Monetization Web Docs | Tridens Technology – Offer Design

Docs: Packages

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Topics in this document:

Plans
Bundles
Terms
Coupons

To access this section in Monetization, from the Menu, select Catalog, and click Packages.

Plans

To access this section, click Plans. A paginated list of all plans is shown in a tabular format.

Plans are the highest level object in Monetization while designing your offering catalog. A plan is what customers subscribe to consume a service(s) or use a product resource(s).

A plan can consist of multiple bundles, where each bundle is a group of products and discounts which are ultimately responsible for granting resources to the customer.

Four actions/subpages can be performed/viewed under this section, namely:

Create plan
Details plan page
Update plan
Delete plan

Create plan

Under plans, to create a plan, click Create new. The name, code, bundles, and validity period are required, while the description, term, compatible bundles, compatible bundles only, and supported payment types are optional.

Information:

The code is a unique identifier of an object; it must be distinct on each site. It can also be used during integration with Monetization API.

During the onboarding process of a customer, a plan must be selected at the subscription section. Additional bundles (add-ons) can also be included and purchased with the plan.

However, suppose compatible bundles only is enabled by using the Compatible bundles only toggle switch, and a list of compatible bundles is provided. In that case, this will specify which bundles the customer can purchase as add-ons to the plan.

Note:

If a customer has a postpaid payment type, and the plan is defined only to work for a prepaid payment type by checking the checkbox Prepaid, only. The plan will not be available to the customer for purchase.

Information:

Enabling sensitive data on a plan using the Sensitive data toggle switch means the plan cannot be accessed during the onboarding process of a new customer in the self-care portal.

Details plan page

Under plans, to see the full details of a plan, click Details. It contains the following:

Status
Name
Code
Description
Validity period
Term
Bundles
Compatible bundles
Compatible bundles only
Supported payment types
Sensitive data

Information:

A plan with the status of Active means the plan is still valid.

Update plan

Under plans, to update a plan, first, click Details; it shows the details of the plan. Then to update, click Update.

Note:

All information filled out under the create plan section can be updated, except for the Code.

Delete plan

Under plans, to delete a plan, click Delete.

Note:

Deleting a plan that a customer has already purchased cannot be done. An object related to something else in Monetization cannot be deleted.

Bundles

To access this section, click Bundles. A paginated list of all bundles is shown in a tabular format.

Bundles are logical groups of products and discounts, which can be part of a plan or purchased separately as an add-on. It is the lowest hierarchy object that a customer can still purchase as a single object on a subscription.

Information:

Rateplan Product/Discount Bundle Plan; shows the complete catalog hierarchy in Monetization.

Bundles can have unlimited products and discounts, and they can either be optional or mandatory. A bundle is like a middle object that connects a product to a plan and can have specific term tied to it.

Information:

When a customer purchases something additional on an existing subscription, it will be a bundle, not a specific single product.

Four actions/subpages can be performed/viewed under this section, namely:

Create bundle
Details bundle page
Update bundle
Delete bundle

Create bundle

Under bundles, to create a bundle, click Create new. The name, code, validity period, and a single product or discount from your offering catalog are required.

Note:

The code is a unique identifier of an object. It can be used during integration with the Monetization API.

Information:

Multiple products can be part of multiple bundles; they have a many-to-many relationship. The same also applies to discounts.

Once a product is selected, it is marked as red. This means the product is required, and the customer must purchase it as part of the bundle. If the red button is clicked, it will change to blue, which means the product is optional.

If a product is optional, when a customer purchases the bundle, they can either include it as part of the purchase or not.

A term can also be chosen for the bundle. The term specifies the commitment period expected from the customer after the bundle is purchased. For more information, see Terms.

The validity period means when the bundle will be available for purchase.

Tip:

The Valid to input field should be left to infinite. However, if the bundle should be moved out of service, then set Valid from to today’s date and Valid to to tomorrow. Therefore, this bundle will no longer be available for purchase the next day.

Details bundle page

Under bundles, to see the full details of a bundle, click Details. It contains the following:

Status
Name
Code
Products
Discounts
Term
Validity period

Information:

A bundle with the status of Active means the bundle is still valid.

Update bundle

Under bundles, to update a bundle, first, click Details; it shows the details of the bundle. Then to update, click Update.

Note:

All information filled out under the create bundle section can be deleted except for the Code.

Delete bundle

Under bundles, to delete a bundle, click Delete.

Note:

Deleting a bundle a customer has already purchased or linked to a plan cannot be done. An object related to something else in Monetization cannot be deleted.

Terms

To access this section, click Terms. A paginated list of all terms is shown in a tabular format.

A term is assigned to either a plan or bundle to know how long they should be effective. It specifies the commitment levels expected from a customer and any penalty fees that may be applicable if the customer cancels prematurely.

Four actions/subpages can be performed/viewed under this section, namely:

Create term
Details term page
Update term
Delete term

Create term

Under terms, to create a term, click Create new.

Under the commitment duration base, choose between:

Billing cycle
Actual

The Billing cycle specifies the number of billing cycles the term is in effect, while Actual means the actual period after the purchase.

Provide a commitment period which could either be in days, months, or years. For example, configuring the commitment period to one year means the customer has to be subscribed to the plan/bundle for at least a year.

