What does this section cover?
What are Buy in Advance?
Buy in Advance feature provides subscribers the option to be billed for a longer period of time than their contracted billing frequency or prepaid/pre-rated period, in exchange to getting a discounted price.
Billing Frequency is applicable in Subscriptions with Normal Billing Term Schemes
AVAILABLE FROM CRM.COM R9.0.0 - Prepaid / pre-rated period is applicable for Subscriptions with Prepaid Billing Term Schemes.
Buy in Advance Glossary
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Normal Billing - Post Bill | Normal post-bill billing is a billing mechanism which is used in cases where customers start using the services that they subscribed to or were delivered to them and by the end of their billing frequency period they are charged for those services. |
| Normal Billing - Pre Bill | Normal pre-bill billing is a billing mechanism which is used in cases where customers are pre-billed for the services they subscribed to. |
| Prepaid / Pre-rated Billing AVAILABLE FROM CRM.COM R9.0.0 | Prepaid billing is a billing mechanism which is used in cases where customers pay in advance for the services they are subscribed to and then they start using them. The period gor which they will be billed in advance is pre-configured in the system for each service individually |
| Price Plan | A set of price plan rates used to bill an accounts receivable based on the transactions that were performed on behalf of the accounts receivable owner |
| Auto Applied Discounts | Auto apply discounts are used to automatically provide discounts, on top of any agreed price plan offers, based on conditions related with the customer’s accounts receivable, but also what the customer has ordered or subscribed to. |
| Ad Hoc Discounts | Ad hoc discounts are used to provide discounts on an ad hoc basis, following some predefined business rules and restrictions |
Buy in Advance Key Processes and Concepts
| Processes / Concept | Description |
|---|---|
| Billing Rating process if a buy in advance request exists for a Normal Subscription | If a Buy in Advance Request exists for a normal billing term scheme subscription, then the Normal Billing Run process will consider the duration specified on the request during the calculation of the period to be rated, instead of considering the billing frequency specified on the Subscription’s Billing Terms, unless if the billing frequency period is greater than the duration specified on the Buy in Advance Request.
|
Billing Rating process if a buy in advance request exists for a Normal Subscription AVAILABLE FROM CRM.COM R9.0.0 | If a Buy in Advance Request exists for a prepaid billing term scheme subscription and there is at least one pre-rated service on this subscription, then the Prepaid Billing Run process will consider the duration specified on the request during the calculation of the period to be rated, instead of considering the pre-rated service period specified on the Subscription’s Billing Terms, unless the billing pre-rated period is greater than the duration specified on the Buy in Advance Request. ◘ The wallet balance should be enough in order to pre-rate all of the pre-rated services according to the buy in advance request time |
| Buy in Advance and Additive Discounts relation | Billing Rating process will take into consideration any related Additive discounts related to the Buy in Advance requests. The duration defined on the Buy in Advance request is evaluated against the buy in advance duration conditions, which are specified under the additive discount subscription criteria. Billing with Free Period discounts In the case of free period discounts, the free period is included in the buy in advance request duration. For example if a buy in advance request for 12 months is submitted, which is eligible for 3 months free, then the subscription will be billed for 12 months, having the first 3 months for free and the rest 9 months based on the agreed rate |
| Viewing Buy in Advance requests | You can view a Buy in Advance Request from 2 screens
|
| Placing Buy in Advance requests in lists | Customers with Buy in Advance requests can be added in lists (called segments in CRM.COM) These lists can be used throughout the software maily in batch processes as conditions, in order to perform additional functions. For example, you could create a list of all your customers with Buy in Advance Requests who are getting close to their expiration date and notify them that their buy in advance period is over, suggesting a possible renewl! The above would be possible by including the segment in a Notification Run, using a Communication Template |
Buy in Advance Network Characteristics
Network Characteristics define the level of access for each record. i.e., whether it will be available for selection, viewing, editing etc.
| Entity | Network Characteristics |
|---|---|
| Buy in Advance Definitions | Global Viewing Entities |
| Buy in Advance Requests | Implicit Viewing Access Entities |
Buy in Advance Related Modules
| Interaction Entity | How |
|---|---|
| Rated Billing Items | Buy in Advance is captured and included on the Rated Billing Item |
| Additive Discounts | Define the discounted price, via Additive Discounts, based on the Buy in Advance period |
| Subscriptions | Request Buy in Advance for a subscription |
| Segmentation | You can create segments based on Buy in Advance Requests |
Buy in Advance - Business Examples
The following section provides business examples to help you understand how CRM.COM Buy in Advance module is used.
Annual Buy in Advance Offer
Business Requirement
Aluxsat Co. as part of its Winback strategy, offers 3 months free to customers willing to be billed for a whole year up front. The offer is only available to customers that have subscribed to Subscription Type: Gold
CRM.COM solution
- Buy in Advance Definition Set up
Configure the definition with the following settings:Duration 12 months - 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 Once From: 12 To: 12 UOT: Months
- User Processes
- User should navigate to 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
- Check out 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, giving the 3 first months for free.
Below you can see some examples of how the system will behave taking into consideration the Buy in Advance Request start date and the Subscriptions Billable Period Dates
- Example 1
- Subscription will be billed from 01/01/16 to 01/02/16
- Buy in advance request exists from 01/02/16 to 01/04/16
- Subscription will be billed starting from 01/01/16 up to 01/04/16
- Example 2
- Subscription will be billed from 01/01/16 to 01/02/16
- Buy in advance request exists from 30/01/16 to 30/03/16
- Subscription will be billed starting from 01/01/16 up to 30/03/16
- Example 3
- Subscription will be billed from 01/01/16 to 01/02/16
- Buy in advance request exists from 02/02/16 to 02/04/16
- Subscription will be billed starting from 01/01/16 up to 01/02/16
- Example 3
- Subscription will be billed from 01/01/16 to 01/04/16
- Buy in advance request exists from 01/02/16 to 01/04/16
- Subscription will be billed starting from 01/01/16 up to 01/04/16
- Buy in Advance Request will be ignored
Visit Applying a Buy in Advance Requests for explanation on application and validations of Buy in Advance during Billing
Related Areas
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Managing Buy in Advance Requests — Learn to work with Buy In Advance Requests
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Configuring Buy in Advance Definitions — Learn to configure Buy In Advance Business Definitions that will dictate the overall behaviour of Buy In Advance
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Understanding Buy in Advance — Understand the usage of Buy In Advance within CRM.COM
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