services, so save a default value set for each common service to speed up repeated entry.
Fields that affect the invoice
Section titled “Fields that affect the invoice”Description appears with the service on invoices and in the portal. Keep it short, such as “Hosting: production server”.
Site groups services on the invoice, with a subtotal for each site. Use it for offices or departments the customer recognises.
Default Fixed Fee Tariff prices the service’s charges unless a feature sets its own. See Fixed Fee Tariffs.
Contract End Date is for reference and reporting. The platform does not drop the service or stop its charges when the date passes.
Annual Increase Profile and Annual Increase Reference Date record which price increase applies and when. They do not change prices themselves. See Price Increases.
Changing a service
Section titled “Changing a service”Open the service and click Edit. Record why in the Update Reason dropdown and Update Details field.
To add more charges later, use Actions menu > Add Features. You can load default values on that form too, including charge bundles saved on the new-service form.
To change the status, use the actions in the next section rather than the Status field.
Stopping and restarting billing
Section titled “Stopping and restarting billing”Each of these actions is on the service’s Actions menu. The Services reference has the full form for each.
| Action | Use it when | Effect on charges |
|---|---|---|
| Drop Service | The customer no longer needs the service | Drops all its features. Charges up to the drop date are billed; anything billed beyond it is refunded. |
| Reinstate Service | A dropped service comes back | Reinstates the features dropped with it. A past Reinstate Date adds back-dated charges. |
| Suspend Service | The service is paused | Stops recurring charges |
| Unsuspend Service | The pause ends | Back-fills the recurring charges missed while suspended |
| Make Service Non-Billable | The service should not be invoiced for now | Automated billing runs skip the service. Charges still build up. |
| Make Service Billable | Billing should resume | Back-fills missed recurring charges |
Drop Date is the last day the customer pays for. Include any notice period or minimum term. Use Apply Early Termination Charge to charge the rest of a committed term on features still in contract.
Example: on 15 January a customer gives notice to end their hosting at the end of the month. Set Drop Date to 31/01/2025 and Cancellation Notice Given to 15/01/2025.
Reinstate Service brings back only the features that were dropped with the service. A feature dropped separately before the service stays dropped; reinstate it with its own Reinstate Feature action.
These actions change billing only. If a third-party provider supplies the service, cancel or restore it with them separately.
If the whole customer is leaving, close the customer instead. That drops every service, number and feature on the account. See Managing Customers.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”A charge is missing from the invoice
Section titled “A charge is missing from the invoice”Check, in this order:
- Service status: a non-billable or suspended service does not invoice its recurring charges.
- Feature dates: the feature’s start and end dates must cover the billing period. A feature starting next month is not on this month’s invoice.
- Charge interval: a quarterly charge appears once a quarter, not monthly.
A charge is the wrong amount
Section titled “A charge is the wrong amount”- Check the amount on the feature itself.
- Check whether a fixed fee tariff is setting the price instead of the feature’s own amount.
- For a service that started or ended part-way through a period, check the pro-rated amount.
- Check whether an annual increase has already been applied.
To recalculate all the service’s recurring charges after a correction, use Reset and Rebill while nothing has been approved, or Refund and Rebill once charges are on an approved invoice. See Correcting charges.
A charge carried on after the service was dropped
Section titled “A charge carried on after the service was dropped”Drop Service drops every active feature on the service. A feature still billing was usually added after the drop, or had its dates edited by hand. Drop it with its own Drop Feature action. See Managing Features.
Deleting a service
Section titled “Deleting a service”Delete a service only if it was entered by mistake, such as a duplicate. Deleting removes it and its history permanently. Remove its features and notes first; the Delete option on the Actions menu appears only once nothing is attached.
A service that has been billed should be dropped, not deleted, so its history stays available.
Advanced users only: manual status changes
Section titled “Advanced users only: manual status changes”Changing the Status to a dropped status ends the service’s active features, using the Dropped / Reinstated Date. Changing it back to an active status, with the Dropped / Reinstated Date set to the reinstate date, reinstates the features dropped with the service. Check each feature afterwards.
Related guides
Section titled “Related guides”- Services reference: every field and action in full
- Managing Features: recurring and one-off charges
- Managing Numbers: usage-billed services
- Managing Customers