This chapter provides an overview of account creation and management in the communications and energy industries and discusses how to:
Manage accounts.
View bills.
Manage disputes.
Manage prepaid accounts.
Create an order or quote for a prepaid account.
Activate prepaid or postpaid accounts.
Convert a prepaid account to a postpaid account.
The account framework enables communication service providers (CSPs) and energy companies to manage the services and products that customers purchase or subscribe to. All requests and orders, whether for new services or changes to existing services, are managed at the account level. Invoices are generated at the account level. Accounts contain billing information such as bill payment type, invoice frequency, and bill payment information, including credit card numbers.
Accounts can have a single or multiple users, and more than one person can use a particular service. For example, a residential DSL customer might have four family members who access the service. Each family member has an individual email ID. Out of these four, the head of the household is the both the account manager and the billing administrator and can add subordinate accounts, make changes to payment details, add, modify, or delete services, and so on. The bills for the service go to the head of household. The other three members of the family are account members and can only view account details and details of their individual usage.
Account Creation
Accounts are created in three ways:
Through the Order Management business process to meet specific requirements of a billing application. PeopleSoft CRM integrates with any standard billing system, including PeopleSoft billing. CSPs gather essential information for account creation (primary contact, payment type, payment details, and so on) during new order capture or as part of a business project that is associated with new order capture.
By a CSR in response to a request from a customer contact. The contact must have either the billing account administrator or account manager role. The system validates the contact's relationship to the company or consumer through the 360-Degree view.
Bulk import of Prepaid Accounts that are owned by anonymous Prepaid Customer. These accounts are setup for Prepaid Package services that are sold through storefronts.
Regardless of which method is used to create accounts, integration with the postpaid and/or prepaid billing system ensures that the information in CRM and the billing system are in sync.
Account Management
Users with the proper permissions can manage accounts, including:
Modifying account details such as payment details, billing cycles, and address information.
Adding users to the account.
Setting up relationships between accounts.
Viewing bill history, dispute history, and audits.
There are database triggers on Account that audit the changes made to an account.
Note. Database triggers are not supported on DB2/UNIX platform. Changes to Billing Account cannot be audited on DB2 LUM platform because DB2 LUM does not support database auditing with PeopleTools 8.50.
Refer to PeopleTools 8.52: Data Management PeopleBook for more information on database triggers.
See Also
Setting Up Application Security for Billing Accounts
Setting Up Billing Integration for the Communication and Energy Industries
PeopleTools 8.52: Data Management PeopleBook
This section discusses:
Prepaid account information.
Prepaid account management process.
You can view the account information retrieved synchronously from the prepaid billing system. The information displayed includes:
The account balance available to spend and the status of the prepaid billing account.
MSISDN or phone number for the prepaid account.
Usage history and charges for all phone calls, one-time charges.
Payment history including amount, date, and method.
Non-services related charges.
Display the prepaid services associated with a prepaid account.
Note. You can create a prepaid account directly in the Account Details page.
The prepaid account management process enables you to:
Add or maintain the overall details of the account.
View the account balance available to spend and top-up the account.
View the usage and charges for all phone calls.
View payment amounts, dates, and methods.
View the prepaid services.
View the activity on the account.
This section discusses how to:
Maintain account details.
Maintain account membership.
Manage account balances.
Manage account usage.
Manage bill history.
View installed products.
Note. This section discusses managing postpaid accounts.
These are accounts of types — Sponsoring, Sponsored, Parent, Subordinate, and Individual..
Prepaid Accounts are discussed in the Prepaid
Account chapters in this PeopleBook.
See Understanding Prepaid Accounts for Communication Service Providers, Setting Up Prepaid Account Management.
