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The Billing Sub-System provides a powerful engine to calculate charges for products and services sold to Customers. If combined with the Information Retrieval System, usage information from an upstream Supplier is bound to a Customer’s Plan Sale, and the associated Plan’s Rates will be used to calculate the correct charge for each Information Record into periodic rated Customer accounts. The production of electronic invoices and interfaces to other Emersion Systems for Customer Management, information retrieval, provisioning and other services is described in detail later.
Your can define Your Customers billing frequency by any combination of weeks or months, as well as the option to invoice one-off charges immediately, giving You flexibility in how You want to manage their account with you.
Various billing elements are supported, including data, voice and other services, as well as hardware, and other complex structures such as mobile phone plans. In fact, the system is so flexible that you could bill for virtually anything!
Features include:
| Feature |
Description |
| Shifting Rate Billing |
Shifting Rate Billing can be achieved based on the service type associated with a plain including:
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based on time; |
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based on quantity; |
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based on data usage; |
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| Call Partitions |
Calls can be split up into blocks, with different rates based upon time used.
For example, the first 15 minutes could be offered free, or at a lower rate than the next 15 minutes, or the rest of the call etc. |
| Traffic Zones |
Charge rates can be set based on international or local regions. |
| Credits |
Applied to an account based upon defined criteria. |
| Minimum Cost |
Minimum spend applied to a plan. |
| Maximum Cost |
Maximum spend applied to a plan. |
| Once Off Charges |
Any one-off charge that can be injected into an Invoice for any other product, be it hardware or software, that you supply |
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Emersion can provide You with a billing for a range of Client items. Using the following hierarchical bundle elements provide building blocks to construct bundles any way you want:
| Bundle Element |
Description |
| Bundles: |
Comprised of one or more Plans that You sell to your Customers.
Discounts and surcharges can be applied, either as a percentage or a fixed amount, as well as one-off or point of sale charges. Contract length and the billing frequency can be defined to suit your needs.
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| Plans: |
Contain a single service type (e.g. Preselect, override, VOIP, data, EFT etc.) or product.
Each Plan may contain one or more Plan Features and Events specific to the service type associated with the plan. |
| Plan Features: |
Specific details related to the plan service type, including minimum and maximum costs as well as discounts and surcharges. |
| Events: |
Control the various charges and fees associated with a Plan.
Each Plan may have different Event types associated with it, as appropriate for the type of service. |
| Event Features: |
Specific details related to each Event type, including the billing frequency, billing day, charge amount (for non usage events) and description. |
| Rates: |
Define the charges associated with usage events. For telephony services, different rates can be applied for different days of the week, times of the day, and / or call duration lengths. Significant flexibility is provided, giving you complete control of your rates and flag fall charges to create plans that best meet the needs of your Customers. |
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Bundle Elements provide building blocks to construct bundles any way you want, the hierarchy can be graphically displayed as:
Bundles are comprised of one or more Plans, with the Bundle description, billing cycle length, contract length, discounts and surcharges (by percentage and/or amount), and all Events specific to Bundles / Plans. Bundled Plans can be added or removed from a Bundle provided the Bundle has not been sold.
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Bundles can be sold to Customers, line items added to sales for once off incidental charges, and superseded Bundles migrated to new Bundles through the product life cycle.
The Bundles List function displays a list of all bundles set up.
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The View Bundle function displays the selected bundle. The bundle events are displayed with their debit day, debit cycle and value information. Other bundle event information can be displayed via the Show Features link. If you attempt to select the View function without first selecting a bundle, an error page will appear warning that the request is invalid.
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The flexible Emersion Plan Engine allows Plans and Bundles to be created and maintained, along with their associated Events.
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Plans contain a single service type or product, with the Plan description, minimum and maximum cost caps, discounts and surcharges (by percentage and amount), and all Events specific to the service or product type. Plan details can be modified provided the Plan is not included in a Bundle that has been sold.
Plan Features include:
| Plan Feature |
Description |
| Charge Caps: |
Minimum and maximum charge caps can be applied to a plan. For example, a mobile phone plan may have a monthly charge of $49.95 that includes $279 worth of calls. Once the End User has used their included call value they will be charged the regular call rates.
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| Discounts: |
Both percentage and dollar amount discounts can be applied. Volume discounts can also be applied to a bundle, such as bundles that contains multiple plans etc. |
| Surcharges: |
One or more surcharges or fees can be applied as either a percentage or dollar amount. |
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The Plans List function displays a list of all plans set up.
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Existing plans can be linked making it easy to build bundles and apply discounts or concessions, without needing to create countless plans that are both confusing and difficult to manage.
Events control how and when charges and fees are applied against Customers’ Invoices for Bundles and Plans purchased. They also manage account life cycle activities, such as invoice generation, renewals, activations, and notifications. Event details include the day of the event, offset against the customers billing date, invoice cycle in which the event will occur, which can be any combination of cycles throughout the contract, charge amount and description (depending on the Event type i.e. not all data is recorded for all Event types).
