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Overview

A subscription consists of a group of services that are renewed automatically. Normal subscriptions are billed on a recurring basis, either before or after the services are used (pre-bill and post-bill). Subscriptions can be automatically activated and deactivated based on the financial status of customer accounts. Subscriptions may also require a payment before or after the bill is generated.

Major features

The commercial offerings of the company are set up in CRM.COM through subscription types, which define available products, their pricing and billing rules.
Subscriptions actions are used to activate, terminate, and upgrade subscriptions. Actions can be executed instantly or scheduled for later.
Normal Subscription billing can follow period or anniversary cycles.
The life cycle state of a subscription indicates its operational condition and the state of each service of the subscription dictates whether it is subject to billing. A subscription can have the following life cycle states:
- Draft: the subscription is new and not yet activated
- Effective: the subscription is active
- Not Effective: the subscription services are disconnected
- In Resting: the subscription has been put on hold for a predefined period
- Regretted: indicates the reversal of a subscription decision shortly after the subscription was activated
- Replaced: the subscription has been replaced
- Cancelled: the subscription is no longer in operation
- Short-Term Effective: the subscription is activated for a short predefined period
- Short-Term Not Effective: the subscription is deactivated for a short predefined period.

For subscriptions whose services are paid in advance refer to Prepaid Subscriptions.

Using Normal Subscriptions

Billing > Subscriptions > Manage Subscriptions

Creating a subscription

To register a new subscription, navigate to Manage Subscriptions and click on NEW.

The configuration of the Subscription Type is essential in defining the offerings of a company. These consist of the selection of subscription services, agreed rates, contracted period, necessary hardware items and billing details (such as the frequency and date of the billing).

Subscriptions Data Entry page

Subscription fields

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

Mandatory Configurable

Contact And Account
The details of the subscriber.
Addresses
The Billing address and Subscription Address of the subscriber
Subscription Terms (Subscription billing and contract details)
Subscription Type determines the subscription offerings including services, rates, physical goods, and billing information. Billing Term Scheme defines the subscription billing rules, whether to pre-bill or post-bill services, the billing frequencies, binding periods and price plans. When the subscription type is selected, its default billing term scheme and respective values are set. Price Plan is the set of rates at which a company offers goods and services to customers. The default price plan defined on the billing term scheme can be modified. Billing Frequency refers to how often the subscription is billed. The default billing frequency defined on the billing term scheme can be revised. Binding Period is the predefined duration of the subscription to which the customers agree. Ending the subscription before it is over may be subject to a penalty. There is no default binding period defined on the billing term scheme but one can be selected. Effective Date is the day on which the services included in the subscription started getting billed. It reflects a change in the life cycle state of the subscription from 'Draft' to 'Effective'. Agreement Date is the day on which the contract was signed. Life Cycle State reflects the operational state of the subscription. It is automatically set by the system based on the status of the subscription and its services, usually on the execution of a subscription action. Refer to subscription services life cycle state for more information. Allowed Cycle Day is used to specify the day of the month on which the billing cycle ends. It is set automatically for 'Period' billing, based on the configuration of the billing term scheme, and manually (as agreed with the subscriber) for 'Anniversary' billing. Concurrent Usage based pricing is the application of a price rate, based on the total number of people using a service or installed items at the same time and a percentage which is agreed between the customer and company. Concurrent usage based pricing must be supported by the selected billing term scheme. Concurrent Usage is the total number of people that can use a service at the same time. E.g., the number of rooms in a hotel with access to channels from the same subscription Concurrent Usage Rate Percentage is the rate that should be applied to concurrent services. The following formula is used in the billing calculation: Total Subscription Rate = *Subscription Rate Concurrent Usage Rate Percentage * Concurrent Usage** (E.g., $1000/month = $50/month * 20% * 100 rooms) Subscriber Since is a read-only field and displays the date on which the subscription was activated for the first time.
Services & Installed Items Subscriber services and installed items can be distributed to one or more provisioning distributors
Mandatory and Optional Services	Mandatory are the services without which a subscription is not possible (e.g., a specific channel). Optional are the ones that may be added onto a subscription. Service: A termed product to which clients can subscribe, such as a broadband TV or telephony service. Only termed services can be added onto a subscription. Distributor: An abstract layer used in CRM.COM to relate subscription services (e.g., broadband service) and subscription associated devices (e.g., modems) to a Provisioning Provider and to define what services will be available from each device (if more than one is available on a subscription). Components Services: a link to available services that constitute a bundle (offered for sale as one product). First Activated On is the date on which the service first became 'Effective'. Rated Up To is the date up to which the service has been billed. Life Cycle State reflects the state of the service during the current period and determines whether subscription services should be charged. Subscription services in an 'Effective' state are charged by default; this can be modified in the billing definition. View History provides information for the service during specific periods: Billing Directive determines whether a period should be debited, credited or ignored by billing. Rating State indicates whether the period has already been taken into consideration by the billing engine. A 'Pending' state indicates that the period was not billed yet, whereas a 'Completed' state indicates that the period has already been billed/credited.
Subscription Installed Items	The installed items provided to the subscriber that can be distributed to one or more provisioning distributors from one or more providers. Serial Number is a unique identifier for the specific physical product. Ownership Status reflects whether the company or customer owns the installed item. Distributors are the companies from which the installed item is available. Components are other physical goods that may be part of the installed item bundle.
Communications
Subscription information can be communicated to the subscriber by email or SMS.
Activities
The small tasks or actions requested and scheduled for the subscription, such as an installation or maintenance visit. Activities can be automatically scheduled for a subscription through Workflow Rules.

