Anchortoptop

Overview

Price plans are your company's price catalogues. All the billed products are added to at least one price plan in order for billing to be applicable. Subscribers and customers are billed for their purchases based on the rates defined in the price plan usually agreed upon contract signing.

Major features

• Use price plans to define rates for every billable product that is added to a subscription, job or activity with the exception of usage services which are added in dedicated Usage Price Catalogs. 
• Provide discounts to customers by defining lower than base rates for a specific period, or for a certain purchased quantity
• Create conditional price plans, where rates specified can be applied only on fulfilling conditions specified on each price plan, making them a powerful tool used for providing several types of promotions and discounts to customers.
• Easily manage overall price adjustments due to changed tax rates

Setting Up Price Plans

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Before setting up your price plans, it is important to understand the different rate models that exist and how billing handles each rate model. When adding new products to the price plan, the rate models available for selection depend on the classification of the product which can be one of the following: expense, termed service, one time service or physical good.

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Rate Model

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How it works

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Applicable for Product Classification

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Expenses

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Flat Rate, Quantity Based

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Applies a single fixed price based on the quantity of the product, which starts from a base rate and can be modified as the quantity increases, by using a multiple tiers table.

If used for termed services, then the logic changes according to the number of the distributors. The quantity of the service will be measured based on the number of authorised distributors of the service. The service will be billed only once, taking into consideration the applicable price.

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Termed services, physical goods

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Not cumulative;

If the quantity falls into multiple tiers , then the final price is equal to the price of the highest level .

If the quantity does not fall into any quantity range, then the final price is equal to base rate price

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A channel available from multiple TVs (rooms in the house with different decoders):
If for 1 TV the price is €10 and from 2 to unlimited units the price is €8 then:

• A channel available from one TV will be billed €10
• A channel available from two TVs will be billed (€8*2) = €16
• A channel available from three TVs will be billed (€8*3) = €24

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One-time services

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Not cumulative;

If the duration falls into multiple tiers, then the final price is equal to the flat rate price of the highest level.

If the duration does not fall into any quantity range, then the final price is equal to the base rate price

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Installation service: for 1 hour the charge is €10 and from 2 to unlimited hours the charge is €8 then:

• An installation that lasts for one hour will be billed €10
• An installation that lasts for two hours will be billed (€8*2) = €16
• An installation that lasts for three hour will be billed (€8*3) = €24

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Tiered Rate, Quantity Based

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Applies a price which starts from a base rate and can progressively change as the quantity increases, using a price table made up of multiple tiers.
Each tier, defines a quantity range and the rate that will be applied to a product if the quantity of the purchased product falls within that range.

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Termed services, physical goods

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Cumulative;

If the purchase of a product falls into multiple tiers, then the final price is calculated by adding up the base rate and the rates of each tier.

If the duration does not fall into any quantity range, then the final price is equal to the base rate price

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Antenna: If for 1 antenna the price is €10 and from 2 to unlimited units the price is €8 then:

• An antenna will be billed €10
• Two antennas will be billed for  €10 + €8 = €18
• Three antennas will be billed for (€10*1) + (€8*2) = €26

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Applies a price which starts from a base rate and can progressively change as the duration required to provide the service increases, using a price table made up of multiple tiers.
Each tier, defines a duration range and the rate that will be applied to a service if the duration of the service falls within that range.

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One-time services

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Cumulative,

If the duration of the service falls into multiple tiers, then the final price is calculated by aggregating the base rate and the rates of each tier.

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Installation service: for 1 hour the charge is €10 and from 2 to unlimited hours the charge is €8 then:

• An installation that lasts for one hour will be billed €10
• An installation that lasts for two hours will be billed  €10 + €8 = €18
• An installation that lasts for three hour will be billed (€10*1) + (€8*2) = €26

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Tiered Rate, Maturity Based

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Applies a price which starts from a base rate and progressively changes as the subscription maturity (age length) increases, using a price table made up of multiple tiers.
Each tier defines a period range and the rate that will be applied on a product if the subscription age falls within that range.

