Difference between revisions of "ServicePlans/ServicePlans"

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[[Category:ServicePlans]]
 
[[Category:ServicePlans]]
  
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= '''Service Plans''' =
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= '''Rate Card''' =
  
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== '''Introduction''' ==
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== Introduction ==
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[[File:PlanMap.png|thumb]]
 
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A ''Service Plan'' is a billing object that is used to control billing for a single service.  Service Plans are bound to ''Service Types''.  Service Plans are also then linked to  [[PackagePlans/PackagePlans|Package Plans]].  A Service Plan may be attached to multiple Package Plans
 
  
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Depending on the ''Service Type'' of the particular Service Plan, a Service Plan may have the following objects attached to it:
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A ''Rate Card'' is a group of ''rates''. A Rate defines, for a given call type, what the system should charge and also ''how'' the system should charge for this usage.
  
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* [[ServicePlans/RateCard|Rate Card]] - A list of rates and call costs for available call types per Service Type
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Cumulus is very flexible when it comes to rating usage and allows for either very simple rating (eg Markup, flagfall) or very complex rating (Tiered Rates, Caps).
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* Product Rate Card - A list of additional products and rates that can be turned on and off against a Service.  These vary from Service Type to Service Type
 
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* BoltOn - A bolton is a way of providing bonus features (ie 50 free local calls, or free data) to a particular service without having to produce new Rate Cards.
 
  
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An instance of a Service Plan that is sold to a customer is referred to as a ''Service Subscription''.
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Cumulus supports the following forms of Rating:
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<br style="clear:both" />
 
  
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== '''Buy and Sell''' ==
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* Passthrough
 +
* Markup %
 +
* Discount %
 +
* Flat Charge
 +
* Rate Per
 +
* Excess
 +
* Simple Cap
 +
* Capped
 +
* Limited Cap
 +
* Tiered
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* FF + Markup %
  
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As with [[PackagePlans/PackagePlans|Package Plans]], Service Plans can either be created as ''Buy'' or ''Sell'' Plans.  A ''Buy'' Service Plan must be linked with a Buy Package Plan, and a ''Sell'' Service Plan must be linked to a Sell Package Plan.
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Rate Cards are bound to [[ServicePlans/ServicePlans|Service Plans]] based on the Telephony and Mobile Service Types (as Rate Cards are applied only to 'Telephony' usage).
  
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For further information on Buy and Sell Plans, please see the [[PackagePlans/LinkingPackageAndServicePlans|Linking Package Plans and Service Plans]] article.
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Rate Cards can have ''Time Tables'' linked to them.
  
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== '''Managing Service Plans''' ==
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== Buy and Sell ==
  
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Service Plans are managed through Cumulus via '''Packages and Plans > Management > Service Plans'''.
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Rate Cards are unique amongst the various billing objects in the system (such as Service Plans, Bolt Ons, Package Plans) in that Rate Cards themselves do not have a concept of ''Buy'' and ''Sell''.  Rate Cards are mapped to Service Plans which are either classed as 'Buy' or 'Sell'.
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[[File:ServicePlans_List.jpg|500px|center|The Package Plan List Screen]]
 
  
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As with Package Plans, the list page provides a basic search functionality and also offers the ability to Create a New Service Plan.
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If you do not understand the concept of Buy and Sell plans, please see [[PackagePlans/LinkingPackageAndServicePlans|this article]] for further information.
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<br style="clear:both" />
 
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=== '''Creating a New Service Plan''' ===
 
  
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==== Choosing a Service Type ====
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== Concepts ==
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To create a new Service Plan, simply click on '''Create New''' underneath Search.
 
  
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The first step presented to you will be to choose a Service Type.  The service type will affect services can be added and also Provisioning.  Further information on Service Types will be made available in the future.
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Rate Cards have some specific concepts which need to be understood before you will be able to work with Rate Cards effectively.
  
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:'''IMPORTANT: Please note that once you have chosen a Service Type and saved the Service Plan, you <u>will not</u> be able to go back and change this.  Please ensure that the correct Service Type is chosen before continuing.  Please contact Emersion Support if you are unsure.'''
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=== Tariff ===
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[[File:ServicePlans_CreateNew_ChooseServiceType.jpg|500px|center|The first stage in creating a Service Plan]]
 
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Once you have chosen the new Service Type desired, click Continue.
 
