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Overview

The multi-partner reward platform can be configured to support the needs of organizations involved in diverse business activities.

Major features

Set up reward schemes and share reward offers and participants with partners across diverse fields of business.
Define the amount that each partner must contribute to the platform (as a percentage of the total amount awarded to reward participants).
Debit merchant accounts according to how much of the awarded amount they agree to contribute
Simultaneously define all partner groups with identical contribution rules.

Setting Up Multi-partner Rewards

To use the rewards platform and set up a partner business structure, CRM.COM must be configured as shown in Rewards.

Participation agreements

Configuration > Rewards Application > Access Rewards Admin

Participation agreements establish the cooperation between the business with the rewards platform and its partners that participate in the schemes. A set of rules are agreed between the parties that determine the contribution of reward partners to the amount awarded to participants. Participation agreements are defined for (individual) partners or for a partner group.

Partner unit rewards participation agreement is defined for each individual partner and can override agreements made at the group level.
Partner group rewards participation agreement can be defined once and applied to all partners in the same group.

Both agreements can be set up through the rewards admin Data Entry page, under the rewards participation agreements information section.

Partners can only participate in reward offer classifications that require that a customer event that meets the criteria of the offer is created. These are:

Just Money
Reward Achievement
Reward Behavior
Reward Financial Achievement
Reward Loyalty, Transaction Amount Based
Reward Loyalty, Transaction Number Based
Reward Loyalty, Item Quantity Based
Reward Referrals
Utilise Free Capacity
Increase Revenue, Product Based
Increase Revenue, Transaction Based

Partner unit rewards participation agreement

Partner unit rewards participation agreement fields

The table describes the sections of Partner Unit Rewards Participation Agreement Data Entry page and explains how the fields in the page are used.

Mandatory Configurable

Main Information

Unit: Represents the rewards participating merchant. Each unit can be associated with a single merchant.

Accounts Receivable: Owned by the unit that represents the rewards participating merchant.
An existing accounts receivable owned by the unit can be selected or a new one can be created.

Merchants Group: Indicates the reward participating merchant group to which the merchant belongs (read-only).

Life Cycle State: The life cycle state of the rewards participating merchants which can be effective or not effective

Description: A description of the rewards participating merchant

Award Rules

(Determine which participants can be rewarded by a specific merchant)

Merchants can be 'Enabled' to:

Award Rewards Participants Owned by Merchant's Group
Award Rewards Participants Owned by Other Collaborating Groups
Block Award Events of Rewards Participants Not Participating in Any of the Merchant's Reward Schemes: Participants and merchants must take part in a common scheme, otherwise customer events cannot be awarded.

Schemes Used to Provide Awards by the specified merchant. It is possible to select 'All Schemes' or designate 'Specific Schemes'.

Spend Rules

(Applied when a merchant submits spend requests on behalf of rewards participants)

Merchants can be 'Enabled' to:

Submit Spend Requests on Behalf of Rewards Participants Owned by Merchant's Group
Submit Spend Requests on Behalf of Rewards Participants Owned by Other Collaborating Groups
Block Spend Events of Rewards Participants Not Participating in Any of the Merchant's Reward Schemes: Participants and merchants must take part in a common scheme, otherwise spend request cannot be processed.

Allowed Spend Request Amount Range per Scheme

From: The minimum amount that a participant can spend at a time at the merchant.
To: The maximum amount that a participant can spend at a time at the merchant.

If the 'Specific Schemes' option is selected in the Award Rules section, the 'Allowed Spend Request Amount Range' can be defined for each scheme. Otherwise, a single range will apply across schemes.

Minimum Spend Request Amount that a rewards participant can spend, at a time, at the merchant

Maximum Spend Request Amount that a rewards participant can spend, at a time, at the merchant

Allowed Automatic Spend Request Amount Range

Allow Automatic Awards Spending: Defines whether the available awarded amount can be spent on all purchases. The setting overrides that of the field with the same name found on the rewards participant Data Entry page (I.e., if automatic spending is not allowed at merchant level, it cannot be enabled at participant level).

