Validity period of cost templates

Limit a cost template to a date range, e.g. for a peak surcharge or a price change from a fixed date.

Every cost template can optionally apply only for a certain period. Typical examples:

a peak surcharge from November to December,
a price change from a fixed date: the old template gets a Valid until date, the new one a Valid from date.

The validity period is available in Order costs, Unloading costs, Storage space costs, Article costs, Material costs, Pallet costs, the Shipping cost matrix and Invoice items.

Screenshot: Cost template form with the "Valid from", "Valid until" and "Repeat every year" fields at the bottom

Before you start

You need permission for the cost template you want to change (see the page of the respective cost type).

Step by step

Open the cost template you want to limit, or create a new one.
Set Valid from (Gültig von) and/or Valid until (Gültig bis). Both dates are inclusive. Leave a field empty for "unlimited".
Optional: switch on Repeat every year (Jedes Jahr wiederholen) if the period should come back every year (see below).
Click Save (Speichern).

In the template list, the period is shown below the Active (Aktiv) icon.

Screenshot: Overview list of order cost templates with validity periods in grey, blue and red below the Active icon

Fields and options

Field	Meaning	Required
Valid from (Gültig von)	First day on which the template applies. Empty = unlimited.	no
Valid until (Gültig bis)	Last day on which the template applies. Empty = unlimited.	no
Repeat every year (Jedes Jahr wiederholen)	Only day and month count, the year is ignored. 01.11. to 31.12. then applies every year. A period such as 01.12. to 31.01. runs across the turn of the year.	no

If you accidentally enter a "Valid from" date after the "Valid until" date, X-Sitter swaps the two dates when saving (not for yearly periods, where a period across the turn of the year is intended).

Colours in the list

Display	Meaning
grey	Validity Period (Gültigkeitszeitraum) – the template is currently valid. With "annually" (jährlich) it is a yearly recurring period; it never expires.
blue	The validity period does not begin until (Gültigkeitszeitraum beginnt erst) – the template becomes valid in the future.
red	Validity period has expired (Gültigkeitszeitraum abgelaufen) – the template is no longer charged.

How the period affects the statement

If the validity period lies completely outside the billing period, the template is skipped.
Time-based costs (Storage space costs, time-based Article costs) are only calculated for the overlapping days.
Event-based costs (orders, advance notices, material movements, shipping labels, pallets) only count events whose date lies within the period.
Invoice items with "Insert on each invoice" only appear if their validity period overlaps the billing period.
Recorded VAS have no validity period – the Date of service decides.

Screenshot: Client statement for November showing a peak surcharge item that only counts orders from 1 November

Example: price change from 1 January

In the list, click Duplicate (Duplizieren) next to the current template. X-Sitter creates an inactive copy named "Copy - …" and opens it.
In the copy, enter the new price, set Valid from to 1 January and switch on Active. Save.
Open the old template, set Valid until to 31 December and save.

Good to know

Situation	Cause	Solution
An item is missing on the statement	The validity period does not overlap the billing period.	Check Valid from / Valid until in the template.
An item is charged twice	Old and new template are both valid on the same days.	Make sure the periods do not overlap.