This article provides an overview of Iteras and how the system works. We recommend that all new customers read the entire article to understand the basic functionality of the system. If you need a refresher on a few accounting concepts, we have an easy-to-read article on that topic.
Automation means automation
Iteras automates, among other things, invoicing, payment registration, and sending payment reminders. This means that invoices are normally sent without you having to do anything—at all. The same goes for reminders. You do not have to confirm anything before it happens (unless manual confirmation is enabled on the invoice), and you will not receive a notification when it happens. It just happens. However, you can track what has been invoiced in the revenue and debtor reports (the exception is invoices set for manual sending—these are not sent automatically by the system).
A new invoice for any outstanding balance is also sent automatically if the subscriber/member pays too little. If they pay too much, the excess amount is automatically applied to the next invoice.
When is invoicing done?
As a rule, invoicing takes place when a subscriber/member starts, and when the subscription/membership period is to be renewed. But there are many details and settings - so many that invoicing have their own article.
When and how are reminders sent?
You set up the reminder procedure yourself, and then it runs automatically. You can, of course, also choose not to send reminders at all.
You can choose between 1, 2, or 3 reminders with individual reminder fees. Subscriptions/memberships can be suspended at the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd reminder—they are automatically reactivated when payment is received.
Reminders are sent when the payment deadline + any extra days you have entered have passed.
Issues or time
Iteras can count in two ways. One is that a subscriber/member purchases a number of issues. The other is that the subscriber/member purchases a time period.
For issue-based subscriptions, a publishing schedule must be entered into the system. Otherwise, the system does not know what to put on the invoices or when issues should be processed. You must specify a delivery date, which is the date the subscriber/member receives the publication in their mailbox. And an allocation date, which is the date the address list must be generated. Allocations/runs take place at midnight, i.e., at 00:00, and last a few minutes.
The allocation date is the most important date in Iteras if you have issue-based campaigns. Much of the system’s automation is triggered based on allocation dates and their effects:
It is marked which subscribers/members are active on the allocation date. You can think of it as putting a checkmark on each active subscriber/member with the issue being processed. The address list is generated based on these checkmarks, so even if you add a subscriber/member the day after allocation, but before you generate the address list, they will not appear on the list—they have no checkmark. They were not active on the allocation date.
One issue is deducted from the active subscribers’/members’ balance. If they had 1 issue left before allocation, they now have 0, which triggers the campaign’s continuation instructions. This leads to the creation of the next subscription/membership period and the sending of an invoice—completely automatically!
Subscriptions/memberships that have been terminated at the end date are closed.
New subscribers/members
New subscribers/members can join via a sign-up form, typically on your website. They can also be created manually, and finally, we can import them for you. The first and last methods are almost fully automatic (except for approving subscribers/members who sign up via the website).
When creating manually, the question arises (for issue-based subscriptions only) of which start date to choose so the subscriber/member gets either the current or the next issue as their first. This depends on whether you use daily lists or not.
By default, a new subscriber/member gets the next issue they can be included in for allocation. This means looking ahead to the next allocation date and seeing which issue that allocation belongs to.
If you enable daily lists, the system assumes that the current issue is sent out until the allocation date for the next issue (00:01 on the date). This means you must manually send this issue to the new subscriber/member. After allocation, the allocated issue becomes the new current issue. If this issue has not yet been received from the printer, you wait to send it to new subscribers who join between the allocation date and receipt.
It is important to be consistent. If daily lists are enabled, you MUST manually send the current issue, as the system will list this on the first invoice. If you do not want this, disable daily lists, and then you should NOT send the first issue to anyone—at all.
Stopping subscriptions/memberships
The stop function in Iteras is complex. It accounts for many situations. Has the subscriber/member received issues or not? Have they paid in full or partially? Are there reminder fees? Do you want the subscriber/member to pay, or should the billed amount be credited? Are there already credits on the invoice? Are there other subscriptions/memberships on the invoice?
This is just to say that we have thought of most scenarios—so usually, you just use the function, and the system will show the result.
Sometimes stopping results in part of the invoice being credited and resent. Other times a credit balance may arise. Credit balances can be refunded to the subscriber/member via manual bank transfer. If not, they remain on the Credit Balances list and are automatically applied to the next invoice - if one is ever issued. Therefore, remember to mark refunded amounts as processed.
Note that you generally should not manually credit invoices - the stop function handles that. Credit notes are primarily used to correct operational errors.
Addressing
Iteras can output address lists in Post Denmark’s Udgiver 2 and Udgiver 3 formats. We also have an easy-to-read format, “Iteras1”, which can be used if you do not have addresses cleaned by Post Denmark or Bladkompagniet.
Address lists for a given issue can only be ordered after allocation has taken place (i.e., after the checkmarks have been set for active subscribers/members, a little after midnight on the allocation date—“a little after” because allocation takes a few minutes—or when allocation is done manually).
It is possible to pull an address list of active subscribers/members as of today’s date if later-added subscribers/members need to be included. But it is important to understand that later-added subscribers/members are not marked as active at the allocation time, and therefore the system does not know they have received the issue! The wrong start issue will appear on these subscribers’/members’ invoices, and an issue will not automatically be deducted from their balance. Therefore, it is best to contact us if you encounter this need.
What should I remember?
With all this automation, it’s easy to forget the few things you actually need to remember in Iteras:
Approve new subscribers/members if you have chosen manual approval. Otherwise, it happens automatically.
Keep the publishing schedule updated if you have issue-based campaigns.
Make decisions on subscribers/members on the debt collection list. They end up there when payment is not made after the reminder process is completed. Either send them to debt collection or credit them so the VAT can be refunded. Ignoring them is not good for business.
If you use daily lists, continuously send the current issue to new subscribers/members.