		Rewards Participant	Rewards Participating Merchant	Result
1	Allow Automatic Awards Spending
2	Allow Automatic Awards Spending
3	Allow Automatic Awards Spending
4	Allow Automatic Awards Spending

Do not confuse Spend Method 'Spend Instantly' (available in a number of reward offer classifications) and 'Allow Automatic Awards Spending'.

'Spend Instantly' directly deducts the award earned from a specific purchase as an instant discount, regardless of the participant and merchant setting.
'Allow Automatic Awards Spending' deducts any awarded amount available in the participant's wallet (possibly in addition to 'Spend instantly').

Reduction Method Settings

Reduction Method: How instant spends from awards are handled.

Front-End Reduction: The discount is applied at the point of sale (the customer is charged the discounted price).

Back-End Reduction: The customer pays the regular price at the point of sale and is refunded the discount amount by CRM.COM (through the Payment Gateway).
- Default Credit Note Type that will be generated against the account that should be refunded
- Default Credit Note Product which will be included in the generated credit note lines.
- Default Credit Note Category
- Default Credit Note Notes
- Default Refund Type that will be generated and processed by a payment gateway, in order to credit the online account of the customer with the awarded amount.
- Default Refund Product that will be included in the generated refund lines.
- Default Refund Category
- Default Refund Notes

Sign Up Rules

(Applied when merchants sign up new reward participants or when existing participants are signed up to new schemes)

Merchants can be 'Enabled' to:

Sign up New Rewards Participants
Sign up Rewards Participants Owned by Merchant's Group to New Schemes
Sign up Rewards Participants Owned by Other Collaborating Groups to New Schemes

Schemes Used for Sign up: Determines the reward schemes that the merchant can offer participants. It is possible to select 'All Schemes' or designate 'Specific Schemes' (at least one must be selected). Schemes must be 'Effective' and accessible to the unit of the merchant to be available for selection.

Contribution Rules

Determine the percentage of the awarded amount to be contributed by the merchant (100%, by default). Multiple rules can be defined and applied based one their Priority.

Unless a individual merchant specifies rules, rewards participating merchants group rules are applied by default. (else only the merchant's)

Rule Name (generated automatically)

Contribution Percentage

Priority: Used when multiple contribution rules are applicable. Available values are 'Low', 'Normal', 'Medium' and 'High'.

Applicable Offer

Applicable Payment Medium Brand

Applicable Payment Medium Type

Determines the offers, payment medium brands and payment medium types towards which the contribution will be applicable. Only 'Effective' offers of the following classification can be selected:

Utilise Free Capacity
Increase Revenue, Transaction Based
Increase Revenue, Product Based

Period Contributions

Merchant Contribution Percentage for a specified period (can be between 0 and 100).

Multiple contributions can be defined within a rule.

Partner group rewards participation agreement

Common award, spend, and contribution rules for partners within the same group can be configured simultaneously (saving considerable time).

Partner group rewards participation agreement fields

The table describes the sections of Partner Group Rewards Participation Agreement Data Entry page and explains how the fields in the page are used.

