Usage rating by group
Usage rating by group allows you to group usage records by a rating group option within a billing period. Zuora calculates the total quantity of each rating group and applies the pricing rule based on each rating group. The amount billed in a billing period is the sum of all the rated amounts of each rating group in the billing period.
Usage rating by group gives you more flexibility in rating usages. You can specify a rating group option if you use the per unit, volume pricing, or tiered pricing charge model. For other charge models, usages are rated based on the billing period. The price you defined in the charge model is applied for each rating group rather than the whole billing period.
Zuora provides the following rating group options when creating a product rate plan charge:
- By Billing Period. Usage records in the same billing period are in a rating group.
- By Usage Start Date. Usage records on the same usage start date are in a rating group.
- By Usage Record. Each usage record is a rating group.
- By Usage Upload. Usage records in the same usage file (
.xlsor.csv) are in a rating group. If you import a mass usage in a single upload, which contains multiple usage files in.xlsor.csvformat, usage records are grouped for each usage file. For each rating group, Zuora calculates the charge amount based on each billing period. - Custom Group. Usage records in the same custom group are in a rating group. You can define the group ID for each usage record when you create usage records or import usage files through the REST API. Usage records without any group ID are in one group. This option is only for the volume pricing or tiered pricing charge models.
To select this option in REST and SOAP APIs:
- REST Create subscription: Set the ratingGroup field to ByGroupId.
- SOAP ProductRatePlanCharge and RatePlanCharge objects: Set the RatingGroup field to ByGroupId.
Note: The Custom Group option is only available if you have the Active Rating feature enabled.
Configuration
You can specify a rating group for usage rating when you create a rate plan charge from the Zuora UI, SOAP API, and REST API.
See the following references to define a usage group in a charge:
- Zuora UI: Create Product Rate Plan Charges.
- SOAP API: Specify the RatingGroup field on the ProductRatePlanCharge object.
- REST API: Specify the ratingGroup field in the Create subscription operation.
Example scenario for usage rating in group
This example shows you how usage charges are calculated on volume pricing based when different rating group options are selected.
Suppose you provide a volume-based Home Phone Service. The rate plan for your service is as follows:
- Charge Model: Volume Pricing
- UOM: Minutes
- Billing Period: Month
- Billing Day: Subscription Start Day
- Price Table: This price table is applied for each rating group rather than for the whole billing period.
Tier From To List Price Price Format 1 0 50 $11 Per Unit 2 51 100 $10 Per Unit 3 101 - $9 Per Unit - The Round and determine a price for usage records individually when rating usage charges? setting is set to No.
A customer subscribes to your service for a year starting January 1, 2018. Later you import the following usage data for your customer in two upload files:
Usage data in the uploading1.xls file:
| Start Date | Quantity | UOM | File Name | Group ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2018 | 20 | Minutes | uploading1.xls | Group A |
| 01/16/2018 | 90 | Minutes | uploading1.xls | Group A |
| 02/01/2018 | 80 | Minutes | uploading1.xls | Group B |
| 02/16/2018 | 15 | Minutes | uploading1.xls | Group A |
Usage data in the uploading2.xls file:
| Start Date | Quantity | UOM | File Name | Group ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2018 | 50 | Minutes | uploading2.xls | Group B |
| 02/16/2018 | 100 | Minutes | uploading2.xls | Group A |
The charge amount will vary according to the rating group option you choose:
Usage rating by billing period
The By Billing Period option groups usage records from the uploading1.xls and uploading2.xls files by monthly billing period. The usage records from these files are divided into two rating groups representing billing periods:
- 01/01/2018 - 01/31/2018
- 02/01/2018 - 02/28/2018
The following table describes how the quantity and charge amount are calculated for each rating group.
| Rating Group (Billing Period) | Total Quantity | Tier | Charge Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2018 - 01/31/2018 | 160 =(20+90+50) | 3 | $1440 |
| 02/01/2018 - 02/28/2018 | 195 =(80+15+100) | 3 | $1755 |
The following table shows the generated invoice details for each billing period:
| Service Period | Quantity | Invoice Total |
|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2018 to 01/31/2018 | 160 | $1440 |
| 02/01/2018 to 02/28/2018 | 195 | $1755 |
For charges using the on-demand rating, rating by billing period behaves in a different way. See On-demand usage rating for details.