Under early termination, choose between:

Allowed
Penalty
Not allowed

Selecting Allowed means that the customer can terminate the plan before the end of the commitment period without any penalty.

Selecting Not allowed means that Monetization will disallow any form of early termination from the customer.

Selecting Penalty means that the customer will be penalized for terminating the plan before the end of the commitment period.

After selecting Penalty, the following input fields can be configured:

Grace period — a specific number that denotes the time given to the customer to renew the plan before they are fined.
Grace period time unit — it could be in days, months, or years.
Penalty charge (Charge up to) — specifies how much the customer will be charged.
Prorated penalty — if configured, the penalty charge will be adjusted for a specific period. For example, a customer leaving towards the end of the term should have a lesser penalty fee than someone who left earlier.
General ledger — depicts how Monetization will record this penalty fee for financial accounting purposes.
Bill item type — specifies how Monetization will present the charge on the bill/invoice.
Tax
Tax supplier
Renewal term (Auto renew) — enables the connection of one term to another after the expiration of the previous term. For example, after a contract of 2 years expires, it will auto-renew with a different term, such as a 1-year contract, without a penalty fee.

Details term page

Under terms, to see the full details of a particular term, click Details. It contains the following:

Code
Name
Commitment period
Commitment time unit
Commitment duration base
Early termination action
- Grace period [ For early termination with a penalty ]
- Grace period time unit
- Penalty charge
- Prorate penalty
- General ledger
- Bill item type
- Tax
- Tax supplier
- Renewal term

Update term

Under terms, to update a term, first, click Details; it shows the details of the term. Then to update, click Update.

Delete term

Under terms, to delete a term, click Delete.

Note:

Deleting a term linked to either a plan or bundle cannot be done. An object related to something else in Monetization cannot be deleted.

Coupons

To access this section, click Coupons. A paginated list of all coupons is shown in a tabular format.

Coupons are generated code(s) that can give specific bundles that offer customers a discount when consumed. When a customer subscribes to a plan, they can also use a coupon code as part of the purchase; thereby, Monetization will give the customer a discounted price as configured in the coupon.

Tip:

Before configuring a coupon, the discounts and the bundles that use those discounts must have been configured.

Coupon vs. Voucher

A coupon works the same way as a voucher, the difference being that a coupon only lasts for that specific purchase. In contrast, a voucher can give something to the customer on a longer basis.

In addition, a voucher code can be consumed anytime, while a coupon code is used and valid during a purchase, then becomes deactivated.

Example of a coupon

A customer purchases an add-on bundle, Additional service, for $10 and is also consuming a coupon code MINUS 20 as part of that purchase.

If the coupon code contains a bundle with a 20% discount configured to target the Additional service product, the customer will end up paying $8 instead of $10.

Two actions/subpages can be performed/viewed under this section, namely:

Create coupon
Details coupon page

Create coupon

Under coupons, to create a coupon, click Create new. Provide a name, code, vendor, code character set, code template, quantity, redemption quantity, range start, bundle, and validity period; the remaining input fields are optional.

Explanation of some terms

Vendor

This means the name of the entity that owns the coupon. It is only used for information purposes. Your organization name can be used under this section.

Code character set

This can either be numerical or alphanumerical. If numerical is selected, the generated codes will only include numbers, while if alphanumerical is selected, the generated codes will include both letters and numbers.

The code template

This provides the template that Monetization will use to generate the coupon codes.

Note:

Use # as a placeholder for auto-generated codes.

Quantity

This represents the number of coupon codes to be generated.

Redemption quantity

This represents how many times the customer can use each code.

Range start

This represents the starting point for the auto-generated codes.

Practical example

The below shows an example of a coupon configuration setting.

code template = coupon_##
character set = numerical
quantity = 5
redemption quantity = 1
range start = 87

This will yield five generated coupon codes, which the customer can only use once. The codes will be generated as follows based on the code template and range start:

coupon_87
coupon_88
coupon_89
coupon_90
coupon_91

Details coupon page

Under coupons, to see the full details of a coupon, click Details. It contains the following:

Name
Code
Description
Vendor
Type
Code character set
Code template
Quantity
Redemption quantity
Range start
bundle
Validity period

Below the information will be the generated coupon codes shown in a tabular format, including their status and remaining quantity.

Information:

You can filter for the coupon codes by New, In use, Used, Expired, or Canceled.

Docs: Products

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Topics in this document:

Products
Rate plans
Rating
Rating sets
Rollovers
Tariffs

To access this section in Monetization, from the Menu, select Catalog, and click Products.

Products

To access this section, click Products. A paginated list of all products is shown in a tabular format.

A product can either be a regular or service product. A regular product can be a monthly or one-time fee paid by customers, while a service product enables a customer to use services, for example, data or voice service.

Information:

This section gives you the tools to create, update, and delete products from your offering catalog. Products are ultimately used while creating bundles. Each product can have its own: price, tax, charge tag, and rate plans.

Note: A product can have multiple versions.

Five actions/subpages can be performed/viewed under this section, namely:

Create product
Copy product
Details product page
Update product
Delete product

Create product

Under products, to create a product, click Create new. It involves four sections, namely:

Product info section
Configuration section
Proration section
Product summary

Product info section

Under the info section, the product’s name, code, and description are required.

To include the product on the invoice, use the Included on invoice toggle switch to enable/disable. Enabling this feature means that Monetization will pull this data on the JSON object generated for one invoice.

