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Learn to work with Subscriptions
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On this page 
Table of Contents
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Overview

Prepaid subscriptions consist of a selection of customer services that are renewed automatically, billed on a recurring, usage or one-time basis and paid in advance. Prepaid subscriptions are funded directly from the wallets of subscribers. Subscription services can be pre-rated (billed for an upcoming predetermined period) or post-rated (billed after being used).  Billing takes place either when the service is activated or a prepaid billing run is executed. There must be sufficient funds in the wallet to cover the billing period in order for services to be activated.

Major features

  • The commercial offerings of the company are set up in CRM.COM through subscription types, which define available products, their pricing and billing rules.
  • Subscriptions actions are used to activate, terminate, and upgrade subscriptions.  Actions can be executed instantly or scheduled for later.
  • The life cycle state of a subscription indicates its operational condition and the state of each service of the subscription dictates whether it is subject to billing. A subscription can have the following life cycle states:
    • Draft: the subscription is new and not yet activated
    • Effective: the subscription isactive
    • Not Effective: the subscription services are disconnected
    • In Resting: the subscription has been put on hold for a predefined period
    • Regretted: indicates the reversal of a subscription decision shortly after the subscription was activated
    • Cancelled: the subscription is no longer in operation
    • Short-Term Effective: the subscription is activated for a short predefined period
    • Short-Term Not Effective: the subscription is deactivated for a short predefined period

Note
For subscriptions whose services are billed in advance refer to Normal Subscriptions.

Using Prepaid Subscriptions

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Copy of Creating a Subscription - r14Copy of
Creating a Subscription - r14

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Subscription fields

The table describes the sections of the Subscriptions Data Entry page and explains how the fields on the page are used.

      Mandatory      Configurable 

  Contact And Account
The details of the subscriber.
  Addresses
The billing and subscription address of the subscriber.

Subscription Terms

(Subscription billing and contract details)

Subscription Type determines the subscription offerings including services, rates, physical goods, and billing information. 

Billing Term Scheme defines the subscription billing rules, whether to pre-bill or post-bill services, the billing frequencies, binding periods and price plans. When the subscription type is selected, its default billing term scheme and respective values are set.

Price Plan is the set of rates at which a company offers goods and services to customers.  The default price plan defined on the billing term scheme can be modified. 

Billing Frequency refers to how often the subscription is billed. The default billing frequency defined on the billing term scheme can be revised. 

Binding Period is the predefined duration of the subscription the customer accepted.  Ending the subscription before it is over may be subject to a penalty. There is no default binding period defined on the billing term scheme but one can be selected.

Effective Date is the day on which the services included in the subscription started getting billed.  It reflects a change in the life cycle state of the subscription from 'Draft' to 'Effective'. 

Agreement Date is the day on which the contract was signed. 

Life Cycle State reflects the operational state of the subscription. It is automatically set by the system based on the status of the subscription and its services, usually on the execution of a subscription action.  Refer to subscription services life cycle state for more information.

Allowed Cycle Day is used to specify the day of the month on which the billing cycle ends.  It is set automatically for 'Period' billing, based on the configuration of the billing term scheme, and manually (as agreed with the subscriber) for 'Anniversary' billing. 

Concurrent Usage based pricing is the application of a price rate, based on the total number of persons simultaneously using a service or installed item, and a percentage the customer and company agreed on.  Concurrent usage based pricing must be supported by the selected billing term scheme.

  • Concurrent Usage is the total number of people that can use a service at the same time.   
    E.g., the number of rooms in a hotel with access to channels from the same subscription.

  • Concurrent Usage Rate Percentage is the rate that should be applied to concurrent services.
    The following formula is used in the billing calculation:  
    Total Subscription Rate = Subscription Rate * Concurrent Usage Rate Percentage * Concurrent Usage  
    (E.g., $1000/month = $50/month * 20% * 100 rooms)
     
Subscriber Since is a read-only field and displays the date on which the subscription was activated for the first time. 

   Services & Installed Items

Subscriber services and installed items can be distributed to one or more provisioning distributors

Mandatory and Optional Services

Mandatory are the services without which a subscription is not possible (e.g., a specific channel). Optional are the ones that may be added to a subscription. 

