Processing Billing Interface Activity

The Billing Interface is a staging area for all billing activity from external sources. Describing the Billing Interface Structure provides detailed information on the components of the Billing Interface process and maintenance instructions. Setting Up the Billing Interface provides technical information that you need to set up the Billing Interface, including how to populate the staging area to successfully process interface activity.

This chapter provides an overview of the Billing Interface process (BIIF0001) and discusses how to:

Correct Billing Interface transaction errors.
Run the Billing Interface process.
Restart the Billing Interface.
Ensure that the system processes correctly data in the Billing Interface staging area.

Setting Up the Billing Interface

Correcting Billing Interface Process Errors

Understanding the Billing Interface Process (BIIF0001)

PeopleSoft Billing enables you to enter bills online or to import billing activity through the Billing Interface from external billing sources such as order management or project costing. PeopleSoft uses online bill entry primarily for low-volume and miscellaneous billings. The majority of bills that PeopleSoft Billing creates come from the Billing Interface.

Billing activity from external sources populates the following tables: INTFC_BI, INTFC_BI_AEDS, INTFC_BI2, INTFC_BI_TAX, INTFC_BI_EXSD, INTFC_BI_NOTE, and INTFC_BI_HDR, which are referred to as the interface staging area. On the data in this staging area, the Billing Interface process:

Validates the data by verifying its integrity and compliance with PeopleSoft Billing business rules.
Prepopulates InterUnit control, customer, bill source, bill type, and Billing business unit data.
Populates the following fields with default values:

Note. The Billing Interface process does not apply default values for all VAT-related fields. The process performs a partial VAT defaulting process to correctly group invoice lines with VAT information when creating invoices.

To apply full range of VAT default values, access the Apply VAT Defaults - Run VAT Defaults page, where you can run the BIPVAT00 application engine process.
- VAT Treatment Group.
- Ship From Country.
- Ship To Country.
- Buyer’s VAT Registration Country.
- Seller’s VAT Registration Country.
  
  Note. VAT Treatment Group, Ship From Country, Ship To Country, Buyer’s VAT Registration Country and Seller’s VAT Registration Country fields are treated as implicit bill-by fields; you do not need to add them to any bill-by definition that is be used by VAT transactions.
Establishes whether to add the Billing Interface activity to an existing bill or to a new bill.

Note. You can control this or let the interface decide.
Converts the billing activity in the staging area into a bill structure.
Processes adjustments.
Prepopulates the ChartField data if a distribution code is provided.

Staging Area Data

Billing activity in the interface staging area is always in one of five states:

NEW	The staging area has been populated, but you have not ran the Billing Interface process for the billing activity. A blank load status can also indicate that the system has not processed the activity.
ERR	The staging area has been populated and you ran the Billing Interface process; however, the Billing Interface process encountered validation errors (for example, an invalid or nonexistent customer number was recorded in the staging area).
DON	The staging area has been populated and you ran the Billing Interface process successfully, loading the billing activity into a structured bill format. Activity in this state is automatically moved to the archive tables.
UPD	The Billing Interface process is actively processing this billing activity.

Billing Interface Transaction Components

PeopleSoft Billing provides four components, which give different views of billing activity in the staging area. Each component has six pages, and each page displays data (if present) from the corresponding interface staging table. If data is not present, the pages are hidden. Which component you use depends on the activity status.

Access two of the components through the Billing, Interface Transactions menu:

Correct Interface Errors	Review interface activity with a status of ERR. Correct error fields here.
Update Pending Transactions	Review interface activity with statuses of NEW and ERR. Update error fields here.

Access the other two components through the Billing, Interface Transactions menu:

Review Pending Transactions	Review interface activity with statuses of NEW and ERR. This page is read-only.
Review Interface - Completions	Review interface activity with a status of DON. This page is read-only.

All four components display almost all the same fields. Small differences exist because of changes in the activity status. For example, an activity in error has an ERR status, while a completed activity has an invoice number and line sequence number.

Correcting Billing Interface Transaction Errors

When transactions fail during the load process into the PeopleSoft Billing system, the system marks them with a load status error and an error status number. The transactions remain in the staging area until you correct the errors.

To correct Billing Interface transaction errors:

Define search parameters to locate Billing Interface transactions in error.
Display the data for interface transactions in error on the Applicable Interface Errors page and correct any errors.

