Buy in Advance
- Persia Xenopoulou (Deactivated)
- Former user (Deleted)
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Overview
Buy in advance is a billing feature that makes it possible for subscribers to be billed for a period that is longer than that specified in their contract, in exchange for a discount or convenience.
Major features
- Used in normal subscriptions to bill for a period that is longer than that which is specified in the original contract.
- Used in prepaid subscriptions to bill for a period that is longer than the pre-rated period.
- Used with additive discounts to provide a price reduction to customers paying for a period that is longer than that which is specified in the contract.
- Buy in advance requests are submitted through subscriptions.
- Buy in advance requests require approval and can be canceled or amended before billing.
Setting Up Buy In Advance
Business definitions
Buy in advance definitions are used to set the periods that will be available for subscribers to be billed in advance. Each period can be conditional to specific subscription types.
Definition fields
The table describes the sections of the Buy in Advance Definition Data Entry page and explains how the fields in the page are used.
Mandatory
Configurable
Buy In Advance Request Settings Define periods for which requests can be submitted. | |
|---|---|
| Allowed Duration | Multiple periods can be specified, and each period can be conditional to specific subscription types. The period is defined by supplying the following:
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Related configuration areas
The following modules are related to Buy in Advance and may be configured for the Buy in Advance module to operate at its full capacity.
| Module Link | Area | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription Discount Definitions | Configure auto apply and ad hoc discounts for subscriptions and use buy in advance as a condition. E.g., provide an automatic discount when a buy in advance request is made for a specific period. |
Using Buy In Advance
Billing > Buy In Advance > Manage Buy In Advance Requests
The buy in advance requests page displays requests made for subscribers.
Unlike other entities, buy in advance requests are not created from a buy in advance Data Entry screen. Requests are created through the 'Submit Buy In Advance Request' subscription action, available on the subscriptions Data Entry page.
Once a request is created, the specified duration is taken into consideration for billing, effectively replacing the billing frequency (in normal subscriptions) or the pre-rated period of the service (in prepaid subscriptions).
The table describes the sections of Buy In Advance Request Data Entry page and explains how the fields in the page are used.
| Main Information | |
|---|---|
Accounts Receivable: The financial account defined on the subscription. Subscription to be billed for the specified duration. Duration/UOT: The requested period to be bought in advance, measured in days, weeks, months, or years. Life Cycle State: Can be 'Effective' or 'Cancelled'. Billing Effective Date: Determines the earliest date that the request can be processed by the billing engine. This date defaults to the date of submission of the request and can be modified. Rating State: Whether the request was already processed by billing.
Rated Billing Item that includes the buy in advance request. Buy in Advance Affected Services: The list of subscription services that are bought in advance through this request (for prepaid subscriptions only). Description |
Creating and processing buy in advance requests
Actions are subject to validations that take place before an action is initiated (prerequisite) or after it is submitted (postcondition).
Submitting a buy in advance request
To enable a subscriber to pay for a longer period than that originally agreed, a buy in advance request must be submitted. Use Submit Buy In Advance Request found on the Action panel in the Subscriptions Data Entry page. Once a request is registered it can be viewed, amended, or canceled from the Buy In Advance Data Entry page. The request is processed when billing takes place.
- Click Subscription Related Actions on the Action panel.
- Select Submit Buy In Advance Request (opens the request form in a modal window).
- Provide the Duration of the requested period.
- Billing Effective Date automatically defaults to the current date. Click on the calendar icon to change.
- Applicable From & To are updated by the system once the duration is defined. Set Applicable From to the Rated Up To date of the subscription and Applicable To to the date resulting from adding the Rated Up To date and the Duration.
- SUBMIT the request.
Prerequisites | There is no other buy in advance request for the specific subscription that is 'Effective' or not billed. If the subscription is prepaid then there must be at least one pre-rate subscription service. |
|---|---|
| Postconditions |
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Amending a buy in advance request
As long as a request has not been billed, it is possible to change the duration of the requested period as well the date from which the request is considered for billing. For prepaid subscriptions, it is also possible to amend the services to be bought in advance.
Use Amend from the Actions panel on the Buy In Advance Data Entry page.
Prerequisites | The life cycle state of the request must be 'Effective'. |
|---|---|
| Postconditions | The rating state is 'Pending' (i.e., a Rated Billing Item has not been created yet by the billing run). |
Cancelling a buy in advance request
Buy in advance requests can be canceled as long as they have not been billed (e.g., in case subscribers change their mind). Use Cancel from the Actions Panel on the Buy in Advance Data Entry page.
Prerequisites | The life cycle state of the request must be 'Effective'. |
|---|---|
| Postconditions | Any existing Rated Billing Items have been canceled |
Considering buy in advance requests in normal billing
Requests for normal subscriptions are considered during the next billing run. Subscriptions are billed for the period defined by the request instead of the normal billing frequency.
A request is rejected if it becomes invalid before it is billed (e.g., if the billing frequency of a subscription is modified and the period becomes longer than that defined in the buy in advance request). In this case, the subscription is billed for the period defined by the normal billing frequency.
Postconditions | The buy in advance period is greater than the billing frequency of the subscription. The billing effective date of the request should either be:
The life cycle state of the request is 'Effective'. The rating state of the request is 'Pending'. |
|---|
Considering buy in advance requests in prepaid billing
When a buy in advance request is registered for a prepaid subscription, the system checks that there are sufficient funds in the wallet of the subscriber to cover the cost of services requested during the period. If that is not the case, the action cannot be completed.
