Summary

The Utility Billing module allows you to charge deposits on customer accounts when a new customer account is created using the New Account Wizard. To create a deposit, a deposit type fee code is added during the final step of the Wizard. The fee code will determine the amount of the deposit, the service that will be charged the deposit amount and the GL accounts used in the transactions. The service attached to the deposit fee code (UB> Maintenance> Fee Code> Select a fee code> Service to Charge drop-down) must be attached to the UB customer account.

When the New Account Wizard is completed, a billing transaction is created in an open UB Adjustments and Fee batch to record a receivable for the deposit amount. When the customer pays the deposit amount, both a payment and a deposit transaction are created. The Payment transaction reverses the Billing transaction and the Deposit transaction records the deposit and represents the obligation to repay the deposit amount.

Step by Step

1     Create the deposit in the final step of the New Account Wizard.

• Open the New Account Wizard (UB> Maintenance> Account> Create icon). You can also open the New Account Wizard from the Final Account Wizard if a customer is moving to a new lot or a new customer is moving to the lot being finaled.
• The date entered in the Connection Date field on the Initialization step will be used as the transaction date of the Billing type deposit transaction line item generated by the New Account Wizard.
• Select the customer account to create the deposit on during the Customer step.
• Add the service attached to the deposit fee code to the customer account on the Services step. The service charged by the deposit must be attached to the customer account.
  • The deposit fee code is created and maintained using the Fee Code Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Fee Code). The service selected in the Service to Charge field must be attached to the customer account. This is the service that will be billed the deposit amount on the Billing transaction generated to create the deposit.
• Click the Add Charges button on the Connection Charges step of the New Account Wizard. This will open the Fee Code Selection window.
  • Select a deposit type fee code in the Fee Code Selection window. Fee codes are set up as deposit fee codes by checking the Deposit toggle (UB> Maintenance> Fee Code> Select a fee code).
  • The selected deposit type fee code will populate in the Fees section of the New Account Wizard. The deposit amount (UB> Maintenance> Fee Code> Select a fee code> Flat Amount field) set up on the deposit fee code will populate in the Amount column in the Fees section. This is the amount of the deposit. Modify the amount in the Amount column to change the amount of the deposit.
• Select the Adjustments and Fees batch used to process the Billing transaction in the Batch Number field.
  • The Adjustments and Fees batch must be an open batch (uncommitted). If a Proof List or GL Distribution Report has already been run on the open Adjustments and Fees batch, the batch will be returned to the Input step.
• Click the Finish step to create the deposit on the customer account. This will close the New Account Wizard, create the customer account and generate the Billing line item in the Adjustments and Fees batch.

2     Commit the Billing type transaction in the Adjustments and Fees batch.

• Open the Adjustments and Fees batch that the deposit transaction was sent to on the Connection Charges step of the New Account Wizard.
• Open the Input and Display window (UB> Adjustments and Fees> Input). The Input step will display the deposit transaction as a Billing type transaction. Highlight the transaction and press ENTER or click the Modify icon   to view the details of the transaction being created.
  • The transaction date of the Billing transaction line is the Connect Date entered during the Initialization step of the New Account Wizard.
• Review the Proof List Report.
  • The Proof List Report (UB> Adjustments and Fees> Proof List) will display the deposit amount and the service charged.
  • The service charged by the deposit must be attached to the customer account. Services are attached to customer accounts using the Account Master Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Account> Select an account> Service Rates tab).
• Review the GL Distribution Report.
  • Generate the GL Distribution Report (UB> Adjustments and Fees> GL Distribution).
  • The deposit will create the following journal entry:

• The amount of the journal entry is the amount of the deposit on the account. This is generally the flat amount that was set up on the fee code (UB> Maintenance> Fee Code> Select a fee code> Flat Amount field), but this value could have been changed when the deposit was attached to the account on the Connection Charges step on the New Account Wizard.
• If the journal entries used in the transaction are incorrect, you can change the GL accounts attached to the fee code using the Fee Code Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Fee Code > Select a fee code> Revenue Account and AR Account fields). Changing the GL accounts on the fee code will update the GL accounts used in the journal entry in the Adjustments and Fees batch.

• Commit the Adjustments and Fees batch if the journal entry is correct.
• If the service attached to the deposit type fee code is not attached to the customer account, you will receive an error message. To fix this error message, attach the service on the deposit fee code to the customer account (UB> Maintenance> Account> Open the account> Service Rates tab).
• The deposit will not display on the History tab of the Account Master Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Account> Select an account> History tab> Deposit History) until the deposit has been paid.

3     Receive payment on the deposit.

• When payment of the deposit is received, the AR journal entry line item created by the Billing transaction type will be reversed, the receipt of the deposit will be recorded and, once committed, the deposit will display on the account.
• Enter the customer payment using a Cash Receipts batch in the CR module (CR> Cash Receipts).
  • The date entered on the receipt will be used as the transaction date on the deposit. When you are factoring interest on the deposit (UB> Refunds, or UB> Transactions and Fees> Factor Deposit Interest), this is the date that will be used when calculating the amount of interest to apply to the customer account.
• Review the GL Distribution.
  • The payment of the deposit will create the following general entry based.

• The journal entry reverses the receivable journal entry line item created by the Billing transaction.
• If the general ledger accounts used in the journal entry are not correct you can change the GL accounts attached to the fee code using the Fee Code Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Fee Code> Open the deposit type fee code). Changing the GL accounts on the fee code will update the GL accounts used in the journal entry created.

• Commit the Cash Receipts batch if the journal entry is correct.
• Once you commit the payment, the deposit will display on the History tab of the Account Master Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Account> Open an account> History tab> Deposit History).
• The deposit has now been created.