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
Account Details |
RBT_ACCOUNT_PG |
|
Maintain account details, information generated by the billing system, payment information, and address information. |
Change Account Details |
RBT_CHGACTDTL_SEC |
Click the Change Account Details button on the Account Details page. |
Update the account information, such as account name and other accounts that are associated to it. |
Change Billing Cycle |
RBT_CHGBILCYC_SEC |
Click the Change Billing Cycle button on the Account Details page. |
Modify billing cycle interval and day. |
Change Payment Details |
RBT_CHNGPAY_PG |
Click the Change Payment Details button on the Account Details page. |
Modify payment method information. |
Add Address |
RBT_CHGACTADR_SEC |
Click the Add New Address button on the Account Details page. |
Add a new billing address. |
Change Access Question |
RBT_CHGACTACS_SEC |
Click the Change Billing Cycle button on the Account Details page. |
Modify the security question that callers must answer to obtain account access. |
Members |
RBT_ACCT_PERSON |
|
Maintain the membership list for an account. |
Balance |
RBT_ACCT_BAL_PG |
Customer Accounts, Search Account, Balance |
View current and opening balances and dispute balances. |
Usage |
RBT_ACCT_USAGE_PG |
Customer Accounts, Search Account, Usage |
View and dispute account usage. |
Bill History |
RBT_ACTBILL_REL_PG |
Customer Accounts, Search Account, Bill History |
View a summary of billing history for the account. |
Dispute History |
RBT_ACCTCASE_VW_PG |
Customer Accounts, Search Account, Dispute History |
View a list of disputes that were entered on the account. |
Installed Products |
RBT_ACCTPROD_PG |
Customer Accounts, Search Account, Installed Product |
View all installed products associated with the customer and the account. |
Audit |
RBT_ACCT_AUDIT |
Customer Accounts, Search Account, Audit |
View the audit trail of account activity. |
Access the Account Details page (Customer Accounts, Search Account, Account Details).
When adding an account, the CSR must verify that the caller is an account manager or billing administrator through the 360–Degree View pages before the information on this page becomes enterable. Subsequently, the information is updateable either by authorized persons through self-service pages or when a CSR clicks one of the buttons to access secondary pages. If the account is still in status Pending Activation, the information on this page is read-only and the buttons that access secondary pages where you can update information do not appear.
When billing account information is entered on this page or updated on secondary pages, the system both updates the data in CRM and publishes a message to the financial system to update the billing account in that system.
See Setting Up Billing Integration for the Communication and Energy Industries.
Account Details
Account Status |
Displays Active, Closed, On Hold, or Pending Activation. Change account status in the Service Management component. |
Account Type |
Select an account type to associate with the account. Valid values are Individual, Parent, Prepaid, Sponsored, Sponsoring, and Subordinate. When you select the Prepaid account type, the Account Details page automatically adjusts to hide the Current Billing Summary, Billing Details, and Payment Method group boxes. Note. PeopleSoft does not support the prepaid to postpaid conversion process for multilevel product bundles. Therefore, the conversion link is hidden when the account is associated with multilevel product bundles. Conversions can be performed for multilevel product bundles accounts using the convergent order functionality. For more information on setting up prepaid accounts, see the Prepaid Account chapters in this PeopleBook. |
Parent Account |
Enter the account number of the parent account, if this is a subordinate account. |
Sponsoring Account |
Enter the account number of the sponsoring account, if this is a sponsored account. |
Start Date and End Date |
Enter the date service is to begin and end for the account. |
Change Account Details |
Click to access the Change Account Details page where you can modify account information (Click the Change Account Details button on the Account Details page). |
Service Numbers |
Displays the service numbers that are directly paid by the account. This field does not appear if it is not applicable to the account. |
Current Billing Summary
These fields are all generated and returned by the billing system.
Last Bill ID |
Displays the last bill ID returned by the billing system. This information is updated when the bill is generated in the billing system and the account is updated with the latest bill. |
Last Bill Date |
Displays the date that the last bill was generated. This information is returned by the billing system and is updated when the bill is generated in the billing system. |
Current Bill ID |
Displays the current bill ID returned by the billing system. This information is updated when the bill is generated in the billing system. |
Current Bill Date |
Displays the date that the current bill was generated. This information is returned by the billing system and is updated when the bill is generated. |
Bill Start Date and Bill End Date |
Displays the start and end date for the current billing period. |
Next Bill Date |
Displays the date that the next bill will be generated in the billing system. |
Billing Details
These fields display details on the billing cycle.
