Follow these instructions if you want PaymentNet to automatically generate the periods within the cycle you are viewing. These instructions assume that you are viewing the Cycle Detail screen and have either entered a name for the cycle, as described in Creating a New Cycle, or selected an existing cycle to modify, as described in Editing an Existing Cycle.
Use the Create Periods For This Cycle fields on the Cycle Detail screen to automate period generation.
To automate the creation of periods within a cycle:
From the Range list, select the desired span between periods. The range defines the number of days between the start of each period within the cycle. Options include Monthly, Weekly, Bi-Weekly, and Flexible Schedule.
Note:The flexible schedule option is also known as 4-4-5. This option divides the year into four 13-week periods. Each 13-week period is further segmented into three-month periods. Each three-month period is then divided into increments of 4,4, and 5 weeks.
In the Start Date field, specify the date when you want the automation process to begin creating periods within the cycle. You can click the calendar icon and select the period start date, or you can enter the date manually, using the mm/dd/yyyy format.
From the Number of Years list, select the span of years over which to have periods created automatically, from 1 year to 3 years.
Select Adjust for Weekends and Holidays (if desired). This option is used when the begin or end date for a period that was created automatically occurs on a weekend or holiday.
Note: If you select this option, you should only choose to have periods created for the current year, instead of over a span of multiple years.
Click Create Periods. PaymentNet automatically creates the necessary number of periods and adds the list to the bottom of the screen.
Review the following information for each period:
Period ID
A read-only field that numbers the periods in sequential order.
Description
A unique name for each period. If you choose, you can modify the period descriptions, which are limited to 25 characters.
Begin Date
The date when each period begins. The first period begins on the Start Date field specified above. Each subsequent period begins one day after the previous period ends.
End Date
The date when each period ends. The end date is calculated based on the option selected from the Range list above.
Current
An indicator that identifies the current period within the cycle.
To add a new period to the end of the list, click Add and enter the Description, Begin Date, and End Date.
To delete a period, click the corresponding Delete button.