Note:

Only include the information needed on the invoice for performance optimization.

Information:

Enabling sensitive data on a product using the Sensitive data toggle switch means the product cannot be accessed during the onboarding process of a new customer in the self-care portal.

Configuration section

Under the configuration section, there are numerous input fields. However, only the product type, cycle, quantity, price type, bill item, resources, versions, and price are required, others are optional.

Tip:

Knowing the type of product to be created in advance will be helpful. For example, if the product will be a one-time product, a monthly subscription product, or if it will be a product that grants service to the customer.

Product type

Selecting the product type is mandatory, and two options are available:

Subscription
One-time

Subscription: The subscription product means that the product is recurring based on an interval. The interval is called event type and is configurable in Monetization. For more information on configuring event types, see Event types.
One-time: The one-time product means that the product is not recurring and is only purchased once with no renewals. Therefore, the event type may not be included for a one-time product.

Note:

The customer can pay for a one-time product type in advance or arrears. For an advanced payment, the monetary balance is immediately impacted on the purchase. In contrast, for an arrears payment, the monetary balance is added to the invoice at the end of the billing cycle.

Event type

An event type is a configured cycle in Monetization. For example, weekly, monthly, and yearly cycles. For more information, see Event types.

Note:

It is mandatory to choose an event type for a product that has a subscription product type.

In the case of a monthly subscription, each time the billing cycle of the customer shifts (that is, Monetization issues out billing), if the customer has a monthly interval (event type) as well, Monetization also checks on all its purchased products to know which ones it should renew.

In the case of a weekly subscription, if the customer happens to have a monthly interval (event type). Each time the billing cycle of the customer shifts (that is, Monetization issues out billing), Monetization will figure out to charge the product four times. Therefore, it renews the product over the customer cycle (monthly customer on a weekly product).

Note:

The customer cycle can be configured during the onboarding process under subscription. For more information, see Onboarding a customer.

It can also be configured when creating a billing profile for the customer. For more information, see Billing profiles.

Information:

When choosing an event type for a one-time product, the interval will describe how long the one-time product will be valid after purchase. If the event type is not configured, it will be valid infinitely.

Duration

The duration of the product, which is optional, is deprecated in favor of terms. Monetization used the duration field to specify how many cycles a subscription product should be active—for example, six months. However, Monetization now uses terms to know how long a product should be effective and when it should be terminated.

For more information, see Terms.

Cycle

The product cycle is mandatory and can be configured as Forward or Arrear. For a Forward cycle, the customer pays for the product in advance. This implies that on the customer’s first invoice, Monetization charges twice; the first for the just concluded usage of the product service and the second for the subsequent use.

Configuring the product to use an Arrear cycle implies that the customer doesn’t pay for the product in advance; instead, the product is rated, and customers are charged at the end of the billing cycle.

Note:

Forward or Arrear can apply to a one-time and subscription product type. If Forward is selected, the balances will immediately be impacted at product purchase. If Arrear is selected, the balances will be impacted at billing time.

Priority

The optional priority, if configured, can give more importance to one product over another in a bundle. This is more critical when dealing with a prepaid payment type with a limited account balance.

When a bundle is being purchased for a customer that contains several products, you can determine which product should be purchased first and which should be purchased at the end.

Note:

A bundle is a higher-level object for grouping, but product priorities apply regardless of the bundle.

In addition, configuring the priority is essential when dealing with multiple service products. For instance, assume two products that offer an SMS service. The first product is intended for regular messaging and has a rate plan for regular messages. The second product is purchased over the first for a specific customer at a special rate.

Suppose the second product is given a higher priority than the first. It implies that when Monetization receives a usage event for that customer, it will find two products that offer an SMS service. Monetization only needs the rate plan for the two products to figure out the price to apply. However, the product with the highest priority (the second product) will be used.

Hence, a product can be purchased over an existing product and override the price of the previous product.

Note:

A higher number indicates a higher priority.

Information:

If two products with the same service are given the same priority, with the same service identifier, Monetization will match the first one it finds.

Quantity

The quantity, which is required, depicts the number of times the customer initially purchases the product. It represents the default quantity offered during the product purchase, typically 1. However, during the actual purchase of the product, the quantity can be overridden.

Note:

The quantity value must be greater than or equal to one.

Price type

The mandatory price type can be Debit or Credit and implies how the resources will be impacted for the product. For a debit price type, it will positively impact the resource, while for a credit price type, it will negatively impact the resource.

Tip:

For a monetary charge, set the price type to Debit. This will move the monetary resource, for example, from 0 to 10, making the customer indebted for 10 euros. While if it is set to Credit, the customer is given some monetary resource.

Bill item

The mandatory bill item entails how the charge should be presented on the bill/invoice. Bill items are configurable in Monetization under Business configuration Finance Bill Items.

For more information, see Bill Items.

Quantity override resource

The quantity override resource is optional. However, if configured, it means when a product is being purchased or renewed during a new billing cycle, there will be an option to choose to override the quantity of that product with the current balance of the configured resource.

For example, suppose a product (typically with an Arrear cycle) has a quantity override resource configured. In that case, it means Monetization will use the balance from the customer’s configured resource to determine the product’s quantity.

