An important step in configuring your Billing Settings is adding the Billing Items for which you charge revenue. While these are typically imported during your onboarding, you may need to add new items or edit existing ones at any time. This guide covers how to navigate to the Billing settings, configure individual items, and manage General Ledger (GL) connections.
Access Billing Items
To view or modify your table of Billing Items, you must have specific administrative permissions. Contact your Account Manager for settings configuration assistance if needed.
Click the Settings link at the top of your ALIS screen.
In the Billing section, click the Billing link.
-
Click on the Private tab. This is the main dashboard for viewing and modifying your revenue items.
The Private tab is the default for all resident-facing billing, however you may have additional tabs for which you want add charges (e.g., Medicaid). Consult your Account Manager for proper setup.
Add a single Billing Item
If you need to create a specific charge, you can add it individually:
Click the +Add Billing Item button at the top left of the table.
-
A pane will open on the right side of the screen and fill in the required details (outlined below):
Name: The exact text that will appear on resident invoices or statements.
-
Item Type: A critical setting that determines proration rules.
Transaction: A one-time fee (i.e., guest meal, beauty shop services, new-resident fee). Cannot be prorated.
Service: Used for the vast majority of items, including Rent and Care. These are billed month-to-month, require a date range (two dates), and can be prorated.
Per Diem Service: A daily rate. This is often used for Medicaid billing or specific rent charges where price is determined by the number of days rather than a monthly percentage.
Item Category: Used to organize the Rent Roll report (e.g., Care, Incidentals, Rent). Setting these correctly ensures your financial reporting is organized. For more information about the ALIS Rent Roll, read this article: Rent Roll Reference Guide
-
Bill Service Period:
Forward: The default and most common setting for private pay.
Backward (Arrears): Sometimes used for healthcare billing.
Price: The base rate for the item. Note: This can always be edited for individual resident charges later.
GL Account #: The General Ledger (GL) account to which this item's revenue maps.
Discount GL Account #: The account where discounts for this item are tracked. If left blank, discounts will default to the main GL Account #.
Click Save to add the Billing Item.
Once saved, the item will appear in your table. To make changes later, simply click the Options button on the right side of the item’s row and select Edit.
Bulk Add and Edit Billing Items
If you have many items to add or update, importing a spreadsheet template is often more efficient than manual entry. The Bulk Add/Edit Billing Items tool allows you to flexibly choose between typing directly into a table or importing a file.
Important: Editing existing GL Account #s on a Billing Item does not automatically sync to existing transactions or charges. If you need to update a GL Account, please contact your Account Manager of the ALIS Customer Success Team to assist you with historically syncing the GL to the proper start date.
Click Bulk Add/Edit Billing Items.
-
On the page that opens, choose from one of the following methods:
Method A: Manual Table Entry Use the grid on the screen to manually enter fields for each Billing Item. When finished, click Submit at the bottom of the table to save.
-
Method B: Download Template & Import
Download Template (Create): Click this button if you are adding brand-new items.
Download Template (Edit): Select this if you need to bulk-update existing items. This downloads a spreadsheet containing your current list.
-
For Method B Only:
Fill in or update your items in Excel and save the file.
Back in ALIS, click Import Billing Item and upload your saved template.
This will pre-populate the on-screen table with your data for a final review.
Click Submit to save the changes.
Comments
0 comments
Article is closed for comments.