Editing RMR Without Affecting Attrition Tracking

Modified on Mon, 13 Apr at 6:10 PM

Overview

This article explains how to correctly edit Recurring Monthly Revenue (RMR) charges — such as service upgrades, rate increases, and billing cycle changes — without incorrectly recording those changes as attrition. Following the right method ensures your RMR reports, attrition tracking, and historical data remain accurate and meaningful.

The Right Way to Edit Recurring Charges

When making edits to existing RMR codes, rates, or cycles, you can often adjust the recurring charges directly instead of stopping and adding new charges.

Example: Service Upgrade

Scenario: A customer upgrades from standard Monitoring to Cellular Monitoring.

❌ Wrong Method — Don't Do This

Add a stop date to the old charge
Insert a new charge for the upgraded service
Problem: This incorrectly shows as lost RMR (attrition) plus new RMR

✅ Correct Method — Do This

Open the existing recurring charge.
Edit the charge directly:
- Change the service code (e.g., from "Monitoring" to "Cellular Monitoring")
- Update the rate if necessary
- Adjust the cycle if needed
Do NOT add a stop date.
Save the changes.

Why This Matters

Accurate Attrition Tracking

When you edit directly without adding a stop date:

Your RMR properly tracks that an upgrade or rate increase occurred
The system does NOT record this as stopped RMR and new RMR
Attrition reports accurately reflect true customer cancellations
Historical data shows increases and decreases in ongoing RMR

Better Business Intelligence

Accurate RMR tracking allows you to:

Distinguish between lost customers and upgraded customers
Track true attrition rates
Monitor revenue growth from existing customers
Analyze the success of upgrade programs

⚠️ IMPORTANT — Historical Data Recording

Increases and decreases are recorded as historical data when you edit directly. This provides a complete audit trail of how customer relationships and revenue have evolved over time.

Handling Pro-Rated Charges for Upgrades

If you need to add a pro-rated charge for a new service when making an upgrade, use the following method.

Recommended Method

Add a recurring charge called "UPGRADE" (or similar).
Set it to run 1 time only:
- Start date: Current billing period
- Stop date: Same month as start date
Enter the pro-rated amount.
This one-time charge handles the partial month billing without affecting RMR tracking.

Benefits of This Approach

The pro-rate is clearly identified as a one-time charge
RMR tracking remains accurate
Easy to identify upgrade charges in reports
Clean separation between ongoing RMR and one-time adjustments

Common Scenarios

Scenario	What To Do	Stop Date Needed?
Rate Increase	Edit the existing recurring charge and update the rate field	No
Service Code Change	Edit the existing recurring charge, change the service code, and update the rate if applicable	No
Billing Cycle Change	Edit the existing recurring charge and change the cycle (monthly, quarterly, annual, etc.)	No

When to Actually Stop a Charge

You should add a stop date and create a new charge only when:

The customer is truly canceling the service
The change represents a completely different service (not an upgrade)
You need to maintain separate historical records for specific business reasons

Key Takeaways

✅ Do	❌ Don't
Edit recurring charges directly for upgrades and rate changes	Add stop dates for upgrades or rate changes
Keep increases and decreases as historical data	Create new charges when editing existing services
Use one-time "UPGRADE" charges for pro-rated amounts	Confuse upgrades with attrition

Need Additional Help?

Our Customer Success team is here to assist you.

Phone: 847-405-9517 x1
Email: customer.success@alarmbills.com