How To Set Up Service Quantity Rate Components

When setting up an SQ rate component, additional fields become available for you to define.

The following information will help you to set up your SQ rate components.

Select a Value Type of Unit Rate if the type of charge is an amount per some unit of product/charge type. In the rare situation where the amount of the charge is flat for the first X units of product/charge type, use the Value Type of Charge. This field will be gray when the rate component is referenced on another rate component.

Refer to Rate Component - Main Information for information about defining the Value Source.

The amount that you specified using the bill factor / value field was a price per some unit of some thing. This thing must be identified using the Unit Of Measure, Variance Parameter, and Service Qty. Identifier fields.

Fastpath: For more information about UOM / Variance Parameter/ SQI, refer to UOM versus Variance Parameter versus SQI.

Turn on Error if No Value if a bill error should be generated if the UOM / Variance Parameter/ SQI specified on the rate component was not supplied at billing time.

If the charge is only applicable to product quantity consumption within some tier which indicates that the rate component is Stepped. When this option is turned on, you must indicate the Step Low Value and Step High Value that the product quantity consumption charge is applicable to. For example, if the product price is applicable to the first 300, then you would enter Step Low Value0 and Step High Value300. When multiple tiers exist, the high value of the first tier is the low value of the second tier (and so on). To extend our example, the second tier would have a low value of 300; the high value may be left blank because the system assumes a blank high value means "to infinity".

If the step boundaries are dynamic (i.e., they are calculated based on something that's only known at billing time), you can change the step boundaries using either of the following methods:

  • Use Step RC Sequence to indicate the sequence number of the rate component whose value will be multiplied by the step's boundaries to calculate the step boundaries to use at billing time.
  • Use Step Algorithm to indicate that an algorithm will be called to manipulate the step boundaries (note, this algorithm can manipulate the low and/or high boundaries). If you plan to use this method, you must set up this algorithm in the system. To do this:
    • Create a new algorithm (refer to Setting Up Algorithms).
    • On this algorithm, reference an Algorithm Type that manipulates a rate component's step boundaries. Click here to see the algorithm types available for this plug-in spot.
Fastpath: For an example of when dynamic steps are needed, refer to Step Boundaries Based On The Number Of Days Of Usage And The Region In Which The Customer Resides.
CAUTION: If you dynamically calculate step boundaries and the resultant high AND low values become zero, this signals the system that the rate component should be skipped (i.e., no bill line will be produced for the rate component).

Turn on GL Statistical Quantity if GL journal lines generated for this rate component should also contain the service quantity amount as a statistical quantity. You would use this option if you keep track of both dollar amounts and consumption units in your general ledger.

CAUTION: When a bill segment is created, the system stores the statistical quantity on the journal line associated with the rate component's distribution code. If you book multiple UOM's to the same distribution code, you should only turn on GL Statistical Qty on one of the rate components. Otherwise, you will commingle different UOM's on a journal line's statistical quantity.
Fastpath: Refer to Determining the Statistical Quantity for more information.

Turn on Measures Peak Qty if the UOM / Variance Parameter/ SQI is associated with banking or any other related domain.

Note: The value of Measures Peak Qty is defaulted from the UOM table (if a UOM is specified).

Enter the verbiage to appear on the customer's bill in Description On Bill and turn on the Print switch. Refer to How to use Description on Bill for more information about these fields.

Move to the GL Distribution window to define how to book moneys associated with this rate component in the general ledger.