Billing Cycle |
Displays the billing cycle, usually monthly, which is generated and returned by the billing system. |
Cycle Day |
Displays an integer from 1 to 28. The cycle date is generated and returned by the billing system. |
Change Billing Cycle |
Click to access the Change Billing Cycle page to update the billing cycle or cycle day (Click the Change Billing Cycle button on the Account Details page). |
Payment Method
Invoice |
Select if the customer elects to be invoiced for this account. |
Automatic Payment |
Select if the customer elects payment to be automatically withdrawn from a bank account. |
Account Number |
Displays the number of the account designated for the automatic payment. This field is blank if automatic payment is not selected. |
Bank Name |
Displays the name of the bank. This field is blank if automatic payment is not selected. |
Routing Number |
Displays the bank routing number. This field is blank if automatic payment is not selected. |
Credit Card |
Select if the customer elects payment by credit card. |
Credit Card Type |
Displays the credit card type (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or Diners Club/Carte Blanche). This field is blank if credit card payment is not selected. |
Credit Card Number, Expiration Month, Expiration Year, First Name on Card, and Last Name on Card |
Displays the number, expiration month, expiration year, and customer name on the credit card. These fields are blank if credit card payment is not selected. |
Change Payment Method |
Click to access the Change Payment Method page (Click the Change Payment Details button on the Account Details page). |
See Setting Up Credit Card Integration.
Address Information
These fields display the address or addresses associated with the account. You can edit current addresses or add new addresses.
Primary |
Select if this is the primary address for the account. |
Start Date and End Date |
Displays the effective dates for the address. |
Edit |
Click to access the Edit Address page. This button appears only for current or future effective-dated addresses. |
Add New Address |
Click to access the Add New Address page (Click the Add New Address button on the Account Details page). |
See Defining Name and Address Information for Business Objects.
Account Access Question
These fields verify the authenticity of the customer.
Access Question |
Displays a question used by the CSR to authenticate the customer. This data is not sent to the billing system. |
Access Answer |
Displays the answer to the access question. This data is not sent to the billing system. |
Change Access Question |
Click to access the Change Access Question page (Click the Change Billing Cycle button on the Account Details page). |
Access the Members page (Customer Accounts, Search Account, Members).
First Name and Last Name |
Enter this information and click the Add button to initiate a search for matching names. |
Primary Manager |
Select this check box to designate the person as the primary manager for the account. You can have multiple account managers but only one primary account manager. |
Role |
Select the role of the account member. Roles are either Account Manager or Account Member. |
Access the Balance page (Customer Accounts, Search Account, Balance).
Current Balance |
Displays the balance current as of the last call to the billing system. |
Opening Balance |
Displays the balance at the start of the billing cycle. |
Dispute Balance |
Click to open a case with a case type of Bill Dispute. The dispute type is Balance Dispute. The system creates a case if the threshold value for the number of dispute cases (RBTMAXDISP) is not reached. The system adjusts the dispute amount immediately if the threshold value for the maximum dispute amount (RBTMAXBALUSD) is not reached. Important! An error occurs when you click this button without first launching the 360-degree view, and selecting the customer. When you have selected the customer, return to the Account Details page and click the Dispute Balance button to create the dispute case. |
Get Balance |
Click to retrieve the current balance from the billing system. The system sends a request to the billing system to retrieve the latest account balance. |
Access the Usage page (Customer Accounts, Search Account, Usage).
Current Balance |
Displays the balance current as of the last call to the billing system. |
Opening Balance |
Displays the balance at the start of the billing cycle. |
Resource |
Displays the unit of measure, such as minutes. |
Dispute Usage |
Click to open a case with a case type of Bill Dispute. The dispute type is Usage Dispute. The system creates a case if the threshold value for the number of dispute cases (RBTMAXDISP) is not reached. The system adjusts the dispute amount immediately if the threshold value for the maximum dispute amount in usage (RBTMAXUSAGEMINS) is not reached. |
Get Usage |
Click to retrieve the current usage numbers from the billing system. The system sends a request to the billing system to retrieve the latest account usage information. |
Prepaid Accounts
The following fields are only available for the Prepaid account type.
