Default the Bill-To for New Events

When you create a new event, you can configure the system to default the bill-to account and/or bill-to contact to:

All three of these options require you to create relationships between the account and contact.

If you have an active event sales organization account with only one contact (with a Contact relationship, not a Bill-To relationship), and you want that organization account and contact to default to the event, requester and bill-to, you do not need these additional steps as they default automatically.  

You also need to review organization parameter BK 081 to determine if a bill-to contact default method is already used. To review this organization parameter:

  1. Click the Organization Parameters link from the Main Menu. The Organization Parameters screen opens.
  2. Locate organization parameter BK (application) 081 (code).
  3. Review the value in the Value field. 
    • 1 - The default bill-to contact defaults to the event bill-to contact. If no contact exists, no contact defaults. 
    • 2 - The event contact is the bill-to contact if the event account and event bill-to account are the same. If they are different, method 1 is used. 
    • If no value is entered, then 1 is used.

Default the Event Account as the Bill-To Account with a Different Bill-To Contact

To default the event account to the bill-to account with a specific bill-to contact, you need to create a bill-to relationship with the account itself and then assign a contact to that relationship. You can only create one organization relationship using this method. You also cannot have any bill-to contact relationships between the account and contacts or the system uses the bill-to contact as the default bill-to account.

  1. Click the Accounts link for the appropriate designation (Event CRM, Membership, etc.) from the Main Menu. The Accounts screen opens.
  2. Select the account you want to use as the bill-to account.
  3. Right-click and select Edit. The Edit Account screen opens.
  4. Select the Details tab.
  5. Expand the Organizations section.
  6. Click the arrow next to the Add button.
  7. Select Add an Existing Account (Child). The Add Relationship screen opens.
  8. Select the same account selected in step 2 from the first Relationship drop-down. You are creating a relationship for the account with itself.
  9. Select Bill-To from the second Relationship drop-down.
  10. Expand the Advanced section.
  11. Select the contact you want as the bill-to contact from the Contact drop-down. Only contacts with Contact relationship types are available for selection. 
  12. Click OK. A prompt appears confirming you are adding a relationship to itself.
  13. Click Continue.

You can see the relationship in the Organizations section for the account. Show the Contact column to see the contact.

Default a Different Bill-To Account and Bill-To Contact

To default a bill-to account and bill-to contact different than the event account, you need to create a bill-to relationship between the accounts and assign a contact to that relationship. Both the event account and bill-to account should already exist as separate organization accounts. The bill-to account should also have the contact created with a Contact relationship, not Bill-To relationship, to the bill-to account. 

You can only create one organization relationship using this method. You also cannot have any bill-to contact relationships between the account and contacts or the system uses the bill-to contact as the default bill-to account.

  1. Click the Accounts link for the appropriate designation (Event CRM, Membership, etc.) from the Main Menu. The Accounts screen opens.
  2. Select the account you want to use as the event account.
  3. Right-click and select Edit. The Edit Account screen opens.
  4. Select the Details tab.
  5. Expand the Organizations section.
  6. Click the arrow next to the Add button.
  7. Select Add an Existing Account (Child). The Add Relationship screen opens.
  8. Select the account you want to use as the bill-to account from the first Relationship drop-down.
  9. Select Bill-To from the second Relationship drop-down.
  10. Expand the Advanced section.
  11. Select the contact you want as the bill-to contact from the Contact drop-down. Only contacts with Contact relationship types are available for selection. 
  12. Click OK.

You can see the relationship in the Organizations section for the account. Show the Contact column to see the contact.

Default a Bill-To Contact as a Bill-To Account

  1. Click the Accounts link for the appropriate designation (Event CRM, Membership, etc.) from the Main Menu. The Accounts screen opens.
  2. Select the account with the contact you want to make the bill-to account.
  3. Right-click and select Edit. The Edit Account screen opens.
  4. Select the Contacts tab.
  5. Click the Add button. The Add Contact screen opens.
  6. Enter the required information. The Company field defaults to the account selected in step 2.
  7. Select Bill-To from the Relationship drop-down.  The account name displays in the field after the Relationship drop-down.
  8. Click OK.

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Comments

14 comments

Date Votes
  • Ayal Mesher

    Is there a way to have an individual added as their own bill-to contact with out adding them as a contact to themselves?

    0 upvotes

  • Sean Tame

    Hi Ayal,

    What is the requirement for this?  If the 'Account' is an individual, there is no need to have a contact.  You would just leave this blank.

    0 upvotes

  • Ayal Mesher

    Our "Bill to contact" Field is a required field for a new event (so that it doesn't get left off for corporate events). But that means that when we create a new event for individual we have to add them as a contact so that we can fill in that field. I've asked about removing it as required but I'm not sure that will happen. Hoping for a workaround in USI.

     

    Thanks!

    0 upvotes

  • Danna Banick

    Ayal,

    You mention that you've asked about removing the 'requirement' for the "Bill-To Contact", but that you are not sure that will be approved.  Typically, a company would be the bill to 'account' and an individual would be the contact.   A best practice could be to enter the 'person' as 'Tim Taylor Family' or 'Tim Taylor Account' with the contact as Tim Taylor so one would know which field the name represented throughout the system.

    Unfortunately, without releasing this requirement, you will have to continue with your current work-around which is to enter the individual as a contact (in addition to the account) and then select them as the "Bill-To Contact".

    0 upvotes

  • Ayal Mesher

    Why would this be a best practice? Seems redundant. You don't need two accounts (account & contact) for an individual. It's probably about the same amount of time to setup a parent account for an individual as add them as their own contact so I guess it doesn't really matter either way. 