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Termed services

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Cumulative;

If the subscription age falls into multiple tiers, then the final price is calculated by adding up the base rate and the rates of each tier.
The 'to' field, in tiered pricing, includes the binding end as an extra option (free text integers and unlimited option).

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Channel: if for the first month the channel is for free, from the second to third month is €10 and then until binding end is €20 then

• A subscriber with a biannual billing frequency (6 months) will be billed 0 +  €10 + €10 +  €20 +  €20 +  €20 = €80

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This table contains an explanation of the sections of price plans Data Entry page, a description of the usage of its fields and additional information.

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Related configuration areas

The following modules are related to price plans and must be configured in order to be able to start using them

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Using Price Plans

Multiple effective price plans can be created and the applicable one (according to the customer's agreement terms) can be selected when creating a subscription or a job. If conditional price plans are available then they are also available for selection given that the selection conditions defined on the price plan are met, but will only e used during billing if the 'validity conditions set on the price plan are met.

Selecting and creating a price plan

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Amend existing price plan rates

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1. Search for the price plan you wish to amend and from the Data Entry page click on Actions > Replace from the Actions Menu to open the Replace Price Plan Form modal.
   1. New Price Plan's Effective Date: Define the date from which the new price plan rates will take effect.
   2. Adjust Rates by '%': Add a % to update all rates in the price plan or leave empty to make manual updates.
      If you would like to increase rates then add a positive number, if you would like to decrease all rates then add a negative number. If you want to manually change rates of each product then leave this field blank.
2. Click on SAVE to close the modal.
   If the Adjust Rates By % is defined then, all rates will be automatically updated.  
3. Click on EDIT from the Actions Menu to start updating the price plan rates.

Automatically calculate and apply discount to rates

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1. Select the product rate you want to update.
2. Click on Calculate Amount link, either on the base or tiered rate.
3. In the modal
   
   1. Provide a number in the 'initial amount' text box (this can be the same or different than the base/tiered amount).
   2. Select between amount and percentage and provide a number in the text box below.
   3. Click anywhere outside the text box and check the calculated rate.
   4. Click on SAVE  to apply the change.
      • The system will set the amount that has been calculated, regardless if the 'initial amount' provided was different to the base or tiered amount.

Adding a new product rate to existing price plans

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Creating a conditional price plan

 Conditional price plans as implied by the name can be added and used for billing jobs or subscriptions only if two types of conditions are met. These conditions are defined in the price plan.

• Selection Conditions: If satisfied, the price plan will be available where a price plan is selected to be added to a job or subscription.
• Validity Conditions: If satisfied, the rates from the applied price plan will be used when billing the job or subscription. Validity conditions are required because from the time that a (job or subscription) price plan is set until the time that is it is billed, the 'selection conditions' may no longer be satisfied. It is recommended to have the same conditions defined for selection and validity.
  If during billing, the validity conditions are not met, then the system will get the rates from the base price plan that was used when creating the conditional price plan.

1. Click on NEW from the actions menu to create a new price plan.
   1. Provide the information in the section as in the case of a base price plan and make sure you select a Base Price Plan that the system will use in case the selected conditional price plan conditions are not met during Billing
   2. Rates

      1. All the rates available in the selected Base Price Plan will be present here. Change the rates accordingly or use the Replace Price Plan action to change all the rates simultaneously by a certain percentage.

   3. SELECTION & VALIDITY CONDITIONS

      1. The process for adding Selection or Validity conditions is the same. 
         Follow the steps below:

      2. In 'Evaluation Settings' there are 2 options that can be set at 2 different levels to select whether all conditions or at least one condition should be met.

         1. General: Select whether conditions for all the condition groups should be met or at least one.

         2. Condition Group Specific: Select whether conditions for all rows within each of the condition group should be met or at least one.
            