Service Number |
Select a service number to review information related to its usage. Note. Usage information cannot display for service numbers that are indirectly paid by either non-primary split billing accounts or accounts owning the group offers. |
Date Range to Retrieve |
Select a period of time to view usage information for the selected account and service number. When you select a service number and date range, the fields in the Account Usage Summary group box automatically populate with usage information related to that service number. Note. If the account is associated only with a single service number, the usage information displays automatically with a default date range of 30 days. |
Date Time Stamp |
Displays the date and time associated with the usage line item. |
Usage Type |
Displays the type of usage associated with the usage line item. |
Description |
Displays a description of the service associated with the usage line item. |
Quantity |
Displays the number of services associated with the usage line item. |
Units |
Displays the number of units associated with the service in the usage line item. |
Unit Price |
Displays the unit price associated with the service in the usage line item. |
Charge Amount |
Displays the total amount charged for the service. |
Access the Bill History page (Customer Accounts, Search Account, Bill History).
Bill Number |
Click to access details of the bill number returned by the billing system. |
Amount |
Displays the bill amount returned by the billing system. |
Start Date and End Date |
Displays the start and end date for the bill returned by the billing system. |
Bill Due Date |
Displays the bill due date returned by the billing system. |
Get All Bills |
Click to display all bills for this account. The system sends a request to the billing system to retrieve the latest billing data. |
Access the Installed Products page (Customer Accounts, Search Accounts, Installed Products).
The system displays all installed products that are associated to the account.
Description |
Displays the description of an installed product that is associated to the account. Click the link to transfer to the corresponding installed product record. |
Top-Level Package |
Displays the description of the top-level service which contains the installed product that is paid by the account. This field is applicable to installed products that are created for multilevel product bundles. |
Split Billing |
Indicates, when selected, that the corresponding installed product is created for a split billing product and the account pays for its charges partially. |
See Also
The Account and Billing Framework enables CSPs to tightly integrate their external billing systems with PeopleSoft CRM and display account and billing information in one application desktop. In the CRM system, account and billing information is viewable using both the Account and View Bills components.
This section discusses how to:
View bill details.
View bill items summary.
View bill item details and bill events.
See Also
Setting Up Billing Integration for the Communication and Energy Industries
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
RBT_BILL_PG |
Customer Accounts, View Bills, Bill Details Click View Bill Details on the Bill History page |
Use this page to view account information, bill summary, and current charges. |
|
RBT_BILLITEMS_PG |
Customer Accounts, View Bills, Bill Details, Bill Items Summary Click the View Bill Details button on the Bill History page, and select the Bill Items Summary page. |
Use this page to view the list of items in the bill. |
|
RBT_ITEMDETAILS_PG |
Click Fetch Bills on the Bill Items Summary page |
Use this page to view the selected bill item in detail and create bill disputes. |
Access the Bill Details page (Customer Accounts, View Bills, Bill Details).
The Bill Details page provides information about the selected bill. Fields in the Account Details section are populated from the CRM system, whereas the rest are retrieved from the billing application.
Account Number |
The account number with which this bill is associated. |
Account Name |
The name of the owner of the account. |
Bill Number |
A unique bill identifier that is generated in the billing system. Note that the bill number is not the same as the account number. |
Bill Status |
The current status of this bill. |
Start Date |
The first day of the billing cycle. |
Parent Bill ID |
The billing ID of the parent account, which is generated in the CRM system. |
End Date |
The last day of the billing cycle. |
Bill Due Date |
The date by when this bill should be paid. |
Previous Total |
The total payment due from the last bill. |
Currency |
The currency used for the Previous Total and Total Due fields. |
Total Due |
The account balance due. |
Access the Bill Items Summary page (Customer Accounts, View Bills, Bill Details, Bill Items Summary).
Bill Number |
The unique bill identifier that is generated in the billing application. |
Fetch Bills |
Click to view the associated bill item in detail. |
Access the Bill Item Details page (Click Fetch Bills on the Bill Items Summary page).
Fields in the Bill Item Details section provide detailed information about a selected bill item. You can create bill disputes based on the item itself or its bill events (for example, phone call).