This is particularly helpful in the utility industries when there are products related to total consumption—for example, the Network Access Tariff, which depends on the total kWh consumed in one cycle. The kWh counter resource (helper resources) can be used, which will be updated throughout the billing cycle. Then at the end of the cycle, the value of that counter resource will be the quantity of the Network Access Tariff.

Charge tag

The optional charge tag depicts how Monetization can target the product in discounting. Once the product is given a particular charge tag, it can be targeted by referring to its charge tag when creating discounts.

The charge tag is configurable in Monetization under Business configuration Charging Tags.

For more information, see Tags.

Charge interval

The optional charge interval should be added when creating a service product. It entails rounding the ratable quantity obtained from the usage events with the configurations stated in a specific charge interval.

Charge interval are configurable in Monetization under Business configuration Service design Charge Intervals.

For more information, see Charge intervals.

Tax supplier

The tax supplier, which is optional, is much more critical when integrating with a third-party taxation gateway that Monetization provides.

Information:

Monetization does not calculate the taxes. The configured taxation gateway does the calculation of the taxes.

Tax suppliers are configurable in Monetization under Business configuration Finance Tax suppliers.

General ledger

The general ledger is optional; however, if configured, it tells Monetization how the product should behave and act for financial purposes. Under the general ledger, accounts are mapped, specifying which account to credit and which account to debit whenever the product is purchased.

Information:

The general ledger helps to create financial reports in Monetization.

General ledgers are configurable in Monetization under Business configuration Finance General ledgers.

Rollover

Rollover is optional; however, if configured, it allows for transferring specific resources from the product between billing cycles.

For example, assume a product that, when purchased, offers 1GB of data to the customer. However, before the billing cycle ends, the customer still has 200MB of unused data. In that case, rollover allows for the transition of the unused resource to the next billing cycle; however, as stated in the Cycle rollover amount.

Rollovers are configurable in Monetization under Catalog Products Rollovers.

For more information, see Rollovers.

Service

The service is optional; however, it is mandatory for creating a service product.

Note:

Products with a service type are treated as a service product and, upon their purchase, must have a service identifier provided. Typically, these products have a rate plan configured, which Monetization uses for rating specific service events.

Services are configurable in Monetization under Business configuration Service design Service Types.

For more information, see Service types.

Provisioning tag

The provisioning tag is optional; however, it works hand-in-hand with a provisioning server if configured. When dealing with a networking solution integration, some service products (Data, Voice, SMS - related to a SIM card) must be provisioned in the network before they can be used in Monetization.

Note:

The product is activated and charged once the provisioning server replies to Monetization with a successful response.

For instance, after a customer purchases the product, Monetization will send out (if the web link is configured) a request to the provisioning server, telling the provisioning server that a particular SIM card with a specific number purchased a product. Once the server provisions that, Monetization expects a response confirming that everything is okay, and only then is the product activated for the customer.

Non-active rating

The non-active rating is optional but can be configured on products and discounts. It means whether Monetization should still apply impacts related to these products and discounts after they are inactive or closed.

It has three configurable options:

FORBIDDEN — means Monetization can only rate the product if it is active.
RATE_INACTIVE — means Monetization can only rate the product when active or inactive but not closed.
RATE_INACTIVE_AND_CLOSED — means Monetization will consistently rate the product, whether active, inactive, or closed.

For example, if an inactive service product has a non-active rating of RATE_INACTIVE, suppose Monetization receives a usage event for that service. In that case, Monetization will rate the product; however, if the non-active rating is set to FORBIDDEN, the usage event will not be rated for the product.

Resources

Resources are mandatory, and it depicts the resource(s) that would be attached to the product. That is, when a customer purchases the product, they get the resource(s) in return. The customer can then consume the resource(s).

Resources are configurable in Monetization under Business configuration Charging Resources.

For more information, see Resources.

To add a resource, click Add resource, and select the particular resource that will come with the product purchase.

Information:

Multiple resources can be added to a product, and the resource can be a monetary resource or a non-monetary resource.

Note:

Each resource must include a version.

To delete a resource, click Delete.

Versions

Versions go along with a resource and are valid based on the validity period configuration. By default, the product version is valid from the day the product was created to an infinite period. However, if another version of the product must be included, first, change the current version’s end date from an infinite period to a specific date.

Note:

The price, rate plans, and tax can be changed in a product version.

Information:

When configuring a service product, multiple rate plans can be included. For instance, one rate plan can be used to rate events for a particular region, while another can be used to rate events for a different region.

For every product change/update, a new product does not have to be created; you can update the product version instead. The history of the product versions is also kept in Monetization. Hence, what was configured on previous dates is still accessible.

Note:

The product’s basic configuration cannot be modified when configuring the version.

To add a product version, click Add version. The validity period and price are mandatory. In addition, rate plans and tax can be configured optionally.

To delete a version, click Delete.

Proration section

Prorated means to adjust for a specific period. Under this section, the Purchase action can be configured to either of three variables, namely:

Full amount
Prorated amount
None

Note:

The proration section only applies during the first purchase of the product.

If configured as Full amount, if the product costs 50 euros, for example, and the customer purchases it on the 16th of the month, Monetization will still charge the customer the same 50 euros.

If configured as Prorated amount, if the product costs 50 euros, for example, and the customer purchases it on the 16th of the month. Monetization will not charge the customer 50 euros; instead, it takes into account the customer’s and product’s cycle. Based on this, it calculates the exact price the customer will pay.