      3. Once the Evaluation Settings are in place, click on each of the condition groups in the group list on the left to start defining the group row conditions.

         1. Click on ADD to add a new row.
            or 
            ADD FROM TEMPLATE to select an existing condition group row.
            Templates are condition group rows that have been previously saved to be reused. They already contain information such as type, operator and value.

         2. Type: Select the type of the condition from the drop-down list.
         3. Operator: Select whether the values defined should be:
            
            1. 1. Equal
               2. Not Equal
            2. Value: Click on the ADD VALUES link to open the modal to add values for each condition group row, i.e. for the type you have selected.
               1. Like in Evaluation Settings, set whether all the values defined in the modal should be met, or at least one.
                  

               2. Value 1 - Value 20: Use Quick Search or click on the magnifying glass for a search modal to select the values to be set as conditions.

         4. Save as Template: Save the values per Condition Group as a template so that it can be reused in other condition groups of the same type.
            
            1. Click on the SAVE AS TEMPLATE link and provide a name and description.
            2. Once all the Condition Group rows are complete, repeat the process for a new Condition Group.
         5. 1. Allowed Organisational Units
               1. Add the organisational units that can select and assign the Price Plan
                  

         6. Click on SAVE to save the Price Plan

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Each condition group type selected in the condition group has different available values:.

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Only available for 'Selection conditions'

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This is used to allow the selection of a price plan only if the customer is already using a specific price plan and is only applicable only when you change the billing term scheme

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Defining product bundle pricing

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There are two types of product bundles, fixed and flexible.

• Flexible Bundle Products: Products that have a variable selection of constituent products as components.
• Fixed Bundle Products: Products that have a fixed selection of constituent products as components.

The price of fixed bundle products can be set just like the rest of the products.  Flexible bundle products which is only applied to termed service, allow the user to:

• Define a price at bundle level; one price for all included products.
• Define a price at the product level and differentiate when a product is sold as a stand-alone product or as part of a bundle.
• Define both prices and bill for both the bundle and each product individually.

Add a rate at the bundle product Level

Add the product and in the 'Rates' section provide all the required information and leave empty 'Applicable Only If Part of Bundle'

Add a rate for a product when provided through a bundle

Add the product and in the 'Rates' section provide all the required information and for 'Applicable Only If Part of Bundle'  select the bundle in which the product belongs, and for which you are defining the rate.

Add a rate for a product that belongs to a bundle but is also sold as a standalone product.

1. Add the product and in the 'Rates' section provide all the required information and leave empty 'Applicable Only If Part of Bundle'
2. Add the product again and in the 'Rates' section provide all the required information and for 'Applicable Only If Part of Bundle'  select the bundle in which the product belongs, and for which you are defining the rate.

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Bulk adjustment of rates based on tax changes

Tax changes don't need to be a big hassle. Price Plan Adjustment Run Definitions allow you to define rules that will be used to adjust all affected price plan rates whenever vat or tax rates changes. 

Once the definition is created and scheduling setting set, SUBMIT the definition. Once the run is completed, it will create a new version of each affected price plan and calculate the new rate for products whose tax rate has changed. Note that the adjustment runs should not be used in case the rates in the price plans are not tax inclusive. Refer to Tax Definition, for more information.

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Price plan adjustment run definition fields

This table provides an explanation of the sections of the definition Data Entry page, a description of the usage of its fields and additional information.

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VAT Rate Change as of Date: Defines the date on which the VAT Rate changes to a new rating period.
All VAT Rates which have a 'period start date' before or equal to this date will be available for selection.

VAT Rates: A selection of VAT Rates. Multiple VAT rates can be selected and at least one should be specified.

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Products not to be adjusted:  A selection of products and/or product types, whose rates should NOT be adjusted.
If no products are specified, then the rate of all affected products will be modified.

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• Run Now
• Run on Specific Date / Time

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Overview

Price plans are the set of rates at which a company offers goods and services.  The plans are used by the billing engine to charge customer accounts receivables for purchases. 

