Are You Using Contract Billing in Dynamics GP?

Are you familiar with the amazing functionality for Contract Billing that is hidden inside Microsoft Dynamics GP and within the Field Service module? This functionality allows you to easily manage contracts with your customers with the ability to enter multiple lines of detail with item numbers whether it’s inventoried or a service type.

One of the many benefits of this module is its capability to quickly generate multiple invoices from multiple contracts as well as perform revenue recognition to move dollars out of Deferred accrual account and into actual Revenue account. As actual transactions are processed, the billing schedules and revenue recognition schedules are updated to show the current status of your contracts.

The image below shows the screen in which general contract information is entered. The key fields are the contract start date, number of periods, the billing frequency, and the day of the month to bill. You can also choose smooth billing and smooth revenue so that equal dollar amounts will be recognized between each period even if you started a contract in the middle of a month or choose the prorated amounts based on the number of days.

By checking the ‘Invoice Detail’ box on the contract, GP will allow you to also enter the details of the contract. Below is an example of this window where you can enter multiple items with different start and end date ranges. If not using a set price book, you can also enter the monthly rate or full amount for each item.

To validate your invoice amounts and revenue breakout, click on the bottom buttons: Invoices (to display the billing schedule) and Revenue (to see the revenue recognition breakout).

Examples of these screens are below:

In summary, the Contract Billing aspect of Field Service module in GP is rather simple and easy to learn with numerous features. Some of them include:

• Enter multiple line items for in-depth contract tracking
• Quickly generate multiple invoices from multiple contracts
• Perform mass revenue recognition per month
• Ability to choose equal dollar amounts for recognition between each period or choose pro-rated amounts based on the number of days
• Choose to Auto renew or create new contract based on existing contract (copy)
• Enter contracts in any currency with valid exchange rates setup

In addition, there are also features to generate new contracts directly out of Sales Invoice transactions. As far as reporting, there are SmartLists that provide up-to-date and accurate data in seconds. Nowadays, as subscription-based businesses are booming, this is a very efficient and reliable tool to quickly get going out of the box.

Want to talk about contract billing in Dynamics GP with one of our experienced consultants? Let us know here!