Usage Rate Groups

Overview

Rate groups are used to contain one or more rates. Rate groups are added to rate plans and those rate plans are then attached to packages and other system entities in order to specify the rates that apply to usage (for a complete list of entities that rate plans can be attached to see the rate plans screen help). If you are only rating usage using a few rates or a single rate (for example, data usage may be billed at a singular rate) then your rates may be best organized into a single rate group. If you are rating calls, airtime, messaging or other types of usage with rates that differ by location/carrier then multiple rate groups will be needed.

Rate groups can be setup to be utilized under specific conditions if desired. For instance, a rate group can be configured to be used only within specific hours, on specific days, or used only when certain conditions are met (e.g. usage is coming from a particular provider). In cases where rate groups are conditional at least one other rate group must exist in the rate plan to ensure usage can be rated when the configured condition is not met.

Prerequisites

Rate groups can be setup as needed, there are no prerequisite configuration steps. Once rate groups are setup you can create rates which can be added to the rate group.

The Usage Rate Groups Panel

The Usage Rate Groups panel on the left of this screen allows you to select existing rate groups to view and edit on the Edit Usage Rate Group panel to the right. Actions are also available in this panel which are shown as icons above the Filter text box. The available actions are described below.

Actions

Icon	Description
	Retires the selected rate group
	Clones the selected rate group
	Deletes the selected rate group and all rates configured on the rate group
	Adds a new rate group

The Usage Rate Groups List

The rate groups list on the left of the screen shows rate groups that are currently setup.

When you select a rate group in the list additional details will be displayed in the Edit Usage Rate Group panel to the right. These details are explained below.

The Edit Usage Rate Group Panel

The information in this panel reflects the currently selected rate group. From here you can change rate group details (fields will display a red left border if a value is required and purple text if the field is read-only and cannot be modified).

Edit Usage Rate Group Fields and Options:

• Name: a unique and meaningful name for the rate group (data rates, international rates, etc.)

• Display Name: an optional field which allows you to specify a user friendly rate group description that can be presented on invoices or reports if desired

• Start: the date and time when the rate group is available for use

• Use For Cost: configures the rate group as a 'cost' rate group. Rates added to a for cost rate group will be considered 'cost' rates and referenced when a rate in an adjacent rate group within the same rate plan has a 'Rate Type' of 'Markup'. For example, if a SMS mobile originating rate with a 'Markup' rate type exists in a rate group, then when rating occurs the charge for this rate will be determined by looking for a 'Use For Cost' rate group within the same rate plan. If the for cost rate group exists with a SMS-MO class rate then that cost rate will be marked up to determine the rate to charge. If no matching 'for cost' rate group with the appropriate rate is found then a rating exception will occur when attempting to calculate the markup rate

• Currency: allows you set the currency the rates within the group will be converted to. The rate group will be used when the account the usage charges relate to is configured with the same currency as the rate group. For instance, if a rate group currency is set to 'Euro' and the account the usage belongs to is set to Euro currency, then rating will execute converting the usage charges into Euros. If the account the usage belongs to is configured to use USD as its currency and there is no United States Dollar currency rate group in the same rate plan then a rating exception will occur

• Aggregate Rates: if enabled the rate group will be configured to contain aggregated (tiered) rates. When rates are setup they will only display tiering configuration options only if they are connected to a rate group that has this Aggregate Rates setting enabled. Aggregated rates are rated at the end of a billing period instead of rating the usage as it is processed (fed into the system). Tiering configuration options are displayed on aggregated rates, allowing you to adjust the rate applied based on the amount of usage (e.g. $1.00 per GB for the first 10 GB of usage, followed by $0.75 per GB for all usage beyond 10GB). Aggregated rates can only be configured using either the Rated or the Rated Markup rate types

• Time Period: an optional field which allows you to select a time period where rates in this rate group will be applicable (e.g. evenings, weekends). You can define time periods on the time period screen

