Overview
Usage buckets are attached to services in order to provide included usage and usage tiers. Usage buckets utilize base buckets to define basic bucket properties such as the unit of usage deducted from the bucket (data, time, money, etc.), the usage classes that apply to the bucket (data, airtime, events, etc.) and the locations that are applicable to the bucket (Everywhere, North America, etc.). Usage buckets extend the attributes provided by base buckets to create the bucket that is attached to services. With usage buckets you can configure a one-time or recurring bucket, setup tiers with flat charges and/or rated usage charges, amongst other options explained in this guide. Usage buckets can be attached to services in the product catalog, or added as needed to services on accounts.
Prerequisites
Base buckets need to be configured before usage buckets can be setup
Rate plans need to be setup if you intend to charge for rated usage (vs. configuring only flat charges) on bucket tiers
Buckets Panel
The Buckets panel on the left of this screen allows you to select existing usage buckets to view and edit on the Edit Bucket 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 |
|---|---|
 | Deletes the selected usage bucket if not in use (attached to a service) |
 | Adds a new usage bucket |
Buckets List
The buckets list on the left of the screen shows usage buckets that are currently setup.
When you select a bucket in the list additional details will be displayed in the Edit Bucket panel to the right. These details are explained below.
Edit Bucket Panel
The information in this panel reflects the currently selected usage bucket. From here you can change bucket 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).
Bucket Fields and Options:
Note: Some of the fields below only appear when configuring certain types of usage buckets (e.g. a recurring bucket or billing activation bucket).
Name: a descriptive name for the bucket
Base Bucket: the base bucket configuration to use. Determines the unit that the bucket uses, usage classes that are applicable to the bucket and other base characteristics. See the base buckets guide for more information
Billing Activation: this setting will configure the bucket as a billing activation bucket, which can only be added to billing activation services (see the services help for more information on billing activation services). When this option is enabled usage threshold and time expiry settings will appear. These activation settings determine when to trigger billing for packages that are configured with a billing activation service. For example you could configure '1' 'Megabyte' and '1' 'Week' and any package setup with an activation service using the activation bucket would become active when either a megabyte of data is used (combined usage from all of the services in the package) or a week has gone by since the package was added to the account (whichever condition is met first)
Prorate: if enabled this setting will prorate the usage provided in the 1st tier when the bucket is added to a service on an account. E.g. if a monthly recurring bucket is added on the 15th of the month and the account's bill day is set to the 1st of the month, the normal allotment of Tier 1 usage on the bucket will be halved. If this setting is enabled proration will also occur when canceling the service the bucket resides on, truncating the usage provided and potentially pushing usage consumed to date into additional tiers/overage
Last Tier Repeats: enabling this option will cause the final tier on the bucket to repeat (including the flat charge, if applicable) when the final tier threshold is reached. If this option is not selected once the threshold on the last tier is reached the rate to charge will be determined by finding another rate plan (e.g. a rate plan on the account-service, account, etc.). For more information on rate plan selection behavior see the rate plans help
Recur Type: determines if the bucket will be replenished or will expire after being used up. The options are:
Nonrecurring: used to create a one-time bucket. When the allotted bucket usage is consumed it will not be replenished and the bucket will no longer be used
Recurring: the bucket is reset (replenished) based on the recur frequency specified. When the bucket recurs usage will again count against the 1st tier configured on the bucket
Expire After: when a nonrecurring bucket should expire. Enter a number and unit, e.g. 'Expire After' > 1, 'Unit' > Year. The Expire After field will only appear when selecting the 'Nonrecurring' Recur Type
Recur Frequency: how often the bucket will be replenished. Enter a number and unit e.g. 'Recur Frequency' > 1, 'Unit' > Month. This field will only appear if the bucket is configured to recur
Expire After Recurrence: allows you to expire the bucket after it recurs a specific number of times. If left empty the bucket will recur indefinitely. This field will only appear if the bucket Recur Type is configured with a recurring option.
Tiers tab
Bucket tiers provide a means of configuring tiers of usage (data, airtime, events, etc.) on a bucket. A flat charge can be applied when entering a tier and tier specific usage rates can also apply if a rate plan is selected in the tier configuration. A tier with a flat charge of zero and no rate plan will provide free usage when entering the tier or consuming usage while within the tier threshold. The guides section below describes how to configure tiers on a usage bucket.