Keys: CTRL+R
Use the 'Renewal' transaction to enter renewals to existing subscriptions. You use the batch method to enter renewals. So before starting to enter renewals, sort them into batches of similar types. First separate those that include payment from those that don't. Then sort by term, payment amount, payment type, and premium. By grouping renewals in this way, you won't have to type this information over and over again, and you'll reduce the chance of making errors.
Usually you enter renewals only for active, graced, or expired subscriptions. If the subscription is canceled or suspended, QuickFill warns you and asks if you want to enter the renewal anyway.
In most cases, you'll enter renewals to subscriptions that are still active, so the renewal order will have a status of "future." When the current order runs out and you run the 'Issue labels' update, QuickFill automatically marks the current order as expired and changes the first future order to the current active order. (Click here for details on the issue labels update.)
If you enter a renewal to a subscription that is graced—that is, the order has expired, but you're still serving issues for it—QuickFill transfers the extra issues you served to the renewal order and makes the renewal order active immediately. For example, let's say that Joseph Danvers has received 2 out of 3 grace issues. When you enter a renewal with a term of 12 for him, the renewal will become active immediately and he will have only 10 issues remaining; the term for the renewal is 12, but he has received 2 grace issues since expiring (12-2=10).
If you enter a renewal to a subscription with a credit balance, QuickFill automatically applies the credit to the renewal order. If the subscription has an unpaid balance, QuickFill warns you and gives you four choices: write off the balance due, continue to bill the customer, do not process the renewal, or apply the payment to the prior order. Remember that QuickFill bills only one order at a time. If you choose to continue to bill, QuickFill won't bill the renewal order until the customer pays for the previous order. If you choose to apply the payment to the prior order, any excess will be applied to the renewal order; this is useful when entering a "renewal at birth" (an extension of the subscription that is solicited on the bill for the unpaid order).
If the subscription has a future order that is unpaid, QuickFill will warn you that there is an unpaid future order and ask if you are sure that you want to enter another renewal. If you respond 'Yes', you will be given the choices for unpaid subscriptions as described above. If you respond 'No', you will be brought back to the batch header screen.
If you find that you are getting too many renewals from customers with unpaid balances, you should check the option on the publication definition screen that prevents QuickFill from generating renewal notices for customers with unpaid balances—click here for details on defining renewal policies for a publication.
When you renew group and two-party subscriptions, the membership of the group may change. If this is the case, QuickFill usually creates a new subscription that is timed to start when the original subscription expires. Click here for more information on group and two-party renewals.
Fields on the renewal batch screen
When you select 'Renewals' under 'Transactions' on the main menu, QuickFill will display a batch header form.
On the top line are the number QuickFill has assigned to this batch and the date. Enter in the two fields below—'Declared number of items' and 'Declared dollar amount'—the number of renewals in the batch and the total payment amount you received for these renewals. Include cash, checks, money orders, and credit card charges.
Fill in the remaining fields if they have a value that is common to all—or most—of the renewals in the batch. You can override the filled-in field(s) if you enter a renewal order that has a different value for that field.
Term (issues)
Enter a term in this field if all or most of the renewals are for the same term. If the batch contains renewals for different terms, leave it blank. Remember: you designate the term by the number of issues, not the number of years.
Payment type
Enter a code in this field if all or most of the renewals include payments of the same type—cash, say, or check. Leave this field blank if all or most of the renewals are unpaid or the payments are of different types. You can type in one of the codes (click here for a list of payment types), or right click once to get a list of payment codes from which to select.
Payment amount
Enter a number in this field if all or most of the renewals include payments in the same amount. Leave this field blank if all or most of the renewals are unpaid or the payment amounts are different.
Premium
Enter a premium code in this field if the same premium was selected for all or most of the renewals in the batch. You can type in the correct code, or right click in this field to get a list of premium codes from which to select.
Service
Enter the service code that applies to this order. You can type in the code, or right click in this field to select from a list of defined codes.
Billing series
Renewal series
Usually you should leave these two fields blank. The billing series and renewal series are normally automatically assigned based on the renewal series of the prior order. However you can choose to override those definitions by entering a different billing series or renewal series code in these fields. To enter a different code into these fields, you can right click to get a list of codes from which to select. Click here for details on defining billing series and renewal series.
Audit system notes:
You use the 'Renewals' transaction to enter paid renewal orders, even if the prior order was a controlled order. You should also use it to enter nonqualified renewal orders, whether paid or not.
Example 1: The prior order is a short-term, nonqualified free trial. The customer has sent you an order for a paid subscription. Assuming the subscriber provided their qualification data, you should enter a paid renewal with qualification data.
Example 2: Your policy is to give your advertisers free one-year subscriptions that you classify as "Nonqualified advertiser." Each month you run the 'Customer directory' report to obtain a list of the advertiser subscriptions that are about to expire and then use the 'Renewals' transaction to extend the subscriptions where appropriate.
Example 3: The prior order is a qualified nonpaid controlled order with an expiration date that coincides with the three-year anniversary of the qualification date. You have succeeded in inducing the subscriber to pay for the subscription, so you enter a paid renewal. When you post this renewal, QuickFill will automatically cancel the prior controlled order so that the paid renewal order will start to be served immediately.
Request Type (audit system only)
The means by which you receive the request for a subscription or the information source you use to determine that the person is qualified. You can type in the correct code, or right click to get a list of request types from which to select. (Click here for a list of request types.)
Classification (audit system only)
Every subscription to an audited publication must be classified. You can type in the correct code, or right click to get a list of classifications from which to select. (Click here for a list of subscription classifications.)
When classifying a subscription in the audit system there are a couple of rules that QuickFill enforces:
Orders with a nonzero price must be classified as paid. Conversely, subscriptions with a zero price must be classified as nonpaid.
Qualified subscriptions with a quantity greater than one must be classified as bulk or group subscriptions. Conversely, qualified subscriptions with a quantity of one must be classified as single or association.
Note: renewing group or two-party subscriptions in the audit system
When a group or two-party subscription is renewed and the membership is changed, the renewal results in a new subscription. All of the members of the original subscription are reported as off's; the members of the new subscription are reported as on's. If a member of a group renews as an individual, the rest of the members are not reported as off's, only the individual is.
Once you have finished entering a renewal and have clicked on "OK" to save it, QuickFill returns you to the batch header form. The batch header now shows you a summary of the transaction(s) you've just entered on a line(s) on the bottom half of the screen. (You'll see the payment amount, customer name, company or city and state, and zip code for each payment entered.) If the batch is balanced it will ask you if you want to post it.
Click here for more information on batches.