Using actions to modify subscriptions

Subscriptions actions are available from the subscription Data Entry page and are used to apply business changes on subscriptions. Actions include activation, deactivation, putting a subscription to rest, modifying contract details and adding services or hardware.

Actions are grouped into three categories:

Subscription Service Related Actions
Subscription Installed Items Related Actions
Subscription Related Actions

Refer to Subscription Actions for more information.

Deactivating and reactivating normal subscriptions

A group of subscriptions can be deactivated and reactivated in one flow, through system processes that are configured once and can be executed as often as necessary.

Refer to Deactivating and Reactivating Normal Subscriptions for more information.

Canceling normal subscriptions

Subscriptions or services that are inactive for a long period can be automatically canceled (through system processes that are configured once and executed as often as necessary).

Refer to Canceling Subscription and Subscription Services for more information.

Billing of normal subscriptions

Subscriptions are billed through the Normal Billing Run, which is configured once and executed as often as scheduled.

Refer to Billing of Normal Subscriptions for more information.

Applying business flows on normal subscriptions

Offering Subscription packages

A subscription package reflects your company's marketing offering that allows your customers to subscribe to, for a fixed set of services and for a fixed price. In CRM.COM you have the option to either set up and sell packages to your customers with fixed services and price, or provide them with a list of services (a-la-carte services) from which customers can select and subscribed to.

Packages are set up by setting the classification of ‘Subscription types’ to 'Package'.

Providing subscriptions or subscription services free of charge

Subscription services that are provided for free cannot be disconnected due to outstanding or insufficient funds. A free service can be converted to a paying service and start being billed as from the next billing period.

A service is defined as free through the billing term scheme configuration ('Free Subscription').

Discounting subscriptions

There are two ways to offer discounts on subscriptions:

Through price plans, based on purchased quantity or subscription conditions (such as billing frequency, binding period or account classification).
Through additive discounts, which are applied to a subscription based on subscription or account conditions, or selected by the agents creating the subscription by using the Provide Ad Hoc Discount action.

Using subscriptions for multiple units

A subscription can be used by a single unit (home) or concurrently by multi-units (cafes, restaurants and sports bars). CRM.COM makes it possible to bill a subscription based on the concurrent use of services, using a rate agreed upon between the customer and service provider.

A subscription is enabled for concurrent usage and the number of concurrent units is defined, through the billing term scheme, when the subscription is created.

The following formula is used to calculate the total subscription rate for billing purposes:

Total Subscription Rate = Subscription Rate * Concurrent Usage Rate Percentage * Concurrent Usage
(E.g., $1000/month = $50/month * 20% * 100 rooms)

Communicating subscriptions

Subscriptions details can be communicated to customers by using the Communication action available from the Actions menu on the Data Entry page. You can use tags related to subscriptions (text that is automatically replaced by values specific to selected records) when creating communications. Tags are available for selection by typing '#'. Refer to the Communications manual for a complete list of subscriptions tags.

