How to set up postpaid in BILLmanager

BILLmanager supports postpaid billing for clients through two primary methods:

• Credit limit — the client can incur a negative balance up to a predefined maximum amount;
• The Allow post-paid services option  — the client can incur a negative balance without any set limit. This mode is also referred to as “Pay-as-you-go”.

For a general overview of billing types, see Payment procedure description.

Question

How to work with postpaid billing in BILLmanager?

Answer

By default, all clients can purchase services only on a prepaid basis. To configure postpaid billing:

1. Navigate to Clients → Clients → select the client → Accounts → Edit.
2. Perform one of the following actions:
   • enable the Allow post-paid services option;
   • configure a credit limit.

The changes take effect immediately upon activation.

With post-paid services, a client's balance can go into unlimited negative territory. With a credit limit, however, the client's debt cannot exceed the set limit. For details, see Payment procedure description.

Feature comparison: post-paid services vs. credit limit

Use the following table to determine the most suitable postpaid method.

Invoice generation logic

While invoices for both methods are generated on the first day of each month, the underlying logic differs:

• for Post-paid services clients the system generates an invoice for services actually used in the previous month. This invoice serves as a debt notification without a strict payment deadline. Services continue to run even if the debt increases;
• for Credit limit clients the system generates an invoice for the amount that was already deducted from the credit limit in the previous month. This invoice has a payment due date (e.g., until the 15th of the month). If the client fails to pay on time, the credit limit is automatically blocked. Active services will continue until the end of their paid period. For details, see Credit limit management.

Insufficient funds for invoice payment

For post-paid services the client's balance goes negative. On the 1st, services will renew, increasing the debt. There are no automatic blocks. The balance can decrease indefinitely until an administrator manually applies restrictions.

For credit limit, if the invoice is not paid by the due date, the payment becomes overdue and the limit is automatically blocked. For details, see Credit limit management.

Changing service composition (Upselling)

When a client changes a tariff plan or orders add-ons, the system offers the following options:

• pay by another method. The client can pay the invoice immediately via any available payment gateway. Changes are activated after funds are credited;
• charge to the account balance:
  • for post-paid services clients, the amount is charged immediately, increasing the current debt;
  • for credit limit clients, the charge occurs only if the remaining limit allows it.

In both cases, the service changes take effect immediately.

Configuring postpaid with automatic blocking

Use the credit limit for a scenario where:

• an invoice is issued on the 1st of the month;  
• the payment term is, for example, 14 days;  
• automatic blocking occurs in case of late payment.

To configure payment terms and automatic blocking, set up the credit limit following the instructions in the article Credit limit management.

What happens when you disable the “Allow post-paid services” option

When the Allow post-paid services option is disabled:

• the change takes effect immediately. The client can no longer charge services against a negative balance and must use other payment methods (e.g., bank card);  
• automatic prepaid invoice generation occurs only when the client's balance is zero or positive;
• if the balance is negative at the time of disabling, automatic prepaid invoice generation will not occur. If required, you must issue an invoice manually;
• automatic prepaid invoicing will resume once the balance becomes zero or positive.

For details, see Invoice.