Rating as a processor
The Rating processor allows you to generate an individual rated amount for each usage event by calculating charges based on usage quantity and pricing configuration. It evaluates usage data against charge definitions to produce rated records.
The Rating processor is currently in the Early Availability Phase. If you wish to enable this processor, contact your Zuora account representative.
When usage is rated through the Rating Operator in Mediation and sent to the Rating system, Zuora strongly recommends that the corresponding charge uses a natural month billing period (eg: calendar month).
Since Mediation does not have visibility into the subscription’s billing cycle, using non-standard billing periods may result in misalignment between the accumulated usage and the intended billing period. Aligning to natural months helps ensure consistent and accurate rating outcomes.
Field mapping
The Rating processor requires specific fields to be mapped in the processor configuration.
|
Field |
Required |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Account Number |
Yes |
Unique identifier of the Zuora customer account. |
|
Quantity |
Yes |
The amount of usage to be rated. |
|
Charge Number |
No |
Unique identifier of the charge. Optional if product rate plan charge number is used. |
|
Subscription Number |
No |
Identifier for the subscription. Optional if product rate plan charge number is used. |
|
Product Rate Plan Charge Number |
No |
Identifier for the product rate plan charge. Optional alternative to using charge and subscription number to support dynamic charge model. |
|
Price Quantity |
No |
A running total or value to find the right tier for volume and tier charge model. |
At least one of the following must be provided:
- Charge Number
- Subscription Number
- Product Rate Plan Charge Number
- The processor generates billed usage events that include pricing based on your Zuora product catalog.
- To generate accurate billing events, the identifiers and quantity fields must be mapped correctly.
- Use the Audit Trail Download functionality to monitor and debug your data flow.
Rating operator for tiered- pricing model
In the tiered pricing model, the Rating operator must receive cumulative usage as Pricing Quantity, grouped by charge number and/or account number. Without this, tier rates may be applied incorrectly for each event.
For example:
Day 1 = 10 units, Day 2 = 5 units
Day 2’s Pricing quantity must be 15, not 5.
For tiered pricing models, the Price Quantity field in the Rating Operator must represent the accumulated usages up to the event being processed. This accumulation should be grouped by:
- Account Number AND Charge Number: Zuora recommends this grouping for most scenarios to ensure that usages are accumulated specifically for a given charge under a particular customer account. This provides the most granular and accurate rating.
- Charge Number (if unique per account): If your system guarantees that the Charge Number is inherently unique across all accounts (e.g., a globally unique identifier for each charge instance), grouping by charge number alone might be sufficient.
Significance of accumulated usage for tiered pricing
Accumulated usage is critical for tiered pricing model as it evaluates the total consumption within a defined period to determine the applicable price tier. If the Price Quantity only reflects the current event's usage, the system will incorrectly apply rates, leading to under- or over-billing. By accumulating usages, the Rating Operator can accurately determine which tier the total consumption falls into.