Item Status |
The status of the bill item. |
Total Received |
The total amount received for the bill item. |
Disputed Amount |
The amount in the bill item that is in dispute. |
Amount Adjusted |
The adjusted amount. |
Date Opened |
The start date of the dispute. |
Date Closed |
The end date of the dispute. |
Dispute Item |
Click to dispute the individual bill item. The system creates a case if the threshold value for the number of dispute cases (RBTMAXDISP) is not reached. The system adjusts the dispute amount immediately if the threshold value for maximum dispute amount in bill event (RBTMAXEVENTUSD) is not reached. |
This section provides an overview of dispute creation and discusses how to view dispute history.
Note. Dispute management is not applicable to prepaid accounts.
You must enter a case to dispute a bill amount or usage. On the case, if the amount in dispute is below a configured threshold, the dispute is resolved immediately, otherwise the CRM system captures and passes the following data elements from the case to the billing system:
Data Elements |
Description |
CASE_ID |
The dispute case ID. |
BUSINESS_UNIT |
The business unit for which the case is opened. |
RBTBILLID |
The bill identification number internal to the CRM system. |
RBTACCTID |
The account ID internal to the CRM system. |
RBTBILLSYSACCTID |
The corresponding account ID internal to the billing system. |
RBTBILLSYSTEM |
The external billing system name. |
RBTBILLSYSID |
The bill ID internal to the billing system. |
RBTBILLITEMID |
The bill item ID internal to the CRM system. |
RBTBILLSYSITEMID |
The bill item ID internal to the billing system. |
RBTEVENTID |
The bill event ID internal to the CRM system. |
RBTBILLSYSEVENTID |
The bill event ID internal to the billing system. |
RBTDISPTYPE |
The dispute type. Valid values are Balance, Usage, Event, and Item Dispute. |
RBTADJTYPE |
The dispute adjustment type. Valid values are Credit or Debit. |
RBTAMTADJ |
The adjusted amount. |
RBTRESOURCETYPE |
The type of resource adjusted. Valid values are Dollars or Minutes. |
RBTDISPREASON |
The reason for the dispute. |
RBTDISPUTEAMT |
The disputed amount. |
RBTDISPSTATUS |
The status of the dispute. Valid values are Approved, Denied, Hold, or Pending. |
DESR254 |
The dispute note. |
Note. The same logic applies to all disputes. The only difference is that in each type of dispute, the use of configuration threshold values is different.
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
Dispute History |
RBT_ACCTCASE_VW_PG |
Customer Accounts, Account, Dispute History |
View dispute history, both billing and usage. Disputes can be generated in the self-service component or the Account component. |
Access the Dispute History page (Customer Accounts, Account, Dispute History).
Number |
Displays the number assigned to the dispute. Click the link to access the dispute details. |
Status |
Displays Approved, Denied, Hold, or Pending. |
Date Created and Date Closed |
Displays when the dispute was created and resolved. |
Dispute Type |
Displays Bal Dispute (balance dispute), Usage Dispute, or Event. |
Adjustment Type |
Displays Credit or Debit. |
Resource Type |
Displays the unit of measure for the dispute: Dollars or Minutes. |
Disputed Amount |
Displays the amount of the dispute. |
This section discusses how to manage prepaid accounts.
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
Account Details |
RBT_ACCOUNT_PG |
Customer Accounts, Search Accounts, Account Details |
Maintain the overall details of the account. Note. You cannot use Add Account to add or create a prepaid account or to navigate to any prepaid account functionality. Prepaid accounts can only be created through the order process or imported. |
Members |
RBT_ACCT_PERSON |
Customer Accounts, Search Accounts, Members |
Maintain the membership list for an account. |
Balance and Payments |
RBT_ACCT_BAL_PG |
Customer Accounts, Search Accounts, Balance and Payments |
View the account balance available to spend and top-up the account. |
Usage |
RBT_ACCT_USAGE_PG |
Customer Accounts, Search Accounts, Usage |
View the usage and charges for all phone calls. |
Payment History |
RBT_ACTBILL_REL_PG |
Customer Accounts, Search Accounts, Payment History |
View payment amounts, dates, and methods. |
Access the Account Details page (Customer Accounts, Search Accounts, Account Details).
