One of the most key configuration tasks for the Eclipse Inform integration is the creation of the billing platform, and the assignment of it to inventory products.
Billing routes and platforms
You can configure billing platforms in The Layer to represent external systems, such as Eclipse.
These billing platforms and associated billing routes allow us to control the billing process for sales order items in The Layer, making sure that items are billed on the intended platform, and making it easier to export the data to to that platform.
Configuring a billing platform
Users with Settings access can access Billing Platforms under the Integrations sub-header.
Click Add New to define a new entry, and name it Eclipse Inform.
Note: if you wish to show the Billing Platform associated with a line at quote, sales order Data Capture, or asset level, you can do so by enabling the field Enable Billing Route. Refer to this guide for instructions.
Assigning a billing route to items in inventory
Billing routes are assigned at inventory level. This allows different inventory items to be routed separately.
It allows allows for change tracking to occur.
Any item with a billing route of The Layer, or with no billing route set, can be invoiced from The Layer. Assigning any other billing route will prevent that item from being invoiced in The Layer.
Items can be assigned both an upfront and recurring billing route. We will assign the Eclipse Inform billing route to both.
This can be done from the item's record in inventory. However, it is easier to do this in bulk using an inventory upload.
Bulk assignment
In Settings, under the Inventory header, you can see each base category. These are split into Products and Services.
To update the items for a category's products or services, click on the respective link.
If you are looking to update existing inventory items, you can click on Export to create a spreadsheet populated with details of the products or services. We will update and re-import this data in order to update the item records.
If you are adding completely new items, you can still use the Export button to obtain a spreadsheet with column headers.
For the items you wish to update, update the following fields with the billing platform name Eclipse Inform:
Up-front Cost Billing Route
Recurring Cost Billing Route
You can remove other columns from the sheet - make sure you delete the column and not just the contents.
To update existing items, you must retain the Existing Product Guid field. This is used to identify the existing inventory items in the database.
Once your sheet is ready, click on the Import button in the top-right.
Click Select files and select your spreadsheet, then Continue.
The next screen lets you validate that the spreadsheet columns have been matched to the database fields correctly.
If all looks well, click on Process. There will be one more confirmation before the import happens.
The verification screen provides a view of the lines that will be imported. For an update of existing products, it's important to check the box next to Decision: Update item where product Guid is identical.
When ready, click on the Proceed with Import button. After the import, you'll be shown a confirmation.