  
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<br style="clear:both" />
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In Cumulus Terms, a Tariff is a usage type with a friendly name (eg UnitedStatesOfAmerica - Mobile).  External carriers (such as Telstra and Optus) will make CDRs (Customer Data Records) available for Cumulus and other providers to download.  Each record will contain a field which dictates what ''kind'' of usage the particular service incurred at that instance (eg National Call, Local Call, International Call to the UK etc).
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==== Configuring the New Service Plan ====
 
  
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Having chosen a Service Type, you will then be taken to a new page where you will be able to configure the Service Plan details.
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This call type links to our system as a ''Tariff Key'' which forms part of a Tariff.  A ''Rate'' will be linked to a particular Tariff which will generally be mapped to the external Tariff Key - which is how Cumulus is able to group the various call types together.
  
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Please note that at this stage, you will not be able link Rate Cards or set RADIUS attributes until you have saved the Service Plan, gone back to the Service Plan List page and clicked on your new Service Plan.
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=== Tariff Groups ===
  
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Tariffs are Hierarchical and are grouped together inside ''Tariff Groups''.
  
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The New Service Plan page has a number of elements.
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An example of a Tariff Group would be International Calls - whereby all international calls to various countries are contained with the International Calls Tariff Group.
  
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Please note that <u>all</u> prices here are GST '''Exclusive''':
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Cumulus supports assigning Rates to a particular Tariff Group - such that all Rates linked to Tariffs contained within that Tariff Group, that do not have rates specifically applied, are rated as per the charge at the Tariff Group.
  
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[[File:ServicePlans_CreateNew.jpg|500px|thumb|The ''New Service Plan'' Page]]
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Consider the following extract of an example Rate Card:
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; Name : The internal name for the Package
 
  
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; External Name : This is the External Name for the Service Plan.  This is what is printed on customer's invoices if ledger cardlines (eg Service Plan Access Fees), related to this Service Plan, are created.
 
  
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; Description : An optional description for the Service Plan. Internal use only
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* International  - Charged at $4 per minute. $0.50 flag fall
 +
  - UnitedStatesOfAmerica
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      o UnitedStatesofAmerica - LandLine
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      o UnitedStatesOfAmerica - Mobile - Charged at $1.35 per minute, $1 flag fall
  
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; Reference Name : A way of providing a link to an External 3rd party.  This could be represented as the name of a prior billing system if one existed.  The field is entirely optional.
 
  
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; Reference Key : A way of providing a link to an External 3rd party. This may be the name of this plan, as it existed in the old system if this were the case.  This field is entirely optional.
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''International'' is a Tariff Group containing ''UnitedStatesOfAmerica''. UnitedStatesOfAmerica is also a Tariff Group containing the tariffs, ''UnitedStatesOfAmerica - LandLine'' and ''UnitedStateOfAmerica - Mobile''.
  
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; Buy or Sell : Indicates whether this is a Buy Plan or a Sell Plan.  Please see the [[PackagePlans/PackagePlans#Buy_and_Sell_Plans|Buy and Sell Plans]] section for further information.
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If a service using this rate card incurs the Tariff type: UnitedStateOfAmerica - Mobile, they will be charged as per the rate explicitly defined for the Tariff 'UnitedStatesOfAmerica - Mobile' (as in $1.35 per minute, $1 flag fall).
  
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; Service Type : Will reflect the Service Type chosen previously.  Note that this cannot be changed.
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However, if this same service then incurred the Tariff type, 'UnitedStatesofAmerica - LandLine' then Cumulus - in attempting to rate this usage - would see that there was no rate defined explicitly for 'UnitedStatesofAmerica - LandLine'.  It would then loop up and look at its Parent, 'UnitedStatesOfAmerica' and see that there is no rate there either.  At that point, it would loop around again and go to the parent of 'UnitedStatesOfAmerica', which is the Tariff Group: 'International'.
  
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; Period Length :  The Period length defines how far in advance (or arrears) the system will generate access fees, as well as how far in arrears the system should bill for usage.  It also defines how frequently the access fees are created.
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In this example, the Tariff Group 'International' has a rate associated to it, which is: $4 per minute. $0.50 flag fall.  This usage would be rated as per rate assigned to the Tariff Group.
  
