Invoices Special Note: When working in the Invoices pages please do not try to exit or move back to other pages within the system by using the internet browser device for going to previous pages eg - Back in Microsoft Internet Explorer. Using the 'Previous' or 'Next' buttons when they are provided at the bottom of the screen, or any other link which is a part of e- Bench is quite acceptable, but remember that any unsaved data may be lost in some cases. Check an Invoice (It is assumed that a Template for the invoice's Meter already exists, otherwise you must create one as described under the immediately following heading - Create New Template.) After using the Quick Tabs Invoices link, there is first a need to match the invoice with its Meter by choosing its Local ID from the drop-down list and then clicking the Select button. Alternatively, for electricity invoices, which will be the most numerous, we recommend that the Meter's Local ID contains the last three characters of the ICP, which can then be used as a Search string. To find a Meter by this method, point to the Quick Tab Asset Details link and in the drop-down menu click the Meters List link to get the Assets - Meters List page. In the Search box at the top, enter the three characters beside Local ID and clicking the Search button will produce the line for that Meter. You then click the Meter's Local ID link which opens its Meter Details page and you can then proceed directly through the Useful Shortcuts Invoices link. Either of the above methods will produce the latest Template on record and clicking the Useful Shortcuts New Invoice link produces the Invoices - Set Dates page so that the applicable dates for the invoice can be entered and the Next>> button clicked. (At the bottom, you will also find a Use a different template structure button which would enable you to replace the Template if desired. See Replace Existing Template below for more details and the distinction between modifying and replacing.) After entering the dates, a new Template embodying them is obtained, and you can now work through it, updating the previous data from the new invoice being checked. As the consumption and operating data is entered, the system calculates the money amounts at the end of the line and these may appear with large numbers of decimal places. When this checking Template is saved, all figures will round to two places. Also, if preferred, the automatically calculated money amounts can be over-ridden and replaced by entering the actual figures from the invoice if there are only small discrepancies involved and there is a desire to see if the invoice grand total exactly matches the Template figure. (Small discrepancies are often due to rate or consumption amounts being printed on the invoice in a rounded form whereas their slightly different but more accurate full values have been actually used to calculate the printed cost figure.) When all the new data has been entered, clicking the Save Changes button at the very bottom will produce the final version of the new Template with updated totals for comparison with the invoice. If there is a discrepancy and you discover that not all of the data was updated properly on the Template, you can correct any errors or omissions and save these changes. Create New Template Before an invoice can be checked for the first time, it is necessary to create a Template. (For an overview of what this entails, see under Template in Appendix L. In fact, before proceeding further, quickly reading the whole of Appendix L would pay dividends as it contains a number of definitions for terms which you will encounter in the Template building process.) Each invoice relates to a Meter, so on clicking the Quick Tab Invoices link you are first invited to select the Local ID for the Meter from the drop-down list. If you need to use Search, go to the Assets - Meters List page, find the Meter and on opening its Meter Details page you can then proceed directly through the Useful Shortcuts Invoices link. Clicking the Select button will give you the Invoices - No Template Message page which advises you that there is no Invoice Template for this Meter. On clicking the Create button, you will be able to choose a model from any existing Invoice Templates. If there is one which has basically the same invoice layout and Tariff then it should be selected from the dropdown. On clicking the Select button, a new Template in the name of the required Meter will appear, although it will still contain the most recent operational and cost data from the Meter on which it was modelled. After entering the relevant dates for the invoice, you can then proceed as under Check an Invoice above except that you will have the additional requirement to assign the Template Name on the important step of initially saving it. If, however, it is necessary to start from scratch, you need to choose Create new template before clicking the Create button. This takes you to the Invoices - Set Parameters page with content that varies according to the Energy/Utility and Meter type. It starts the process of creating a Template, by offering a series of boxes with options for setting the Parameters which will determine the requisite items to be listed on the finally completed version of the Template. All boxes have to be completed. When necessary, there is a sequence of screens for this page, and each entry heading has a Ghost-Over description. At the top of each screen there is a prompt list advising which boxes are to be completed. If the Next>> link at the bottom of the screen is clicked when a box remains incomplete, you will actually be returned to that same screen but with just the