Buy in advance can only be applied on pre-rated services.
Postconditions | The buy in advance period is greater than the pre-rated period of all services. The subscriber's wallet can fund all the services after the application of the buy in advance request. The billing effective date of the request should either be:
The life cycle state of the request is 'Effective'. The rating state of the request is 'Pending'. |
|---|
Applying business flows on buy in advance
Offering a subscription discount with buy in advance
Buy in advance can be used together with promotional offers, to encourage customers to pay for services up front for a longer period than that specified in the contract, in exchange for a discount. In CRM.COM, buy in advance can be combined with additive discounts for a price reduction or free period. The system checks for associated additive discounts during billing. For example, if a twelve month buy in advance request which is eligible for three free months is submitted, the first three months of the subscription will be free and next nine will be charged based on the agreed rate.
Buy In Advance Analytics
Creating a list of customers with buy in advance requests
Customers with buy in advance requests can be grouped together into segments and used for additional business processes or statistical calculations. The segments can subsequently be used in notification runs (using communication templates with predefined text), to inform customers regarding the status of their requests (accepted or rejected).
Dashboards
Dashboards make information regarding the key performance indicators of the progress of buy in advance requests 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
Buy in advance requests by duration and subscription type
The component displays the buy in advance requests that were submitted within a specific period, grouped by duration and subscription type, in a stacked bar chart. The results can be filtered by subscription type.
Buy in advance requests by subscription type and month
The component displays the buy in advance requests that were submitted during the last 12 months, grouped by subscription type and month, in a stacked bar chart. The results can be filtered by subscription type.
Buy In Advance Business Examples
Annual Buy In Advance Offer
Scenario 1.
Aluxsat Co. offers three free months to customers willing to be billed for a whole year up front, as part of its win-back strategy. The offer is only available to customers that have subscribed to the 'Gold' subscription type.
Solution
Configuration
- Buy In Advance Definition
Configure the definition with the following settings:Duration: From 12 months - To 12 months
Duration From Duration To UOT Conditions 12 12 MONTHS Subscription Type: GOLD
Additive Discounts Definition
Configure an auto apply definition with the following settings:Type Classification Amount /Free Period Validity Duration Number of Applied Discounts Criteria Free Period Effective Expiration Effective From Buy In Advance Auto Apply Subscription 3 months 01/01/2015 01/01/2020 Agreement Date One From: 12 To: 12 UOT: Months
User Processes
- Navigate to the Subscriptions Data Entry page.
- Action: Submit Buy in Advance Request.
Provide the following information:
Duration UOT Billing Effective Date 12 Months Last rated date of the subscription Submit the request.
- View the request at View Subscription History page.
- Use action: BILL SUBSCRIBER
- Bill from Last Rated Date.
- Submit the action.
Result: The system will bill the subscription for a year, offering the three first months for free.
Application of Buy In Advance Requests During Billing
Find examples below of how the system handles buy in advance requests using different request 'start dates' and subscription 'billable period dates'.
- Example 1
- Subscription to be billed from 01/01/16 to 01/02/16
- There is a buy in advance request effective from 01/02/16 to 01/04/16
- Subscription is billed from 01/01/16 to 01/04/16
- Example 2
- Subscription to be billed from 01/01/16 to 01/02/16
- There is a buy in advance request effective from 30/01/16 to 30/03/16
- Subscription is billed from 01/01/16 to 30/03/16
- Example 3
- Subscription to be billed from 01/01/16 to 01/02/16
- There is a buy in advance request effective from 02/02/16 to 02/04/16
- Subscription is billed from 01/01/16 to 01/02/16
- Example 3
- Subscription to be billed from 01/01/16 to 01/04/16
- There is a buy in advance request effective from 01/02/16 to 01/04/16
- Subscription is billed from 01/01/16 to 01/04/16
- Buy In advance request is ignored
Notes
- If you are using a previous release, view CRM.COM Release Changes.
- Use the WEB API to create and manage buy in advance from an external system, such as a customer portal. Refer to the Buy in Advance WEB API for a comprehensive list of available actions.
Glossary
| CRM.COM Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Wallet | A customer account whose credit balance is used to fund transactions within CRM.COM. |
| Subscription | A selection of customer services billed on a recurring, usage or one-time basis. |
| Prepaid Subscription | A selection of customer services that are renewed automatically, billed on a recurring, usage or one-time basis and paid in advance. Prepaid subscriptions are funded directly from a subscriber's wallet. Customers pay in advance for the services they want to buy or subscribe to. |
| Normal Subscription | A subscription that is billed on a term basis. Customers are billed in advance for the services they want to buy or subscribe to. |
| Rated Billing Item (RBI) | Information on services, physical goods and the billing period, generated by the billing engine during the rating step of the normal billing run, before the transaction takes place. RBIs let the user make amendments or corrections before (a binding) financial transaction is created. |
| Prepaid/pre-rated service | Services added to prepaid subscriptions and which are billed and paid for an upcoming period defined in the system. |
| Segmentation | The process of creating groups of records (segments) based on common business characteristics. |
| Additive Discounts | A discount 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. |