Note:

The Prorated amount is rounded to a daily basis. Therefore, the price remains the same if the product is purchased at 2 am or 2 pm.

Product summary

This section shows the summary of what was inputted in the previous three sections (Product info section, configuration, and proration). The product details can be reviewed before creating the product.

Copy product

Under products, copying an existing product equips you with the ability to create a new product quickly. Essentially, by clicking Copy, it redirects you to a product creation page, and it includes with it the data from the copied product.

For example, assume having a gold, diamond, and platinum product, where only the name and price change. Instead of creating each product from scratch, you can create one and copy the remaining two from the previous one while editing the name and price.

Details product page

Under products, to see the full details of a product, click Details. It contains the following section:

Info
Configuration
Proration

Information:

A product with the status Active means that the product is still valid.

Update product

Under products, to update a product, first, click Details; it shows the details of the product. Then to update, click Update.

Note:

All information filled out under the create product section can be updated except for the Code.

Delete product

Under products, to delete a product, click Delete.

Note:

Deleting a product that a customer has already purchased cannot be done. An object related to something else cannot be deleted in Monetization.

Rate plans

To access this section, click Rate plans. A paginated list of all rate plans is shown in a tabular format.

Overview: Rate plans are used for matching fields from a service type and then applying the specific impacts (prices) for one mapping. For instance, a data service originating from Slovenia has different impacts/prices than one originating from the United States.
Definition: Rate plans are mappings used to rate usage events. When a product is a service product (that is, has a service type configured), it typically also has a rate plan which tells Monetization how events from that service should be rated.

Note:

As soon as the rating metric determines the quantity-to-be-rated, the quantity is used as a base in the rate plan to apply impacts.

How does it work?: Whenever Monetization receives an event for a specific service, it tries to find a service product to which the service belongs and checks if that product has a rate plan tied to it for Monetization to figure out how the event should be rated.
Specification: Rate plans are given to products that offer a specific service for rating events. A product can have multiple rate plans. Furthermore, a customer can purchase a new product with a higher priority rate plan, which changes the pricing; this can be done for marketing strategy.

Five actions/subpages can be performed/viewed under this section, namely:

Create a rate plan
Copy rate plan
Details rate plan
Update rate plan
Delete rate plan

Create a rate plan

Under rate plans, to create a rate plan, click Create new. It consists of three sections, namely:

Rate plan info section
Mappings section
Rate plan summary

Rate plan info section

Under the info section, provide a name, code, description, and validity period. The general ledger depicts how Monetization will record the rate plan for financial accounting purposes. In addition, select the service and rating metric for the rate plan.

Note:

The service depicts which service type will be ascribed to the rate plan. For example, a rate plan for data should not be used to rate voice call events.

In addition, by including the service, Monetization will know which field(s) it can offer for your mappings.

Information:

When an event occurs and it enters the rate plan, Monetization first needs to figure out what the actual quantity-to-rate is before applying any prices, which can only be gotten from a rating metric.

A rating metric is a set of expressions that allows Monetization to calculate the quantity-to-rate from the service type fields.

Mappings section

Under the mappings section, there is an empty list of mappings initially.

Mapping fields

A mapping field represents one column in a rate plan row. Mapping fields relate to service type fields which will be compared to string values or rating sets to determine the correct rate plan mapping to apply charges.

The mapping field offers a drop-down selection of the service fields found in the service type, which was included in the rate plan info section. Once you select a particular service field, click Add; once added, to remove a mapping field, click .

Note:

Each event has a Quantity and Amount field, which are not service type fields, because they are not input parameters—they are calculated through rating. The Quantity refers to the calculated quantity to be rated by Monetization.

Mappings

Infinite mappings can be created, each can be responsible for a unique event entry, and each has a priority. To create a rate plan mapping, under Mappings, click Add mapping.

Note:

The mappings with the highest priority will be rated first. Setting priorities becomes useful if you have mappings specific to some operators in a region/country.

Once you add a particular mapping field for each mapping row, input the values that you want the parameters in a usage event to match for a particular mapping row to be matched.

Note:

To match the usage event parameter against anything for a mapping field in a mapping row, use *.

If the mapping field is a rating set field, Monetization will show the hierarchy structure that was set up under the rating sets section.

Tip:

When creating rate plan mappings, you can map to rating sets instead of fixed string/text values. This is useful because rating sets are looking for prefix matches, and rating sets can have multiple values to be compared with.

For example, in the telecommunication industry, assume the Slovenia rating set has match values (+386, +38671, +38641) and the United States rating set has match values (+1, +12).

If a usage event arrives for voice calls where the origin is set to +3865541234, the event will be mapped to the Slovenia rate plan mapping because the string prefix matches a match value from the Slovenia rating set. If the origin in the event were +14234235435, it would map to the United States rate plan mapping.

To copy a mapping, under Mappings, click Copy, and to delete a mapping click Delete. Copying a mapping creates a new mapping row while retaining the data from the copied mapping.

Mapping groups

Each mapping can have multiple mapping groups. To create a mapping group, under Mappings, first, click Toggle, then click Add mapping group.

For each mapping group, you can include a rating metric. Including a rating metric enables you to override the rating metric inserted in the rate plan info section. Also, it can enable you to have multiple rating metrics used throughout the rating process.

For each mapping group, you can also include multiple tariffs.

