Account Charge Method - Configuring Payment Terms and Billing

The charge method determines how an account is billed and when fulfillment occurs. Each account can be configured with one of four charge methods, along with billing terms, credit limits, and automatic payment controls.

Setting the Charge Method

To configure an account's charge method:

1. Open the account from the Accounts page
2. On the Details tab, locate the Charge Method dropdown
3. Select the appropriate method

The help text reads: "How this account will be charged. On-Demand means the customer must pay during the purchase. Billing means the customer will be sent an invoice and fulfillment will be on payment. Credit customers receive an invoice on purchase, but fulfillment happens as well."

On-Demand

The customer must pay at the time of purchase. When a purchase is made, the system immediately attempts to charge the customer's primary payment method on file. If the primary method fails, it tries the secondary method. If both fail, it tries any other payment methods on file.

On-Demand accounts require at least one payment method saved to the account. This is the most common method for online retail customers.

Billing

An invoice is created when the customer makes a purchase, but no payment is collected immediately. The customer receives the invoice and must pay within the time specified by their billing terms. Fulfillment (shipping, delivery, etc.) only occurs after payment is received.

This method is common for business-to-business accounts where customers expect to receive an invoice and pay on terms.

Credit

Similar to Billing in that an invoice is created, but fulfillment happens immediately at the time of purchase regardless of payment status. The customer is trusted to pay the invoice within their billing terms.

Credit accounts respect the Credit Limit field. If a purchase would push the account balance above the credit limit, the order is created as a Billing order instead of Credit, meaning fulfillment will not occur until payment.

No Payment / House

Internal accounts that are never expected to pay. This is used for house accounts, internal tracking, or accounts where payment is handled outside the system.

Setting Billing Terms

The Billing Terms dropdown controls how many days a Billing or Credit customer has to pay their invoices. This setting determines the due date calculated on each new order.

1. On the Account Details tab, locate the Billing Terms field
2. Select the appropriate terms from the dropdown

The help text reads: "For Billing and Credit customers, this is the amount of time they have to pay."

The dropdown defaults to "Use Default Days To Pay" which uses the site-wide setting (typically 30 days). To assign specific terms, select a terms record from the list. Each terms record includes the number of days to pay and an optional invoice message that appears on the customer's invoices.

Terms records are managed in the Account Terms data table, where each record defines:

• Days To Pay — the number of days from invoice creation until the due date
• Invoice Message — optional text that appears on invoices for accounts using these terms

Setting a Credit Limit

For Credit accounts, the Credit Limit field controls the maximum outstanding balance allowed before the system downgrades new purchases to Billing (which withholds fulfillment until payment).

1. On the Account Details tab, locate the Credit Limit field
2. Enter the dollar amount

The help text reads: "For Credit customers, this is the maximum amount of credit that can be extended. Purchases over this amount will be created as Billing."

A value of 0 or empty means no credit limit is enforced.

Configuring the Notification Method

The Notification field determines how the customer prefers to receive billing communications:

1. On the Account Details tab, locate the Notification dropdown
2. Select the preferred method

Available options include Email, Fax, Print Queue, and Print and Email. The help text reads: "How this customer would prefer being notified."

Holding Automatic Payments

The Hold Auto Payments date allows you to temporarily suspend automatic billing while still allowing the customer to make voluntary payments online.

1. On the Account Details tab, locate the Hold Auto Payments field
2. Set a date

The help text reads: "If set, automatic payments will be postponed until after this date. The customer can still make online payments through My Account and other online features."

This is useful when negotiating payment plans, waiting for a dispute to resolve, or temporarily pausing billing for any reason. Once the hold date passes, automatic billing resumes on the next batch cycle.

Setting Invoice and Statement Layouts

Each account can have custom invoice and statement formatting:

• Invoice — select a layout from "Layouts for Invoices" to customize how this account's invoices appear. The help text reads: "Select the invoice layout for this customer. Leave blank to use the default invoice."
• Statement — select a layout from "Statement Layouts" to customize account statements. The help text reads: "Select the statement layout for this customer. Leave blank to use the default invoice."

Leave both set to "Use Default" to use the site-wide templates.

Sending Receipts

Check the Send Receipt checkbox to automatically send the customer a receipt after each payment is applied. The help text reads: "When checked this customer will receive a receipt after each payment."

Assigning a Discount Code

The Discount Code field allows you to assign a promotional discount that applies to every order placed on this account.

1. On the Account Details tab, locate the Discount Code field
2. Enter a valid promotional discount code

The help text reads: "This is a promotional discount that is saved with the account and applies to every order."

The code is validated when you save the account. If the code is not valid, an error message is displayed.

Practical Scenarios

Converting an Account from On-Demand to Billing

1. Open the account and change Charge Method to Billing
2. Set the appropriate Billing Terms
3. Verify the Notification method is set correctly so the customer receives invoices
4. Click Save

Future purchases will create unpaid invoices instead of charging immediately.

Setting Up a New Credit Account

1. Open or create the account
2. Set Charge Method to Credit
3. Set the Credit Limit to the approved amount
4. Set Billing Terms to the agreed payment window
5. Verify a Billing Contact is assigned (on the Users tab) to receive invoices
6. Click Save

The customer can now make purchases that are fulfilled immediately, with invoices generated for payment within the specified terms.