Period-End Closing 
Use
If no billing relevant reading is available by the period-end closing date and no manual values have been entered in the volume overview, the service contract will estimate usage for the corresponding period when you start the action Period-End Closing. If estimation is not allowed, the action does not change the contract; instead it changes the period-end closing date, so you can schedule the action for the next period. It also sets the reading reminder date. If the action did not change the contract, you cannot release the item in the contract or bill the period. If a billing-relevant reading is received for a subsequent billing period, however, the action Period-End Closing for the corresponding period merges that period with the previous period (or periods) without readings. The system sets the Per. Merged flag for the merged periods. The action Period-End Closing also merges the entities of other usage functions for the involved periods (refer to section Example). If you cancel the billing-relevant reading at the end of the last period, the system reverses the merging of the periods.
Tab page Control Data (UBB) in service contract defines the actual period-end closing date and when the system executes the Period-End Closing action. This tab page also defines which estimation procedure the system uses for estimation. You configure the estimation procedure(s) for determining the usage volume in Customizing under Record Usage (see section Prerequisites).
Prerequisites
If you want the Period-End Closing action to trigger estimation of usage volumes, the following prerequisites must be met:
· You have configured the estimation procedures in accordance with your requirements in Customizing for Usage-Based Billing (UBB) under Record Usage ® Define Estimation Procedures and under Record Usage ® Business Add-Ins (BAdIs) ® BAdI: Process Estimation Procedures.
The estimation procedures are defined completely within BAdI Process Estimation Procedures.
· You have configured the estimation sequences in accordance with your requirements in Customizing for Usage-Based Billing (UBB) under Record Usage ® Define Estimation Sequences.
· The billing request items and the billing plan must be adjusted.
For the Period-End Closing action to merge the billing periods, initial values must be available for the first billing period and a usage reading must exist for the last merged period.
Example
In the example below, the Period-End Closing action merges the last two billing periods:
A copying machine has been installed at a customer site. It has two counters, one for black-and-white copies and one for color copies. Accordingly, the volume overview in the service contract has an entry for usage function 1 (black-and-white copies) and an entry for usage function 2 (color copies) for each billing period. But no billing-relevant readings are received for usage function 1 or 2 over two billing periods – from April 1, 2003 to May 31, 2003.
Start (Billing) |
End (Billing) |
Usage Function |
End Value |
Start Value |
Usage Volume |
03/01/03 |
03/31/03 |
1 |
320 |
10 |
310 |
03/01/03 |
03/31/03 |
2 |
50 |
5 |
45 |
04/01/03 |
04/30/03 |
1 |
|
320 |
|
04/01/03 |
04/30/03 |
2 |
|
50 |
|
05/01/03 |
05/31/03 |
1 |
|
|
|
05/01/03 |
05/31/03 |
2 |
|
|
|
06/01/03 |
06/30/03 |
1 |
1300 |
|
880 |
06/01/03 |
06/30/03 |
2 |
160 |
|
110 |
1. You start the Period-End Closing action for period end date March 31, 2003.
Because readings exist for the billing period, the action only changes the date for the next period-end closing and sets the period end date to April 30, 2003.
2. You start the Period-End Closing action for period end date April 30, 2003.
No readings are available for either usage function. If estimation is not allowed, the action cannot make any changes. The action merely changes the date for the next period-end closing and sets the period end date to May 31, 2003.
3. You start the Period-End Closing action for period end date May 31, 2003.
Again, no readings are available. The action merely changes the date for the next period-end closing and sets the period end date to June 30, 2003.
4. You start the Period-End Closing action for period end date June 30, 2003.
Readings are available for both usage functions. The Period-End Closing action merges the prior periods without readings together with the current period.
You cannot omit the Period-End Closing action for individual periods. You have to process the periods chronologically.
Because the system cannot release the entries for periods 04/2003 and 05/2003 until the reading for period 06/2003 is received, it has to merge the billing request items.
Start (Billing) |
End (Billing) |
Usage Function |
End Value |
Start Value |
Usage Volume |
03/01/03 |
03/31/03 |
1 |
320 |
10 |
310 |
03/01/03 |
03/31/03 |
2 |
50 |
5 |
45 |
04/01/03 |
06/30/03 |
1 |
1300 |
320 |
880 |
04/01/03 |
06/30/03 |
2 |
160 |
50 |
110 |