Tip:

Two tariffs can be configured; for example, daily and nightly tariffs. Then you can have two mapping groups, one for the daily tariff and another for the nightly tariff.

The behavior of what happens underneath the process when Monetization figures out the tariff can then be changed.

Note:

When Monetization tries to rate an event, it will look at the mapping, and once it finds a match, it checks what was configured in terms of tariff.

For each mapping group, you can also include a charge tag, which is predominantly used for discounting. For more information, see Tags. In addition, under each mapping group, ranges can be configured. For more information, see Ranges.

Ranges

Once a rate plan mapping has been determined, ranges are used for additional conditions, such as checking if a customer has free resources available.

If a range condition is true, then Monetization will apply the details found within the range. Monetization will keep applying the range details as long as any unrated quantity remains.

To create a range, under Mapping groups, click Add range.

Note:

The Base typify which type of value Monetization is checking. To configure, click Pick value; it could either be a resource, an event field, a value, or a custom value.

Example of a range

Assume two ranges, with the first having a Priority of 1, a Base of Free Data resource, a Start value of No minimum, and a Stop value of 0.

The second has a Priority of 0, a Base of US-Dollar resource, a Start value of No minimum, and a Stop value of No maximum.

Suppose a customer has free 20MB but consumes 25MB. The free 20MB will be applied to the Free Data resource because it is in a valid range (-20 to 0). However, the remaining 5MB will no longer fit that range; therefore, they will be applied as a monetary charge (from the second range, which is always valid).

Note:

The Start and Stop values are the minimum and maximum values specified in each range. Setting the values to No minimum and No maximum means that the fields will be set to -2147483647 and 2147483647, respectively.

The Multi-tier checkbox option is used for a step-by-step progression through the ranges. For example, given the following ranges:

Quantity_Counter; 0-100 — apply 1 euro per unit
Quantity_Counter; 100-200 — apply 2 euro per unit
Quantity_Counter; 200-infinite — apply 3 euros per unit

Assume an event with a quantity of 250; if Multi-tier is disabled, the amount will be:

250 × 3 euro = 750 euro the whole quantity is charged based on the range it falls under (3).

If Multi-tier is enabled, the price will be:

100 × 1 euro + 100 × 2 euro + 50 × 3 euro = 450 euro the quantity progresses through each tier.

Note:

Each resource range can have multiple resource details. If a rule is satisfied, Monetization can apply a specific detail. For more information, see Details.

Details

The details refer to the impacts that will occur in Monetization.

To create a detail, under Ranges, click Toggle, then click Add detail. Provide a priority, resource, amount, impact type, bill item, general ledger, unit, and resource tag.

Explanation of some terms

The amount refers to the price; the amount (debit) means you are charging the customer.
The impact type (scaled) means Monetization is multiplying the received calculated quantity with the amount, and the impact type (fixed) means that the price will not be multiplied by the quantity received.
The bill item is used to tell Monetization how the charge will show up on the invoice.
The unit is used for possible quantity unit conversion. For more information, see Unit groups.
The resource tag is used for discount targeting.
The general ledger tells Monetization how to keep track of things financially. Multiple account mappings are provided when creating a general ledger to determine which account should be credited or debited.

Rate plan summary

This section presents the information filled out in the previous two sections and can be reviewed before the rate plan is created.

Copy rate plan

Under rate plans, copying an existing rate plan equips you with the ability to create a new rate plan quickly. Essentially, by clicking Copy, it redirects you to a rate plan creation page, and it includes with it the data from the copied rate plan.

Using this functionality, you can model after the previously created rate plan to create a new rate plan quickly.

Details rate plan

Under rate plans, to see the full details of a rate plan, click Details. It contains the following:

Name
Code
Description
General ledger
Service
Rating metric
Validity

Below the information will be the rate plan mappings shown in a tabular format, including their ranges and details.

Update rate plan

Under rate plans, to update a rate plan, first, click Details. It shows the details of the rate plan. Then to update, click Update.

Information:

All information filled out under the create a rate plan section can be updated except for the Code.

Delete rate plan

To delete a rate plan, click Delete.

Note:

Deleting a rate plan already used in a product cannot be done. Every particular reference to the rate plan first has to be deleted.

Rating

Rating is a process in Monetization that applies the resource balance impacts according to the quantity and amounts set on the respective products or rate plan resource details.

Rating sets

To access this section, click Rating sets; all the rating sets will be shown.

Overview: Rating sets depict where zoning hierarchy can be created. They are tightly coupled with rate plans because one or the other will be needed to set up usage events.
Definition: Rating sets are hierarchical objects with multiple match sets to add a layer of flexibility to rate plan mapping. Instead of string mapping, they will be matched against an entire match set of a RatingSet object.
Example: The most common example is; prefixes in countries. For instance, Slovenia prefix is +386, then the Telemach operator in Slovenia can be +38670, +38640, and another operator can be +38641. This creates zoning hierarchies and can then be referenced in rate plan mappings.

Four actions/subpages can be performed/viewed under this section, namely:

Create a rating set
Details rating set
Update rating set
Delete rating set

Create a rating set

Under rating sets, to create a parent rating set, click Create a new parent rating set.

Tip:

For the creation of simple rating sets, the user interface should be used to create them. However, using the Monetization API may be easier for rating sets that contain lots of data or during the first import.