Approving subscriptions

Subscriptions can be configured to require approval from a specific user before they are further processed. This is done by setting up Approval Definitions and triggering Workflow Rules. For more information refer to Managing Approval Requests.

Automation on subscriptions

Subscription processes can be automated by using Workflows. For example, you can use alerts to contact users or schedule activities, when a subscription of a specific type is created. For more information refer to Workflows.

Automatic generation of a bill when an event is performed

By default in normal billing the system will generate the bills after the subscription is billed. However, it is also possible to set up the system to generate a bill automatically whenever an event that requires billing takes place.

A bill is only generated if there are sufficient funds in the account to pay it automatically. In case the funds are insufficient, the subscription is not billed and deactivated.

This is set up through the billing term scheme configuration and it is only available for normal billing term schemes with a 'Pay Before Bill' payment option.

Submitting payments while performing subscription actions

If account funds are insufficient to cover a requested subscription change, a customer can manually submit a payment. To do so, specific payment information must be defined (such as the default card of the account or another card authorized for use in recurring payments).

To do this, use the Pay Now option, which is available in subscription actions that require payment. If a card is not specified, the card that is authorized for recurring payments will be charged.

This is applicable only for subscriptions of normal billing term schemes with a 'Pay Before Bill' option.

Handling failed recurring payments

In case a payment fails, a grace period can be extended to customers who settle their dues through recurring payments (protecting them from immediate deactivation). It is also possible to deactivate the service only until the payment is effected successfully (short-term deactivation).

This is applicable only for subscriptions of normal billing term schemes with a 'Pay Before Bill' option.

For more information, refer to 'Subscription deactivation rules' in the Policies section of the billing definition.

Buy in Advance plans

Subscribers can be billed for a longer period than that of their contracted billing frequency, in exchange for a discount or convenience. Refer to Buy in Advance for more information.

Require prepayment for subscriptions

Normal billing supports the model of prepayment, where billable subscription actions can only occur if account owners have enough funds to cover their expense. Prepayment is not handled by the normal billing run. The account owner must pay for an event in advance and the system will validate that there are sufficient funds to bill the event at the time of execution. If the funds are not sufficient, the action (e.g., a subscription or service activation) is rejected.

To set up your system to require prepayment, check the respective box in the billing term schemes.

Refer to Subscription Actions for a list of billable events that can require prepayment.

Controlling the cancellation of a subscription

Contracts bind customers for a specific time period, guarantying the customer will generate a predefined amount of money for the company. To this end, penalties can be imposed for canceling a subscription earlier than as stated in the contract.

The system uses two dates for regulating cancellation policies.

Binding end date: The date on which a contract ends.
Allowed cancellation date: The earliest date on which a subscription can be canceled without a penalty.

By default, the dates are set by the system to the same day. Either date can be extended through the following subscription processes:

Resting a subscription
Deactivating a subscription
Giving a grace period to a subscription
Adding new services (only extends binding).

For example, the system can be set up to extend both the allowed cancellation and binding end dates for one month, if a subscription is in resting for that period.

To extend a date:

Navigate to Configuration > Billing Application > Billing > Set Up Billing Term Schemes.
Select a scheme to EDIT.
Under Billing Rules > Binding Period Extensions, select the date to extend (such as the cancellation date or binding end date) and the cause for the extension.

To set up cancellation policies and penalties

Navigate to Configuration > Billing Application > Billing > Set Up Billing Definition.
Select a definition to EDIT.
Under Subscription Action Rules > Cancellations In (or Out Of) Binding, define the rules regarding when to allow the cancellation of a subscription or service (for example one month before the binding end date).
You can define users that can cancel a service or subscription regardless of the rules in the 'Exceptions'.
Under Policies > Cancellation In (or Out Of) Binding Penalties, define the policies and penalty (depending on the time of cancellation).

Normal Subscriptions Analytics

Creating customer lists based on subscriptions

Subscriptions with common characteristics can be grouped together to create lists. The lists can be used for business purposes (e.g., marketing campaigns), to identify customers and for simple statistical calculations. For more information on Segmentation and creating Subscription lists, view Segmentation.

Subscriptions dashboards

Dashboards make information regarding the key performance indicators of the progress of a subscription 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.