Merchants Group

Mandatory Configurable

Main Information
Number: An auto generated number that uniquely identifies each rewards participating merchant group Group: The partners engaged in the participation agreement. Each group can be associated with a single agreement. Life Cycle State: The life cycle state of the rewards participating merchants group which can be effective or not effective Description: A description of the rewards participating merchant group
Award Rules (Determine which participants can be rewarded through the partner offers)
Block Award Events of Rewards Participants Not Participating in Any of the Agreement's Reward Schemes: Participants and a partner must take part in a common scheme, otherwise customer events cannot be awarded. Schemes Used to Provide Awards by the specified partner group. It is possible to select 'All Schemes' or designate 'Specific Schemes'
Spend Rules (Applied when a partner submits spend requests on behalf of rewards participants)
Block Award Events of Rewards Participants Not Participating in Any of the Agreement's Reward Schemes: Participants and partners must take part in a common scheme, otherwise spend request cannot be processed. Allowed Spend Request Amount Range From: The minimum amount that a participant can spend at a time at the partner. To: The maximum amount that a participant can spend at a time at the partner. If the 'Specific Schemes' option is selected in the Award Rules section, the 'Allowed Spend Request Amount Range' can be defined for each scheme. Otherwise, a single range will apply across schemes.
Contribution Rules
Determine the percentage of the awarded amount to be contributed by the partners of the group (100%, by default). Multiple rules can be defined and applied based one their Priority. Unless a partner unit specifies rules, rewards participating merchants group rules are applied by default. (else only the merchant's) Rule Name (generated automatically) Contribution Percentage Priority: Used when multiple contribution rules are applicable. Available values are 'Low', 'Normal', 'Medium' and 'High'.
Applicable Offer Applicable Payment Medium Brand Applicable Payment Medium Type	Determines the offers, payment medium brands and payment medium types towards which the contribution will be applicable. Only 'Effective' offers of the following classification can be selected: Utilise Free Capacity Increase Revenue, Transaction Based Increase Revenue, Product Based
Period Contributions	Partner Contribution Percentage for a specified period (can be between 0 and 100). Multiple contributions can be defined within a rule.

Main Information

Number: An auto generated number that uniquely identifies each rewards participating merchant group

Group: The partners engaged in the participation agreement. Each group can be associated with a single agreement.

Life Cycle State: The life cycle state of the rewards participating merchants group which can be effective or not effective

Description: A description of the rewards participating merchant group

Award Rules

(Determine which participants can be rewarded through the partner offers)

Block Award Events of Rewards Participants Not Participating in Any of the Agreement's Reward Schemes: Participants and a partner must take part in a common scheme, otherwise customer events cannot be awarded.

Schemes Used to Provide Awards by the specified partner group. It is possible to select 'All Schemes' or designate 'Specific Schemes'

Spend Rules

(Applied when a partner submits spend requests on behalf of rewards participants)

Block Award Events of Rewards Participants Not Participating in Any of the Agreement's Reward Schemes: Participants and partners must take part in a common scheme, otherwise spend request cannot be processed.

Allowed Spend Request Amount Range

- From: The minimum amount that a participant can spend at a time at the partner.
- To: The maximum amount that a participant can spend at a time at the partner.

If the 'Specific Schemes' option is selected in the Award Rules section, the 'Allowed Spend Request Amount Range' can be defined for each scheme. Otherwise, a single range will apply across schemes.

Contribution Rules

Determine the percentage of the awarded amount to be contributed by the partners of the group (100%, by default). Multiple rules can be defined and applied based one their Priority.

Unless a partner unit specifies rules, rewards participating merchants group rules are applied by default. (else only the merchant's)

Rule Name (generated automatically)

Contribution Percentage

Priority: Used when multiple contribution rules are applicable. Available values are 'Low', 'Normal', 'Medium' and 'High'.

Applicable Offer

Applicable Payment Medium Brand

Applicable Payment Medium Type

Determines the offers, payment medium brands and payment medium types towards which the contribution will be applicable. Only 'Effective' offers of the following classification can be selected:

Utilise Free Capacity
Increase Revenue, Transaction Based
Increase Revenue, Product Based

Period Contributions

Partner Contribution Percentage for a specified period (can be between 0 and 100).

Multiple contributions can be defined within a rule.

Related configuration

The following modules are related to rewards and must be configured for the multi-partner reward platform to operate at its full capacity.

Module Link	Area	Description	Configuration
Network Management	Units	Set up the units which will be used to represent the rewards participating partners. Partners with multiple shops can use separate units to represent each shop.	Mandatory
Network Management	Groups	Create partner groups with which to set up participation agreements. Partners with multiple shops can form a group and each shop can be represented by partner/unit.	Mandatory
Rewards	Rewards Definition	Configure the 'Settlement Automation' section to define: Debit and credit financial transaction types Product used in debit and credit note lines for the settlement process (described below), used to debit or credit the accounts of partners based on their contributions.	Mandatory

Module Link

Area

Description

Configuration

Network Management

Units

Set up the units which will be used to represent the rewards participating partners. Partners with multiple shops can use separate units to represent each shop.

