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Learn to work with usage service catalogues |
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On this page
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Overview
Usage Service catalogues (USCs) are catalogues for products that are offered on customer request and charged based on their consumption. USCs contain information on pricing and service validity and options for integrating with third party provisioning systems.
Usage Service catalogue Features
- Services in USCs include Pay-per-view (PPV) or Video on demand (VOD) movies, video games or telephone calls, making USCs suitable for supporting the Over-the-top (OTT) business model. Despite their name, USCs can also contain physical goods (such as fuel) and can therefore support diverse lines of business.
- Use usage service catalogue definitions to define standard rates for services of the same type, for efficiency when creating usage service catalogues.
- Usage services are added to subscriptions, managed and billed through the 'Add Usage Service' subscription action.
- Addition of usage services to a subscription may require the presence of a termed service on the subscription, which can be defined through the usage service catalogue.
- Usage services from multiple catalogues may be selected and added to a subscription.
- When a usage service is added a Usage Detail Record is created which holds information related to the order of the usage service and used for billing.
- Already rated (billed) usage services (i.e. UDRs) can be imported into CRM.COM from external system in which cases billing in CRM.COM can handle only additional discounts provided.
Setting Up Usage Service catalogues
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| Configuration > Finance Application > Usage Service catalogues |
Definitions
A usage service catalogue definition is the set of business rules that determine the behaviour of catalogues maintained in the system.
The following must be defined when creating a catalogue:
- The types of usage services that will be available
- Default billing rates for each service that can be added to the catalogue
- The available provisioning providers.
Usage Service catalogue Definition Data Entry page
Definition fields
The table describes the sections of the Usage Service catalogue Definition Data Entry page and explains how the fields in the page are used.
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Allowed Attributes
Defines the attributes that can be used for creating or modifying Usage Service catalogues.
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Define the providers that will be available when creating new service catalogues, and a default provider. If the service is offered by a third party, then its provider and necessary information (e.g., the provisioning ID) will be available directly from the catalogue.
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Define the product types that can be added to the catalogue and the default type when creating a new catalogue.
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Predefined rates based on product type speed up the setup of catalogues.
The rate for each added product type is assigned in the definition and can be modified
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Rated: Select for usage services imported to CRM.COM (through the WEB API) whose billing rates are determined by third party systems. When checked, the 'Base Rate' and 'Tiered Rates' fields in the catalogue will be unavailable.
Base Rate: The basic charge for the service type, which is applied if tiered rates are not defined or their conditions are not fulfilled.
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Used to provide discounted rates as long as the conditions are met. Several tiered rates can be specified as long as their conditions do not overlap. Each rate is defined in a different row and applied if the row conditions are met.
Tiered rates consist of:
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Rate
Related configuration areas
The following module is related to usage service catalogues and may be configured for the usage service catalogues module to operate at its full capacity.
| Manual Link | Area | Description |
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| Products | Product Types and Products | Product types must be configured in order to be rated. |
| Usage Detail Records (UDRs) | Setting up UDRs | Set up Usage Detail Records attributes which can be used as conditions in the tiered rates of catalogues and catalogue definitions |
| Billing Term Scheme | Define the maximum number of unbilled UDRs that should be present in the system or the maximum cumulative amount from ordered UDRs (within a subscription), before being billed. |
Using Usage Service catalogues
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Finance > Product & Pricing > Usage Service catalogues > Manage Usage Service catalogues |
Usage Service catalogue Data Entry page
Usage service catalogue fields
The table describes the sections of the Usage Service catalogue Data Entry page and explains how the fields in the page are used.
