Setting up Subscriptions-2

Subscription type

Configuration > Billing Application > Subscriptions > Set Up Types

Subscription types represent the offerings a company presents its subscribers. These offerings consist of individual products, prices, billing rules, and provisioning providers, or inclusive packages. The offerings can either be flexible or fixed. Flexible offerings allow customers to add from a pool of services that are charged accordingly. Fixed packages have a predefined set of services and price.

The subscription type determines:

Available services; 'main' services are mandatory, 'add-ons' are optional
Chargeable expenses; one-off, such as a startup or installation fee
Required hardware
Restrictions, such as in the number of services required for a subscription
Conditions, such as the subscription products which are necessary for the addition of others products.

The 'Allowed Organisational Unit' designates the users that are authorized to create subscriptions of each type.

Subscription type fields

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

Mandatory Configurable

Main Information A subscription type defines the various commercial policies of a company.
Classification: 'Flexible' or 'Package'. Ranking Level is used to set the priority of subscriptions during activations, deactivations, and cancellations. If an account does not have sufficient balance to fund all of its subscriptions: Subscriptions with the lowest ranking will be deactivated and/or canceled first Subscriptions with the highest ranking will be activated first
Billing Term Attributes (applied automatically to each package)
Billing Term Scheme (mandatory and cannot be amended once the package is saved). Binding Period applied if allowed by the billing term scheme (defaults to the value provided on the scheme). Price Plan: The base price plan is generated once the type is saved, using the rates defined for each service in the 'Allowed Attributes' tab. Billing Frequency (if not defined, subscription are created using the default billing frequency of the billing term.
Allowed Attributes Use this section to define the Termed Services, Billing Term Schemes Expenses, Physical Goods and Provisioning Distributors that will be available to subscriptions of each type.
Termed Services	Designate main services with a 'Yes' under Mandatory and additional services with a 'No'. At least one service is required in order to register a subscription. The categorization of 'Mandatory' and 'Optional' is also used in other system functions E.g., in the Billing Term Definition, rules can be set for regretting Optional or Mandatory Services. If the classification is set to 'Package', then the price plan base rate must also be defined. The price plan for the package will be created on saving the subscription type. Applicable for Package Classification You can use 'Add missing services to billing term scheme' to add services that have been added to a subscription type but are missing from the billing term scheme. Once the services are added, you can define the 'Billing Type' of each service.
Billing Term Schemes (Applicable for 'Flexible' Classification)	Define schemes to make available for selection when creating a subscription of each type. The billing type must be set once services added to the type (that were not on the original scheme) are populated.
Expenses	Added through the Add Expense subscription action.
Physical Goods	Hardware such as modems and decoders required for provisioning.
Provisioning Distributors	This section can be used to define: Distributors that can be used for subscriptions of the specific type Whether to block undistributed services and installed items from being added to subscriptions Dependencies, such as distributors that should already be present on the subscription before a new one is selected. E.g., a main distributor should be present before a twin distributor can be added to a Pay TV subscription. Exceptions (products to which the dependency rules do not apply).
Termed Service Rules
Restrictions	Define the minimum and the maximum number of main and add-on services that can be added to a subscription of each type.
Dependencies	Define prerequisites for the addition of products and product types. Select the dependent product or product type and up to ten prerequisites (products or product types). You can define whether all the specified values or at least one should be met.
Tiers	Define allowed changes between subscription services used by the Swap Services subscription action. You can create multiple 'tier groups' and within the group provide a tier level for each included service, which will define whether exchanging one service for another constitutes an upgrade, downgrade or a swap. Note that the smaller the number, the higher the hierarchy of the service and that you can only swap services that belong in the same tier group. You can also define a tier group hierarchy where one group can follow another. In this case, the system will restrict the options to swap between services of the 'child tier group', depending on the changes in the services of the 'parent group'.
Installed Item Rules
Restrictions Per Type	Define the minimum and the maximum number of installed items of each type that can be added to a subscription. Maximum number of concurrent usage: the number of devices that can be logged on a service simultaneously (includes registered and unregistered installed items). Physical Good Type: Define type and minimum/maximum number of items allowed per subscription. Allowed Un-registered Physical Good Type: Define types that will be used by a subscription, while not registered in CRM.COM. E.g., a subscriber may log into a service using a smartphone, tablet or smart TV. The un-registered items may be used and are considered in the calculation for 'Maximum concurrent usage'.
Dependencies	Define prerequisites for the addition of products and product types. Select the dependent product or product type and up to ten prerequisites (products or product types). You can define whether all the specified values or at least one should be met.

