What You'll Learn

This article will guide you through creating and managing fixed billing contracts in Uptick. Fixed billing contracts allow you to charge a flat fee at regular intervals, ensuring predictable invoicing and simplified administration.

Setup

You will need the following permissions in your security group:

Can view property list page
Can view property
Can view invoices and credit notes
Can create and update billing contracts

Click here to learn about permissions and security groups.

How to create a fixed billing contract

Fixed billing contracts are used when all maintenance services are charged as a flat fee at regular intervals throughout the year. This ensures predictable budgeting and simplifies administrative efforts as invoices are sent at predetermined intervals (e.g., annually, quarterly, monthly).

Billing contracts can also be created via Service Quote completion, which opens the Billing contract creation page at step 4.

Steps to create a fixed billing contract:

1. Navigate to the property

Go to Customer Data > Properties
Click View on the relevant property

2. Access the Billing tab

Click the Billing tab on the property page

3. Create a new contract

Click the + Create button in the Billing contracts section

4. Complete the Schedule section

Fill in the following required fields:

Name: Provide a descriptive name for the contract
Billing Type: Select Fixed from the dropdown
Recurrence: Choose how often invoices should be sent (Monthly, Bi-monthly, Quarterly, Half-yearly, or Annual)
Contract Start Date: When the servicing and billing period begins
First Invoice Date: When the first invoice should be issued

5. Set upcoming dates and price increases

Review Date: Enter when the contract should next be reviewed (recommended)
Price Increase Policy: Select one of the following:
- No bulk price increases: No automatic or bulk increases apply
- Automatically, each year by a fixed percentage: Set the Date and Percentage for automatic annual increases
- Manually, by a percentage set at the time: Prices can be increased manually in bulk via the Billing Contracts page

6. Add contract line items

Click + Load routines from property to automatically pre-fill the Routine Service and Levels columns based on existing routines on the property.

Tip: Update the Routine Service type and link to Labour rates so Products are selected automatically. Customize descriptions and set pricing against Labour rates to auto-populate on the Billing Contract.

7. Configure each line item

For each routine, provide:

Product: Select the Labour rate
Description: Enter text visible on the invoice
Price: Set the amount (excluding tax)
Price Period: Choose:
- Annual: Divides the price by recurrence frequency for each invoice
- Invoice: Applies the full price to each invoice

Note: Use the Duplicate (two overlapping rectangles) and Delete (X) buttons to manage line items.

8. Create the contract

Review all details and line items, then click Create Billing Contract.

Available fields on a fixed billing contract

Required fields

Name: Contract identifier
Billing Type: Fixed or Do and Charge (cannot be changed after creation)
Recurrence: How often invoices are sent (Monthly, Bi-monthly, Quarterly, Half-yearly, or Annual)
Contract Start Date: Start of the first billing period
First Invoice Date: When the first invoice is issued
Price Increase Policy: How prices will be adjusted
Date of Increase (if automatic): When to apply the first increase
Percentage (%) Increase to Apply (if automatic): Annual increase percentage (e.g., 12.34%)

Recommended fields

Review Date: When to review the contract next

Optional fields

Contract Finish Date: The date when the contract becomes inactive after the final invoice. Leave blank for the contract to continue indefinitely
⚠️ Important: When setting a contract finish date on an existing contract, make sure the next invoice date is before the contract finish date. If the next invoice date is after the contract finish date, please also make the contract inactive.
Next Invoice Date: Override the first invoice date if needed
Billing Card: Inherit from property or specify a different billing card
Authorisation Limit ($): Maximum amount a technician can spend on site (excluding tax)
Authorisation Ref.: PO or WO numbers to appear on invoices
Notes: Internal notes about the contract

How to edit a fixed billing contract

1. Navigate to the property

Go to Customer Data > Properties
Click View on the relevant property

2. Access the Billing tab

Click the Billing tab

3. Edit the contract

Click Edit on the billing contract you want to modify

4. Make changes and save

Modify any details except the Billing Type (which cannot be changed after creation)
Click Save Billing Contract

How to create fixed Billing Contracts via Uptick CSV Importer

1. Download and open the Fixed Billing Contracts - Simplified Data Import Template.csv.

2. Complete the spreadsheet, adding or removing optional columns as needed. Save it as a Comma-separated values (CSV) file, the only format supported by the Importer.

Field name:	Property	Name	Type	Recurrence	Start Date	Send Invoice	Review Date	Priceincrease Policy	Priceincrease Auto Next Date	Priceincrease Auto Percentage
Field description:	Reference number of property in Uptick, ie P-0021	Name of Billing contract (Free text field). If multiple billing contracts are on the same property, each must have unique name.	Fixed	Monthly, Bi-Monthly, Quarterly, Half-yearly, Annual	Start date of the first billing period. Format is YYYY-MM-DD.	When the first invoice to be issued in Uptick. Format is YYYY-MM-DD.	When the contract should next be reviewed. Format is YYYY-MM-DD.	N = No bulk price increases A = Automatically each year by a fixed percentage M = Manually, in bulk, by a percentage set at the time	Only applicable for "A = Automatically each year by a fixed percentage." Date of when to apply the first price increase. Format is YYYY-MM-DD.	Only applicable for "A = Automatically each year by a fixed percentage." What percentage increase to apply each year Format as 0.1234 (for 2.34%)
Field example:	P-0461	Bobs Burgers Annual Invoices	Fixed	Annual	2023-08-01	2023-08-01	2024-09-01	A	2024-09-01	0.1234

3. Follow the instructions on How to create new data via Uptick CSV Data Importer.

How to create fixed Billing Contracts Line Items via Uptick CSV Importer

Billing Contracts MUST exist in the workspace before line items can be imported.

1. Download and open the Fixed Billing Contracts Line Items - Simplified Data Import Template.csv.

2. Complete the spreadsheet, adding or removing optional columns as needed. Save it as a Comma-separated values (CSV) file, the only format supported by the Importer.

Field name:	Property	Billingcontract	Routineservicetype	Levels	Product	Description	Unit Price	Price Period
Field description:	Reference number of property in Uptick, ie P-0021	Name of the billing contract. MUST be identical to Billing Contract name in the workspace.	Routine Type that this line item is related to. MUST match Routine Service Type name in the workspace.	Level(s) included. MUST match Routine Service Level Type name in the workspace. If multiple levels share the same price, list them in one cell on separate lines. If priced differently, create a separate line item for each.	The name of the labour rate from the product catalogue. MUST match Product name in the workspace.	The description of the labour rate visible on the invoice.	Amount charged for this item, excluding taxes. Format is numeric value without currency symbols.	Is the Unit Price per: Invoice; or Annual
Field example:	P-0461	Bobs Burgers Annual Invoices	Fire Extinguishers: Portable & Wheeled (AS 1851:2012 Section 10)	Annual Six-monthly	Fire Extinguishers: Portable & Wheeled - Inspection & Maintenance	Complete service, inspection and maintenance of Fire Extinguishers: Portable & Wheeled.	123	Invoice