Usage rating by usage record
The By Usage Record option groups each usage record as a rating group. The usage records from the uploading1.xls and uploading2.xls files include six rating groups.
The following table describes how the quantity and charge amount are calculated for each rating group.
| Rating Group (Usage Record) | Total Quantity | Tier | Charge Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2018 | 20 | 1 | $220 |
| 01/16/2018 | 90 | 2 | $900 |
| 02/01/2018 | 80 | 2 | $800 |
| 02/16/2018 | 15 | 1 | $165 |
| 01/01/2018 | 50 | 1 | $550 |
| 02/16/2018 | 100 | 2 | $1000 |
The following table shows the generated invoice details for each billing period:
| Service Period | Quantity | Invoice Total |
|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2018 to 01/31/2018 | 160 | $1670 |
| 02/01/2018 to 02/28/2018 | 195 | $1965 |
Usage rating by usage start date
The By Usage Start Date option groups usage records from the uploading1.xls and uploading2.xls files by the start date of the usages. The usage records from these files are divided into four rating groups representing start dates:
- 01/01/2018
- 01/16/2018
- 02/01/2018
- 02/16/2018
The following table describes how the quantity and charge amount are calculated for each rating group.
| Rating Group (Usage Start Date) | Total Quantity | Tier | Charge Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2018 | 70 =(20+50) | 2 | $700 |
| 01/16/2018 | 90 | 2 | $900 |
| 02/01/2018 | 80 | 2 | $800 |
| 02/16/2018 | 115 =(100+15) | 3 | $1035 |
The following table shows the generated invoice details for each billing period:
| Service Period | Quantity | Invoice Total |
|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2018 to 01/31/2018 | 160 | $1600 |
| 02/01/2018 to 02/28/2018 | 195 | $1835 |
Usage rating by usage upload
The By Usage Upload option groups usage records from the uploading1.xls and uploading2.xls files by usage upload file. The usage records from these files are divided into two rating groups representing usage upload files:
- uploading1.xls
- uploading2.xls
The following table describes how the quantity and charge amount are calculated for each rating group.
| Rating Group (Upload File) | Billing Period | Total Quantity | Tier | Charge Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| uploading1.xls | 01/01/2018 to 01/31/2018 | 110 =(20+90) | 3 | $990 |
| uploading1.xls | 02/01/2018 to 02/28/2018 | 95 =(80+15) | 2 | $950 |
| uploading2.xls | 01/01/2018 to 01/31/2018 | 50 | 1 | $550 |
| uploading2.xls | 02/01/2018 to 02/28/2018 | 100 | 2 | $1000 |
The following table shows the generated invoice details for each billing period:
| Service Period | Quantity | Invoice Total |
|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2018 to 01/31/2018 | 160 | $1540 |
| 02/01/2018 to 02/28/2018 | 195 | $1950 |
Usage rating by custom group
The By Custom Group option groups usage records from the uploading1.xls and uploading2.xls files by group ID. The usage records from these files are divided into two rating groups representing group IDs:
- Group A
- Group B
The following table describes how the quantity and charge amount are calculated for each rating group.
| Rating Group (Custom Group) | Billing Period | Total Quantity | Tier | Charge Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A | 01/01/2018 to 01/31/2018 | 110 =(20+90) | 3 | $990 |
| Group A | 02/01/2018 to 02/28/2018 | 115 =(100+15) | 3 | $1035 |
| Group B | 01/01/2018 to 01/31/2018 | 50 | 1 | $550 |
| Group B | 02/01/2018 to 02/29/2018 | 80 | 2 | $800 |
The following table shows the generated invoice details for each billing period:
| Service Period | Quantity | Invoice Total |
|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2018 to 01/31/2018 | 160 | $1540 |
| 02/01/2018 to 02/29/2018 | 195 | $1835 |