Mandatory

Network Management

Groups

Create partner groups with which to set up participation agreements. Partners with multiple shops can form a group and each shop can be represented by partner/unit.

Mandatory

Rewards

Rewards Definition

Configure the 'Settlement Automation' section to define:

Debit and credit financial transaction types
Product used in debit and credit note lines for the settlement process (described below), used to debit or credit the accounts of partners based on their contributions.

Mandatory

Using the Multi-partner Reward Platform

Using awards and spends to settle partner accounts

Configuration > Rewards Application > Access Rewards Admin

Partner accounts are debited by awards provided through their reward offers and credited by awards redeemed at their shops. I.e., when an award is given out for a purchase from Partner A, the account of Partner A account is debited. When a customer spends an award earned from Partner A in the shop of Partner B, then the account of Partner B is credited with the spent amount. To this end, customer events and spend requests are evaluated through reward settlement runs. The runs debit or credit the accounts associated with the unit of the rewards participating partner, based on the contribution rules defined for each partner.

Only awards from the following reward offer classifications are used for settlements:

Increase Revenue, Product Based
Increase Revenue, Transaction Based
Utilise Free Capacity

These offer classifications are associated with purchase customer events and are not based on accumulation I.e., the award is not dependent on multiple purchases (e.g., 5 transactions within one month)

Using reward settlement runs to settle partner accounts

Set up General Settings >Settlement Settings.
Under Rewards Participation Agreements Information create and schedule a new Reward Settlement Run.
Once the definition is configured, Save the run and click on Submit from the Actions menu to run once or recurrently (as scheduled).

The contribution rules (set up under rewards participating partners) are used to calculate the amount that the partner account should be debited or credited.

Reward settlement run fields

The table describes the sections of settlement run Data Entry page and explains how the fields in the page are used.

Mandatory Configurable

Criteria
Purchase Customer Events Process Customer Events Performed X Days Ago	Determines which events to process based on how many days have passed since they were performed. If nothing is specified, all events will be processed regardless of the number of days.
Reward Schemes	Schemes used by the settlement process to apply awards and spends and settle the accounts receivable of partners.
Partner unit rewards participation agreement	Defines the rewards participating partners that should be considered during the settlement process. All are considered if none are specified.
Input Settings
Reward Settlement Type	Defines whether the process will debit and/or credit the accounts receivable of the merchant (Debit and credit by default).

Calculating contribution amount in settlement run

The amount that a rewards partner must contribute to participants for purchase request customer events performed in a period is calculated when the settlement run is executed, following the participation agreement between the rewards partner and the rewards platform. If a percentage is not defined, then the contribution is 100%.

Where contribution rules are set:

If there is more than one rule, the one with the highest priority is applied.
If the rule specifies contribution periods and a period is included that covers the date of a purchase customer event then:
Contribution amount = Period contribution percentage * awarded amount.
Otherwise (if the rule does not specify a period) or/and (if a period that covers the date of a purchase customer event is not included)
Contribution Amount = Specified contribution percentage * awarded amount
An invoice is created in the accounts receivable of the partner for the calculated amount.

For spend request customer events: A credit note is created in the accounts receivable of the partner equal to the amount of wallet funds that the customer spent.

Purchase or spend request customer event that are cancelled after being settled are also processed by the settlement run. The accounts receivable of the partner is debited for 'Cancelled Spend' and credited for 'Cancelled Purchase' customer events.

Switching to another Merchant Group

The process is responsible for managing Rewards Participating Merchants by moving them to another Merchant group as well as their Contribution Rules.

Select the merchant group to which the merchant will be moved
Select the contribution rules that will be moved/copied from the merchant group agreement to the merchant agreement.