Interface transactions in error are marked with an error number and a short message. If you locate a transaction with a LoadStatus ERR but with no associated short message on a page, this indicates that have located a related record, and no correction is required on this page. Make the correction after you locate an error number and an associated short message. Refer to the Billing Interface Errors table for error conditions and explanations.

See Correcting Billing Interface Process Errors.

Modifying Billing Interface Transaction Data

This section discusses how to access Billing Interface components and:

Define search parameters.
Correct Billing Interface data.

Pages Used to Modify Billing Interface Transaction Data

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
INTFC_BI	INTFC_BI	Billing, Interface Transactions, Correct Interface Errors Billing, Interface Transactions, Update Pending Transactions	Display data for interface transactions in the INTFC_BI table.
INTFC_BI2	INTFC_BI2	Billing, Interface Transactions, Correct Interface Errors Billing, Interface Transactions, Update Pending Transactions	Display data for interface transactions in the INTFC_BI2 table.
INTFC_TAX	INTFC_TAX	Billing, Interface Transactions, Correct Interface Errors Billing, Interface Transactions, Update Pending Transactions	Display data for interface transactions in the INTFC_TAX table.
INTFC_BI_NOTE	INTFC_BI_NOTE	Billing, Interface Transactions, Correct Interface Errors Billing, Interface Transactions, Update Pending Transactions	Display data for interface transactions in the INTFC_BI_NOTE table.
INTFC_BI_HDR	INTFC_BI_HDR	Billing, Interface Transactions, Correct Interface Errors Billing, Interface Transactions, Update Pending Transactions	Display data for interface transactions in the INTFC_BI_HDR table.
INTFC_BI_EXSD	INTFC_BI_EXSD	Billing, Interface Transactions, Correct Interface Errors Billing, Interface Transactions, Update Pending Transactions	Display data for interface transactions in the INTFC_BI_EXSD table.
INTFC_BI_AEDS	INTFC_BI_AEDS	Billing, Interface Transactions, Correct Interface Errors Billing, Interface Transactions, Update Pending Transactions	Display data for interface transactions in the INTFC_BI_AEDS table

Defining Search Parameters

To access a Billing Interface component, select possible search parameters:

Primary Search Criteria

Interface ID.

Interface Line Number.

Transaction Type.

Transaction Type Sequence.

Alternate Search Criteria

Error Status.

Business Unit.

Bill To Customer ID.

Bill Type.

Bill Source.

You can search by any combination of this information. If you do not enter search parameters, the system displays every rejected line from that process instance.

When the search is complete, the page displays the following information:

Interface ID	A unique number for each batch of bill lines assigned by the process that populates the staging area.
Interface Line Number	A unique identifier that you use when you provide multiple charge lines.
Transaction Type	Indicates the type of information that the bill contains. Values are: LINE: Charge line. AE: Accounting entry. NOTE: Note/comment. DS: Discount/surcharge. DDS: Deferred discount/surcharge. AHDR: Adjustment header. EXSD: Indian Excise/Sales Tax Detail TAX: Sales/Use Tax Detail
Transaction Type Sequence	A unique identifier that you use when you provide multiple accounting entries, notes or comments, or discounts or surcharges for a specific charge line.

Correcting Billing Interface Data

Access the Correct Interface Errors page.

	Click the Delete button to delete the record and all of the associated records in the interface extension tables.
LoadStatus	Represents the transaction load status, the ERR status (if applicable), and the error status description. If the interface has not processed the data or the data is not in error, the system does not populate error status or error status descriptions.
Invoice number	If the system has not successfully processed the interface activity, then the invoice number and sequence number are not populated.

Note. You can correct information on any of the six interface tables. For example, if the error message reads “Invalid Customer,” assess the appropriate Billing Interface page and enter a valid customer ID in the Customer field.

See Also

Understanding the INTFC_BI Table

Configuring ChartFields

Running the Billing Interface Process (BIIF0001)

Before running the Billing Interface, you must set certain parameters.

Page Used to Run the Billing Interface Process (BIIF0001)

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Billing Interface	RUN_BI_INTFC	Billing, Interface Transactions, Process Billing Interface, Billing Interface	Set interface parameters before running the Billing Interface process.

Setting Billing Interface Parameters

Access the Billing Interface Process page and add a run control ID.

