They can bill annually so long as payments can be made in instalments. 

I think RIPE (being the behemoth that it is) misses the fact that most of us can only bill our clients monthly and as such pay most of our suppliers in a similar vein as we are after all not banks. 

Had this been put to the members (and if it has, I apologise as I’ve not seen it) then I would most definitely have voted against. 

Cash flow is king and tbh I would rather have it sitting in my bank account for as long as possible rather than RIPE’s

Now if RIPE is going to offer us a 25-35% discount on fees for moving to annual billing, then it might sweeten the pill, but I don’t see that happening (more than maybe as a once off) and frankly I think this not going to help reduce RIPE’s admin much at all. 

If RIPE does need to look at cost savings then I’m sure there are some other projects internally which have cost millions of Euros that could be curtailed or shouldn’t have even been started, but impacting member cash flow is probably the last place to star not the first (imho)


– 
Jon Morby
where those in the know go
Tel: 0345 004 3050

On 21 Dec 2018, at 14:55, Dominic Schallert <ds@schallert.com> wrote:

Dear all,
while I appreciate the efforts in reducing accounting complexity
and organizational overhead at RIPE NCC, I’m not sure if this step
of removing the possiblity for quarterly and half-yearly payment is
beneficial looking at the vast amount of smaller, single-account LIRs. 

Just my opinion.

Kind regards,
Dominic


Am 21.12.2018 um 15:34 schrieb Gwen van Berne <gvanberne@ripe.net>:

Dear RIPE NCC members,

We would like to notify you about changes to our billing processes that
will come into effect for 2019. Invoicing will take place one month
later than usual on 18 February 2019 to ensure you have time to plan for
the changes listed below.

1. Move to annual billing schedule only
On 13 December, the RIPE NCC Executive Board resolved to move the
billing process for members to an annual scheme only.

This change to annual billing only is aimed at reducing complexity for
our members, eliminating repeated late payments and reminders, and also
bringing efficiencies to our processes. With the increasing number of
LIR accounts, the quarterly payments schedule has put a heavy burden on
our administration. This option also means that members often have to be
notified several times per year about late invoice payments.

For members with only one LIR account, we will design a transition plan
for those with cash flow limitations and who therefore have difficulty
meeting the payment schedule. We will provide details about this in
January 2019.

2. No longer sending annual separate account statements
In line with our efforts to make our billing processes more efficient
and member-friendly, we will no longer send the annual account statement
to members separately from the invoice. This has caused confusion in the
past for members who are receiving financial statements before the
invoice is available to pay. The annual invoice will include all
charging details, including the membership contribution and, when
applicable, independent resources, legacy resources and the
redistribution from 2018. More details on the calculation for the
redistribution will be communicated in January 2019.

We will notify all billing contacts about the changes to our billing
processes.

The full billing procedure for 2019 is available at:
https://www.ripe.net/participate/member-support/payment/ripe-ncc-billing-procedure-2019

There is a webpage that provides additional information on our billing
procedure and also gives further details that are useful for members in
Russia and Ukraine:
https://www.ripe.net/participate/member-support/payment/ripe-ncc-billing-procedure-2019/information-on-billing-and-payment-2019

We are confident that these changes will simplify the billing process
and we trust that you will support our efforts to increase efficiencies
at the RIPE NCC. If you have questions or you want to request support
from us, please contact <billing@ripe.net>.

Kind regards,

Gwen van Berne
Chief Financial Officer
RIPE NCC