How does Column invoice billable vs. transient customers?

Note: The information in this article applies only if your publication is configured to use the setting "invoice outside Column." Contact your Customer Success Manager if unsure whether this applies to your publication.

Column uses the term billable to describe customers who...

• have an account with the publisher

• receive recurring invoices or statements from the publisher, which may include public notices and other ad types

• pay for public notices directly to the publisher, even when placing notices through Column

Column uses the term transient to describe customers who...

• likely do not have an account with the publisher

• are not set up to receive recurring statements from the publisher

• prepay for public notices in Column, using Column's online billing portal

Column determines how to invoice a customer based on their customer settings with the publisher. You can find customer settings by going to My Organization > Customers and clicking on an individual customer. Click here to learn more about updating customer settings.

There are two key settings for billing:

• Invoice outside Column (billable customers) → When the publisher creates an invoice, the invoice is for internal Column records only. The customer should expect to receive and pay a statement directly to the publisher — they won't receive an invoice from Column.

• Require upfront payment (prepay for transient customers) → Customers must pay invoices online via Column before the ad deadline.

As noted, most publishers set invoices outside Column for billable customers and require upfront payment (prepay) for transient customers. These settings can be configured in My Organization > Customers > Edit Customer.

Column checks these two settings during invoice creation to ensure the customer is billed appropriately. However, please note that customer settings only determine the default billing flow for the customer's notices. When creating an invoice for a particular notice, publishers can override the default if they have Admin permissions or can edit invoices. However, for most publications that use the "invoice outside Column," a notice must either be invoiced outside Column or require upfront payment, as explained below.

Depending on the integration, Column may also use a customer's account number to determine whether they should be invoiced outside Column or require an upfront payment. Click here to learn more about assigning account numbers to billable and transient customers.

Next steps for customers:

• Click here to learn more about what happens when publishers create an invoice marked "invoice outside Column"

• Click here to learn more about what happens when publishers create an invoice that requires upfront payment

When Column attempts to sync a notice to the publisher's ad processing system, most integrations require that the invoice settings "make sense." That means a notice must be invoiced outside Column or require upfront payment—both settings cannot be turned off or on. 

This rule is meant to reduce confusion (the publisher and Column cannot bill customers for the same notice) and to ensure no notice accidentally goes unpaid.

If a notice sync fails because the billing settings are unclear, the activity log will show an error explaining the issue. The publisher should void the current invoice and create a new one, ensuring either invoice outside Column or require upfront payment is toggled on.