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Creating Custom Plans for Accounts

You can create custom Plans for an Account:

• Custom Plans can only be attached to that specific Account.

• When you create custom Plans, they are attached to the Account to create an Account Plan based on the start and end dates you have entered.

• You can add Aggregations or Counters and price the custom Plan straightaway in the Plan details page.

• Lastly, you might then want to edit the details of the Account Plan you've created for the Account using the custom Plan, such as first bill date or adding it to a Contract that's linked to the Account.

Creating a custom Plan for an Account and performing the required configuration work to prepare the attached Plan for charging the Account involves four stages:

• Stage 1: Creating Custom Plan

• Stage 2: Attaching Custom Plan to Create Account Plan

• Stage 3: Pricing the Custom Plan

• Stage 4: Editing Account Plan Details

You can delete an Account Plan from an Account on the Attached Plans tab:

• Deleting an Account Plan

Creating Custom Plan

To create a custom Plan for an Account:

1. Select Accounts. The Accounts page opens.

2. Select the Name text of the Account. The Account page opens with the Overview tab selected.

3. On the Account actions menu, select Plans>Create custom plan:

Alternatively:

• Select the Attached plans tab.

• On the Active and pending attached plans panel, select the actions Menu button.

• On the menu, select Create custom plan.

The Create page opens for Stage 1: Create plan.

4. On the Plan details card, use the Product drop-down list to select the Product for the custom Plan you're creating for the Account:

• If the Product you select doesn't have any Plan Templates created for it, then you must first create one before you can create a Plan for the Product. You'll see a warning with a hotlink create plan template text, which you can use to go directly to the Plan Templates>Create page. When you've created a Plan Template for the Product, you'll be brought straight back to the Create custom plan page to proceed.

• If the selected Product has Plan Templates created for it, you can proceed and create a custom Plan based on one of the templates.

5. Use the Plan Template drop-down list to select the template you want to use for the custom Plan.

6. Enter the details of the custom Account Plan:

• Name. Descriptive name for the custom Plan. When you create a custom Plan for an Account, a default name is loaded, which prefixes the Account name. You can edit this name text as required.

• Code. Unique identifier for the custom Plan. When you create a custom Plan for an Account, a default code string is loaded. You can edit this code string as required.

7. Use the Standing charge card to enter settings for the custom Plan:

• Standing charge. You can override the value inherited from the Plan Template. For example, enter 20. The Value from template value is struck through.

• Standing charge billing. If you want to override the Use configuration from plan template setting for billing either in arrears or in advance - shown in brackets - then select the setting you want for the custom Plan.

• Standing charge description. You can enter a description for any Standing charge amounts billed. This will override any description entered for the Plan template and will appear against this type of bill line item.

8. Use the Minimum spend card to enter settings for the custom Plan:

• Product minimum spend. You can override the value inherited from the Plan Template. For example, enter 125.

• Minimum spend billing. If you want to override the Use configuration from plan template setting for billing either in arrears or in advance for minimum spend amount - shown in brackets - select the setting you want for the custom Plan.

• Minimum spend description. You can enter a description for any Minimum spend amounts charged at billing. This will override any description entered for the Plan template and will appear against this type of bill line item.

9. Select Next. The page adjusts to show that Stage 1: Create plan is completed and you can now move to Stage 2: Attach plan to the Account to create an Account Plan.

Attaching Custom Plan to Create Account Plan

When you have completed Stage 1: Create plan, the Create page adjust to allow you to complete for Stage 2: Attach plan.

To attach a Custom plan to an Account:

1. On the Plan attachment settings card, enter Start date and End date to define the period you want the custom Plan to be active for the Account for charging for Product usage:

• A Start date is required.

• If you omit an End date, the Account Plan will be applied to the Account perpetually or until such time as you delete the Account Plan.

• Note that End dates are treated exclusively. For example, if you set the End date of June 1st 2022, then the Account Plan ceases to be active for the Account at midnight on May 31st 2022, and any billing is calculated up to that point in time, NOT up to midnight on June 1st. If you want to include end customer Account usage occurring on June 1st for billing, you must set the End date to June 2nd.

2. If you want to set the date the first and subsequent Bills are due for the selected Account using the Account Plan, use the Billing cycle date option. For example, if the Plan is configured for monthly billing frequency and you set Billing cycle date as February 14th, then m3ter will create a first bill for the Account on that date and every month from that date - March 14th, April 14th, and so on. If left blank, then start of billing defaults to the billing cycle date configured for the Account. (Optional)

3. If you want to add the Account Plan to a Contract you've created for the Account, use the Contract drop down to select it. For more details on Contracts, see Creating Contracts for Accounts. (Optional)

4. If the Account is either a Parent or a Child Account, you can select for Account hierarchy billing mode, which determines how billing will be handled and shown on bills for charges due for the Parent Account and charges due for Child Accounts:

• Bill parent account - bill line item per account. Default setting.

• Bill parent account - single bill line item for all accounts.