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Termed Service Requirements:
Subject to business rules, subscribers can be charged a monthly service fee (such as a VOD service subscription fee), as a prerequisite for ordering a usage service (e.g., a movie). The service fee can be defined in CRM.COM as an optional termed service. Select between:
- Requires an Effective Termed Service (a termed service must be present and effective on the subscription)
- Requires a Termed Service (a termed service must be present on the subscription)
- Does Not Require a Termed Service
Provisioning Provider: A catalogue is associated with a third-party service provider, so that information (such as the provisioning ID) can be obtained directly from the catalogue. The provider must be defined in the active usage service catalogue definition to be available for selection.
Life Cycle State represents the operational condition of the catalogue, which can be:
- Draft
- Effective
- Not Effective
- Cancelled
Services can only be added to subscriptions from 'Effective' usage service catalogues.
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Validity
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The period during which the catalogue is available and its services can be added to subscriptions.
It can be set to 'Always Valid' or 'Valid for Specific Period'.
E.g., Some movies can be made available only during summer.
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The list of offerings of the specific catalogue, their rates (which can be conditional) and their validity.
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Learn to work with usage service catalogs |
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On this page
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Overview
Usage Service Catalogs (USCs) contain products that are offered on customer request and charged based on their consumption. USCs offer information on the pricing and validity of products and options for integrating CRM.COM with third-party provisioning systems.
Usage service catalog features
- Usage Service Catalogs (USCs) are required for the operation of the over-the-top (OTT) business model, as services include pay-per-view (PPV) or video on demand (VOD) movies, video games, and telephone calls.
- USCs are not limited to services. The catalogs can also contain physical goods, such as fuel, supporting diverse lines of business.
- Usage services are added, managed and billed through the Add Usage Service subscription action.
- Usage services from more than one catalog can be added to the same subscription.
- The presence of a termed subscription service can be required for the addition of services.
- Each time a service is added, a Usage Detail Record (UDR) is created for billing purposes.
- UDRs of billed services can be imported into CRM.COM from external systems, to provide additional discounts.
- Standard rates for services of the same type can be defined through USC definitions, to simplify the process of creating catalogs.
Setting Up Usage Service Catalogs
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| Configuration > Finance Application > Usage Service Catalog |
Definitions
A usage service catalog definition is the set of business rules that determine the behavior of catalogs maintained in the system.
When creating a new catalog, the following must be defined:
- The types of usage services that will be offered through the catalog
- Default billing rates for each service that can be added to the catalog
- The available provisioning providers.
Definition fields
The table describes the sections of the Usage Service Catalog Definition Data Entry page and explains how the fields on the page are used.
Mandatory Configurable
Allowed Attributes Defines the attributes that can be used for creating or modifying usage service catalogs | |
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| Provisioning Providers | Define the providers that will be available when creating a new service catalog, and a default provider. If a third party offers the service, then the provider and provisioning ID will be available directly from the catalog. |
| Usage Service Types | Define the product types that can be added to the catalog and the default type when creating a new catalog. |
| Default Rates Per Usage Service Type Predefined rates based on product type speed up the setup of catalogs. The rate for each added product type is assigned in the definition and can be modified | |
Rated: Enable for usage services imported to CRM.COM (through the WEB API) whose billing rates are determined by third-party systems. When checked, the 'Base Rate' and 'Tiered Rates' fields in the catalog will be unavailable. Apply Additional Discount: Enable to allow the application of additional discounts to rated usage services through CRM.COM. Unit of Measurement: The unit used for rating usage services of the specific product type; the field is read-only and defined when the UDR type is selected. Base Rate: The basic charge for the service type, which is applied if tiered rates are not defined or their conditions are not fulfilled. | |
| Tiered Rates | Used to provide discounted rates as long as the conditions are met. Several tiered rates can be specified as long as their conditions do not overlap. Each rate is defined in a different row and applied if the row conditions are met. Tiered rates consist of:
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Related configuration areas
The following modules are related to usage service catalogs and may be configured for the usage service catalogs module to operate at its full capacity.
