One of the most common invoicing issues companies using NetSuite run into is billing customers with complex hierarchy structures. It can be a daunting task for finance teams to tackle due to NetSuite’s native account hierarchy structure.
I often hear from NetSuite users that they need to bill customers within the following parameters:
- Parent-child relationships: Companies need a flexible account hierarchy when dealing with parent-child relationships in accounts, departments, or subsidiaries where invoices may need to be consolidated or separated at the line level to show usage. They may also need to bill separately per entity or account.
- Varied billing frequencies: In cases where different sub-accounts, child entities, departments, or contract amendments have distinct billing cycles, coordinating and generating invoices can become a logistical nightmare.
- Multi-level approval process: Companies with multi-tier approval workflows often struggle to ensure the right stakeholders sign off on invoices before they’re sent to customers.
- Dynamic pricing models: Companies offering subscription-based and usage-based pricing models need a billing solution that adapts to the different offerings their customers are leveraging
- Invoice presentation: Companies need to be able to accommodate their customers’ needs by presenting an invoice in a desired format. This includes being able to break down or bundle product purchases, show start and end dates of service periods per line item, and show usage rates with dynamic descriptions of exactly what is being billed.
How can ZoneBilling help remove barriers in NetSuite to successfully fulfill these billing needs and requirements?
ZoneBilling sources all data for invoicing from the contract origination location, usually a CRM (Salesforce or Salesforce CPQ are the most common among our customers), to bring it into the invoice in NetSuite. This means you can directly map to the appropriate account configured in Salesforce without having to rely on NetSuite's rigid customer hierarchy structure.
Using ZoneBilling, you’re able to sort the data and define any requirements set with our Billing Profiles feature to automatically generate invoices each month according to the respective requirements. You can consolidate or separate each line. You can also charge into one or many invoices for a parent company and its entities to show usage and fees for each account.
ZoneBilling allows you to indicate the line-level Bill To for any charge including a usage or recurring subscription item. You can even modify the invoice’s Bill To at the line level throughout the contract’s term. If your customer adds an item or modifies their contract this will often trigger the need to update the Bill To at specific line levels, which is hassle-free with ZoneBilling.
This eliminates the need for manual consolidation and separation of invoices or having to take invoices offline every month due to system limitations in NetSuite – ultimately reducing your DSO, increasing your company’s cash flow, and saving you millions over time.
It may be hard to imagine a world where you can get the most accurate and timely invoices out the door automatically each month for your most complex customers, but with ZoneBilling it’s possible!