• Pass Through Rating: allows usage charges to be passed through the system so that another application can handle rating activities. When this option is enabled rating will not occur in LogiSense Billing, the usage will simply be mapped to the appropriate account. The following rate values will be null for pass through rates: Amount, Additional, UsageRoundingID, GeoTreeLocationID (Any rates that use the GeoTree rater will default their location to /Everywhere), GeoTreeLocationGroupID, MinimumCharge, UsageUnit and UsageRateCalculationTypeID

• Amount Precision: the number of digits to round the amount to after the decimal place. This rounding occurs during rating. If this value is left empty the rate plan will use the amount precision configured under the owner's mediation & rating configuration. A maximum precision length of eleven digits is supported

• Amount Rounding Type: allows you to specify how to round the amount during rating. The options are Round Half Up and Round Up. Round Half Up is midpoint rounding, meaning a value of 5 or more is required to round up when rounding the amount to the configured amount precision. Round up will round any value greater than zero up. If a legacy rate group exists without this setting specified then the Amount Rounding Type value set on the Owner screen under the Mediation & Rating tab will be used

Rates

The Rates tab shows you the rates that are assigned to the current group. Rates are added to groups when rates are configured.

Plans

The Plans tab shows you the rate plans that the current rate group is assigned to. Rate groups are added to rate plans when rate plans are configured.

Conditions

The Conditions tab allows you to define conditions that must be met for the rate group to be used. For example, if you have a usage feed for network X and another usage feed for network Y (with network Y offering more favorable rates), you could setup a condition 'UDR Feed Equals Network Y', which when met would result in rates from the group being used. If the condition is not met then rates from another rate group in the same rate plan will be used. See the guides under this article for details on how to setup conditions.

Associating Rates with Rate Groups

Once a rate group has been setup you can associate rates with the group on the Usage Rates configuration screen.

Adding Rate Groups

The first step in the configuring rating in the system is to define rate groups. Once complete individual rates can then be assigned to their respective rate group. To add groups:

1. Under the heading Usage Rate Groups click on the  icon

2. Under the Add Usage Rate Group heading on the right specify the rate group details.

3. Next you have the option of setting up Conditions which allow rates in a specific rate group to be used if a configured condition is met (e.g. rate data usage at $5.00 per GB when data is used from a specific location). To setup conditions follow the steps below, otherwise click Save to create your rate group without conditions

   1. On the Conditions tab click on the +New button

   2. Specify the Usage Attribute the condition will apply to, for instance 'Originating Identifier'

   3. Specify the Operator, for instance 'Equals', 'Contains', etc.

   4. Specify the Value that the Field and Operator will trigger on, for example a phone number, usage class, etc.

   5. Click the Add button and the new condition will be shown on the Conditions tab. Once you save the rate group the condition will be saved as well

4. When you have completed configuring your new rate group click the Save button in the lower right

Retiring Rate Groups

1. Under the Usage Rate Groups heading select the rate group you wish to retire

2. In the same panel click on the  icon

3. Specify a Retirement Date for the rate group

4. If you need to create a new rate group with similar settings to replace the group being retired, select the Create New Clone checkbox

5. Click Retire

6. When the group reaches its retirement date it will appear in the list as 'Retired' instead of 'Active'

Cloning Rate Groups

When cloning a rate group the rates within the group will also be cloned. This permits you to modify rates in the cloned group without affecting rates contained in the original rate group. To clone a rate group follow the steps below.

1. Under the Usage Rate Groups heading select the rate group you wish to clone

2. In the same panel click on the  icon

3. Enter a Name, Display Name and Start Date for the cloned rate group

4. Click the Clone button

5. Modify the rate group further if needed (add time periods, conditions, etc.)

6. Click Save when finished to create the new rate group

Deleting Rate Groups

1. Under the Usage Rate Groups heading select the rate group you wish to delete

2. In the same panel click on the  icon

3. On the confirmation pop-up select Yes