Service: A termed product to which clients can subscribe, such as a broadband TV or telephony service. Only termed services can be added.

Distributor: An abstract layer used in CRM.COM to relate subscription services (e.g., broadband) and subscription associated devices (e.g., modems) to a provisioning provider and to define what services will be available from each device (if more than one is available).

Components Services: a link to available services that constitute a bundle (offered for sale as one product).

First Activated On is the date on which the service first became 'Effective'. 

Rated Up To is the date up to which the service has been billed. 

Life Cycle State reflects the state of the service during the current period and determines whether subscription services should be charged.  Subscription services in an 'Effective' state are charged by default; this can be modified in the billing definition.  

View History provides information for the service during specific periods:

  • Billing Directive determines whether a period should be debited, credited or ignored by billing.
  • Rating State indicates whether the period has already been taken into consideration by the billing engine.  A 'Pending' state indicates that the period has not been billed yet, whereas a 'Completed' state indicates that the period has already been billed/credited.
Subscription Installed Items

Installed items provided to subscribers that can be distributed to one or more provisioning distributors from one or more providers. 

Serial Number is a unique identifier for the specific physical product.

Ownership Status reflects whether the company or customer owns the installed item.

Distributors are the companies from which the installed item is available.

Components are other physical goods that may be part of the installed item bundle.

Communications

Subscription information can be communicated to the subscriber by email or SMS. 

Activities

The small tasks or actions requested and scheduled for the subscription, such as an installation or maintenance visit.
Activities can be automatically scheduled for a subscription through Workflow Rules.

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Using actions to update subscriptions

Subscriptions actions are available from the subscription Data Entry page and are used to apply business changes on subscriptions. Actions include activation, deactivation, putting a subscription to rest, modifying contract details and adding services or hardware.

Actions are grouped into three categories:   

  • Subscription service related actions
  • Subscription installed items related actions 
  • Subscription related actions

Refer to Subscription Actions for more information.

Deactivating and reactivating prepaid subscriptions

A group of subscriptions can be deactivated and reactivated as a single unit, through system processes.

Refer to Activating and Deactivating Prepaid Subscriptions for more information.

Canceling prepaid subscriptions

Subscriptions or services that are inactive for a long period can be automatically canceled (through system processes that are configured once and executed as often as necessary).

Refer to Canceling Subscription and Subscription Services for more information.

Billing of prepaid subscriptions

Prepaid subscriptions are billed either when the service is activated or through the prepaid billing run, which is configured once and executed as often as scheduled.

Refer to Billing of Prepaid Subscriptions for more information.

Applying business flows on prepaid subscriptions

Buy in Advance plans

Subscribers can be billed for a period that is longer than the prepaid/pre-rated period, in exchange for a discount or convenience. 

Refer to Buy in Advance for more information.

Previewing days until deactivation

A 'Bill Preview' is available through the Bill Subscriber action, which can estimate the number of days left until the wallet (which pays for pre-rated and post-rated subscription services) runs out of funds.

Include Page
Common Business Flows on Subscriptions
Common Business Flows on Subscriptions

 

Using all remaining wallet funds

To fund a prepaid subscription a wallet must have enough funds to cover all included services (otherwise the subscription will get deactivated). In case the amount available in the wallet is not enough to activate a prepaid service for the pre-rated period, the service is deactivated (and the funds are not consumed).

To avoid deactivation a customer may select to use the remaining balance to fund subscription services over a shorter period. To this end, use the Enforce Wallet Consumption action available in Wallets. 

Making payments for specific prepaid services

A wallet top-up can be used to fund a complete subscription (including all its services). It is also possible to allot a payment to fund a specific service. To this end Set up Wallet Definitions - Wallet Credit Rule.


Prepaid Subscriptions Analytics

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Subscription Analytics
Subscription Analytics

Setting Up Prepaid Subscriptions

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Prepaid billing term scheme

Prepaid billing term schemes establish rules for billing prepaid subscriptions.  They are configured and added to the subscription type when creating a product. 

Info

Configuration > Billing Application > Billing > Set Up Billing Term Schemes

Prepaid billing term scheme fields

The table describes the sections of the Prepaid Billing Term Scheme Data Entry page and explains how the fields on the page are used.