Subscription Dashboard

Subscriptions dashboard components

Effective Subscriptions by Type and Owner Group

The component displays all 'Effective' subscriptions in a vertical stacked bar chart grouped by subscription type and owner group. The results can be filtered by subscription type and owned by group.

Subscriptions by Life Cycle State Pie Chart Component

The component displays current subscriptions grouped by life cycle state, in a pie chart. The results can be filtered based on subscription type and life cycle state.

Subscriptions Life Cycle State Changes by Month Stacked Bar Chart Component

The component displays the number of changes in the life cycle state of subscriptions during the last year grouped by month, in a vertical stacked bar chart. The results can be filtered by subscription type and life cycle state.

New Subscription by Month Bar Chart Component

The component displays new subscriptions created each month in the last year, in a horizontal bar chart. The results can be filtered based on subscription type.

Effective Subscriptions by Type and Service

The component displays the number of effective subscriptions, grouped by type and service. This information is displayed through a vertical stacked bar chart.

Subscriptions reports

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

Subscriptions Growth by Month Report

The report displays the number of existing, new and churned subscriptions in a one-year period grouped by month.

Subscriptions Life Cycle State Report

The report displays a list of subscriptions including their services, billing frequency, binding period and life cycle state.

Setting Up Normal Subscriptions

Before you start using subscriptions, the system must be configured to reflect the subscription and billing rules of your business.

Products

Products added to subscriptions fall into two categories:

Termed, usage or one-time based services, such as TV channels, movies, and broadband services.
Hardware items that are necessary for the provision of services, such as decoders or modems.

Once you configure the products, add them to the subscription type and define their dependencies and restrictions. View Products for more information.

Price plans

Price plans are catalogs of billable products (except usage services) with their applicable charges. Once the products and their rates are included in a plan, the plan is added to the appropriate billing term scheme. View Price Plans for more information.

Usage service catalogs

Usage service catalogs are used instead of price plans, for services billed based on their use, such as telephony or data. View Usage Service Catalogs for more information.

Normal billing term schemes

Normal billing term schemes establish rules for billing normal subscriptions. They are configured and added to the subscription type. The schemes define:

Billing frequencies
Binding periods
Price plans
Whether a service is billed before or after it is used
Whether a service is excluded from deactivation (e.g., a free-to-air channel).

