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Introduction

CDRator's billing functionality is designed to generate Invoice Detail Lines based on CDR information received from the network.

Three major steps build up CDRator billing functionality.

If errors occur during the process above, the billing record is moved into an error queue for manual investigation and handling. Therefore, knowledge of the rating and billing process is key for the investigation and resolution of rating errors.

This page describes the activities in steps 3.1 and 3.2 in the table above.

Rating (Standard Prices)

These are the activities performed after a CDR is loaded into a billing record and mediated.

1: Billing Record Information

Several steps of the process will compare information of the billing record with that of the product configuration. 

2: Rate Plan

This step looks for the subscriber and his/her rate plan. The subscriber's info in the billing record is used in tables like:

• service
• simcard
• a_number

Eventually the corresponding subscription record is found and from that the process goes into billing_group_member:

Once the rate plan is known, its tele rates configuration is compared with the billing record's rating code. The rate plan's tele rates configuration is where every possible rating code is assigned to a number plan. This assignment is valid on a specified range of dates; again the billing record's event date is used to find the number plan attached to a rating code.

Example

The screenshot below shows the tele rates configuration of the Fixedline rate plan. The rating code NATIONAL CALL is linked to the number plan Mobile National without date restrictions.

4: Execute the B-Number Method

The number plan's B-Number method is executed. This method uses some fields of the billing record to construct a string that is then used to find a plan element via Best Match.

A long list of possible methods is provided by the Rator Platform; besides, customers can also request the development of custom methods.

The most common B-Number Methods are getRatingKey and getBNumber, and they will return the billing record's rating key and B-Number, respectively.

Example

In the screenshot below, the b-number method of the number plan Mobile National is getRatingKey. This means that the billing record's rating key will be used to find the plan element.

5: Find the Plan Element

The rating process finds the plan element via Best Match using the outcome of the B-Number method.

Best Match Algorithm

The algorithm is explained below.

Dot as Plan Element Name

Not always does the plan element found by the best match algorithm point to the charges. The plan elements tree can be used to group several elements under one parent, which points to charges that are valid for all its children.

In the example below the charges are defined by the element Group 1. The children of Group 1 do not point to the charges.

6: Rate Day

The process loads the relevant rate day attached to the plan element. The billing record's event date is compared with the start and end dates configured in the rate day itself.

Example

 In the screenshot below, the rate day assigned to the MOBILE plan element is N-SINGLE and it has an open start and end date.

7: Day Charge

Day charges are used to specify the charge depending on the day of the week (Monday to Sunday). In most cases, a rate day has one single day charge which includes all the days of the week. The billing record's event date is used again to find the relevant day charge.

Example

A rate day in which charges are separate between weekdays and weekends is displayed below.

If the usage date is on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, the Weekdays-day charge is considered by rating, otherwise the Weekends-charge is used.

8: Time Charge

Time charges are used to specify the charge depending on the hour of the day (00:00 to 24:00). In most cases, charges are valid for the entire day, 00:00 to 24:00. The time in the billing record's event date is used to find the relevant time charge.

Example

The Weekends-day charge divides the day in three periods, each with its specific charge.

9: Charges

Each time charge can define the initial charge, the recurrent charge or both of them.

10: Execute the Rating Method

Once the charges are known, they are given as input to the number plan's rating method. The rating method may also use information from the billing record, such as duration or cost price.

11: Successfully Rated Billing Record

If there are no missing or misconfigured items in each of the above steps the rating process will result in the creation of an invoice detail line based on the standard prices. The process will eventually continue with involving campaigns and bundles according to the price configuration.

Rating (campaign)

General

How does rating know that a campaign needs to be involved?

In order for rating to involve a campaign:

1. The subscriber must be assigned to an active campaign.
2. The campaign must have one bundle mapped to the very same plan element (or one of its ancestors) used during the standard prices rating.

In that case the bundle's rating logic is involved:

1. the price (invoice detail lines) by standard configuration is input to the bundle rating;
2. the output of the bundle rating depends on the bundle itself, but generally can be:
   1. an updated version of the original invoice detail line (e.g. zero-rated or 50% discounted)
   2. an updated version of the original invoice detail line with a new public representation (e.g. the discounted phone calls are listed under a new invoice level which contains only the discounted lines)
   3. the same original price plus another invoice detail line which gives the subscriber a credit of the same amount
   4. the original price if e.g. the customer has finished the bonus

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