| Manual Link | Area | Description |
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| Products | Product types and products | Product types must be configured so that they can be rated. |
| Usage Detail Records (UDRs) | Setting up UDRs | Attributes used as conditions in the tiered rates of catalogs and of catalog definitions must be set up. |
| Billing term scheme | The maximum number of unbilled UDRs that can be present in the system and the maximum total unbilled amount resulting from ordered UDRs (within a subscription), must be defined. | |
| Additive Discounts | Additive discount definitions | Define discounts for usage services. |
Using Usage Service Catalogs
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Finance > Product & Pricing > Usage Service Catalogs > Manage Usage Service Catalogs |
Usage service catalog fields
The table describes the sections of the Usage Service Catalog Data Entry page and explains how the fields on the page are used.
Mandatory Configurable
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Termed Service Requirements: Subject to business rules, subscribers can be charged a monthly service fee (such as a VOD service subscription fee) as a prerequisite for ordering a usage service (e.g., a movie). The service fee can be defined in CRM.COM as an optional termed service. Select between:
Installed Item Requirements: Subject to business rules, subscribers may need to have a registered installed item on their subscription to be allowed to order a usage service.
Provisioning Provider: A catalog is associated with a third-party service provider, so that information (such as the provisioning ID) can be obtained directly from the catalog. The provider must be defined in the active usage service catalog definition to be available for selection. Life Cycle State represents the operational condition of the catalog, which can be:
Services can only be added to subscriptions from 'Effective' usage service catalogs. Accounts Receivable (available if the catalog is assigned to a corporate customer): The account that the catalog is used for, according to the pricing agreement. | |||
Validity | |||
The period during which the catalog is available and its services can be added to subscriptions. E.g., certain movies are only available during the summer months. Validity can be set to 'Always Valid' or 'Valid for Specific Period'. | |||
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The list of offerings of the specific catalog, their rates (which can be conditional) and their validity. Usage Service: An offering from the specific catalog. Only services of the type designated in the active usage service catalog definition can be added.
Apply Additional Discount: Enable to allow the application of additional discounts to rated usage services through CRM.COM. Unit of Measurement: The unit used for rating usage services of the specific product type; the field is read-only and defined when the UDR type is selected. Currency: in which the USC base rate is specified for the specific USC and product (must be different than the system currency as defined in the Global Settings). Base Rate: The basic charge for the service type, which is applied if tiered rates are not defined or their conditions are not fulfilled. Provisioning ID: Identification supplied for each service by the third-party provider. An ID must be provided for all usage services whose product type is classified as a provisioning service. Start Date / Time: when the provisioning of a service (such as a Paypay-per-view show) will begin. E.g., at 09:00 on 1 Jan. 2017. End Date / Time: when the provisioning of the service will end. E.g., 00:00 on 2 Jan. 2017. Tax Model: Define whether the base and tiered rates of the specified usage service catalog are tax inclusive. By default, the tax rate follows the model defined in the Tax Definition. | |||
| Tiered Rates | Used to provide discounted rates as long as the conditions are met. Several tiered rates can be specified as long as their conditions do not overlap. Each rate is defined in a different row and applied if the row conditions are met. Each rate is defined in a different row. Tiered rates consist of:
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Subscription Conditions | |||
Define the the Types of subscriptions, Billing Term Schemes, subscriber Price Plans and Termed Subscription Services that should be present on subscriptions to enable the addition of services from this cataloguecatalog. Multiple rows can be added in each section and at least one of the conditions should be fulfilled in each row for the usage service catalogue catalog to be available. Conditions added in multiple sections (such as an account classification and subscription type) must all be fulfilled. | |||
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Define the accounts receivable Classifications and Credit Ratings that enable the addition of services from this cataloguecatalog. Multiple rows can be added in each section and at least one of the conditions should be fulfilled in each row for the usage service catalogue catalog to be available. Conditions added in multiple sections (such as an account classification and subscription type) must all be fulfilled. | |||
Creating and processing usage service
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catalogs
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Actions are subject to validations, which Validations take place before an action is initiated (prerequisite) or after it is submitted (postcondition). |
Selecting and creating
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usage service
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catalogs
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Specify the criteria that match the usage service catalogues you catalogs you are interested in or use NEW from the Actions menu to create a new cataloguecatalog. Provide the mandatory information and SAVE the cataloguecatalog. The life cycle state of the catalogue catalog must be 'Effective' in order to start adding services to a subscription from the cataloguecatalog.