Billing definition

Configuration > Billing Application > Billing > Set Up Billing Definition

Billing definition includes rules and restrictions regarding the billing and management of subscriptions throughout their life cycle. They are used to incorporate your business requirements into the system.

Generic Settings section: provides usable subscription and job types and possible values for billing frequencies and binding periods.
Normal Billing Settings section: provides billing rules followed when the normal billing run is executed.
Prepaid Billing Settings section: provides billing rules followed when the prepaid billing run is executed.
Subscription Action Rules section: provides rules that are evaluated when each subscription action included in the section takes place.
Policies section: provides subscription rules, such as penalties for cancellations or subscription address rules.

Billing definition fields

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

Mandatory Configurable

Generic Settings
Subscription and Job Types available in the system, which follow billing definition settings. Billable Life Cycle States: Subscription states whose period is considered billable other than the default 'Effective' state. Non-Creditable Life Cycle States: Subscription states whose period should not be refunded (credited) other than the default 'Effective' and 'Draft' life cycle states. For each state, you can define the conditions that make it non-creditable. Allowed Billing Frequencies: Define the billing frequencies for use in billing term schemes, using the available custom values, labels and configurable units of time, in order to map your personal business requirements. Allowed Binding Periods: Define the binding periods for use in billing term schemes, using the available custom values, labels and configurable units of time, in order to map your personal business requirements. The binding date can also be set automatically, based on a date set in this section, on an (X) number of days after the: Subscription Effective Date Subscription Created Date Subscription Agreement Date
Billing Term Schemes
View configured schemes for normal subscriptions, prepaid subscriptions, and jobs, or create a new scheme.
Normal Billing Settings
Generic	Number Of Threads: The number of processor threads that should be used by the normal billing run. Recurrence: The settings that are applied to all billing runs that are classified as recurring.
Rating	The settings that will be applied during the rating step of the normal billing run. Period To Bill In Advance determines how far ahead to pre-bill services. Billing Frequency Period: Services are billed for the rest of the month plus one subscription period. E.g., if the billing frequency is three months, the billing cycle date is the first day of the month, and a subscriber signs up on the 15th, then the bill includes three months and 15 days. Billing Frequency Period - Post Bill Prorated Period: New services are billed for one subscription period, minus the days remaining in the current month. E.g., if the billing frequency is three months, the billing cycle date is the first day of the month, and a subscriber signs up on the 15th, then the bill includes two months and 15 days. Period Cycle Adjustment: Defines how a billed period is adjusted when amendments are made to pre-billed services, such as upgrading, downgrading, or amending the billing frequency, which will result in a different 'From' and 'Cycle' date (specified in the billing terms). The date can be adjusted to: Previous Billing Cycle Date Next Billing Cycle Date Nearest Billing Cycle Date Based on Threshold Day (a value between 1 and 31 representing a day of the month). The nearest billing cycle is the previous cycle if the date is before or on threshold day. The nearest billing cycle is the next cycle if the date is after the threshold day. Bill as of Day Settings: used by the billing run to select and bill subscriptions that have their 'Rated up to Date' equal to or before the 'Bill as of Day '. Day of Month to be used in the 'Bill as of Day', the first time a normal billing run is configured. Period After Previous Billing Run a unit of time added to the current billing run 'Bill as of Date', in order to calculate the 'Bill as of Date' of the next scheduled billing run.
Invoicing	The settings applied during the invoicing step of the normal billing run include the Debit Financial Transaction Type which is used to create Invoices, theCredit Financial Transaction Type which is used to create Credit Notes and the Minimum Amount In Debit which is necessary to bill Rated Billing Items. Set Transaction Date X UOT After Billing Run uses the date on which the Billing Run is executed to set the Invoice Transaction Date. Usage Detail Records Invoicing: Defines whether Usage Detail Records will be invoiced individually (in separate invoice lines), or grouped together per usage service in a single invoice line.
Assembling	Settings applied during the assembling step of the normal billing run. The rounding options define whether bills will be rounded off and the Rounding method used. Integer scale Rounding product: The product that will be included in the rounding debit or credit financial transaction. Debit adjustment type: The type of financial transaction that will create the adjustment Invoice. Credit adjustment type: The type of financial transaction that will create the adjustment credit note. Exceptional Billing Settings are the requirements to classify a bill as potentially problematic and in need of investigation, for easy identification. Maximum credited amount: The credit amount that when exceeded results in a bill being classified as Exceptional. Maximum debited amount: A value reflecting an account's credit limit, that when exceeded by a new bill, results to the bill being classified as Exceptional. Include financial transactions not previously included in bills (transactions posted between billing runs) Include financial transactions posted X days ago: Defines that only transactions posted X days ago (and not included in another bill) will be included in the current bill.
Formatting	Settings applied during the formatting step of the normal billing run, for exporting usage and rating information in an XML file. The formatting step can be enabled and applied automatically (when the billing run is submitted), or manually (when the billing run is executed).
Bill Check Digits Generation	Define the generation rules for bill check digits by specifying how check digits should be generated, and which type of bill payments will require them. Rules: Generate Check Digit for Bill Number Generate Check Digit for Accounts Receivable Number Generate Check Digit for Bill's Amount At least one rule must be selected to run the check digit feature. Check digits required for Payment Types: Define a set of payment types that should require valid check digits to be specified when a payment is posted against a bill. If none are specified, then all payments will require a payment code.