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; Rounding Type : This affects the rating of Usage.  Where usage is rated, the system can round in the following 3 ways:
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=== Base Tariff ===
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* Round Up - All figures are rounded up, so a value of '3.1' would become 4.
 
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* Round Down - All figures our rounded down, so 3.1 would be come 3.
 
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* Round Half-Up - The system will round as per accepted mathematical convention.  A figure of 3.4 would be rounded down to 3, where as a figure of 3.5 or above would round up to 4.
 
  
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; Rounding Precision : Defines the number of decimal places to which usage will be rated.  The default is 7 - in that usage will be rounded to 7 decimal places.
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The ''Base Tariff'' is a special Tariff Group that sits at the top of the Tariff Hierarchy for a given service type.  All Tariff Groups and Tariffs for this Service Type sit underneath this Tariff
  
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; Setup Fee : The fee charged when a Subscription of this Service Plan is created.
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You are able to set a rate at the Base Tariff to catch any Usage that would ordinarily not be rated.
  
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; Access Fee : A Rental or Service fee generated each period for the life of the Service Subscription.
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==== Typical Tariff Structure ====
  
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Please be aware that if this Service Plan is linked to a Package Plan that has Access and/or Setup Fees set, the system will generate cardlines based on the rates set in the Package Plan and ignore the value set up at the Service Plan Level.  For further information on this, please see the [[PackagePlans/PackagePlans#Fee_Setup|note about Access Fees]] on the Package Plans Page.
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Typically speaking, a group of Tariffs for a specific service type will be organised into the following Tariff Groups (Please treat this as a rough guide only.  Specific Tariff Groups will vary depending on the carrier and Service Type)
  
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Please note that the following values are inherited from the Package Plan and so need to be set via '''Packages and Plans > Management > Package Plans''':
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BASE TARIFF (*)
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  * Local Calls (*)
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  * National Calls (*)
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    - National Calls may be segregated by distance (ie 0 to 50kms, 50 to 200kms)
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  * Fixed to Mobile (*)
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  * Special Calls
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    - 1300 Calls
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    - 1800 Calls
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    - InfoCalls
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  * International Calls (*)
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    - Country (*)
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    o Country
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    o Country - Mobile Carrier
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(*) Indicates Tariff Group
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Mobile based Tariffs may contain extra Tariff Groups such as:
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  * SMS (*)
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  * MMS (*)
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  * ROAM (*)
  
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* Pro-rata
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=== Cap ===
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* Billing Type
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A ''Cap'' is an additional attribute that can be applied to a [[ServicePlans/ServicePlans|Service Plan]] that defines a dollar value in Usage a customer can receive as part of their Service Plan.
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For this to take effect, when editing a Rate Card, you can set the ''Included in Cap'' flag for a given Tariff or Tariff Group, such that Usage will be considered as part of the Cap.  Usage that is not marked as ''Included in Cap'' will be rated in full irrespective of the Cap value.
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In other words, it is possible to create a Service Plan with $50 worth of included calls.  In the rate card, you can then define ''what'' calls are specifically included.

Revision as of 09:59, 28 March 2011


Rate Card

Introduction

A Rate Card is a group of rates. A Rate defines, for a given call type, what the system should charge and also how the system should charge for this usage.

Cumulus is very flexible when it comes to rating usage and allows for either very simple rating (eg Markup, flagfall) or very complex rating (Tiered Rates, Caps).

Cumulus supports the following forms of Rating:

  • Passthrough
  • Markup %
  • Discount %
  • Flat Charge
  • Rate Per
  • Excess
  • Simple Cap
  • Capped
  • Limited Cap
  • Tiered
  • FF + Markup %

Rate Cards are bound to Service Plans based on the Telephony and Mobile Service Types (as Rate Cards are applied only to 'Telephony' usage).

Rate Cards can have Time Tables linked to them.

Buy and Sell

Rate Cards are unique amongst the various billing objects in the system (such as Service Plans, Bolt Ons, Package Plans) in that Rate Cards themselves do not have a concept of Buy and Sell. Rate Cards are mapped to Service Plans which are either classed as 'Buy' or 'Sell'.

