Overview

• Termed services(billed on a recurrence basis) such as SVODs or TV channels,
• Usage services (billed based on usage) such as TVODs (i.e.movies film) (Optional)
• Hardware on which service signals are sent to; referred to as Installed Items in CRM.COM (Optional)
• Fees such as start up fee  (Optional)

In CRM.COM subscriptions are categorized to Prepaid and Normal, which essentially describes the way they are billed. In prepaid subscriptions, customers subscribe for a set of services and pay them in advance, prior their consumption using wallet funds; on the other hand Normal subscriptions are funded by an account controlled by a credit limit and services are rated and billed either before or after their consumption.

Setting Up Prepaid Subscriptions and Core Processes

Before you start using Prepaid Subscriptions set up the system to reflect your own business needs.

Billing Term Scheme

Prepaid billing term schemes establish rules for billing prepaid subscriptions; for example, define whether the time for which a service will be rated will be based on wallet funds or a predefined period set in the system. You can create multiple billing term schemes and upon creation of the subscription, agents will be able to choose the one which is applicable to that subscription. It is however possible, to update the billing term scheme of the subscription at a later stage if required. Once configured, schemes are added to subscription type through which they are made available for selection in the subscription.

Billing & Payment Models

The following prepaid billing models can be configured

• Prepaid (pre-rated) - Subscription Driven: The subscriber selects the pre-rated period at the subscription level, money is paid against the wallet and the software spends it FIFO based on the services consumption
• Prepaid (pre-rated) - Payment Driven: Services are billed for a period based on the available wallet funds

In both models, payments can be submitted either manually by the subscriber or automatically by the system if the subscriber has opt opted in to automatic recurring payments

Subscription Driven Versus Payment Driven

In subscription driven models the subscriber has the option to select at the time that the subscription is created the period to bill in advance. The same period is applied for each subscription service. In case where there are not enough funds in the wallet to pay for the subscription services for the preselected period then the service is deactivated.

To configure a subscription driven model then disable the Pre-rated period is adjustable per subscription available under Service Rules.

In payment driven models the system will check the available wallet funds and will rate all subscription services for the amount of money available. The system will always check for available funds needed to cover the longest period and then proceed to shorter periods. To configure a subscription driven model then enable the Pre-rated period is adjustable per subscription available under Service Rules.

The available periods to be billed in advance for both models are configured in the Billing Term Scheme. In case of subscription driven the periods are available for selection when creating a subscription while for payment driven models the periods are used by the system to check against wallet funds.

Prepaid Billing Settings

Billing runs are responsible to bill subscriptions based on the billing model they have subscribed to (dictated by the billing term scheme). The result of a prepaid billing run is the debiting of the subscriber's wallet. Through prepaid billing it is also possible to forecast how many days are left until the whole wallet amount is consumed by the current subscription services if enabled through the Prepaid Billing Settings. Estimation can be skipped in case that you want a faster billing or you can choose to estimate all wallets which have undergone a change. This is done through Enable Wallet Consumption Estimation Step.

If enabled you can also define the look-ahead period when estimating the consumption date for a subscription service while the maximum period is 3 years.

Activating prepaid subscription services

Subscriptions are created either in a draft or effective state. In case that the subscription is Draft, no money is yet paid and no signals sent to the customer's device. It is possible to activate a subscription at a later stage using the 'Activate Subscription' subscription action in which case, the subscription will be billable. Regardless of the billing model followed, money must be available in the wallet in order for the subscription to be activated.

Billing of prepaid subscription services

Subscriptions are billed through the Prepaid Billing Run which is a background process and is executed daily. Additionally, a subscription will also be billed automatically upon activation.

Refer to Prepaid Subscription Billing - R15 for more information.

Deactivating prepaid subscription services

Subscribers who do not have sufficient funds in their wallets to pay for the subscriptions are deactivated by the automatic deactivation process. The process is also responsible to identify and process subscriptions that are owned by accounts that have exceeded their credit limit.

It is possible to exclude from deactivation subscriptions that belong to specific groups, accounts receivable classifications (such as employees) and specific subscription types.

Deactivation is always applied at the level of subscription services.  Deactivation can take into consideration the 'date and time' on which the services were activated (so that subscribers can benefit up to the last minute for the services they paid for), or just the 'date', in which case the service gets cut off at midnight of the day that the services must be deactivatedeactivated. Services taken into consideration are: 

• Prepaid subscription services that were classified as candidates for deactivation (from the Billing Run due to insufficient funds)
• Prepaid subscription services that belong to an account whose credit limit is exceeded

Rules associated to the prepaid deactivation can be defined at the Configuration / Billing Application / Subscription & Billing Settings /Subscription and Billing Policies.