Provide a name and code. The Match Set is a set of string values that a field in the usage event is compared against to determine the correct rate plan mapping. To create a match set, under Match Set, click Create new.

The Info Set is a set of key-value pairs used to store custom information for a rating set. It has no processing logic impact. To create an info set, under Info Set, click Create new.

Information:

When creating rate plan mappings, they can be mapped to rating sets instead of fixed string/text values. This is useful because rating sets look for prefix matches and can be compared with multiple values.

Example of a rating set

In the telecommunication industry, the Slovenia rating set has match values of +386, +38671, and +38641, and the United States rating set has match values of +1 and +12.

A usage event arrives for a voice call where the origin is set to +3865541234. This event will be mapped to the Slovenia rate plan mapping because the string prefix matches a match value from the Slovenia rating set.

In contrast, if the origin in the event is set to +14234235435, it will map to the United States rate plan mapping.

Note:

Under each parent rating set, a rating subset can be created. To achieve this, click the name of the rating set and fill out the details of the rating subset: name, code, match set (optional), and info set (optional).

Details rating set

Under rating sets, to see the full details of a rating set, click the name of the rating set. It contains the following information:

Name
Code
Match set
Info set

Update rating set

Under rating sets, to update a rating set, first, click the name of the rating set; It shows the details. Then to update, click Update.

Delete rating set

Under rating sets, to delete a rating set, first click the name of the rating set; It shows the details. Then to delete, click Delete.

Note:

Deleting a rating set already used in a rate plan cannot be done. Every particular reference to the rating set first has to be deleted.

Rollovers

To access this section, click Rollovers. A paginated list of all rollovers is shown in a tabular format.

Rollovers are configured rules that determine how resource balances can be transferred between billing cycles. It enables a customer to move some unconsumed units of resources into their next billing cycle.

For example, a customer receives free 200MB of data every month, but a rollover defines that 100MB of data can be carried over to the next cycle if not consumed.

Four actions/subpages can be performed/viewed under this section, namely:

Create rollover
Details rollover page
Update rollover
Delete rollover

Create rollover

Under rollovers, to create a rollover, click Create new. It involves four sections, namely:

Rollover info section
Validity section
Rollover details section
Rollover summary

Rollover info section

Under the info section, provide a name, code, and description.

Note:

The code is a unique identifier of an object. It can be used during integration with the Monetization API.

Validity section

Under the validity section, configure the dates, which depict the active period of the rollover.

Rollover details section

Under this section, provide a name and code. The Priority determines the rollover to be used first if there are multiple rollovers.

Note:

A higher number indicates a higher priority.

The Cycle rollover amount specifies the maximum amount that can be transferred. Configuring the cycle rollover amount to -1 means that the maximum amount will be infinite.

The Transfer type determines whether the newly transferred balance is subtracted from the original (modified source) or created as a copy (leave source).

The Resource transfer from depicts the resource that would be transferring its balance.

The Resource transfer to depicts the resource receiving a specific balance.

The General ledger depicts how the rollover will be recorded for accounting purposes.

Rollover summary

This section presents the information from the previous three sections and can be reviewed before the rollover is created.

Details rollover page

Under rollovers, to see the full details of a rollover, click Details. It contains the following sections:

Info
Validity
Rollover details

Update rollover

Under rollovers, to update a rollover, first, click Details. It shows the details of the rollover. Then to update, click Update.

Information:

All information filled out under the create rollover section can be updated except for the Code.

Delete rollover

Under rollovers, to delete a rollover, click Delete.

Note:

Deleting a rollover already used in a product cannot be done. Every particular reference to the rollover first has to be deleted.

Tariffs

To access this section, click Tariffs. A paginated list of all tariffs is shown in a tabular format.

Tariffs depict Time of Use in Monetization. It is used to represent a specific time of use for service events. Through the use of tariffs, different pricing can be set up for usage events occurring during the night/day, weekend/workday, etc.

Information:

A tariff can also be referred to as time-related intervals and are very popular in the electricity/utility industries.

Four actions/subpages can be performed/viewed under this section, namely:

Create tariff
Details tariff page
Update tariff
Delete tariff

Create tariff

Under tariffs, to create a tariff, click Create new. Provide a name, code, type, priority, and validity period. Optionally, add a description.

Note:

The code is a unique identifier of an object. It can be used during integration with the Monetization API.

Note:

Multiple tariffs can be created with different ranges for specific times, days, and weeks. The tariffs are then used while creating a rate plan.

Based on the selected type, the tariff can represent a date (dd-mm-yy), a day of the week (1-7), a time range (08:00-10:00), a day range within a month (8-12), a day and time range (on the 8th to 12th between 08:00-10:00)

For instance, if the type is configured to use a time range with a start time of 12:00 AM and a stop time of 5:00 AM. Applying the tariff to a rate plan can lead to different pricing.

In addition, the tariffs are matched based on their priority. For example, a workday tariff could target all Mon-Fri days with priority 1, but it will be overruled with a Holiday Date tariff on Tuesday, 13th Sep 2022, with priority 2.

Note:

A higher number indicates a higher priority.

Details tariff page

Under tariffs, to see the full details of a tariff, click Details. It contains the following:

Status
Name
Code
Description
Type
Priority
Validity period

Update tariff

Under tariffs, to update a tariff, first, click Details. It shows the details of the tariff. Then to update, click Update.

