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RPM: Line Changes

Changing Future Billing or Quantities after Shipment/Invoice

RPM Line Changes

How-To Guide | Rental Process Management for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Overview

A Line Change records a change to an RPM contract line that takes effect on a specific date. Use Line Changes whenever something about a line needs to change partway through a rental or service contract, especially after the line has started invoicing. Examples include adding or returning units, raising a price for a new contract year, changing the billing code, or applying a discount going forward.

Once a line has been invoiced, you should not change the quantity, price, or billing fields directly on the line. If you do, RPM warns you that it may suggest many credits or additional invoices, and recommends using the Line Change button instead. Line Changes let RPM keep the invoiced history intact and bill the change correctly from its effective date.

Line Changes are available on RPM Contracts and RPM Service Contracts.

Key Concepts Base Line

When you add a line to a contract, RPM automatically creates a Base Line entry on the Line Changes page. The Base Line holds the original values of the line (quantity, price, billing code, and so on) as of the line start date. Every later Line Change is measured against it. A Line Change cannot have an Effective Date (Billing) earlier than the Base Line.

Segments

RPM breaks each line into segments. A segment is a span of days with one set of values, such as quantity, price, and billing code. When you add a Line Change, RPM splits the line into new segments at the effective date. Invoices, credits, and pre-billings are created from segments. You can view them from the contract line by choosing Segments.

Values Carry Forward

When you add a new Line Change, RPM fills in its fields from the change before it. You only need to change the fields that are different. Each change stays in effect until a later Line Change replaces it.

Line Changes and Unit Movement

Quantity changes and unit movement are linked. If a Line Change increases the quantity, RPM creates a system-generated shipping line for the added units. If it decreases the quantity, RPM creates a receiving line and uses the effective date as the actual stop date for the returned units. When the shipment or receipt is posted, the Line Change is marked Shipped/Received and its effective date can no longer be edited.

It also works the other way. If Line Change from Manual Mvmt. is turned on in RPM Setup, posting a manual shipment or receipt on a rental line creates the matching Line Change automatically.

Setting Up Line Change Defaults

The RPM Setup page controls the default values that are filled in on each new Line Change. Users can still override them on each Line Change.

  1. Search for RPM Setup and open the page.
  2. On the General FastTab, find the Line Changes group.
  3. Turn on Line Change from Manual Mvmt. if you want a Line Change created automatically when a manual shipment or receipt is posted on a rental line.
  4. Turn on Default Start New Period if changes should usually start a new billing period instead of prorating within the current one.
  5. In Default Change Options, choose how segments are formed by default: Split Segment, Credit or Add-on Change Only, or Additional Change Lines. The options are explained below.
  6. Set Default Cycle Billing Dates, Def. Prorate Previous Segment, and Def. Prorate Current Segment as needed for your billing practices.
  7. Set the Change Effective on Next Day defaults for shipments and receipts. When one of these is on, a change that comes from a shipment or receipt takes effect the day after the movement date instead of the same day.

Line Change Fields

Effective Date (Billing) is the date the change starts affecting billing.

Actual Date (Movement) is the date units physically ship or return. It carries to the shipping or receiving line.

New Quantity and New Extended Quantity are the quantities in effect from the effective date.

New Per Period Detail Price, New Daily Price, New Weekly Price, and New 28 Day Monthly Price are the prices in effect from the effective date.

New Line Discount % is the line discount in effect from the effective date.

New Billing Code is the billing code in effect from the effective date. If you change the billing code, you must also turn on Start New Period.

New Gen. Prod. Posting Group and New Tax Group Code change posting and tax setup going forward.

Start New Period starts a new billing period on the effective date. The current segment ends the day before, and a new period begins on the effective date.

Cycle Billing Dates recalculates the billing cycle dates starting from this change.

Prorate Previous Segment and Prorate Current Segment control whether the segments before and after the change are prorated.

Change Effective on Next Day makes the change take effect the day after the effective date.

Change Options controls how RPM handles a change that falls inside a period that has already been invoiced. See the next section.