Configuration > Billing Application > Billing > Set Up Billing Term Schemes

Normal billing term scheme fields

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

Mandatory Configurable

Main Information
Classification: The type of billable entity that can use the scheme is 'Subscriptions' in this case. Type: The method used by the billing engine to bill products is 'Normal' in this case. Life Cycle State: A scheme must be in an 'Effective' state to be used on subscriptions during billing runs.
Allowed Attributes
Services	Define the services that are supported by the specific billing term scheme. Billing Type: Define which services should be pre-billed and which services should be post-billed. Free Subscription: Defines whether the service will be free of charge. The classification can change at any time.
Billing Frequencies Binding Periods Price Plans	Define the billing frequencies, binding periods and price plans available for subscriptions of the specific scheme.
Subscription Types	A list of subscription types (for information) that are using the billing term scheme. Schemes are added through the type configuration.
Billing Rules
Generic	Billing Method Anniversary billing: the cycle starts on a day selected by the customer. Each subscriber can be billed on a different day. Set Anniversary Day Automation Allowed Cycle Day Range: The days from which the user can choose the first day of the billing cycle. Alternatively, select the subscription event(s) on which the cycle day will be reset every time it is carried out. Period billing: the cycle starts on a day specified by the billing company All subscribers are billed on the same date of the month. Allowed Cycle Day: The day of the month until which a subscription will be billed. Billable Period Start Date: Determines the date from which the service is considered by the Billing Run, regardless of the date on which the service became 'Effective'. By default, Billable Period Start Date and subscription service Effective Date is the same. Billing Effective Date: The date from which a service should start being billed. By default, it is equal to the subscription service Effective Date. Discount Option: Determines whether the billing terms will use Fixed or Flexible pricing. If fixed pricing is selected, then additive discount cannot be applied to billable entities having billing terms of this scheme. Allow Concurrent Usage: Determines whether pricing based on concurrent usage can be specified in the billing terms of this specific scheme. Prepayment Option: Determines whether an account requires having sufficient funds before executing a subscription action (prepayment). Synchronize Billing (available only for anniversary billing term schemes): Defines whether subscription services will be rated up to the same date on each normal billing run (in order to have the 'rated up to' dates among all services in sync after a billing run process. Payment Model: Pay after bill: the customer submits a payment after the bill is received Pay before bill: sufficient funds must be present in the account for a new subscription or amend subscription action to be allowed. Billable Event Performed Date (available if 'Pay before bill' model is selected) Select when billable events (subscription action) can be performed: Immediately At the end of the paid period (i.e., 'rated up to' date). Billing Adjustments (available if 'Pay before bill' model is selected): define what is billed and how billing is effected and can be defined on adding a service, upgrading, downgrading, and swapping a service or package. The options available are: Bill the difference (credit the remaining period that was already paid and then debit again) Bill a full period (debit starting from the performed date of the event and for one whole period, according to the subscriber billing terms) Bill until next billing period (debit from the performed date of the event and until the beginning of the next billing period) No billing (no adjustments performed (credit or debit) - applicable only for swap services or package actions.
Additional Billing Rules	Available if the 'Pay before bill' model is selected. You can differentiate between Billable Event Performed Date and Billing Adjustments (as above) for each product that is billed by providing conditions using products, product types and product families.
Binding Period Extensions	This section is used to determine: Causes for extending the binding end or allowed cancellation date Causes for extending agreed (Tiered or Maturity-based) price rates, based on the binding end date, if a price plan rate was modified since the original agreement. Services or service types which can extend binding. View Controlling the cancellation of a subscription for more information.
Usage Service Billing Rules	Maximum Unbilled Amount Threshold: Defines an amount for usage services that must be billed once reached. Maximum Number of Unbilled UDRs: Defines a number of unprocessed Usage Detail Records that must be billed once reached.
Billing Term Amendments	Determines the rules that are applied when using the Amend Billing Terms subscription action. Minimum Period of Time Before Billing Term Amendment: 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. Exceptions allow specific users or units to override the rule.
Price Changes	Determines whether changes in current price plans will be applied on subscribers in and out of binding.

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.

Related configurations

The following modules are related to subscriptions and may be configured for the subscription module to operate at its full capacity.

Module Link	Description
Provisioning	The Subscription TV industry can use the provisioning module, in order to integrate with Conditional Access (CA) and Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms. The CA or OTT platform responsible for provisioning signals to subscribers must be set up through the CRM.COM integration provisioning module. Set up the provider. Define dependencies and restrictions associated with subscription services, physical goods, and distributors. Add respective distributors to the subscription type.
Buy in Advance	An arrangement that allows the customer to pay for a period longer than that determined by the billing frequency, in exchange for a discount or convenience.
Additive Discounts	Discounts generated when predefined conditions related to an accounts receivable, subscription or job are met and are applied, automatically during billing or ad hoc by agents.
Usage Service Catalogs (USCs)	Catalogues for products that are offered on customer request and charged based on their consumption. USCs contain information on pricing and service validity as well as information used by third-party provisioning systems. USCs support the Over-the-top (OTT) business model.
Inventory Management	Used to set up warehouses (where traceable physical goods provided to subscribers are taken from and returned to) and the relevant inventory definitions.
Platform / Compatibility settings	Enable the option to display legacy subscription actions (Add Service, Remove Service, Add Installed Item, Remove Installed Item, Change Subscription Distributions) whose functionality is now replaced by the Amend Services and Installed Items subscription actions.

Normal Subscription Business Example

Monthly Billing Runs

Scenario 1.

Company ZX advertises two subscriber offerings:

Broadband & TV Gold

2 main channels that are mandatory for the subscription
5 add-on channels selected from a pool of 20 channels
50 MB internet

Broadband & TV Platinum

5 main channels that are mandatory for the subscription
10 add-ons channels selected from a pool of 20 channels
50 MB internet

Subscribers must have a streaming device and a modem. Both items are available from Company ZX.

New subscriptions can be created in two ways:

Customers can visit a retail shop, pick-up the necessary equipment and start using their subscription straight away.
Customers can place an installation order by calling the Company ZX call center. The installer activates the subscription from the customer's location using a mobile app.