Company and Contact |
Displays the name of the contact or consumer who is associated with the prepaid account. Click the link to transfer to the Person component. The system displays Prepaid Consumer if the customer is not yet determined and theAuto Load option is selected on the Communications page of business unit definition. By default, the auto load option takes the PREPAIDFIRST (delivered value: PREPAID) and PREPAIDLAST (delivered value: CONSUMER) configuration settings that are defined on the Communications Setup page as the first and last name of the prepaid consumer. When this option is enabled, the order process will use the prepaid consumer when a prepaid account order is placed and the customer is not identified. |
Create Consumer |
Click to open the Quick Create search page. This link appears if the customer is not yet identified. Here you can search for an existing consumer or create a new one to associate to the account when the customer decides not to remain anonymous, or enough information is gathered to create a known consumer. Many prepaid accounts will not have an associated consumer, only the default prepaid consumer is used, which is Prepaid Consumer. |
Change Account Details |
Click to change the account details. For prepaid accounts, only the account name may be updated here. |
Convert to Postpaid Account |
Click to open the Conversion Order page to initiate a Prepaid to Postpaid Service conversion. This moves the consumer from a prepaid billing account where services are paid for prior to usage, to a postpaid billing account where services are paid for after usage. The prepaid account is closed but the two accounts are linked so that the history is preserved. Note. If the account is associated with a conversion order that is currently in progress, this link is hidden so that no duplicate conversion orders can be created for that account. Instead, a link named Conversion Order <order number> In Progress appears, clicking the link transfers you to the conversion order. |
Change Access Question |
Click to change the access question and answer. |
See Also
Access the Members page (Customer Accounts, Search Accounts, Members).
See Maintaining Account Membership.
Access the Balance and Payments page (Customer Accounts, Search Accounts, Balance and Payments).
Navigating to the Balance and Payments page initiates the synchronous call to the billing system to retrieve the current balance, balance expiration date, top-up settings, and statuses for the account and service. If the statuses differ from what the application has on record, the statuses will be updated accordingly.
Top-Up Settings
Payment Type |
Indicate the type of top up being made. Selecting One Time Payment displays the Top-Up Amount field. The Bank Draft and Credit Card details are available for entry. A one time payment can be made even if a recurring payment is already set up. Selecting Recurring Monthly Top-Up displays the Top-Up Amount field. Use this setting if the customer wants to set up a monthly top-up payment. The Bank Draft and Credit Card details are available for entry. Selecting Recurring Threshold Top-Up displays the Top-Up Amount field and Threshold Amount. Us this setting if the customer wants to set up a threshold recurring top-up, meaning when the balance of the account gets down to the Threshold Amount, top-up the Top-Up Amount. The Bank Draft and Credit Card fields are available for entry. Selecting Voucher displays the Voucher Number field. The Bank Draft and Credit Card details are not available for entry. |
Threshold Amount |
This field is displayed only if Recurring Threshold Top-Up is selected as the payment type. Once the balance falls to this amount, a new top-up payment is automatically triggered. |
Top-Up Amount |
Enter the amount to be charged to increase the account balance. |
Bank Draft |
Select to use bank draft as the payment method. Enter the relevant information as related fields are available for edit when this option is selected. Select the Save Bank Account field if you wish to save the entered information for future use. |
Credit Card |
Select to use credit card as the payment method. Enter the relevant information as related fields are available for edit when this option is selected. Select the Save Credit Card field if you wish to save the entered information for future use. |
Modify |
Click to update the saved credit card information that is currently displayed. To save the change for future use, select the Save Credit Card field prior to submitting the payment. |
Voucher Number |
Enter a voucher number if the selected payment type is Voucher. |
Submit |
Click to submit the payment. |
Cancel Recurring Payment |
Click this link to cancel an existing recurring payment. This link is available only if a recurrent payment is currently in effect. |
Access the Usage page (Customer Accounts, Search Accounts, Usage).
Navigating to the Usage page initiates a synchronous call to the billing system, which by default retrieves usage data of the past 30 days for display.