Prepaid Billing Settings
Generic	Number Of Threads: The number of processor threads that should be used by the prepaid billing run.
Processing	Enable Wallet Consumption Estimation Step by Default: used to forecast how many days are left until the whole wallet amount is consumed by the current subscription services. Maximum Estimation Period: The prepaid billing process look-ahead period when estimating the consumption date for a subscription service. Available for 'Re-estimate All' and 'Re-estimate Only Wallet with Changes'.
Subscription Action Rules Conditions that apply to all subscription action rules follow the logic below: Conditions on the same row should all be met / Conditions on either row should be met.
Resting Periods	Rules that determine whether and when customers are allowed to rest their subscription or services.
Grace Periods	Rules that determine whether and when customers are allowed to request a grace period for their subscription.
Regrets	Rules that determine when customers are allowed to regret their subscription or services. Expressed as a unit of time after the: Subscription Effective Date Binding Start Date Agreement Date Define Allow Subscription Cancellation OR (Allow Mandatory Services Cancellation AND Allow Optional Services Cancellation).
Service Swaps	Rules which determine when customers are allowed to upgrade, downgrade or switch mandatory and optional services. Expressed as a unit of time after the: Subscription Effective Date Binding Start Date Agreement Date Next Billing Cycle
Package Swaps	Rules which determine when customers are allowed to upgrade, downgrade or switch packages Expressed as a unit of time after the: Subscription Effective Date Binding Start Date Agreement Date Next Billing Cycle
Subscription Replaces	Rules which determine when customers are allowed to replace their subscription Expressed as a unit of time after the: Subscription Effective Date Binding Start Date Agreement Date Next Billing Cycle
Cancellations Out of Binding	Determines the rules for canceling a subscription without a contract or whose contract has ended. Notice Period Before Cancelling: the period before the requested cancellation date during which the customer must notify the company. Minimum Period of Time Before Cancellation out of Binding: 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. If both periods are defined, then the action will be scheduled for the later of the two. Define Allow Subscription Cancellation OR (Allow Mandatory Services Cancellation AND Allow Optional Services Cancellation).
Cancellations in Binding	Determines the rules for canceling a subscription with a running contract. Notice Period Before Cancelling: the period before the requested cancellation date during which the customer must notify the company. Minimum Period of Time Before Cancellation in Binding: 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. If both periods are defined, then the action will be scheduled for the later of the two.
Short-Term Activation	Determines the rules for activating a subscription for a short period before it is automatically deactivated.
Short-Term Deactivation	Determines the rules for deactivating a subscription for a short period before it is automatically activated.
Policies Conditions of rules added in the 'Applicable on Conditions' section follow the logic below: Conditions on the same row should all be met / Conditions on either row should be met.
Event-Based Conditional Expenses	Define one-time subscriber charges that are applied when events occur, triggered by subscription actions. Expense Service automatically added on the subscription once the conditions of the policy are met. Only products marked as expense services are available. Only one expense service can be defined per event-based conditional expense policy. Entity: the subscription or job associated with the event, which will trigger the rule. Events: A pre-defined list of events upon which the expense service might be eligible to be automatically applied on a subscription provided the policy conditions. Only one event can be selected each time. Execution Method: Define the execution method of the event in order for the conditional expense to be applied on the subscription. This field is available only for subscription deactivation or activation). The following