Every billable product that is added to a subscription, job or activity must belong to at least one price plan, with the exception of usage services whose rates are defined in Usage Service Catalogs. 

Price plans functionality 

• Suitable for promotions and discounting; Price plans can be subject to conditions that result in special rates (such as discounts for employees).
• Ideal for making price reductions; rates that are lower than the base rate can be defined for a specific period or purchase quantity.
• Simplify overall price adjustments when tax rates change.
  
  

Setting Up Price Plans

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rate_model rate_model

Price plan rate models

The classification of each product determines the rate models available when adding a product to a plan.  Billing handles each model differently.

 Products are classified as: 

• Expenses
• Termed services
• One-time services
• Physical goods.

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Price plan fields

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

 Mandatory   Configurable

Related configuration areas

Mandatory modules must be configured for the Price Plan module to work. 

Optional modules may be configured for the module to operate at its full capacity.

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Using Price Plans

Several 'Effective' price plans can be present in the system. A price plan is selected when a subscription or job is created, reflecting the terms of agreement of the customer. 

If available, conditional price plans can be selected by users subject to 'Selection Conditions'. Whether the selected plan is used during billing depends on the 'Validity Conditions' of the price plan.

Selecting and creating a price plan

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Specify the criteria that match the price plan you are interested in or use NEW from the Actions menu to create a new plan.  Provide the information defined as mandatory in the price plan fields table and SAVE the plan.

Modifying a price plan

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Use EDIT from the Actions menu to edit price plans that have been created but not yet added to a subscription or job. You can add, remove or edit product rates and information already defined in a plan. Use the respective actions to add new product rates or amend price plans that are already in use by subscriptions or jobs.

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Amending existing price plan rates

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As a general rule, price plans that are already in use cannot be modified, as the company and customer agreed on the plan rates when the subscription or job was created. 

In exceptional cases it is possible to amend a plan, for example, to reflect a change in VAT or in rates across all contracts. When a price plan is updated, a new version of the plan is created including the previously defined products and rates.

Customers with updated price plans will be billed using the new rates (by default).  

1. Find the price plan to amend and from its Data Entry page, click Replace in the Actions menu to open the Replace Price Plan modal.
   1. Define the New Price Plan's Effective Date.
   2. Input the percentage by which all price plan rates should be adjusted under Adjust Rates by '%', or leave the field empty for individual updates.
      Use a positive or negative number to increase and decrease rates, respectively.
2. Click on SAVE to close the modal.
3. Once a new price plan version is created including the products and rates from the previous plan, click on edit and update price plan rates. 

Calculating and applying a discount to rates

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As long as a price plan is not already in use, it is possible to provide a discount on defined base and tiered rates.  When adding new or editing existing product rates, use Calculate Amount to enter a discount, expressed as an amount or percentage.  The discounted price is calculated and set automatically.

1. While on EDIT mode and select the product rate to update.
2. Click on CALCULATE, on the base or tiered rate.
3. In the Calculate Amount modal:
   
   1. Provide a number in the 'Initial Amount' text box (this can be the same or different than the base/tiered amount).
   2. Select between amount and percentage and provide a number in the text box below.
   3. Click anywhere outside the text box and check the calculated rate.
   4. Click on SAVE to apply the change.
      • The system will set the amount that has been calculated, regardless if the 'initial amount' provided was different to the base or tiered amount.

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Adding a new product rate to existing price plans

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Use the Add New Product action to define rates for new products in existing price plans.

1. Select the plan to which the new product should be added.
2. In the Data Entry page, click Add New Product from the Actions menu.
3. Use Quick Search or click on the magnifying glass to search for the product.
4. In the modal, enter the information that is necessary to create the product (refer to the price plan fields table).