Events may be scheduled to occur on any day of the billing cycle, giving you virtually unlimited control over how you shape your plans. Event features are very flexible and are easily defined. Multiple stage notification and cancellation Events can be configured, such as limiting a service before disconnecting it completely if an End User has not paid their invoices.
Generally, bundle events control billing and the lifecycle of a bundle, whereas plan events control charges and fees associated with a plan. Events are triggered on different days of a billing cycle, as defined by the event type, event debit date and cycle, and each business’ individual billing information. For example, a generate invoice event will be created for charges related to a bundle sold to a customer (and all plans in the bundle) on the billing day as set up in the customer’s business details. The charge will appear on the invoice on the date the event is triggered, which may or may not be the same day as an invoice is generated.
Bundle Event types include:
| Bundle Event |
Description |
| Generate Invoice: |
Causes an invoice to be generated for the Customer. This event processes special features such as discounts and surcharges.
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| Notification: |
Allows email notifications to be sent to customers for account activities such as payment due, contract completion, contract renew etc. |
| Renew: |
Automatically renews the contract after the contract expires. |
| One Off Charge: |
Sets a one off charge on the invoice. |
| Point of Sale: |
Sets a once off charge on the invoice for goods sold with the Bundle, such as equipment. Point of Sale events cause an invoice to be generated on Plan Sale creation. |
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Plan Event types are Service dependant and may include:
| Plan Event |
Description |
| Usage |
Determines the charges for service usage (e.g. telephony, data or transactions). Usage Rules can be set up that allow Rates to be associated with various days of week and times of day. |
| One Off Charge |
Sets a one off charge on the invoice. |
| Periodic Fees |
Sets a charge that is applied based upon the period that is currently being billing, either in advance or arrears. Like all events, a Periodic Fee can be defined as reoccurring by adjusting the invoice cycle in which the event occurs. If the periodic fee starts at a different time to the Customers Billing Date the Periodic Fees will be Prorated. |
| Point of Sale |
Sets a once off charge on the invoice for goods sold with the plan, such as equipment. Point of Sale events cause an invoice to be generated on Plan Sale creation. |
| Activation / Deactivate |
Contract exit strategies can be defined that can:
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continue a plan indefinitely once the contract expires; |
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roll an End User onto a new plan; |
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inform customers when their contract is due to expire through notifications, such as email; |
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charge exit fees if an End User terminates a plan before it’s completion; or |
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Automatically deactivates a plan on the nominated billing cycle and applies a deactivation charge. |
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| Reactivate |
Automatically reactivates a plan on the nominated billing cycle and applies a reactivation charge. |
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The Events Index function lists all events for all active plans and bundles. Bundle and plan events created when bundles are sold are listed with the customer, supplier, plan or bundle name, bundle sale number, date scheduled, date triggered, date completed, event type, billing cycle and status.
To help you identify the different event types, you can choose to display the list of events colour coded by event type and / or billing cycle. You can also cancel (or delete) a scheduled event (e.g. if a plan is cancelled etc).
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The Rates function allows charges associated with Usage Event types to be set up, known as a Rate Card. One or more Rate Cards can be associated with each Usage Event type allowing segmentation of costs over time (e.g. the duration of a phone call) to be associate with your services and plans.
The Rates function also stores historical Rate information, allowing all modifications to include an effective dates that which defines when the rate is active. By storing historical Rate information, the Emersion system can perform historical billing, such as re-generating Customer Invoices for a previous billing period.
Tariffs can be hierarchically grouped into many levels, and a default flagfall (e.g. for a voice service) and rate may be set for each level. Each Rate Card contains a base tariff with default rates and flagfall that will be charged if a tariff is encountered that does not exist, so you’ll never miss invoicing for charges received from your suppliers.
Rate Element hierarchy can be graphically displayed as:
The tariff rates will show the rate and flagfall amounts including and excluding tax. By default, the tax rate is 10%. However, the View Rate function allows you to show the tax inclusive amounts calculated with a different tax percentage.
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The Update Rate function allows the tariffs of an existing rate group to be updated. You can not modify the rate name, plan type or description.
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The Upload Rates function allows the tariffs, rates, flagfalls and effective dates of a rate group to be uploaded into the system from a .CSV file. This can save you time when you need to modify your rates. Instead of manually updating each tariff one-by-one using the Update Rate function, you can use the Download and Upload functions to make your changes via a .CSV file. Download your current rates into a .CSV file then make changes using MS Excel, or other spreadsheet application. When you are finished, simply upload the .CSV file into the system.
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Telephony Usage Rules define the rates charged for telephony plans, such as preselect, override or VoIP. You can apply different rates to different days of the week, varying times of day and / or different call lengths. The system provides complete flexibility.
The rates for services must first be set up via the Rates module. Only rates set up for the service type of the plan will be available in the usage rules.
