What happens if I "invoice outside Column"?

Some publishers have the option to mark invoices as "invoiced outside Column" (IOC). This option is available only to qualifying publishers based on billing needs. For publishers with IOC enabled, here's everything you need to know about how it works.

Publishers can set IOC on customers, customer organizations, notice types, or specific invoices.

• Customers – set IOC as the default for an individual customer in My Organization > Customers

• Customer organizations — set IOC as the default for all members of a customer organization in My Organization > Customers > Organizations

• Notice types – Column can set IOC as the default for a particular notice type. Column sets this up in our backend.

• Invoices — publishers can toggle on IOC when creating an invoice for a specific notice. This overrides the default setting on the customer, organization, or notice type.

If IOC is turned on for a notice, Column expects the publisher to collect payment directly from the customer. Column is not responsible for issuing an invoice to the customer or enforcing payment. 

As such, publishers should use IOC only for customers set up to receive invoices or statements through another billing system. We've primarily seen publishers use IOC for "billable" customers who receive monthly statements encompassing all ad categories purchased from the publisher.

In Column, here's what happens with IOC notices:

• The billing status says "Invoiced Outside Column" in the notice table and the notice details page

• On the notice details page, both publishers and customers can see the notice price 

• Customers cannot see or pay the invoice in Column, and they do not receive invoice-related notifications

• At the end of the notice lifecycle — typically upon affidavit upload — Column automatically collects the processing fee from the publisher.

If you have questions about the "invoice outside Column," please contact your customer success manager.