Creating a conditional price plan

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Conditional price plans can be used for billing jobs or subscriptions, subject to two types of conditions, defined in the price plan:

• Selection Conditions must be met to make the price plan available.
• Validity Conditions must be met in order to use the rates for billing.  
  Selection conditions can change from the time a price plan is set until it is billed. It is recommended to have the same conditions defined for selection and validity.
  If validity conditions are not met during billing, then the system will use rates from the base price plan that was used when creating the conditional price plan.

Specify the criteria that match the price plan you are interested in or use NEW from the Actions menu to create a new plan. Provide the mandatory information in the price plan fields table before you SAVE the plan.

1. Click on NEW from the Actions menu to create a new plan.

1. Provide the mandatory information in the price plan fields table (like in base price plans).  

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   Important: Select a Base Price Plan for the system to use in case the selected conditional price plan conditions are not met during billing.

2. Rates: Available rates from the selected base price plan are displayed. Change the rates individually or use the Replace Price Plan action to change all the rates simultaneously by a specific percentage value.

3. SELECTION & VALIDITY CONDITIONS (The process for adding selection or validity conditions is identical) 

   Follow the steps below:

1. Under 'Evaluation Settings' select:

   1. General: whether 'Criteria in all condition groups should be met' or 'Criteria in at least one condition group' should be met.

   2. Condition Group Specific: whether 'Criteria in all condition rows should be met' or 'Criteria in at least one condition row' should be met.

2. Once Evaluation Settings are in place, click on each of the condition groups in the list to start defining group row conditions.

1. Click to ADD a new row, or ADD FROM TEMPLATE (a saved row that was used previously with preset values, such as for type and operator) to select an existing condition group row.  

2. Type: Select from the drop-down list.
3. Operator: Select whether the defined values should be 'Equal' or 'Not Equal'.
   1. Value: ADD VALUES from the modal for each selected condition group row.
      1. Specify whether all values, or at least one, defined in the modal should be met.
         

      2. Value 1 - Value 20: Use Quick Search or click on the magnifying glass for a search modal to select the values to be used as conditions.

4. Save as Template: Save the values for each condition group as a template, so that it can be used again with condition groups of the same type.
   
   1. Click on SAVE AS TEMPLATE and provide a name and description.
   2. Once all the condition group rows are complete, repeat the process for a new condition group.
5. Select the Allowed Organisational Units that are authorized to select and assign the price plan.
   

6. SAVE the price plan.

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Defining product bundle pricing

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A product bundle is a combination of component products offered for sale as one product, such as a single package including multiple channels.  Fixed Bundle Products have a fixed selection of constituent products as components.  Flexible Bundle Products are available for termed services and have a variable selection of constituent products as components.  The price of a fixed bundle product is set as that of a regular product.

Flexible bundle products allow the user to define prices at:

• Bundle level; i.e., one price for all included products.
• Product level, and differentiate when a product is sold as a stand-alone or part of a bundle.
• Both bundle and product levels.

To add a rate at bundle product level:

1. Add the product to the price plan.
2. Provide the information required in the 'Rates' section.
3. Leave 'Applicable Only If Part of Bundle' empty. 

To add a rate for a product when provided through a bundle:

1. Add the product to the price plan.
2. Provide the information required in the 'Rates' section.
3. Under 'Applicable Only If Part of Bundle' select the bundle that the product is part of.

To add a rate for a product that is sold as a standalone product and as part of a bundle:

1. Add the product to the price plan.
2. Provide the information required in the 'Rates' section.
3. Leave 'Applicable Only If Part of Bundle' empty
4. Add the product to the price plan again.
5. Provide the information required in the 'Rates' section.
6. Under 'Applicable Only If Part of Bundle' select the bundle that the product is part of.

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Calculating the price of termed services for specific periods

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When a rate is provided for a termed service over a specific period (e.g., 2 weeks), the following steps are used to calculate the price:

• • The time period value and UOT are taken into consideration. 
  • If the price plan provides a rate for the exact period being rated, then that rate is used.
    E.g., if a termed service is rated for a 3-day period and the pri