Notes

The process is available from the Merchant Groups and Merchants screens

Rewards Analytics

Dashboards

Dashboards make information regarding the key performance indicators of the progress of the rewards available from a single integrated view. Dashboards are made up of components such as charts and summary tables. Refer to Dashboards for information on their use and set-up.

Dashboard components

Reward settlements per logged in unit and month

The component displays the reward settlements of the logged in partner (unit) that took place over the last 12 months, in a bar chart, grouped by month

The settlement amount is calculated by subtracting credits from debits in the primary accounts receivable of the merchant.

Reward settlements per unit and month

The component displays the reward settlements per partner (unit) over the last 12 months, in a stacked bar chart, grouped by month.

The settlement amount is calculated by subtracting credits from debits in the primary accounts receivable of the merchant.

Reports

Rewards information can be extracted in a structured format for analysis by using reports. The rewards included in the report are selected and grouped based on user-defined criteria. Users can select the fields displayed in the report. Refer to Reports for more information.

Reward settlement report

The report displays a list of debits and credits posted against the accounts receivable of a partner (unit), as part of the reward settlement process for a specific period.

Partner unit credits report

A rewards participating partner credits report displays credit notes which add funds to the accounts receivable of a rewards participant when a spend request customer event is performed by a rewards participating partner.

The report is used to identify the accounts receivable that have been credited as a result of spend request customer events.

The accounts receivable of the participant can be credited with the amount of money that should be paid to the partner when the wallet of the participant cannot be used to redeem awards. The rewards participant subsequently pays the partner for the full amount and it is up to each merchant to set up a custom procedure for redeeming customer awards identified through the report (i.e. credit the bank account of the customer).

Business example

Refunding reward participant payment gateway accounts for back-end reductions

Refund Handling

Scenario

Company ZX would like to handle auto-spend customer returns through Zulu.

A rewards participant makes a discounted purchase by using an award. The customer pays the regular price at the point of sale and the awarded money is returned to their Zulu account (Back-end reduction).

Solution

Configuration

Configure the refund method that will be used for back-end reductions through Zulu.
Configure a refund transaction type and add the refund method as 'allowed'.
Configure the Zulu provider and select the allowed refund method that will be logged by back-end reduction.
Configure automatic payment run definitions that will refund the Zulu account of reward participants.
Enable the back-end reduction method on the reward participating partner and define the refund type and method that will be used to refund the Zulu account of reward participants.
Configure an accounts receivable payment preference and relate it to Zulu.

User Process

Accounts Receivable: When a user registers an accounts receivable using Zulu gateway details, select a Zulu payment preference and provide customer credit card number as an identifier

Technical staff is responsible for communicating to Zulu (on an hourly basis) the payments to be effected using CRM.COM WEB APIs to collect pending payment requests and to update CRM.COM with the respective responses from Zulu.

Use GET payment_gateway_requests/get_pending to update Zulu. Once Zulu responds, CRM.COM should be updated accordingly, using the following WEB APIs:

Use POST payment_gateway_requests/bulk/post to post the 'Pending Verification' payments which have been successfully completed in Zulu.
Use POST payment_gateway_requests/bulk/reject to reject the 'Pending Verification' payments which have not been successfully completed in Zulu.

Notes

If you are using a previous release, view CRM.COM Release Changes.

Overview

Major features

Setting Up Multi-partner Rewards

Participation agreements

Partner unit rewards participation agreement

Partner group rewards participation agreement

Partner group rewards participation agreement fields

Merchants Group

Related configuration

Using the Multi-partner Reward Platform

Using awards and spends to settle partner accounts

Using reward settlement runs to settle partner accounts

Reward settlement run fields

Calculating contribution amount in settlement run

Switching to another Merchant Group

Rewards Analytics

Dashboards

Dashboard components

Reward settlements per logged in unit and month

Reward settlements per unit and month

Reports

Reward settlement report

Partner unit credits report

Business example

Refunding reward participant payment gateway accounts for back-end reductions

Related Links

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