If you do not understand the concept of Buy and Sell plans, please see this article for further information.

Concepts

Rate Cards have some specific concepts which need to be understood before you will be able to work with Rate Cards effectively.

Tariff

In Cumulus Terms, a Tariff is a usage type with a friendly name (eg UnitedStatesOfAmerica - Mobile). External carriers (such as Telstra and Optus) will make CDRs (Customer Data Records) available for Cumulus and other providers to download. Each record will contain a field which dictates what kind of usage the particular service incurred at that instance (eg National Call, Local Call, International Call to the UK etc).

This call type links to our system as a Tariff Key which forms part of a Tariff. A Rate will be linked to a particular Tariff which will generally be mapped to the external Tariff Key - which is how Cumulus is able to group the various call types together.

Tariff Groups

Tariffs are Hierarchical and are grouped together inside Tariff Groups.

An example of a Tariff Group would be International Calls - whereby all international calls to various countries are contained with the International Calls Tariff Group.

Cumulus supports assigning Rates to a particular Tariff Group - such that all Rates linked to Tariffs contained within that Tariff Group, that do not have rates specifically applied, are rated as per the charge at the Tariff Group.

Consider the following extract of an example Rate Card: 


* International  - Charged at $4 per minute. $0.50 flag fall
  - UnitedStatesOfAmerica
      o UnitedStatesofAmerica - LandLine
      o UnitedStatesOfAmerica - Mobile - Charged at $1.35 per minute, $1 flag fall


International is a Tariff Group containing UnitedStatesOfAmerica. UnitedStatesOfAmerica is also a Tariff Group containing the tariffs, UnitedStatesOfAmerica - LandLine and UnitedStateOfAmerica - Mobile.

If a service using this rate card incurs the Tariff type: UnitedStateOfAmerica - Mobile, they will be charged as per the rate explicitly defined for the Tariff 'UnitedStatesOfAmerica - Mobile' (as in $1.35 per minute, $1 flag fall).

However, if this same service then incurred the Tariff type, 'UnitedStatesofAmerica - LandLine' then Cumulus - in attempting to rate this usage - would see that there was no rate defined explicitly for 'UnitedStatesofAmerica - LandLine'. It would then loop up and look at its Parent, 'UnitedStatesOfAmerica' and see that there is no rate there either. At that point, it would loop around again and go to the parent of 'UnitedStatesOfAmerica', which is the Tariff Group: 'International'.

In this example, the Tariff Group 'International' has a rate associated to it, which is: $4 per minute. $0.50 flag fall. This usage would be rated as per rate assigned to the Tariff Group.

Base Tariff

The Base Tariff is a special Tariff Group that sits at the top of the Tariff Hierarchy for a given service type. All Tariff Groups and Tariffs for this Service Type sit underneath this Tariff

You are able to set a rate at the Base Tariff to catch any Usage that would ordinarily not be rated.

Typical Tariff Structure

Typically speaking, a group of Tariffs for a specific service type will be organised into the following Tariff Groups (Please treat this as a rough guide only. Specific Tariff Groups will vary depending on the carrier and Service Type) 

BASE TARIFF (*)
 * Local Calls (*)
 * National Calls (*)
   - National Calls may be segregated by distance (ie 0 to 50kms, 50 to 200kms)
 * Fixed to Mobile (*)
 * Special Calls
   - 1300 Calls
   - 1800 Calls
   - InfoCalls
 * International Calls (*)
   - Country (*)
    o Country
    o Country - Mobile Carrier

(*) Indicates Tariff Group

Mobile based Tariffs may contain extra Tariff Groups such as:

 * SMS (*)
 * MMS (*)
 * ROAM (*)

Cap

A Cap is an additional attribute that can be applied to a Service Plan that defines a dollar value in Usage a customer can receive as part of their Service Plan.

For this to take effect, when editing a Rate Card, you can set the Included in Cap flag for a given Tariff or Tariff Group, such that Usage will be considered as part of the Cap. Usage that is not marked as Included in Cap will be rated in full irrespective of the Cap value.

In other words, it is possible to create a Service Plan with $50 worth of included calls. In the rate card, you can then define what calls are specifically included.

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