Subscriptions are invoiced once a month following the business rules below:

A billing run should be executed on the 20th day of each month, charging the following month
The transaction date should be the 21st day of the month
The due date should be set to the 10th of the next month
Subscribers should always be billed for one period starting from the last day they were billed. I.e., in the July billing run, monthly subscribers should be billed from 1 to 31 August, whereas bi-annual subscribers should be billed from 1 August to 31 January.
Bills amounting to less than €5 should not be created
Bills with credit amount €50 and higher should be marked for investigation
The bill should contain information for each service.

If the credit limit of the subscriber is exceeded, then their subscriptions should be deactivated on the 11th of the month. The subscription should be reactivated if a payment is made and the credit limit of the account owner is no longer exceeded.

Solution

Configuration

Go to Products and create:
1. Channels and broadband (as termed services)
2. A physical good for the modem
3. A physical good for the Roku box
Go to Price Plans and provide rates for each of the products.
Go to Normal Deactivation Process and set up as follows:
1. Deactivation method: based on the credit limit
2. Schedule to be executed on the 11th day of every month (one day after due date)
Go to Subscription Maintenance Utility and enable the activate normal subscriptions process, setting both the frequency and the 'hours since latest accounts receivable balance change' to one hour.
Go to Billing Term Schemes to define billing rules and set up as follows:
1. Type: Normal
2. Billing Method: Period (once a month based on a static Billing Cycle Date set to the first day of the month).
Go to Subscription Types and create your offerings. Create one subscription type per offering.
1. Broadband & TV Gold: Includes two main channels that are mandatory for the subscription and five add-ons that can be selected from a pool of 20 channels and 50 MB Internet.
  1. Add the two main channels and the 50 MB broadband service and define them as 'mandatory' under allowed services
  2. Add the remaining 20 channels and define them as 'optional' under allowed services
  3. Add the Roku box and modem in the allowed physical goods
  4. Define a minimum and maximum number of mandatory services to '2'
  5. Define a maximum number of optional services to '5'
  6. Define a dependency of the broadband service on the modem
  7. Define a dependency of all termed services on the Roku box.
2. Broadband & TV Platinum: Includes five main channels that are mandatory for the subscription and 10 add-ons that can be selected from a pool of 20 channels and 100 MB Internet.
  1. Add the five main channels and the 100 MB broadband service and define them as 'mandatory' under allowed services
  2. Add the remaining 20 channels and define them as 'optional' under allowed services
  3. Add the Roku box and the modem in the allowed physical goods
  4. Define a minimum and maximum number of mandatory services to '5'
  5. Define a maximum number of optional services to '10'
  6. Define a dependency of the broadband service on the modem
  7. Define a dependency of all termed services on the Roku box
3. The following steps need only be taken for one subscription type, as the step will add the services in the billing term scheme:
  1. Add the new billing term in the billing term schemes tab
  2. Click on 'Add Missing Services' to add to the billing term scheme all the services added to the subscription type
  3. Define the service billing type as pre-bill (billed before usage)
Go to the Billing Definition
1. Set up the normal billing settings as in the table below
Go to the Normal Billing Run and set up as follows
1. Set the 'Bill as of Date' to the first day of the current month
2. Set up the billing run in the scheduling settings tab as 'recurring'
3. Submit the normal billing run and schedule the first execution up to Formatting step, for the 20th day of the current month.
  Once the billing run is completed a new normal billing run job will be created in the scheduler, scheduled for the 20th of the next month.

Billing Definition - Normal Billing Settings

Requirement	Solution
A billing run should be executed on the 20th day of each month charging the following month.	Settings - Generic Recurrence Settings: 1 Month Settings - Rating X UOT after Previous Billing Run: 1 Month
The transaction date should be the 21st day of the month.	Settings - Invoicing Set Transaction Date X UOT After Billing Run: 0 days
The due date should be set to the 10th of the next month.	This is set in the Normal Billing Run
Subscribers should always be billed for one period starting from the last day they were billed). I.e., In the July billing run, monthly subscribers should be billed from 1 to 31 August, whereas bi-annual subscribers should be billed from 1 August to 31 January.	Settings - Rating Period to Billing advance: Billing Frequency Period Period Cycle Adjustment: Next Billing cycle date
Bills amounting to less than €5 should not be created.	Settings - Invoicing: Minimum Amount in Debit: 5
Bills with credit amount €50 and higher should be marked for investigation.	Settings - Assembling: Maximum Amount in Credit: 50
The amounts should be rounded up to two decimal places.	Settings - Assembling: Rounding Method: Round Up Decimal Scale 2 Rounding Product: Rounding Debit Adjustment Type: Rounding Invoice Credit Adjustment Type: Rounding Credit
The bill should contain information for each service.	Settings - Formatting Rating Formatting: Group Rated Service Periods per service

User Process

Once the configuration is in place, agents can start registering subscriptions.