options are available: Both Manually and through Automatic Process (default): The expense is applied if a subscription action is executed manually or through an automatic process (such as a batch process). Only Manually: The expense will be applied only if a subscription action is manually executed. Only Automatic Process: the expense will be applied only if a subscription action is executed through an automatic process. Application Method: Whether any event-based expense will be added at the time the event occurs or during the next billing run (default). Applicable only if the billing term scheme applies the "Pay After Bill" payment model Due Date Rules: How the due date will be set on the invoice financial transaction that will charge the applied Expense service. Applicable only if the method is set to 'On event execution'. Available options are: Based on accounts receivable Credit Period Terms (default) X UOT after posting date Conditions required for the expense service to be added on the subscription. Multiple conditions can be defined for each event-based conditional expense policy. Add Expense Action Type Add Expense Sub Action Type
Event-Based Recurring Expenses	Define recurring subscriber charges. A period defined by a start and end event, within which a selected expense will be charged on a recurring basis according to the billing frequency of the subscriber. Expense Service automatically added/removed on the subscription once the policy's conditions are met. Events to apply: A pre-defined list of events upon which the recurring expense service might be eligible to be automatically applied on a subscription provided the policy's conditions are met. Events to terminate: A pre-defined list of events upon which the recurring expense subscription service might be eligible to be automatically terminated from a subscription if none of the policy's conditions are met. Apply period cycle adjustment: Whether billing recurring expense will be adjusted based on the subscription's period cycle. Conditions that should be met in order for the expense service to be added on a subscription. Add Expense Action Type Add Expense Sub Action Type Cancel Expense Action Cancel Expense Sub Action
Cancellation In Binding Penalties Cancellation Out of Binding Penalties	Used to define penalties when a service is canceled while in or out of binding, and the conditions for the penalty to apply. Penalties for a cancellation during binding can be a fixed amount or a percentage based on the time remaining. For example: 20% for canceling 12 to 6 months before the binding end date 10% for canceling 6 months before the binding end date. Penalties for a cancellation out of binding can only be fixed.
Bill Additional Fees	Define whether additional expenses will be applied on the bill of each account owner. Expense service added on a bill as an additional fee. Only expense services can be selected. Conditions that should be met to apply the additional fee during a normal billing run. Multiple sets of conditions can be defined and a fee is applied if on or more set of conditions are met. If no conditions are set, then a fee is applied to all bills. Each set of conditions includes: Accounts Receivable Presentment Method (associated with the job or subscription) Accounts Receivable Classification Billing Term Scheme (associated with the job or subscription being billed).
Override Credit Limit Rules	Subscription and job events that override the default CRM.COM credit limit rule, based on the accounts receivable classification and credit rating conditions. The CRM.COM credit limit rule blocks the execution of subscription actions if the balance of the accounts receivable is greater than the credit limit.
Subscription Restrictions	Define the maximum number of subscriptions that can be owned by the same accounts receivable, based on subscription and account criteria.
Subscription Address Rules	Define whether specifying an address for a new subscription is mandatory or not, and the conditions for when it is 'Not Mandatory On Conditions'.