Editing existing usage service
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catalogs
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Use EDIT from the Actions Menu menu to add new, edit or delete existing usage service rates or change the validity and conditions set on in the cataloguecatalog.
Additional Information
Prerequisites | Catalogues Catalogs must be in a 'Draft', 'Effective' or 'Not Effective' life cycle state to be updated. |
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| Postconditions | Usage services can be removed from catalogues catalogs in a 'Draft', 'Effective' or 'Not Effective' life cycle state, provided that services added on subscriptions are already billed. Information on the service can be updated even if the service was added to a subscription and not billed. |
Deleting a usage service
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catalog
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Use DELETE from the Actions Menu to remove a usage service catalogue catalog from the list of available cataloguescatalogs.
Additional Information
Prerequisites | Catalogues Catalogs can be deleted if their life cycle state is 'Draft' or 'Cancelled' and as long as any services added on subscriptions are already billed. |
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Canceling a usage service
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catalog
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Cancel a catalogue Catalogs and its their included services so that it is are canceled so that they are no longer available to subscriptions. Cancelled catalogues
Canceled catalogs can still be viewed in the system. They can be deleted but not modified.
To cancel a catalogue catalog from the Data Entry page, click Cancel in the Actions Menumenu.
Additional Information
Prerequisites | Catalogues Catalogs in a 'Draft', 'Effective' or 'Not Effective' life cycle state can be cancelledcanceled, provided that services added on subscriptions are already billed. |
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Changing the life cycle state of a usage service
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catalog
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The life cycle state of a usage service catalogue catalog can be altered changed from the Actions Menumenu.
Select 'Set as Effective' to make the catalogue catalog available to subscribers. 'Not Effective', 'Draft' and 'Cancelled' catalogues catalogs are not available to subscribers.
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Prerequisites | The life cycle state of a catalogue catalog can go from 'Draft' or 'Not Effective' to 'Effective', and from 'Effective' to 'Not Effective'. |
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Usage Service
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Catalogs Business Example
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Scenario 1 Company ZX has introduced new packages for (Overover-the-top) OTT subscribers. The OTT packages include several PPV (Paypay-per-view) movies. • Movies are charged €5.00 when provided between 00:01 and 6:59 and €10.00 during the rest of the day. Customers can place their orders from their decoders or by calling the call centrecenter. Solution To meet the above requirement: • Product types of classification 'service' and service type , 'usage' and 'termed' must be configured. Configuration Product Types
Products
Provisioning Provider example
Usage Service catalogue Catalog Definitions
Usage Service catalogue Catalog for Normal Subscribers
Usage Service catalogue Catalog for VIP Subscribers
Normal Billing Term Scheme
User Process
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Glossary
| CRM.COM Term | Definition | ||||||
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| Over-the-top (OTT) | A broadcasting model where media (video, audio) are transmitted via the Internet as standalone products, without the need for a cable or satellite operator. | ||||||
| Information describing the use of Usage Subscription Servicesusage subscription services. | ||||||
| Third-party systems Conditional Access conditional access (CA) and Overover-the-top (OTT) platforms with which CRM.COM integrates to provide services such as video content, telephony or games. | ||||||
| Termed Service | A service that is provided continuously and billed for a recurring period, regardless of usage. | ||||||
| Subscription | A collection selection of customer services billed on a recurring, usage or one-time basis. | ||||||
| Accounts Receivable | A ledger of the financial transactions carried out between a company and its customers, such as invoices and payments. |
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