Billing Objects/Billing Rules

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.

Access Fees

Advanced Fees

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. This is not to be confused with the concept of 'prepaid', as this is still 'post paid' functionality. There are some modifiers that can be used in order to manipulate the way access fees are generated and calculated.

Service Multiplier (and Service Feature multiplier)

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.

Bill in advance

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.

Periods in advance

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.

Pro rata

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. P

Period Ratio

The period ratio will vary for new subscriptions and migrated/cancelled subscriptions.

Period Ratio = Days Used / Days of Period.

Service Providers need to factor in that the system is aware of TIME as well as DATE.

• New Subscriptions - Access fees are calculated from the start of the day (0:00hrs on the start date of the subscription)
• Cancellations - Access fees are calculated from the end of the day (24:00 on the date of cancellation)
• Migration - Access fees are calculated from the end of the day (24:00 on the date of migration) unless the user overrides the setting and ends immediately.

Arrears Fees

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 object and will charge for the period that has just concluded. This fee type also has some modifiers.

• Service Multiplier (and Service Feature multiplier)
• Pro rata

These modifiers are explained above under 'Advance Fees' section.

Mid Cycle Migrations

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).

Advance Access Fee Plans

Source subscription:

• The current period will be shortened to the migration date. The system will refund the unused portion of access fee (if pro rata).
• If any periods in advance have been created, a refund for those periods will be generated.
• There is no refund for plans that are not pro rated.

Destination subscription:

• generates a pro-rated access fee covering the portion that was refunded to the source subscription.
• Generate a full access fee at the commencement of the next period if the plan is not pro rated.
• If periods in advance are required, charges for those periods will also be generated.

Arrears Access Fee Plans

Source subscription:

• The current period will be shortened to the migration date.
• The system will create a charge based on the calculated period-ratio to bill the past shortened period.

Destination subscription:

• Initially, no access fee charged will be generated.
• Access fee-related charges will not be generated until the end of the current period.
• At the commencement of the next period, the charge to cover the shortened period that has just ended will be generated.

Mid Cycle Cancellations

If a plan is cancelled, the following rules apply to the cancellation.

Advance Access Fee Plans

• The current period will be shortened to the migration date. The system will refund the unused portion of access fee (if pro rata).
• If any periods in advance have been created, a refund for those periods will be generated.
• There is no refund for plans that are not pro rated.

Arrears Access Fee Plans

• The current period will be shortened to the migration date.
• The system will create a charge based on the calculated period-ratio to bill the past shortened period.