Information:

All information filled out under the create tariff section can be updated except for the Code.

Delete tariff

Under tariffs, to delete a tariff, click Delete.

Note:

Deleting a tariff already used in a rate plan cannot be done. Every particular reference to the tariff first has to be deleted.

Docs: Discounts

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Topics in this document:

Create discount
- Simple discount section
- Advanced discount section
Details discount page
Update discount
Delete discount

To access this section in Monetization, from the Menu, select Catalog, and click Discounts. A paginated list of all discounts is shown in a tabular format.

Discounts as objects are treated the same way as products. They are part of a bundle which is part of a plan, and they also have a set of rules and rule filters describing what the discount targets exactly.

Note:

A discount has rule filters that target a specific tag or/and a combination of tags. Therefore, whenever rating applies an impact, this impact has the configured tags. These tags are then compared against any active discount rule filters; if they match, Monetization will know that the discount should be applied for these impacts.

Four actions/subpages can be performed/viewed under this section, namely:

Create discount
Details discount page
Update discount
Delete discount

Create discount

Under discounts, to create a discount, click Create new. Choose either the simple or the advanced discount section.

Information:

As the name implies, the advanced discount section is used to create complex discounts that can target both the charge and resource tag.

Simple discount section

For the simple discount section, provide a name and code.

Note:

The code is a unique identifier of an object. It can be used during integration with the Monetization API.

In addition, choose the type and insert the value. The type can be configured either as a percentage or a flat amount. Also, choose the charge tag, monetary resource, and configure the validity period.

Note:

The charge tag is used to determine the product the discount will target. For more information about a charge tag, see Tags.

Information:

Discount works similarly to a product. Therefore, after creating a discount, it should be added to a bundle that is then included in a plan to enable it.

Advanced discount section

For the advanced discount section, it involves three sections, namely:

Info section
Rule sets
Summary

Info section

Under the info section, provide a name, code, description, and validity period.

Note:

The code is a unique identifier of an object. It can be used during integration with the Monetization API.

The priority determines the discount to be used first if multiple discounts exist in the bundle.

Information:

A higher number indicates a higher priority.

Note:

A bundle is a higher-level object for grouping, but discount priorities apply regardless of the bundle.

The non-active rating can be configured on products and discounts. It means whether Monetization should still apply impacts related to these products and discounts after they are inactive or closed.

It has three configurable options:

FORBIDDEN — means Monetization can only rate the discount if it is active.
RATE_INACTIVE — means Monetization can only rate the discount when active or inactive but not closed.
RATE_INACTIVE_AND_CLOSED — means Monetization will consistently rate the discount, whether active, inactive, or closed.

In addition, choose the type and insert the value. The type can either be a percentage or a flat amount.

Rule sets

Under the rule sets section, to create a rule set, click Add rule set. The rule set is used to group rule object that fit together.

Rules

To create a rule, under Rule sets, first, click Toggle, then click Add rule. Each rule has a priority, base, base value, rule filters, and ranges.

Base: The base means what is being checked (resource, event field, value, custom value).
Base value (Value): Depending on the base, it can be a resource, event field, value, or custom value.

Information:

The value tells Monetization which base to check. For instance, if you want to look at the event field called amount, you will set the base to event field and the value to amount.

Rule filters: The rule filter depicts what the discount should target. This means it will only pick up events that match the rule filter. You can filter by charge tag, resource tag, service, and event name.
Ranges: When the rule filter matches, Monetization will take the base and value and compare them against the ranges.

Information:

For example, if the base and value are event field and amount, respectively, and you have a voice event with an amount of 3.5, Monetization will compare 3.5 against the ranges.

If it finds an applicable range, it will apply the discount details which belong to that range.

The discount details then discount the amount (3.5) for a specific percentage value and apply that impact to the specified resource, bill item with a specific tax, and general ledger.

Summary

This section shows the summary of what was inputted in the previous two sections (info section and rule sets). The discount details can be reviewed before creating the discount.

Details discount page

Under discounts, to see the full details of a particular discount, click Details. It contains the following:

Name
Code
Priority
Description
Non-active rating
Value
Validity period

Below the information will be the rule sets shown in a tabular format, including their rules, rule filters, and ranges.

Update discount

Under discounts, to update a discount, first, click Details; it shows the details of the discount. Then to update, click Update.

Information:

All information filled out under the create discount section can be updated except for the Code.

Delete discount

Under discounts, to delete a discount, click Delete.

Note:

Deleting a discount already used in other parts of Monetization cannot be done. Every particular reference to the discount first has to be deleted.

Docs: Event Generators

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

To access this section in Monetization, from the Menu, select Catalog, and click Event generators. A paginated list of all event generators is shown in a tabular format.

An event generator can be linked to a service or billing profile. Essentially, it is used to generate an event just before billing, which can contain fields with values of resource balances.

Event generator example

Suppose a customer is about to be billed; therefore, their billing cycle is about to shift. Using an event generator, Monetization can create some usage events on its own based on the status of the current resources available to each customer.

For instance, suppose a utility company for electricity, and only once per month do we have a balance on the customer. The event generator can be used to take the balance of the counter on the customer and generate a usage event out of it.

Four actions/subpages can be performed/viewed under this section, namely:

Create an event generator
Details event generator page
Update event generator
Delete event generator