Retailer Shop Subscriptions

The Become Subscriber action is used and submitted as 'Effective'.

At the subscriptions Data Entry page:
1. Provide the new customer's details
2. Select one of two subscription types available
3. Select the requested services and hardware equipment
4. Submit the action as 'Effective'.

The signal is available as soon as the equipment is connected.

Call Centre Subscriptions

The Become Subscriber action is used and submitted as 'Draft'.

At the subscriptions Data Entry page:
1. Provide the new customer's details
2. Select one of two subscription types available
3. Select the requested services
4. Submit the action as 'Draft'.
  The subscription and its services remain in the System as 'Draft'.
The installer activates the subscription from the customer's location using a mobile app integrated with CRM.COM, using subscription WEB APIs. The installer:
1. Executes the Add Installed Item action and enters the serial numbers of the Roku box and modem
2. Uses the 'Activate Subscription' action.

Notes

If you are using a previous release, view CRM.COM Release Changes.
Use the Subscriptions WEB API to create and manage subscriptions from an external system, such as a customer portal. View the subscription WEB API for a complete list of actions available through the WEB API.

Glossary

CRM.COM Term	Definition
Job	A small project initiated by the operator for customers, involving the delivery and billing of services, products, and activities. Customer requests and orders, such as that for a new subscription, can be initiated and registered through a job.
Subscription	A collection of customer services billed on a recurring, usage or one-time basis.
Workflow	A set of tasks that are necessary in order to complete a bigger task, involving the definition, execution, and forwarding of the task among users for action, according to a set of workflow rules.
Activity	A small task or action that is either stand-alone or must be completed as part of a larger project.
Communications	Log interaction between customers and agents. Communications can support multiple media such as email, SMS, telephony, post, and others.
Provisioning Distributor	An abstract layer used in CRM.COM to relate subscription services (e.g., broadband service) and subscription associated devices (e.g., modems) to a provisioning provider and to define what services will be available from each device (if more than one is available on a subscription).
Provisioning Provider	Third-party Conditional Access (CA) and Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms with which CRM.COM integrates to provide services such as video content, telephony or games.
Installed Item	A physical good that is uniquely identified by its serial number.
Product Bundles	A combination of component products offered for sale as one product. Flexible product bundles have a variable selection of constituent products as components. Fixed product bundles have a fixed selection.
Usage Detail Records (UDRs)	Information describing the use of usage subscription services.

Overview

Major features

Using Normal Subscriptions

Creating a subscription

Subscription fields

Using actions to modify subscriptions

Deactivating and reactivating normal subscriptions

Canceling normal subscriptions

Billing of normal subscriptions

Applying business flows on normal subscriptions

Offering Subscription packages

Providing subscriptions or subscription services free of charge

Discounting subscriptions

Using subscriptions for multiple units

Communicating subscriptions

Approving subscriptions

Automation on subscriptions

Automatic generation of a bill when an event is performed

Submitting payments while performing subscription actions

Handling failed recurring payments

Buy in Advance plans

Require prepayment for subscriptions

Controlling the cancellation of a subscription

Normal Subscriptions Analytics

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Subscriptions dashboards

Subscriptions dashboard components

Effective Subscriptions by Type and Owner Group

Subscriptions by Life Cycle State Pie Chart Component

Subscriptions Life Cycle State Changes by Month Stacked Bar Chart Component

New Subscription by Month Bar Chart Component

Subscriptions reports

Setting Up Normal Subscriptions

Products

Price plans

Usage service catalogs

Normal billing term schemes

Normal billing term scheme fields

Subscription type fields

Billing definition

Subscription action types

Related configurations

Normal Subscription Business Example

Glossary

Related Links

Creating customer lists based on subscriptions

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