When Setting Up Hosting Manually - Correct Procedure?

[R-n-R]

I guess I need confirmation from other users......

 

OK, I set up a new client for hosting. We were doing some extra work for them as well and wanted to add that work to their first Invoice.

 

When I set up the Product/Service for hosting manually the set up date in this case was (mm/dd/year) 08/15/2014 for the "Registration Date". Of course the "Next Due Date" was also set to 08/15/2014.

 

 

So I changed the "Next Due Date" to 09/15/2014 because I was manually creating the first invoice with the hosting (billed monthly) included in that first manual invoice, the invoice also had several other one time (one off) items that needed to be in the invoice.

 

Now I have the CRON jobs set to run at 2:15 am each morning for billing/generating invoices. The following is what happened the next day.

 

The manual invoice did pay, as it should have. BUT a second invoice was automatically generated by WHMCS for JUST the new hosting and that invoice paid as well (thus double billing my client for hosting), and when I looked at the Next Due Date in WHMCS it advanced to 10/15/2014.

 

This is puzzling to me, as I would have expected that the next invoice for the hosting would not generate until 15 days before the Next Due Date listed in WHMCS (in this case hosting is Monthly recurring) and not taken place until 09/01/2014.

 

It appears the first invoice is actually generated based on the Registration Date of 08/15/2014 from what I can tell.

 

In the past when I have had to create a manual invoice and also included the upcoming hosting it would work, but this is the very first time for NEW hosting. The Registration Date was always in the past and previous invoices had already been created.

 

Can some one confirm this is the Logic of WHMCS that the FIRST invoice is based on the Registration Date and note the Next Due Date?

 

Hope all that was clear.

 

~ Roy

[WHMCS Ryan]

You might want to review the invoicing doc found here. Invoicing is based on the next due date and by default invoices are sent out 14 days prior to the due date. That time frame is configurable at Setting -> Automation Settings --> Billing Settings --> Invoice Generation.

 

--Thanks

[R-n-R]

You might want to review the invoicing doc found here. Invoicing is based on the next due date and by default invoices are sent out 14 days prior to the due date. That time frame is configurable at Setting -> Automation Settings --> Billing Settings --> Invoice Generation.

 

--Thanks

 

Ryan, yes, I agree with you, its not a question of when the invoice is suppose to generate an invoice, that part I fully understand. And that is what I assumed would happen with this case.

 

The question is what DATE is WHMCS using to generate an invoice for BRAND NEW hosting product that was set up manually.

 

It appears to be using Registration Date, not the Next Due Date, as I had the next due date set out 31 days in the future and all monthly invoices are generated on the next due date at 15 days. So in theory that you and I agree on WHMCS should have not generated an invoice until Sept 1, 2014. Where as it generated it the next CRON cycle with an immediate due date.

That isn't right, so it has to be using the Registration Date, for NEW 1st time installs (keep in mind here, this is important, that the product was added manually)

 

All I am asking is this the expected way WHMCS should be generating invoices for new products added manually that has never had a invoice generated?

 

Hope that makes better sense.

 

~ Roy

[WHMCS John]

Hi,

That sounds right to me; if there is no corresponding invoice for a particular service on the Next Due Date, a new invoice will be generated.

 

I would suggest waiting until after the initial invoice is paid before changing the Next Due Date.

[R-n-R]

Hi John

 

Thanks for the reply. Well, I believe you are correct.

 

And a feature I have never really used and to be honest rediscovered is the (I knew it was there just never used it) Billing > Billable Items > Add New

 

I believe if I would NOT had created a manual invoice and add those "one off" items using the "Add Billable Item" and selected "Add to User's Next Invoice" this would had worked out exactly the way it should have, with the onetime work and the Hosting on the same invoice.

 

Looks like I just need to change my technique of how I add new clients manually with additional items.

 

Hopefully this will be useful to others.

 

Roy