The Date Range to Retrieve drop-down list box can be used to increase or reduce the time increment, with the synchronous call being repeated for the appropriate span.
Access the Payment History page (Customer Accounts, Search Accounts, Payment History).
Navigating to the Payment History tab initiates a synchronous call to the billing system, which by default retrieves payment data of the past 30 days for display.
The drop-down list box above the grid can be used to increase or reduce the time increment, with the synchronous call being repeated for the appropriate span upon selection.
This section provides an overview of the prepaid order process and discusses how to create an order or quote for a prepaid service.
There are a couple of scenarios for creating an order with a prepaid account. The source of the order determines how the order is created and what information is required.
In the storefront scenario, the customer goes to a storefront and picks a pre-provisioned phone and service. The agent takes the order and submits with the appropriate information. In this scenario the customer name and information is not required by either the account or the order. A new installed product is created. An external prepaid billing account is created and the network is notified about the new account, plan, and information. The customer leaves the storefront with an activated service.
In a call center scenario, the customer calls in to order phone, SIM, and service. The agent takes the order and submits with the appropriate information. In this scenario the customer will be known and the consumer created. The fulfillment system will fulfill the phone and SIM and ship to the customer. The customer calls in once the order is received to activate the service. The installed services and accounts are activated during the customer call. This additional activation step is necessary when the order is placed through the call center to avoid possible theft. A third scenario when the customer purchases a shrink wrapped phone/service combination from a department store. The customer will need to call in to activate the service and possibly obtain the phone number. The customer name and information is not required by either the account or the order. The installed product and account are already created in the CRM system through the Bulk import of Prepaid Accounts.
In any of these scenarios, funds may or may not be available on the account. If funds are available the activated service status will be Activated. If funds are not available, the service status with be Pending Top-up.
These steps illustrate a typical process for creating a prepaid order.
The agent goes to the 360-degree search page and uses the User Link drop-down list box to Add Prepaid Service.
The agent is transferred to the order.
Depending on the business unit setting for Default Prepaid Customer, the prepaid consumer may be loaded in the Customer group box. The agent can choose to manually load the prepaid consumer, load an existing customer, or use Quick Create to create a new consumer.
The Source field determines whether or not a customer is required and whether or not fulfillment is involved. If the Source is Storefront – meaning that the order does not need to ship, the customer does not need to be identified, and the prepaid consumer can be used on the order.
If this is a call center operation, the customer is required. The prepaid consumer cannot be used, because the order needs to be shipped. The customer may request to have the Privacy or Do Not Contact flag set to prohibit further contact by the call center. The default for this flag can be set in the business unit setup.
The Accounts sub page enables the agent to create a new prepaid account. The Prepaid Account radio button is automatically selected. When the order is created from the 360–degree view using Add Prepaid Service, the Existing Account and Account Number fields in the Recurring Billing Summary are hidden.
The agent initializes the prepaid account. The default setup for the account is a Payment Type of Voucher. The Access Question defaults from the Business Unit Order Communications Setup page.
The Payment Types can be one-time, monthly recurring, and threshold recurring. The Threshold Amount is displayed only when threshold recurring is selected.
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
Search for Customer |
RB_TD_AGT_SRCH_COM |
Click the Customer 360–Degree View link. |
Start the prepaid order process. |
Order |
RO_FORM |
Select Add Prepaid Service in the Action drop-down list box on the Customer Search page and click Go. |
Set up the prepaid account. |
Prepaid Account Setup |
RO_PP_ACCT_SEC |
Click the Prepaid Account Details link on the Order page. |
Add payment details for the prepaid account. |
Access the Search for Customer page (Click the Customer 360–Degree View link).
Use the Customer 360–Degree View Search page to add a prepaid service.
Access the Order page (select Add Prepaid Service in the Action drop-down list box on the Search for Customer page and click Go).
Use the Order page to enter details for the prepaid account purchase.
Holds are available to:
Check the number pool, making sure the pool used for the MSISDN is appropriate to the account type. The MSISDN may not be required during the order process depending on BU settings and the source of the order. The MSISDN may be supplied during Activation if the order is being placed at a call center and the business process of the site dictates numbers being provided during activation.