• Bill child account.

5. Select Create plan and attach to complete Stage 2:

• The custom Plan is created for the Account - it's created as an Account specific Plan, which means you can only attach it to this Account.

• The custom Plan is attached to the Account and an Account Plan is created.

• You are taken directly to the Plan attachment page of the newly created and attached Plan:

6. For the Account Plan created when you attached the custom Plan to the Account, you can review:

• Plan attachment details:

  • Check the dates for the period the Account Plan will be active for the Account.

  • Read-off the Account Plan ID with the option to Copy this directly to your clipboard.

  • Select Edit if you need to make any changes to the Account Plan, such as update the start and end dates.

• Plan attachment metadata:

  • Custom Fields created for the Account Plan.

  • External mappings created for the Account Plan. Note that you can start a Create external mapping workflow directly from here. See Creating and Managing External Mappings for Accounts for an example.

  • Note that since the Account Plan has just been created, this card will be empty.

7. Scroll down the Plan attachment page:

For the custom Plan you've just created for the Account, you can review:

• Plan details:

  • Check the details of the Plan and select Edit if you want to make any changes, such as update the minimum spend amount.

  • Read-off the custom Plan ID with an option to Copy this directly to your clipboard.

• Associated pricing:

  • Add Aggregations, Add Compound Aggregations, or Counters to price the custom Plan straightaway. See the following Pricing Custom Plans section for more details.

  • Note that you can re-open the Plan attachment page from the Account's Attached plans tab at a later date to price the custom Plan.

8. If you return to the Account page and select the Attached plans tab, you'll see that an Account Plan has been created for the Account using the new custom Plan to charge for the Product, and which is listed on the Active and pending attached plans panel:

Pricing Custom Plans

When you have completed Stage 2: Attach plan, you can complete Stage 3: Price plan - price custom Plans you've created for an Account from the Plan attachment page under Associated pricing.

To price a Custom plan for an Account:

1. From the Account's Attached plans tab on the Active and pending attached plans panel, select the Account Plan name text hotlink. The Plan attachment page opens.

2. On the Associated pricing panel, select Add aggregations. A Select aggregations dialog opens and lists any Aggregations created for the Product the custom Plan belongs to and any Global Aggregations.

3. Select the checkboxes for the Aggregations you want to use to price the Plan and select Confirm. The dialog closes and the selected Aggregations are added to the Associated pricing panel ready for you to price the custom Plan:

• In this example, a single Aggregation has been selected for pricing the custom Plan.

4. Select Create Plan pricing. The Pricing>Create page opens. You can now price up the Plan in the same way as if you had reached this page from the Pricing Editor when pricing a non-custom Plan.

5. When you have completed the pricing configuration you want to apply to the custom Plan, select Create pricing. The Pricing>Create page closes and you are returned to the Plan attachment page where the Associated pricing panel now shows the custom Plan's pricing:

• In this example, we've set up the custom Plan for a flat-rate pricing using a tiered pricing type with a single pricing band.

Editing Account Plan Details

When you have completed Stage 3: Price plan, you can complete Stage 4: Edit plan details.

To edit Account plan details:

1. From the Account's Attached plans tab on the Active and pending attached plans panel, select the Account Plan name text hotlink to open the Plan attachment page.

2. On the Plan attachment details panel, select Edit. The Edit page opens and you can edit the Account Plan and define settings.

2. Edit Start date and End date, as required.

3. If you want to set the date the first Bill is due for the selected Account using the Account Plan, you can use the Billing cycle date option. Subsequent billing will be determined from the first date you define. For example, if the Plan is configured for monthly billing frequency and you set Billing cycle date as February 14th 2022, then m3ter will create a first bill for the Account on that date and every month from that date. If left blank, then start of billing defaults to the billing cycle date configured for the Account. (Optional)

4. If you want to add the Account Plan to a Contract you've created for the Account, use the Contract drop down to select it. For more details on Contracts, see Creating Contracts for Accounts. (Optional)

5. If the Account is either a Parent or a Child Account, you can select for Account hierarchy billing mode, which determines how billing will be handled and shown on bills for charges due for the Parent Account and charges due for Child Accounts:

• Bill parent account - bill line item per account. Default setting.

• Bill parent account - single bill line item for all accounts.

• Bill child account.

6. Add any required Custom fields to the Account Plan. For more on Custom Fields, see Adding and Editing Custom Fields.

7. Select Update Plan attachment to complete the final stage of your custom Plan set up for the Account.

You now have a fully configured Account Plan on the Account - Bills will be calculated for the Account in accordance with the Account Plans on the Account for each of your Products the Account consumes.

Deleting an Account Plan

If you want to delete the Account Plan that was created when you created the custom Plan for the Account and attached it to the Account, you can do this from the Attached Plans tab.

1. On the Active and pending attached plans panel, select Delete:

A confirmation popup appears.

2. Select Yes to confirm the Account Plan deletion.

Next: Attaching Plan Groups to an Account

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