uncompleted box(es) still showing. You will find that the Parameters are deliberately described in fairly general terms because different Retailers use different Terminology and the next stage of the Template creation process addresses this issue. On completing the final screen of the Parameters page, clicking the Next link produces the Invoices - Enter Retailer Terminology page. This provides the opportunity for more customising by entering many of the actual words which appear on the invoice beside the corresponding data to be entered later. Because different suppliers use such a wide variety of layouts, it may not be possible to produce an exact looking duplicate in the Template but the result should be sufficiently similar for it to be easy to identify the corresponding relevant entries. This process can be further enhanced by being able to arrange the order of the blocks of headings to more closely match where they are on the invoice. Note that each required entry starts with some default wording in it, but this can and should be edited to correspond with the invoice Terminology. In any event, do not leave any entries blank or the system will not accept the resulting Template for saving. You can be guided by more detailed instructions which are on the screen above each entry and by reference to Appendix L if necessary. Finally, after checking that all entries are complete, be sure to choose the order for the boxes by adjusting the numbers in the top left corners. At the very bottom of the Terminology page, clicking the Next>> link produces the Invoices - Set Dates page so that the applicable dates for the invoice can be entered, followed by a further Next>> link click to produce the Invoices - Template page. Now the actual billing period data can be entered from the invoice to be checked. (See Check an Invoice above. Doing this for the very first time may well be one of the more difficult stages of the process and you are welcome to seek ETS assistance if this would be helpful. We also plan to install some additional Ghost-Overs for any headings which prove to need clearer explanations.) On completing the data entry it is most important that the Save Changes button at the very bottom is then clicked, otherwise all the entries under Parameters, Terminology and the Template will be lost if you exit this page without saving. If you attempt to save while the Template remains incomplete, there is an error message accompanied by the opportunity to return and complete the task. Edit Template Data This process can only handle editing the numerical data transcribed from the invoice rather than the layout of the Template itself for which see Modify Template immediately below. To edit, click the Quick Tabs Invoices link and then locate the required Meter ID, using Search if necessary. Click the Meter ID link and then click the Useful Shortcuts Invoices link which will bring up the latest Template. If an earlier version is required, use the Useful Shortcuts Templates Previous link to scroll back to the one required. After editing the requisite fields, be sure to click the Save Changes button at the very bottom. Modify Template Note: Only relatively minor modifications can be made using this process. These changes only provide for adding extra lines to the boxes with listed headings which contain some lines already. If more far-reaching changes are required, see Replace Existing Template immediately below. The need to just modify is likely to be identified during invoice checking when some extra line or charge has appeared which cannot be accommodated on the existing Template. You will already be working on the Template, so the Useful Shortcuts Modify Template link is only accessible from the Template after the new dates been entered and you are already entering the new invoice's data. Clicking that link produces the Invoices - Modify Template page which enables you to add the necessary extra rows under any of the listed headings, after which clicking the Save Changes button returns you to the now modified Template for completion and saving as required. Replace Existing Template First be sure that replacement is what you want rather than either Modify Template (immediately above), or just to edit the data as in Edit Template Data (two headings above). The need for this will probably be the result of changing Retailer, changing Tariff, or a radical change in the invoice layout on the part of an existing Retailer. It essentially involves going back to square one in creating a Template except that the new one will continue the succession of saved Templates already on record for this Meter. The newly re-vamped invoice will probably be the trigger for deciding a replacement is required and so it is assumed that you have proceeded in the normal way as under Check an Invoice above until reaching the latest Template on record and clicking the Useful Shortcuts New Invoice link produces the Invoices - Set Dates page. You should now click the Use a different template structure button, which will take you back to the first screen of the Invoices - Set Parameters page. From here, you can proceed to follow the instructions under Create New Template from that same point and build the replacement from there to match the revamped invoice through to checking and ultimately saving the new Template. View Template Click the Quick Tabs Invoices link and then locate the required Meter ID, using Search if necessary. Click the Meter ID link and then click the Useful Shortcuts Invoices link which will bring up the latest Template. If an earlier version is required, use the Useful Shortcuts Templates Previous link to scroll back to the one required.