ServiceCore allows you to have Credit Memos programmatically created on your behalf for inventory picked up mid-billing cycle, reducing the number of manual tasks in your day.  

Previously, you needed to manually calculate the prorated credit amount and create the Credit Memo. With Auto-Credit Memos, you now have the option to let ServiceCore calculate the credit amount and open a Credit Memo for you. By opting into Auto-Credit Memos you’ll be able to set parameters dictating when a Credit Memo is created and always be given the final in whether to Apply or Void a Credit. 

In this article, we will go over the steps to enable Auto-Credit Memos, the different settings you can apply, and what to expect in your day-to-day workflows. 

Before you Start

Here are some things you should know before using Auto-Credit Memos:

• You must have Admin or Owner level permissions to enable Auto-Credit Memos or modify any of the settings 
• Auto-Credit Memos defaults to being Off and you must opt-in to this feature
• Auto-Credit Memos is proration and does not apply to Flat Rates
• Auto-Credit Memos is different from Proration, and you can read more about proration here

Prerequisites

To take advantage of auto-credit memos in ServiceCore, please have the following items created and setup in your ServiceCore account beforehand:

1. Enable Auto-Credit Memos under Company Preferences in Settings more below
2. Using Advanced Billing

How to Create an Auto-Credit Memo

The section below describes how to create an auto-credit memo from settings to reviewing the PDF version of the credit memo.

1. Follow these steps to enable auto-credit memos
2. Create an auto-credit memo
3. Review, apply, or void an auto-credit memo
4. Updates to user created credit memos

Enabling Auto-Credit Memos

Navigate to the Company Preferences tab under Settings and scroll down until under the “Rentals” section you see “Should prorated Credit Memos be generated for inventory returned early?”. Selecting “Yes” will enable auto-credit memos to be created.

Upon selecting “Yes”, two more options will appear on the screen; “A Credit Memo should not be created if the rental is picked up within 7 day(s) from the end of the billing cycle” and “Is there a minimum number of days the rental needs to be onsite prior to issuing a credit?”.

• The first field provides you with the ability to set a default number of days from the end of the billing cycle when you stop issuing credits for inventory picked up early. This field accepts numeric values between 1 and 27 (currently assuming a 28-day billing cycle).
• The second field provides you with the ability to set a default number of days that rental inventory needs to be onsite prior to issuing a credit. This field accepts numeric values between 1 and 365.

Once these three preferences have been selected and you click “Save” these changes will be immediately applied for all rentals billed in advance.

Creating an Auto-Credit Memo

This section will cover what is needed and when a credit memo will be created now that Auto-Credit Memos is enabled:

What is Needed to have a Credit Memo Created?

1. A Rental needs to be created and delivered
2. A Rental Rate needs to be applied to the Rental
   1. The Rental Rate cannot be a Flat-Rate
3. A Recurring Invoice needs to be created
4. The Invoice needs to use Advanced billing
   1. We currently only supporting a 28-day billing cycle
5. A Pickup Job needs to be Scheduled and Completed 
   1. The Pickup Job must be both scheduled and completed within the billing cycle
   2. Pickup jobs can be for some or all units onsite

When is the Credit Memo Created and where Can I Find It?

1. The credit memo will be created upon completion of the pickup
2. The credit memo can be found under the Credit Memos tab on the Accounting  page
3. The credit memo will have a status of “Unapplied”
4. The credit memo can be found at the Customer level or at your Company level under the Accounting tab in the main navigation bar

What Information is in the Automatically Created Credit Memo?

An automatically created credit memo will contain the following information:

1. All information normally displayed on a Credit Memo 
2. Service Address
3. Rental ID
4. Message stating “Prorated credit from early pick-up on job Jxxxxxx”

Now that a credit memo has been created for the early pickup of inventory onsite. You can now choose to apply, void, edit, print, or email the credit memo as best suits your business needs.

Additional things to know about the thing

ServiceCore now allows you to associate a Service Location with a user created credit memo and add any Rentals associated with the selected Service Location

Next Steps

• Related Knowledge Based Articles
  • Proration
  • Advanced Proration
  • Creating a Rental
  • Creating a recurring invoice
  • Credit Memos