Prepaid deactivation is a background process which is executed by the system as long as it is enabled (started) through the Foundation / Platform / Manage Admin Settings / Batch Processes Admin Board

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Reactivating inactive prepaid subscription services

Deactivated subscription services are activated by the recurring activation process or following a payment made against the account. The activation process also re-evaluates the status of subscription services that were classified as candidates for deactivation (during the billing run). It is possible to exclude from activation subscriptions that belong to specific groups, accounts receivable classifications (such as employees) and specific subscription types.

Activation always takes place on the subscription service level and not on the subscription level. Services taken into consideration are:

• Prepaid subscription services that were not effective for a period of time that is less than the specified threshold
• Prepaid subscription services that are effective and are classified as candidates for deactivation

Setting up the Activation Recurring Process

Settings associated with the activation of services accessed from the 'Subscription Activation' found in the Subscription and Billing Policies. Once the settings are defined, the activation process under Subscription Maintenance Utilities must be enabled. It is configured once and executed on a recurring basis.

1. Navigate to Billing > Subscriptions > Subscriptions Maintenance Utilities and click EDIT. 
2. In the Schedule Subscription Activation tab, use MODIFY to ENABLE the process and provide the scheduling settings.
3. Alternately, click on Run Now to execute instantly or CANCEL pending activation processes

Paying for a subscription

 CRM.COM supports multiple ways of paying for a subscription. Cash, Direct Debit, Credit Card or other supported online payment methods. Payments must always be made upfront (before the subscription/service is activated). This means that the account must either have enough funds to cover for the payment or a card/online payment must be available from where money will be directly deducted.

Recurring card(online) payments

It is possible for customers that choose to pay with credit cards or other online payments to provide their information and whenever a payment is required it will be done automatically. This provides your customers with the security of an uninterrupted service due to payment failures. In order to enable recurring payments, the information (i.e card details or paypal PayPal account) must be provided and saved on the subscriber's account, and enabled to be used for recurring payments.

Making payments for specific prepaid services

It is possible to make payments to top up the subscriber's wallet for an amount of money that can either be consumed by all of the services of a subscription or for specific ones. As a result, the payment's amount is not just moved to the customer's wallet, but this amount is also allotted to the requested services. This can be done by defining the services which the payment is made from upon the creation of the financial transaction. 

Additional Processes and Automations for Prepaid Subscriptions

Previewing days until deactivation

A 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.

Using all remaining wallet funds

 In order for a wallet to fund a prepaid subscription there must be enough funds to cover for all of the subscription's services in order for the subscription not to get deactivated. However, there are cases in which the wallet's available available amount is not enough to activate a prepaid service for its required pre-rated period. As a result, this money is never consumed and the prepaid pre-rated services will get deactivated.

To avoid this scenario the customer may select to use the remaining amount of money for his subscribed services for a shorter period. Use Enforce Wallet Consumption action  available in Wallets which enforces the remaining wallet amount to be consumed by prepaid service(s) by pre-rating them for a smaller period that their specified pre-rated period.