Check that the product ordered can be purchased with a prepaid account and that there is not a mix of products.
Confirm that there is only one service for the prepaid order
Validate prepaid account information.
Check that orders coming from the Call Center do not use the prepaid consumer.
Access the Prepaid Account Setup page (click the Prepaid Account Details link on the Order page).
Information entered will be used when creating the prepaid account and will be handed off to the prepaid billing system.
Note. The Prepaid Account Setup page changes depending on the Payment Type selection.
Payment Type |
Values for payment type are One Time Payment, Recurring Monthly Top-Up, Recurring Threshold Top-Up, and Voucher. |
Top-Up Amount |
Enter the top-up amount. |
This section provides an overview and discusses how to activate prepaid and postpaid services.
Refer to the Service Management Activate Service Process Flow section for details and flowchart diagrams that illustrate the process for activating prepaid and postpaid wireless services.
See Service Management Activate Service Process Flow.
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
Search for Customer |
RB_TD_AGT_SRCH_COM |
Click the Customer 360–Degree View link. |
Search for accounts in status of Pending Activation. |
Manage Service |
RO_ORDER_CAPTURE |
Service Management, Maintain Service |
View and maintain activated services. |
See Also
Working with PeopleSoft Service Management
At times it is beneficial for a customer to convert a prepaid account to a postpaid account. To convert a prepaid account to a regular postpaid account:
From the 360-degree Search, type in the customer’s phone number.
If the customer is the special prepaid customer, the CSR is automatically transferred to the accounts page for the phone number. If the customer is known to the system, the CSR will need to select the prepaid account for the customer.
Select the Convert Account link. Transfer to the order form with the consumer information filled in and the new account request.
If a consumer has not yet been created for the customer, customer data is required. Use Quick Create on the Prepaid Account page to create the consumer. The system will modify the consumer on the existing prepaid account and installed products to this new customer.
If you are using Quick Create on the Conversion Order page, then the Prepaid account does not get updated to the new consumer. This does not affect the conversion and the prepaid account will still be closed, however it will continue to say Prepaid Consumer.
After using Quick Create on a Prepaid account to create a new Consumer, you must set the consumer's BillTo/SoldTo/ShipTo preferences before submitting a conversion order. To set the preferences:
Click the Consumer Name link on the Prepaid Account to open Consumer Details in new window.
In the new window select the Details link.
Select the BillTo/SoldTo/ShipTo check boxes.
Click Save. You will get a message to select a single sold to address.
Click tab to return to the main page and click the More... link above the address.
Select the Sold to check box and Save. Close that window.
Return to the Prepaid Account window and click the Convert to Postpaid link
These steps will also resolve the holds if you have already submitted your order.
Select the new plan for the customer. Optionally a new MISISDN, a new SIM, or phone may be entered.
Fill in the new account information.
Submit order.
Run holds, especially the credit check hold and the customer hold.
After holds complete successfully, the Telco New Order BPEL process is run with a special command to convert the accounts and create the new installed products.
Within the Telco New Order BPEL process, the Postpaid Conversion sub-BPEL process is run, which coordinates the shutdown of the old account and installed services and the activation of the new account and installed services. Refer to the Prepaid to Postpaid Account Conversion Process Flow section for details and a flowchart diagram that illustrates the process for converting prepaid accounts to postpaid accounts.
See Prepaid to Postpaid Account Conversion Process Flow.
The BPEL process performs these actions:
Creates account in external Postpaid billing System.
Creates a new account in CRM and links it to both the external postpaid account and to the old prepaid account.
Creates the new installed services for the postpaid services and links them to the new CRM account.
Notifies HLR about the new service.
Notifies HLR about the shutdown of the old service.
Shuts down the prepaid account in the external billing system.
Disconnects the old installed services in CRM.
Moves equipment (SIM, handset) from the old CRM account to new CRM account.
Flags SIM and MSISDN in the SIM Management and Number Management systems from prepaid to postpaid.
Transfers the balance from external prepaid billing system to the external postpaid billing system.
Activates the new services.