Base Line marks the original line entry. Shipped/Received shows that unit movement has already been posted for this change.

Choosing a Change Option

Change Options matter most when a change falls inside a billing period that has already been invoiced.

Split Segment: RPM splits the invoiced period at the effective date. It suggests a credit for the invoiced segment and rebills the period as two segments, one before the change and one after it.

Credit or Add-on Change Only: RPM leaves the original invoice as it is and bills only the difference for the rest of the period. A decrease, such as an early return, creates a partial credit. An increase creates an add-on charge. This avoids a full credit and rebill.

Additional Change Lines: RPM leaves the original invoiced segment as it is and adds separate change segments for the change. For an increase, this works the same way as Credit or Add-on Change Only.

If you are unsure, review the Segments page after entering the change and before posting, so you can see the credits and charges RPM will suggest.

How to Add a Line Change

  1. Open the RPM Contract or RPM Service Contract.
  2. On the Lines FastTab, select the line you want to change.
  3. Choose Line, then choose Line Changes. The Line Changes page opens and shows the Base Line and any existing changes.
  4. Add a new line. RPM copies the values from the most recent change.
  5. Enter the Effective Date (Billing). It must be on or after the Base Line date, and it should be later than the most recent existing Line Change.
  6. Update only the fields that are changing, such as New Quantity, a New price field, New Line Discount %, or New Billing Code.
  7. If you changed the billing code, or the change should begin a new billing period, turn on Start New Period.
  8. Check Change Options, Cycle Billing Dates, the Prorate fields, and Change Effective on Next Day. They default from RPM Setup, so change them only if this situation needs something different.
  9. Close the Line Changes page.
  10. If you changed the quantity, post the system-generated shipment or receipt from Shipping/Receiving.
  11. On the contract line, choose Segments to confirm the new segments, including any suggested credits or add-on charges, before invoicing.

Common Scenarios Annual Price Increase

  1. Open Line Changes for the contract line.
  2. Add a Line Change with the Effective Date (Billing) set to the first day of the new term.
  3. Enter the new price in the matching New price field.
  4. Repeat for later years if you know them now. Each price stays in effect until the next change.
  5. Close the page and review Segments.

Adding Units to a Quantity Line

  1. Open Line Changes and add a Line Change on the date the units go out.
  2. Increase New Quantity to the new total quantity on the line, not only the added amount.
  3. Close the page and post the system-generated shipment for the added units.
  4. Review Segments. The added units bill from the effective date.

Returning Some Units Early

  1. Open Line Changes and add a Line Change on the return date.
  2. Decrease New Quantity to the quantity that stays on rent.
  3. Choose the Change Option. Credit or Add-on Change Only credits only the unused portion of an invoiced period.
  4. Close the page and post the system-generated receipt.
  5. Review Segments for the suggested credit before posting.

Changing the Billing Code

  1. Open Line Changes and add a Line Change on the date the new billing code should start.
  2. Enter the New Billing Code.
  3. Turn on Start New Period. RPM requires this whenever the billing code changes.
  4. Close the page and review Segments.

Editing and Deleting Line Changes

  • A Line Change that has been invoiced cannot be changed or deleted.
  • After a shipment or receipt has been posted for a Line Change, it is marked Shipped/Received and its effective date is locked.
  • If you delete a Line Change that has unit movement, RPM asks you to confirm. Any system-generated shipping or receiving lines are also updated.
  • Editing or deleting a Line Change updates the Line Changes that follow it, so later values stay consistent.
  • Always use Line Changes, not direct edits on the line, once a line has been invoiced.
  • Enter Line Changes in date order. Do not add a Line Change dated earlier than the most recent existing change, because this can produce incorrect quantities and segments.
  • Enter the total quantity in New Quantity, not the difference.
  • Review Segments after every change and before posting an invoice or pre-billing.
  • Match the Effective Date (Billing) to the actual shipment or return date whenever possible.
  • Contact Suite Engine support if the segments do not look right before you post.

Best Practices