    Maybe it should go into the pipeline as a UI improvement.

    Thanks for your quick responses though.

    0 upvotes

  • Sean Tame

    The heart of this issue is putting the control over data entry quality on the system where in this case it should be on the user.  Remove the Required flag from the contact field and manage it through training and auditing.  Create an exception report that lists events where the Account is a Company and the Contact Field is blank.

    0 upvotes

  • Danna Banick

    Ayal,

    Assuming that the 'Bill-to Contact' is a required field, it may be indicating that this field is necessary for a report that is pulling specifically from that field. In this case it makes sense to continue with your current process. If this is not the case, here is a recommendation to speed up your Event entry process:

    Notice within Edit Layout for the Add/edit Event page there are two "Bill-to" fields (of the many fields) available:  Bill To and Bill To Contact.  Your organization is using the Bill To Contact field which is driven from the Contact data within Ungerboeck (Standard functionality).  If you were to instead use the Bill To field (which is driven from the Account data within Ungerboeck), then the Account Name (which in this particular case is a person's name) will auto-populate to the field.

    I have moved this field up to the general area for the event page in your test database.  (It actually 'lives' in the Financials expansion section within the Details section tab on the layout.)

    Please test this solution to see if it meets your requirements.

    Thank you for posting on the Ungerboeck Support Center.

    0 upvotes

  • Ayal Mesher

    Thanks Sean and Danna,

    Sean - I do agree that training could supersede this control. Not my decision to make though

    Danna - Thanks for updating that in our test environment. That could solve our issue, I've bounced it up to our sysadmin and we'll see if it could work.   

    0 upvotes

  • Sean Tame

    Version 30.95 - I'm finding that this has caused the Bill-To Contact to populate the Bill-To Account field.

    Eg, Account is ABC Co. and Mary is the Bill-To Contact for ABC Co.

    I add an Event for ABC Co. and I find that the Bill-To Account = Mary.  This means, of course, I cannot add Mary as a Bill-To Contact for the Event as she is not a Bill-To Contact for Herself. 

    Worse, is that the Event's Debtor Account becomes Mary and not ABC Co.

    Additionally, if I leave Mary's relationship type as Bill-To, I cannot see her in the Event Contact Dropdown, nor the Bill-To Contact Dropdown (when ABC Co. is manually set back as the Bill-To Account).

    Can this be verified?

    0 upvotes

  • Wendy Thompson

    Hi Sean,

    Best practice if you want the Account to be the Bill-To with an individual Contact is to set an Organization Relationship making the Account the Bill-To for itself, then selecting the Contact on the Edit Relationship window.  The Account and Contact will then default in the Bill-To Account/Contact fields when adding the Event.

    Regards,

    Wendy

    0 upvotes

  • Sean Tame

    Thanks, Wendy

    Do you mid detailing the steps?  I am following the steps in this article which should give me the outcome I'm looking for, eg When a new event is created, a bill-to contact can default into the Bill-To Contact field.

    The seven steps above are summarised as

    1. Create Account
    2. Add Contact selecting Bill-To as the contact type.

    I'm following those steps but I am not getting the bill-to contact defaulting into the Bill-To Contact field as described.

    0 upvotes

  • Wendy Thompson

    Hi Sean,

    Sorry for the confusion.  To set the Organization Account as the Bill-To and a Contact as the Bill-To Contact, please follow these steps:

    1. The Relationship for the Contact to the Account should be Contact, NOT Bill-To
    2. There should not be any Contact designated as Bill-To Contact or that will default to the Bill-To Account field on the Event
    3. On the Account, go to the Organizations tab/section > Add > Add an Existing Account (Child)
      • See the screen print in my previous post
      • Works with Parent Account as well
    4. In the Relationship field select the SAME account > change ‘is a’ to ‘Bill-To’ of the SAME account (see screen print)
    5. In the Contact field (under Advanced) select the existing Contact you want to be the Bill-To Contact > click OK
      • A new Contact can also be added from this field using the Add link in the footer
    6. You will be prompted that you are attempting to add a relationship to itself > click Continue
    7. Relationship is saved and can be seen as a Bill-To of … on the Organizations grid for the Account
      • Show the Contact field to see the Contact
    8. Add Event > select the Account > go to the Bill-To fields and see that the Account is defaulted as the Bill-To Account and the Contact is defaulted as the Bill-To Contact
    9. There can only be one Organization Relationship set up this way

    Hope that helps.  Let me know if you still have any quetions.

    Regards,

    Wendy

    0 upvotes

  • Sean Tame

    Thanks Wendy, but I'm not sure it does help.

    The nine steps you detail here are contradictory to the seven steps in this article.  I much prefer the seven steps in the article as it is much simpler and intuitive.

    You have multiple contacts on an Account, one of which should be the Bill-to contact.  We should just define that person as such, and have them default into the Bill-To Contact field as expected.

    Adding a company as a relationship to itself is not something anyone would ever think to do or remember.

    If we set the Bill-To Contact as a 'Contact' not a Bill-to as you state, does not allow you to visually see that this person is the Bill-To.  I'm not sure at all how I'm going to explain this to the end-user  😕

    1 upvotes

  • Maggie U.

    Hi Sean,
    Wendy and I made some updates to this article to help clarify the different scenarios and the steps for each of them. I have passed your feedback on to our Product Management Team to review and consider in the future.

    Thanks!
    Maggie

    0 upvotes

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