 Mandatory   Configurable

 

Main Information

Classification: The type of billable entity that can use the scheme is  'Subscriptions'.

Billing Type: The method used by the billing engine to bill products is 'Prepaid'.

Life Cycle State: A scheme must be in an 'Effective' state to be used on subscriptions during billing runs.

Allowed Attributes
Services

Define the termed and expense services available to the specific billing term scheme.

Pre-rated Period is Adjustable per Subscription: The setting applies to 'pre-rated' billing type services. If enabled, the period for which the service will be activated and billed will be based on the funds available in the wallet of the subscriber. If disabled, the billed period must be selected by the user (upon service addition or initiation) based on the available periods, defined in the 'Period Billed in Advance' field.

For termed services, use the Billing Type to select between:

  • Post-Rate for services that are billed after being used for a certain period.  The funds are directly deducted from the wallet.
  • Pre-Rate for services that are billed and must be paid for a Period Billed in Advance; funds are directly deducted from the Wallet to cover the whole period. 
    • Period Billed in Advance: This is the unit of time that a pre-rated service should be billed in advance.  If the funds are insufficient to cover the pre-rated period, then services cannot be activated.  
      Select multiple pre-rate billing type services and click Set Periods Billed In Advance to set the same available periods for all services.

Expenses do not have a billing type as they are billed by the next billing run.

Price PlansDefine price plans available to the specific billing term scheme.  If none is selected, then all valid price plans will be available.
Subscription TypesA list of subscription types (for information) that are using the billing term scheme. Schemes are added through the type configuration.
Billing Rules
Generic

Billable Period Start Date: Determines the date from which the service is considered by the billing run, regardless of the date on which the service became 'Effective'. 

Billing Effective Date: The date from which a service should start being billed. By default, it is equal to the subscription service Effective Date.

For example, if the Billing Effective Date is 1 June and Billable Start Date is 5 June, then a service will be billed from 1 June, on 5 June.

By default, the Billable Period Start Date is the same as the Billing Effective Date. 

Discount Option: Determines whether the billing terms will use fixed or flexible pricing. If fixed pricing is selected, then additive discounts cannot be applied to billable entities.

Allow Concurrent Usage: Determines whether pricing based on concurrent usage can be specified in the billing terms.

Billing Term Amendments

Determines the rules that are applied when using the Amend Billing Terms subscription action.

Minimum Period of Time Before Billing Term Amendment: Constraints the user to schedule the action on a predetermined number of days after the end of the next billing cycle, so that it does not coincide with an already billed period.

Exceptions allow specific users or units to override the rule.


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Setting up Subscriptions-2
Setting up Subscriptions-2

Related configurations

 The following modules are related to subscriptions and may be configured for the subscription module to operate at its full capacity. 

Module LinkDescription
Wallet

A customer account used to fund transactions within CRM.COM.  As prepaid subscriptions are funded from the subscriber's wallet, the activation and renewal of services is subject to an adequate balance.

Voucher

An alternate form of payment that can be used across CRM.COM modules. 

Provisioning

The subscription TV industry can use the provisioning module, in order to integrate with conditional access (CA) and over-the-top (OTT) platforms.

The CA or OTT platform responsible for provisioning signals to subscribers must be set up through the CRM.COM integration provisioning module.

  1. Set up the provider.
  2. Define dependencies and restrictions associated with subscription services, physical goods, and distributors.
  3. Add respective distributors to the subscription type.
Buy in Advance

An arrangement that allows the customer to pay for a period longer than that determined by the billing frequency, in exchange for a discount or convenience.

Additive DiscountsDiscounts generated when predefined conditions related to an accounts receivable, subscription or job are met and are applied automatically during billing or ad hoc by agents.
Usage Service Catalogs (USCs)

Catalogs for products that are offered on customer request and charged based on their consumption. USCs contain information on pricing and service validity as well as information used by third-party provisioning systems. USCs support the over-the-top (OTT) business model.

Inventory Management

Used to set up warehouses (where traceable physical goods provided to subscribers are taken from and returned to) and the relevant inventory definitions.

Platform / Compatibility settingsEnable the option to display legacy subscription actions (Add Service, Remove Service, Add Installed Item, Remove Installed Item, Change Subscription Distributions) whose functionality is now replaced by the Amend Services and Installed Items subscription actions.

