--- title: "Creating a Charge" canonical: "https://docs.rubiconwater.com/space/BNC/1990459435/Creating%20a%20Charge" format: markdown --- **Step 1** In the Charges module click **Add** to create a new charge **Step 2** Complete the following details: | **Property** | **Description** | | --- | --- | | Description | Description of the charge that will appear on the invoice. | | Amount | Unit cost to two decimal places.
> ℹ️ **Note** > ℹ️ > ℹ️ If you need to specify the amount more precisely than two decimal places you can use the *Charge Factor*. This defaults to one. See [https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BNC/pages/1990034242](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BNC/pages/1990034242).
The effect of this value will depend on the charge type.
- For a *Calculated* charge, the amount is multiplied by the charge factor and the value of the selected Attribute Type. - For a *Fixed* charge, the amount is multiplied by the charge factor. - For a *Variable* charge, the amount is multiplied by a the charge factor and a quantity that you supply when you create a Special Charge using this charge. | | Type | Choose whether the charge is *Calculated*, *Fixed* or *Variable*.
See [Charge Types](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BNC/pages/1990197985) for more details. | | Apply GST | Select this option to apply Goods and Services Tax (GST) to this charge.
The GST calculated for an account item is listed with the account item details and added to the item total. | | All Accounts | Select this to add the charge to all properties in the group or area where the charge applies.
Leave the checkbox clear to add the charge only to selected properties. A charge of this type must be added manually as a Special Charge or as a Sale.
See:
[Entering a Sale Item Manually](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BNC/pages/1990361126)
[Adding a Special Charge to an Account](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BNC/pages/1990459393) | | Invoice Period | Choose which invoice periods within the schedule will have this charge applied. See [https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BNC/pages/1990361140](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BNC/pages/1990361140) for more details.
- *All* - apply the full charge to all invoice periods - *First* - apply the charge to the first invoice period in the billing schedule - *Last* - apply this charge to the last invoice period in the billing schedule - *Schedule* - apply the full charge to the billing schedule and split the full charge proportionally across all the invoice periods. - *Other* - apply the full charge to the *n*th invoice period. Specify *n* in the text field. | | Object Type | For the calculated charge type only.
Specified the type of object from which a quantity is derived. The cost is calculated by multiplying the *Amount* by this quantity.
A value can be taken from an object attribute, in which case you will also specify the attribute to use. If you do not specify an attribute, the quantity is given by the number of objects of this type associated with the Property. | | Attribute Type | For calculated charge types only.
Specify the attribute that holds the value that is multiplied by the amount to calculate the cost. For example you can use this option to specify whether to charge by metered or estimated usage. See [https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BNC/pages/1990198094](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BNC/pages/1990198094) for details. | | Area/Group | Select the area or group to which this charge can apply. Typically this will be a "Billing" group, created for this purpose. Only Properties in this area or group can use this charge.
See [Creating a Billing Group](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BNC/pages/1990361226) and [What Happens When Authorisations and Properties are not in the Same Group?](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BNC/pages/1990361226/Creating+and+Managing+a+Billing+Group#What-Happens-When-Authorisations-and-Properties-are-not-in-the-Same-Group%3F) | | External Reference Code | An optional reference code that can be used when invoice data is exported to external systems.
For example: This could be a general ledger code for the charge. | | Charge Factor | A factor by which a charge is divided. Defaults to 1.0, which has no effect on the charge calculation.
This is used when you need to specify a charge amount with more than two decimal places. To do this, you use a multiplier (say, 100) in the Amount field, then provide the same factor as a divisor in this field.
See [Specifying the Unit Cost More Accurately ](https://rubiconwater.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/BNC/pages/1990034242)for more details. | | Enabled | Select **Enabled** to use this charge type to generate account items. This provides a convenient way to temporarily disable a charge type. | | Cumulative | Marks the charge as cumulative. This is used when the charge is stored in a cumulative attribute such as a seasonal usage attribute. When a charge is cumulative, the charge for an invoice is calculated using the change in the attribute value since the previous invoice date. | | Offset Charge | Another charge. This allows you to create two related charges. Any costs calculated for the new charge are offset against the costs charged to the Offset Charge.
For example: Suppose you are charging a storage fee for stored water. You could use this field to reduce the storage fee by the amount charged for stored water usage. | **Step 3** Click **Save** to save your changes ---