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Business Flows

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borderColor Turquoise borderStyle dashed title Creating and billing prepaid subscriptions borderStyle dashed
Scenario Aluxsat Co. 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: Customers can visit a retail shop, pick-up the necessary equipment and start using their subscription straight away. 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. Configuration  Go to Products and create: Channels and broadband (as termed services) A physical good for the modem A physical good for the Roku box. Go to Price Plans and provide rates for each of the products Go to Billing Term Schemes and define billing rules as follows: Type: Prepaid Billing Type: Pre Rate Make sure that Pre-rated period is adjustable per subscription is not enabled Set1 new 'Period Billed In Advance' to one week and set as default Go to Subscription Types and create your offerings. Create one subscription type per offering. 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. Add the two main channels and the 50 MB broadband service and define them as 'mandatory' under allowed services. Add the remaining 20 channels and set them as 'optional' under allowed services. Add the Roku box and modem in the allowed physical goods. Define a minimum and a maximum number of mandatory services as '2'. Define a maximum number of optional services as '5'. Define a dependency of the broadband service on the modem. Define a dependency of all termed services on the Roku box. 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. Add the five main channels and the 100 MB broadband service and define them as 'mandatory' under allowed services. Add the remaining 20 channels and set them as 'optional' under allowed services. Add the Roku box and the modem in the allowed physical goods. Define a minimum and a maximum number of mandatory services as '5'. Define a maximum number of optional services as '10'. Define a dependency of the broadband service on the modem. Define a dependency of all termed services on the Roku box. The following steps need only be taken for one subscription type, as the step will add all the services in the billing term scheme. Add the new billing term in the billing term schemes tab. Click on 'Add Missing Services' to add to the billing term scheme all the services added to the subscription type. Define the service billing type as pre-bill (billed before usage). Go to Wallets and set up as follows: Wallet Threshold: 0 Wallet Causes - Debit Wallets During Prepaid Billing Run Select Normal Debit (provided that the wallet transaction type it is already configured). Wallet Causes - Credit Wallets (in order to refund the subscriber if a service is cancelled) During Prepaid Billing Run Select Normal Credit (provided that the wallet transaction type it is already configured). Go to Subscription & Billing Policies and set Subscription Deactivation Rule as follows: Prepaid Subscriptions will be deactivated: Based on Day and Hour Events that will trigger the automatic Subscription deactivation: On Prepaid Subscription Deactivation process 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'. At the subscriptions Data Entry page: Provide the new customer's details. Create a new account and add a credit card in the payment preferences Enable the credit card preference to be used for recurring payments Select one of two subscription types available. Select the requested services and hardware equipment. Ensure that the pre rate period is set to 1 week 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'. At the subscriptions Data Entry page: Provide the new customer's details. Create a new account and add a credit card in the payment preferences Enable the credit card preference to be used for recurring payments Select one of two subscription types available. Select the requested services. Submit the action as 'Draft'. The subscription and its services remain in the System as 'Draft'.    The installer activates the subscription from the customer's location using a mobile app integrated with CRM.COM, using subscription WEB APIs.  The installer: Executes the Add Installed Item action and enters the serial numbers of the Roku box and modem. Uses the 'Activate Subscription' action.   Info title Billing 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 2018 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.   Subscriber Requested Effective Date Wallet Amount (Prepaid) Pre-Rate Period Service activation 01.01.2018 Prepaid Billing Run 08.01.2018 Prepaid Billing Run 15.01.2018 Mary 01.01.2018 €40 1 week Pre-Rated Amount is €20 Wallet Amount is €20 Service is billed up to 08.01.2018 Pre-Rated Amount is €20 Wallet Amount is €0 Service is billed up to 15.01.2018 Pre-Rated Amount = €20 Wallet Amount = €0 Subscription is marked for deactivation, as funds in the wallet are not sufficient to cover another week. John 01.01.2018 €30     1 week Pre-Rated Amount = €20 Wallet Amount is €10 Service is billed up to 08.01.2018 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 George 01.01.2018 €0.00 1 week George's subscription will not be activated due to insufficient wallet funds.  Remain deactivated  Remains deactivated

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title Glossary
CRM.COM Term Definition Subscription A collection of customer services billed on a recurring, usage or one-time basis. Workflow A set of tasks which 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.  Communications Log interaction between customers and agents. Communications can support multiple media such as email, SMS, telephony, post and others. 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 Item A 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.  Wallet A customer account whose credit balance is used to fund transactions within CRM.COM.  Accounts Receivable A ledger of the financial transactions carried out between a company and its customers, such as invoices and payments.  The accounts receivable keeps a running balance of debits and credits and displays the amount a company is owed in exchange for goods supplied and services rendered.

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title FAQ
Ui expand title the subscriber has enough money in the wallet to cover for 1 week however the system will not activate the subscription.  ensure   Ensure that the billing term of the subscription is fund-driven and not subscription driven. in In case of subscription driven billing terms then the subscription services will only be activated if there are enough funds in the wallet to cover for the predetermined pre-rated period. Also, check the pre-rated period defined on the subscription. The period can be updated to a smaller one if available through 'Amend Billing Terms' action. Ui expand title I cannot find the prepaid billing run to configure and execute. Prepaid Billing Run is a background system process which runs on its own, given that the process is not stopped and that the scheduler is running. To check that the process is started go to Foundation / Platform / Manage Admin Settings / Batch Processes Admin Board and look for the Prepaid Billing Run. To confirm that the scheduler is running, go to Platform / Utilities / Manage Scheduled Processes and ensure that it's running.

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