Prepaid Subscription Business Example

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titleCompany ZX Weekly Invoice Run

Scenario 1.

Company ZX advertises two subscriber offerings, whose services must be paid a week in advance.

Subscriptions activated 1 January at 3 a.m. are deactivated 8 January 3 a.m.

Broadband & TV Gold (€10/week)

  • 2 main channels that are mandatory for the subscription
  • 5 add-on channels selected from a pool of 20 channels
  • 50 MB internet

Broadband & TV Platinum (€20/week)

  • 5 main channels that are mandatory for the subscription
  • 10 add-ons channels selected from a pool of 20 channels
  •  50 MB internet

Subscribers must have a streaming device and a modem.  Both items are available from Company ZX.

New subscriptions can be created in two ways:

  1. Customers can visit a retail shop, pick-up the necessary equipment and start using their subscription straight away.
  2. Customers can place an installation order by calling the Company ZX call center.  The installer activates the subscription from the customer's location using a mobile app.

Subscriptions are billed as soon as they are activated, and on a weekly basis, from then on. If subscribers do not have adequate funds in their wallet, then the service is deactivated. Subscribers that cancel their subscriptions or swap to an already billed service are credited and billed again, as necessary.

 

Solution 

Configuration

  1. Go to Products and create:
    1. Channels and broadband (as termed services)
    2. A physical good for the modem
    3. A physical good for the Roku box.
  2. Go to Price Plans and provide rates for each of the products
  3. Go to Billing Term Schemes and define billing rules as follows:
    1. Type: Prepaid

    2. Set 'Allowed Services Billing Type' to 'Pre-rated' and 'Period Billed In Advance' to one week.

  4. Go to Subscription Types and create your offerings. Create one subscription type per offering.
    1. Broadband & TV Gold: Includes two main channels that are mandatory for the subscription and five add-ons, which can be selected from a pool of 20 channels and 50 MB Internet.
      1. Add the two main channels and the 50 MB broadband service and define them as 'mandatory' under allowed services.
      2. Add the remaining 20 channels and define them as 'optional' under allowed services.
      3. Add the Roku box and modem in the allowed physical goods.
      4. Define a minimum and a maximum number of mandatory services as '2'.
      5. Define a maximum number of optional services as '5'.
      6. Define a dependency of the broadband service on the modem.
      7. Define a dependency of all termed services on the Roku box.
    2. Broadband & TV Platinum: Includes five main channels that are mandatory for the subscription and 10 add-ons, which can be selected from a pool of 20 channels and 100 MB Internet.
      1. Add the five main channels and the 100 MB broadband service and define them as 'mandatory' under allowed services.
      2. Add the remaining 20 channels and define them as 'optional' under allowed services.
      3. Add the Roku box and the modem in the allowed physical goods.
      4. Define a minimum and a maximum number of mandatory services as '5'.
      5. Define a maximum number of optional services as '10'.
      6. Define a dependency of the broadband service on the modem.
      7. Define a dependency of all termed services on the Roku box.
    3. The following steps need only be taken for one subscription type, as the step will add all the services in the billing term scheme.
      1. Add the new billing term in the billing term schemes tab.
      2. Click on 'Add Missing Services' to add to the billing term scheme all the services added to the subscription type.
      3. Define the service billing type as pre-bill (billed before usage).
  5. Go to Wallets and set up as follows:
    1. Wallet Threshold: 0
    2. Wallet Causes - Debit Wallets
      • During Prepaid Billing Run
      • Select Normal Debit (provided that the wallet transaction type it is already configured).
    3. Wallet Causes - Credit Wallets (in order to refund the subscriber if a service is canceled)
      • During Prepaid Billing Run
      • Select Normal Credit (provided that the wallet transaction type it is already configured).

  6. Go to Prepaid Billing Run and set up as follows:

    1. Set the billing run in the scheduling settings tab as 'recurring' (so that it is executed daily).
    2. Submit the prepaid billing run and execute.
      Once the billing run is completed a new prepaid billing run job will be created in the scheduler, scheduled for the next day. Services that are not backed by sufficient wallet funds will be marked for deactivation.
  7. Go to Prepaid Deactivation Process and set up as follows:
    1. Deactivation method: Day and Hour based Deactivation
    2. Scheduling Settings: Run every hour.
Note

Schedule the deactivation process to be executed after the prepaid billing run, as the run identifies relevant information.