The From Interface ID and To Interface ID fields represent a range of interface identifiers that you want to include in the interface process. If interface activity within the interface ID range has been previously processed successfully, it will not be available to be selected for processing again.

On the Process Scheduler page, select the Interface & VAT Defaulting (interface and value-added tax defaulting) job if the transactions are liable for Value Added Tax (VAT), which contains both jobs in one. If you decide to run the processes individually, you must do so one at a time.

See Also

PeopleTools 8.46 PeopleBook: PeopleSoft Process Scheduler

Restarting the Billing Interface

If the Billing Interface process terminates abnormally, restart the process to continue from the last commit point. You can restart the Billing Interface on the Process Monitor - Process Detail page. Select Restart Request and click OK. You can also restart the Billing Interface from a command line.

See Also

PeopleTools 8.46 PeopleBook: PeopleSoft Application Engine

Ensuring That the System Processes Data in the Billing Interface Staging Area

PeopleSoft Billing provides two methods for ensuring that all of the data that is sent to the Billing Interface gets processed and moved into the appropriate PeopleSoft Billing tables. You can:

Set up a workflow solution that automatically notifies you of unprocessed interface transactions.
Generate a summary report solution that enables you to view statistics of interface transactions on command.

Pages Used to Ensure That the System Processes Data in the Billing Interface Staging Area

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Billing Workflow	RUN_BI_WF	Billing, Generate Invoices, Utilities, Billing Workflow	Specify when to initiate a workflow action on unprocessed transactions.
Workflow/Batch Parameters	BI_WF_OPTIONS	Set Up Financials/Supply Chain, Product Related, Billing, Define Workflow, WorkFlow/Batch Parameters	Run the workflow processes in PeopleSoft Billing, or set up schedules to have Process Scheduler run them automatically.
Route Control Profile	RTE_CNTL_PROFILE	PeopleTools, Workflow, Routings & Roles, Route Control Profiles, Profile	Define the business units about which you want to be notified.
Role User Maintenance	ROLEDEFN	PeopleTools, Security, Permissions & Roles, Roles, General	Define which users will receive notification.
Billing Interface report	RUN_BI_INTFC3	Billing, Interface Transactions, Create Billing Intrfc Report, Billing Interface	Generate a summary report of interface lines within a certain interface ID range, within a certain date range, or on lines within a certain business unit.

Setting Up Workflow Solutions

The workflow solution process identifies interface lines that have not been processed over a specified period of time and notifies you of these lingering lines. You determine how long to let transactions sit unprocessed in the staging area before the system notifies you.

To set up a workflow solution:

Specify how long (in days) the system allows pending interface lines to sit unprocessed in the staging area before issuing a worklist notification.

Access the Workflow/Batch Parameters page. In Pending Interface Notification, Number of Days Pending, define the number of days.
Define a schedule for the workflow process.

You can schedule the process to run regularly (weekly, monthly, and so on) using the Process Scheduler. The ADD_DTTM field on the interface table must be populated for the process to find any pending interface items. The process uses this field to determine the age of the interface transactions.
Define yourself as a Billing Interface Reviewer on the Roles page to receive the notification.

To define the business units about which you want to be notified, access the Route Control Profile page.

PeopleTools 8.46 PeopleBook: PeopleSoft Process Scheduler

PeopleTools 8.46 PeopleBook: Workflow Technology

Generating Summary Reports of Interface Activity

The summary report solution provides statistics about interface transactions, both processed and unprocessed. You can sort each report by business unit or interface ID. You can generate an:

Interface Error Summary report.
Interface Detail Summary report.
Interface Summary report.

You can run a summary report of interface lines within a certain interface ID range or within a certain date range. Optionally, you can run the report on lines within a certain business unit.

Note. To get accurate reporting when using the date range selection, you should populate the ADD_DTTM field of the INTFC_BI table.

To generate a summary report, access the Billing Interface Report page.

The Interface ID field and the To Interface ID field represent a range of interface identifiers for which you want to run the interface process. If interface activity within the interface ID range has been processed successfully previously, it will not be selected for processing again.

On the Process Scheduler page, select the Interface & VAT Defaulting job, which contains both jobs in one. If you decide to run the processes individually, you must do so one at a time.

See Also

PeopleSoft Billing Reports