Telephony usage rules hold one or more rules that can each contain one or more date and time ranges, call length ranges, with the associated rates. You can associate the same rates with one or more rules.
The Edit Usage Rules window below shows the following Telephony Usage Rules Example:
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All Day Saturday and Sunday (00 – 23), “Override Off Rates” applies for all calls (i.e. all call lengths). |
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Monday to Friday, between 8:00am and 6:59pm, “Override Rate Plan 1” applies for all calls. |
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Monday to Friday, between 7:00pm and 7:59am, the default call charge and flagfall, as set up in the plan event, will apply. |
Once you have set rates, created plans and added plans to bundles, you can sell the bundles to your Entities. Each bundle can be sold to many Entities.
Once a Bundle is sold, Events are triggered (such as invoice generation), which contain the charges configured in each Event (i.e. all Bundle and Plan Events associated with the Bundle and its Plans).
Line items can be added to a Bundle Sale for sundry charges, such as installation fees, transfer fees and service charges etc.
The View function displays information about a bundle sale. Information displayed about a bundle sale includes:
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Details - date, bundle and customer information. |
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Plans - all plans in the bundle with their status and available actions (e.g. provisioning, call logs etc. see below). |
The system automatically generates invoices for all bundles sold. Invoices are created based on the event parameters set up in each bundle, as well as the event parameters of the plans within each bundle. Line items can be added to the sale for individual charges that are not part of the standard bundle (i.e. specific to each sale, such as connection fees etc).
Once a Sale is made the Service can be provisioned using the SMS Module
Line items can be added for individual charges relating to the sale of the bundle or against a plan within a bundle, such as installation fee, service charge etc. Though bundles and plans may contain one-off or point of sale charges, they apply every time the bundle and plan is sold. Line item charges only apply to an individual bundle or plan sale.
The line items will appear on the customer’s invoice on the date selected, with the amount and description entered. Line items of a plan will appear under the charges associated with the plan, whereas line items of a bundle will appear with other charges associated with the bundle, above plan charges.
The Billing Sub-System automatically generates invoices for all Bundles sold to customers, via the Generate Invoice Bundle Event. A single, unified bill is presented, showing your customer’s plans and charges. The day invoices are generated depends on each Customer’s individual billing preferences, as well as the Generate Invoice Event’s settings.
 A single invoice will be generated for each business per billing cycle. The billing cycle is defined by the bundle’s generate invoice event parameters. The day that invoices are sent to businesses is defined by the billing parameters of each business (i.e. debit cycle and debit day).
Each invoice will contain all charges for all bundles purchased by the business, including all charges set up in each bundle’s events, and charges set up in the bundle’s plan’s events.
After invoice generation, the Client may choose to accept all or some invoices prior to the invoice being sent to the Customer via their chosen method. If the Client rejects an invoice they will have to raise a Support ticket and provide details of the reason for the rejection. The invoice(s) will be regenerated by Emersion after discussion (and resolution if required) of the billing issue.
Invoices received by, and sent to, each Customer can be listed with the invoice number, payer/payee, date generated, due date, period, and amount due. The Invoice details can be viewed, showing the date issued, date due, total charges (i.e. for previous unpaid invoices), and current charges. The Invoice charges are shown with each charge’s item description, date applied, value, charge, and tax.
Invoices are generated in Adobe® Acrobat® PDF format. The Invoice .PDF file can be downloaded and saved, or viewed on line. If the Customer has specified that they wish to receive their invoice by email, as defined in the Entity Management System Module, then it will be emailed as an attachment to an email which is in text format only. The content of this email is not alterable by the Client at this time, and will be set up by Emersion.
The Invoice .PDF format, such as the company logo, first page header, subsequent page headers, payment options panel, and service charges headings, are defined using Invoice Templates. These Templates are specifically formatted .PDF files (as defined by Emersion), that are uploaded and configured for each Client. The system does not currently support unique (Per Customer) Bpay or Billpost account Identifiers yet!
The System presents a user friendly interface to manage Plans and Bundles offered to Customers. Events control billing and life cycle elements associated with Plans and Bundles. Customer Invoices are generated in a standard format that can be viewed on line, as well as downloaded or viewed in Adobe® .PDF format. All charges are presented broken down by Bundle, Plan and service usage.
Later Releases will see interfaces to third party mail houses to print and distribute postal mail and Faxing, if combined with a fax gateway, as options for Invoice distribution.
Using the Emersion web portal, customers (via My account) can view their invoice on-line and actually drill down through each billing element to show detailed information, such as rules or features associated with the charge, as well as their billing history. A complete audit trail allows your customers to view and download any existing bill at any time.
The Billing Sub-System provides a data download facility to export generated invoices and invoice details (as displayed in the .PDF) into a .CSV file. The .CSV file can then be loaded into an Excel spreadsheet or the Clients accounting (or other) software application provided the application can handle the Emersion defined CSV format, or altered by the Client.
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