Designing Prepayment Billing Options

This section provides guidelines describing how to design service agreements that handle smart meter prepaid billing.

When a customer is subject to prepayment, normal cycle-based billing is not used to calculate the bill segments for their service. Rather, a prepay billing (PPB) process creates bill segments frequently (for example, daily) and periodically requests funds to maintain an adequate payoff balance. Bills will only be used to periodically inform the customer of the various financial transactions that have occurred since the last bill was produced.

Implementing prepayment billing requires the configuration of the following objects:
  • SA Type
  • Adjustment Types
  • Bill Segment Type
  • Service Task Type

These configuration tasks are described below.

Note: For additional information, see the detailed descriptions in the application for the C1-PrepayBillerTaskType and C1-PrepayBillerTask business objects.

SA Type for Prepay Billing

To configure a prepay billing SA Type, create a new SA type with the following attributes:
  • Set the Special Role flag to Bill Determinants Required. The Prepay Option should be set to Prepaid Smart Meter.
  • Specify the SA Creation system event with the algorithm CI_​CREATEPPB to create the service agreement's prepay biller.
  • Specify the Payment Freeze system event with the algorithm STPZ-RMVC to set current amount to zero on a payment.
  • If required, specify the Bill Completion system event with an algorithm of the type C1-CREPPBBM to add a bill message that informs an end customer of their prepaid charges for the period. You may need to create an algorithm of this type if it does not exist in your system.
  • Eligible for Budget should be set to false.
  • Reference a new Prepay Bill Segment Type, which is described below.
The following adjustment types must also be defined on the prepay SA type:
  • Adjustment Type (Xfer) specifies the type of adjustment used to transfer funds from the delinquent service agreements to the prepaid service agreement
  • Adjustment Type (Current=0) specifies the type of adjustment used to set the prepaid current balance to zero after debt has been transferred
  • NSF Adjustment Type specifies the type of adjustment used to levy an NSF charge. The NSF Adjustment Type is described in greater detail below.

The new SA types must be added to the data value mapping between CCB and MDM. This is to enable the synchronization of SAs of this type to MDM. The new CCB SA types can be mapped to existing US types in MDM. For additional information about this configuration, please see the integration documentation.

Adjustment Types for Prepay Billing
  • Funds Request Adjustment Type: This adjustment type captures the type of adjustment used to request more prepaid funds. This adjustment type is specified on the prepaid biller task type. Specify the following algorithms on this adjustment type:
    • Adj. Financial Algorithm should reference the Adjustment FT creation algorithm ADJT-CA (Payoff=0/Current=Adj Amount (No GL)).
    • Adjustment Freeze Algorithm should reference an algorithm of the type C1-PPBADJFRZ (Set Prepaid Funds Request FT Details). You may need to create an algorithm of this type if it does not exist in your system.
  • NSF Adjustment Type: For prepaid customers on autopay, when a user cancels an autopay tender the cancel reason must indicate that an NSF charge should be levied. The system invokes the NSF Charge algorithm specified on the tender’s account’s customer class which creates the NSF adjustment on the appropriate SA. The charge is levied using the NSF Adjustment Type specified on the SA’s SA type. This adjustment type must reference the new adjustment freeze algorithm that will disable automatic payments on the PPB. This algorithm must be based on the algorithm type C1-DISPPBAP (Disable PPB’s Automatic Payment). You may need to create an algorithm of this type if it does not exist in your system.

Bill Segment Type Required for Prepay Billing

Configure a new bill segment type for prepaid service agreements. This bill segment type should have the following attributes:
  • Create Algorithm should be set to C1-BSBS-UR to create bill segment using a usage request.
  • Financial Algorithm should be set to a new algorithm with algorithm type C1-NEM-GL (Payoff Amt = Bill Amt / Current Amt = 0 (GL affected)).You may need to create an algorithm of this type if it does not exist in your system.
  • Get Consumption Algorithm should be set to C1-BSGC-USG to get bill segment consumption using a usage request.

Service Task Type for Prepay Billing

Configure a new service task type for prepay billing. This task type should reference the Prepay Biller (PPB)Task Type Business Object (C1-PrepayBillerTaskType). The task type must be specified on the new prepay billing SA creation algorithm. The task type captures the adjustment type used when an adjustment is created to request additional funds from the customer. Ensure that this adjustment type references the adjustment freeze algorithm (C1-PPBADJFRZ) that populates the financial transaction's arrears date.