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| − | {{DISPLAYTITLE:Billing Rules}}
| + | =This Content Has Moved House= |
| − | = Overview = | |
| − | This article goes into further detail regarding Emersion's billing rules and how charges are generated depending on your preferred plan configurations. In particular, this article covers how and when access fees are calculated and charged. We recommend you start with the [[Billing_Objects|Billing Objects Overview]] to get a good understanding of the objects before reading this article.
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| − | = Access Fees =
| + | This article has been moved to our new home for documentation and help content, the new Emersion Knowledge Base. |
| − | An Access fee is a recurring charge that is applied each period for the life of the subscription. How long the period covers is a setting on the service plan. When a customer purchases a subscription, this fee is charged each time a new period ends/starts. This is known as the subscription period. Package plans, service plans, service features, bolt-ons and bolt-on add-ons all have individual subscriptions that may align or not align with the overarching [[AccountInvoicePeriod|account invoice period]].
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| − | While monthly recurring access fees are the most common type of arrangement, there are plenty of examples where longer periods are necessary. Some subscriptions are required to be renewed every 12 months, others quarterly or bi-annually. Billing periods of subscriptions are able to be aligned with the account invoice period, but it is not mandatory.
| + | We are sorry for the untidiness while we are shifting locations and we appreciate your patience during the transition to our new home. |
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| − | The access fee cardlines that are generated by the system will depend on how your plans are configured. All rules mentioned in this article are for 'post paid' plans. While some terms and rules mention fees being in advance, this is not to be confused with the concept of 'prepaid' and we are not describing any of Emersion's prepaid plan functionality here.
| + | [https://resources.emersion.com/display/EKB/Access+Fee+Fundamentals Take me to the Emersion Knowledge Base article] |
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| − | == Advanced Fees ==
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| − | Advance fees are charged the minute that the period start date has passed. This will obtain the fee from the relevant object, (package plan, service plan, feature, bolt-on or bolt-on add-on) and will charge for the next period in advance. There are some modifiers that can be used in order to manipulate the way access fees are generated and calculated.
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| − | ;Service Multiplier (and Service Feature multiplier)
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| − | These features allow a separate multiplier to be assigned against the service or feature to increase the access fee. This is useful in situations where the cost of the product might be X per Y (Rent for example might be calculated as $120 per sq metre). This is also used as a way to get around one of the core business rules pertaining to package and service plans in Emersion. This rule states: ''A package plan cannot contain two service plans of the same service type'' (see the [[Billing Objects]] article for further information). Service providers who wish to sell multiple subscriptions of the same service type to a customer have options to use the service multiplier, or they can place multiple orders - which will achieve the same billing outcome.
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| − | ;Bill in advance
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| − | This stipulates how many months ahead a period should be billed. This is used when period lengths that are greater than one month. Domain registration and hosting is a common example where service providers can incur cost from your supplier immediately, or a 3, 6, 9, 12 monthly cost is applicable.
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| − | ;Periods in advance
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| − | This setting defines how many full periods are charged in advance. Some providers choose to charge for two months of access fees ahead of time.
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| − | ;Pro rata
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| − | The pro rata setting on the package plan determines whether part periods are calculated at a discount rate depending on the size of the period. For example, if a package is activated within the invoicing period, the user will have a short period. The system will calculate a '''period ratio'''. This period ratio is then multiplied against the access fee (and any multiplier where applicable) to generate the access fee.
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| − | === Period Ratio ===
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| − | The period ratio will vary for new subscriptions and migrated/cancelled subscriptions.
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| − | Period Ratio = Days Used / Days of Period.
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| − | Service Providers need to factor in that the system is aware of TIME as well as DATE.
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| − | * New Service Subscriptions - Access fees are calculated from the beginning of the day (0:00hrs on the start date of the subscription).
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| − | * Cancellations - Access fees are calculated at the end of the day (24:00 on the date of cancellation).
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| − | * Migration - Access fees for the losing plan are calculated as at the end of the day (24:00 on the date of migration). Access fees on the winning plan are calculated from the start of the next day (0:00hrs on the start date of the subscription).
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| − | == Arrears Fees ==
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| − | Under an Arrears plan configuration, charges are calculated at the conclusion of the period (''in arrears'') rather than at the commencement of one. This will obtain the fee from the relevant [[Billing_Object|object]] and will charge for the period that has just concluded. This fee type also has some modifiers.
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| − | * Service Multiplier (and Service Feature multiplier)
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| − | * Pro rata
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| − | These modifiers are explained above under [[Billing_Objects/Billing_Rules#Advanced_Fees|Advanced Fees]].
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| − | == Mid Cycle Migrations ==
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| − | End Users regularly expect to be able to change plans, cancel services, add services and in the process, they do not want to wait until the beginning of the next billing period for the changes to take effect. The rules that apply during a mid-cycle package migration will depend on the way your plans are configured in relation to advanced and arrears billing, and taking into account the period ratio if the plan is pro rated. It is important to understand how billing can be affected in these scenarios, for both the ''source subscription'' (or plan they are moving from) and ''destination'' subscription (plan they are moving to).
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| − | === Advance Access Fee Plans ===
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| − | Source subscription:
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| − | * The current period will be shortened to the migration date. The system will refund the unused portion of access fee (if pro rata).
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| − | * If any periods in advance have been created, a refund for those periods will be generated.
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| − | * There is no refund for plans that are not pro rated.
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| − | Destination subscription:
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| − | * generates a pro-rated access fee covering the portion that was refunded to the source subscription.
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| − | * Generate a full access fee at the commencement of the next period if the plan is not pro rated.
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| − | * If periods in advance are required, charges for those periods will also be generated.
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| − | === Arrears Access Fee Plans ===
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| − | Source subscription:
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| − | * The current period will be shortened to the migration date.
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| − | * The system will create a charge based on the calculated ''period-ratio'' to bill the past shortened period.
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| − | Destination subscription:
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| − | * Initially, no access fee charged will be generated.
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| − | * Access fee-related charges will not be generated until the end of the current period.
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| − | * At the commencement of the next period, the charge to cover the shortened period that has just ended will be generated.
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| − | == Mid Cycle Cancellations ==
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| − | If a plan is cancelled, the following rules apply to the cancellation.
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| − | === Advance Access Fee Plans ===
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| − | * The current period will be shortened to the cancellation date once the date has passed. The system will refund the unused portion of access fee (if pro rata).
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| − | * If any periods in advance have been created, a refund for those periods will also be generated.
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| − | * There is no refund for plans that are not pro rated.
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| − | === Arrears Access Fee Plans ===
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| − | * The current period will be shortened to the cancellation date once the date has passed.
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| − | * The system will create a charge based on the calculated ''period-ratio'' to bill the past shortened period.
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| − | = Scenarios =
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| − | The table below provides a date-based view of the rules as they would be applied in various scenarios:
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| − | [[File:Billing-object-rules-01.png]]
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| − | = See Also =
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| − | * [[Billing_Objects|Billing Objects]]
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This article has been moved to our new home for documentation and help content, the new Emersion Knowledge Base.
We are sorry for the untidiness while we are shifting locations and we appreciate your patience during the transition to our new home.