Subscription Activation Rules	Define settings that will be used when subscriptions are automatically activated and the conditions that should be met. Subscription Action Type and Sub Action Type: The actions that will be used and logged upon activation. Subscription Deactivation Period: Activation will only affect services that were deactivated x days ago. Accounts Receivable Outstanding Amount: Only subscriptions with an outstanding amount that is less than or equal to the amount defined will be activated. Apply on Events On Posting Payments: Subscriptions will be automatically activated when payments are posted. On Scheduling Subscription Activation: Activation of subscriptions can be scheduled to take place at a specific time and period. Payment Types that trigger the automatic subscription activation process. Exclusion: Groups of specific users, certain accounts receivable classifications (such as 'employee') and specific subscription types can be excluded from the activation process.
Subscription Deactivation Rules	Define settings that will be used when subscriptions are automatically deactivated and the conditions that should be met. Subscription Action Type and Sub Action Type: The actions that will be used and logged upon deactivation. Normal Subscription Deactivation Method: Select between based on the day and hour of the activation, or only based on the day. Prepaid Subscription Deactivation Method: Select between based on the day and hour of the activation, or only based on the day. Subscriptions deactivated based on day and hour also take into account the time of day on which a service was activated, and do not deactivate the service before that time of day. If the method is based on day only, the service is deactivated regardless of the time of the day. Accounts Receivable Outstanding Amount: Only applicable for normal subscriptions. Only subscriptions with an outstanding amount greater than the defined amount will be deactivated. Apply on Events On Prepaid Subscription Deactivation Process On Scheduling Normal Subscription Deactivation: Deactivation of subscriptions can be scheduled to occur at a specific time and period. Recurring Payment Failure Exceptions: Defines the exceptions provided when an automatic recurring payment fails to be submitted. Exception provided: A 'grace' or 'short-term deactivation' period can be applied to avoid deactivating the customer once the payment has failed. Number of Days to be applied in grace or short-term deactivation periods (allow up to 30 days). Exclusion: Groups of specific users, certain accounts receivable classifications (such as 'employee') and specific subscription types can be excluded from the scheduled deactivation process.
Subscription Cancellation Rules	Define settings that will be used when subscriptions are automatically canceled, as the conditions that should be met. Cancellation Type: whether cancellation affects individual services or the whole subscription. Subscription Action Type and Sub Action Type: The actions that will be used and logged upon cancellation. Apply on Events On Scheduling Subscription Cancellation: Cancellation of subscriptions can be scheduled to occur at a specific time and period. Period in Not Effective Life Cycle State: A subscription that has been inactive for a certain period of time, can be scheduled to be canceled, based on the following settings: Prepaid Subscription Period or Normal Subscription Period that is not effective for a period greater than the defined value. Exclusion: Groups of specific users, certain accounts receivable classifications (such as 'employee') and specific subscription types can be excluded from the scheduled cancellation process.

Subscription action types

Configuration > Billing Application > Subscriptions > Set up Action Types

Subscription action types and their behavior code, determine the modifications on subscriptions when subscription actions are executed.

Subscription sub-action types, identified by their classification code, are used to give a business meaning to executed actions and to categorize them for use in automated processes, such as billing and validations.

A subscription action of type 'Remove Service' could have the following sub-action types:

Undo Addition of Subscription Service
Regret Subscription Service / Cancel Subscription Service. Discrete business rules could be configured in the system for service regret and cancellation.

It is not mandatory to configure subscription action and sub-action types, as defaults already exist. If one or more is configured, a default must be selected.