 

User Process 

Once the configuration is in place, agents can start registering subscriptions.

Retailer Shop Subscriptions

The Become Subscriber action is used and submitted as 'Effective'.

  1. At the subscriptions Data Entry page:
    1. Provide the new customer's details.
    2. Select one of two subscription types available.
    3. Select the requested services and hardware equipment.
    4. Submit the action as 'Effective'.

The signal is available as soon as the equipment is connected.

Call Centre Subscriptions

The Become Subscriber action is used and submitted as 'Draft'.

  1. At the subscriptions Data Entry page:
    1. Provide the new customer's details.
    2. Select one of two subscription types available.
    3. Select the requested services.
    4. Submit the action as 'Draft'.
      The subscription and its services remain in the System as 'Draft'. 
  2.   The installer activates the subscription from the customer's location using a mobile app integrated with CRM.COM, using subscription WEB APIs.  The installer:
    1. Executes the Add Installed Item action and enters the serial numbers of the Roku box and modem.
    2. Uses the 'Activate Subscription' action.

 

 

Info
titleBilling Run executed on a daily basis

Example:  Three customers wish to subscribe to the Broadband & TV Gold service, which costs €20/week.

The requested effective date is 1 January 2017 and the pre-rated period is one week.

  • Mary credits her wallet with €40
  • John credits his wallet with €30
  • George does not credit his wallet.

 

SubscriberRequested Effective DateWallet Amount (Prepaid)Pre-Rate Period

Service activation

01.01.2017

Prepaid Billing Run

08.01.2017

Prepaid Billing Run

15.01.2017

Mary01.01.2016€401 week
  • Pre-Rated Amount is €20
  • Wallet Amount is €20
  • Service is billed up to 08.01.2017
  • Pre-Rated Amount is €20
  • Wallet Amount is €0
  • Service is billed up to 15.01.2017
  • Pre-Rated Amount = €20
  • Wallet Amount = €0
  • Subscription is marked for deactivation, as funds in the wallet are not sufficient to cover another week.
John01.01.2016

€30

 

 

1 week
  • Pre-Rated Amount = €20
  • Wallet Amount is €10
  • Service is billed up to 08.01.2017
  • Pre-Rated Amount is €20
  • Wallet Amount is €10
  • Subscription is marked for deactivation, as funds in the wallet are not sufficient to cover another week.
Remains deactivated
George01.01.2016€0.001 weekGeorge's subscription will not be activated due to insufficient wallet funds. Remain deactivated Remains deactivated

 

 

 

 


 

Glossary

CRM.COM TermDefinition
JobA small project initiated by the operator for customers, involving the delivery and billing of services, products, and activities. Customer requests and orders, such as that for a new subscription, can be initiated and registered through a job.
SubscriptionA collection of customer services billed on a recurring, usage or one-time basis.
Workflow

A set of tasks that are necessary to complete a bigger task, involving the definition, execution, and forwarding of the task among users for action, according to a set of workflow rules. 

ActivityA small task or action that is either stand-alone or must be completed as part of a larger project.
CommunicationsLog interaction between customers and agents. Communications can support multiple media such as email, SMS, telephony, post, and others.
Anchor
distributor
distributor
Provisioning Distributor

An abstract layer used in CRM.COM to relate subscription services (e.g., broadband service) and subscription associated devices (e.g., modems) to a provisioning provider and to define what services will be available from each device (if more than one is available on a subscription).

Provisioning Provider

Third-party conditional access (CA) and over-the-top (OTT) platforms with which CRM.COM integrates to provide services such as video content, telephony or games.

Installed ItemA physical good, which is uniquely identified by its serial number.
Product Bundles

A combination of component products offered for sale as one product. Flexible product bundles have a variable selection of constituent products as components. Fixed product bundles have a fixed selection. 

Usage Detail Records (UDRs)

Information describing the use of usage subscription services.


WalletA customer account whose credit balance is used to fund transactions within CRM.COM. 
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