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Excerpt
For a BSS user to place an order for an Azure Reservation, the customer must have at least one active Azure subscription. The purchase process is  initiated from the available action in Azure subscription details page.

"Buy a Reservation" Action

The ordering process can be initiated from the "Buy a Reservation" action that is available from the "Shortcuts" menu of an Azure subscription.

This action is available only for active or "pending for cancellation" azure subscriptions that have been successfully provisioned in Microsoft partner center (i.e. their provisioning synchronization status is "synchronized"). 

Azure Reservations Ordering Wizard

The ordering wizard will help you to select the Azure reservation you want to purchase and the scope of the Reservation.

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Registration of the selected Azure Subscription

The active Azure subscription that you have identifying must be registered for purchasing an Azure Reservations. Our system will first check if the selected Azure subscription is registered and if not it will try to register it by using Microsoft API.

If the registration of the Azure subscription fails, you will receive the error message and the ordering process will be aborted.

Selecting the Reservation Type and the Scope

The user must first select the type of the Azure Reservation he wants to buy. There are 3 available types: Virtual Machine, SQL Database and Cosmos DB.

He must also select the scope which can be:

  • Single. If the user selects this option, the Azure reservation will be linked with the Azure subscription that the user selected for initiating the ordering process.
  • Shared. If the user selects this option, the Azure reservation will be provisioned with shared scope in Microsoft systems.

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Search Filters

Upon selecting the reservation type, a list of search fields will be displayed for helping the user to identify the Azure Reservation he is looking for. The list of filters vary depending on the reservation type:

  • Virtual Machine Reservation Type. The available filters are Data Center, Terms, Category, Cores and RAM.
    • Data Center: A list of Microsoft data centers. It is a compulsory field and upon defining it, the system will load a list with all the available Azure Reservations for the selected data center.
    • Terms: 1 or 3 years term.
    • Category: The Azure Reservation categories like "compute optimized", "general purpose" etc. 
    • Cores and RAM. Filters for defining the Cores and RAM of the Azure Reservation.


  • SQL Database Reservation Type. The available filters are Data Center and Terms. 



  • Cosmos DB Reservation Type. There is only the Terms filter. Upon selecting this reservation type, the system will load also all available Azure Reservations.

List of Available Azure Reservations

The list of available Azure Reservations is loaded based on the filters the users selected and the country of the customer. Since Microsoft has rules where some Azure Reservation SKUs can be sold only to specific countries, we filter the list of the available reservations based on the country of the customer. Our system is aware of the customer country from the Azure subscription the Storefront user selected for initiating the ordering process.

For each Azure reservation we display the product description which is Microsoft SKU title and description. We don't display yet any pricing information in this step. The price information will be available when you add the selected Azure reservation to your order. 

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Searching for a Specific Azure Reservation

The ordering wizard includes a search box where the user will be able to search for a specific Azure reservation. This search works in combination with the selected filters meaning that the search will be executed against the displayed set of products.

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Selecting the Azure Reservation

You can purchase only one Azure Reservation by selecting the radio next to the item and defining the quantity you want. 

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Selecting Billing Frequency (when applicable)

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The Billing Frequency option in BSS Reserved Instance ordering wizard appears only if the product allows monthly payments (Billing Frequency checkbox on BSS product = true) and the selected SKU is supported for both one-time and monthly billing frequency by Microsoft, otherwise, the reservation will get paid by a one-time upfront payment (as-is). In case the "Billing Frequency" checkbox, located within the chosen Azure products' options is set to false, then the option Billing Frequency will not be displayed on the BSS Reserved Instances ordering wizard.

The Billing Frequency option is a compulsory drop-down field (when applicable) that is displayed on BSS Reserved Instances ordering wizard, once the user selects a specific product that supports monthly payments. Since the "Billing Frequency" is an option on every specific Azure product (SKU), we display it only if it is supported by the specific Microsoft Azure SKU. So, after the SKU selection, a new section "Please, select the preferred billing frequency" is displayed having the Billing Frequency drop-down. By default, the "Billing Frequency" drop-down is set to "One-Time".

As the names suggest, the One-Time Billing Frequency option is used for paying the whole order cost of a chosen Azure Reserved Instance product (SKU) in advance, whereas the Monthly Billing Frequency option is used for dividing the whole order cost of a chosen Azure Reserved Instance product in equal monthly parts.

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For example, if the chosen Azure RI product (SKU) has a billing period of one year and the monthly billing frequency is allowed by Microsoft and enabled for that product in BSS billing options, then by choosing the Monthly Billing Frequency, the product cost price (i.e. 1000 USD) will be divided into 12 months (terms). As a result, a thousand US dollars divided by twelve months of a year, results in a monthly charge of 83.33 USD. The last part of the calculation is the rounding process in which the rounding is being implemented on the two decimals.

When you have finished with all the choices provided within the BSS Reserved Instance ordering wizard, please proceed with your order by clicking on the "Add to Order" button.


Calculating RI Monthly Charge

In order for a Reservation to be paid monthly, some extra calculations are necessary. Azure Pricing Details do not change, remain as-is. However, the following cases illustrate the logic behind the extra calculations.

If no pricelist is applied:

  • Cost price: Is the price retrieved via excel/Number of SKU terms 
  • Sell price: Is the actual product's sell price defined in edit pricing info/Number of SKU Terms.

Pricelist applied with: (product assigned itself or via a price group)

  • Markup: The markup applies to the product cost price, which is retrieved by the excel file.
    • Cost price:Is the price retrieved via excel/Number of SKU terms.
    • Sell price:Is calculated as follows: cost price/Number of SKU Terms > PL Markup applies 
  • Margin (the margin applies to the product cost price).
    • Cost price:Is the price retrieved via excel/Number of SKU Terms.
    • Sell price:Is calculated as follows: cost price/Number of SKU Terms > PL Margin applies.


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Product Decimals and Rounding

On order item unit price and order cost price we display the above prices with the product's number of decimals, on order item discount we display discounts with product's number of decimals, all order item totals and order totals (on the right top) are rounded up to 2 decimals. We use that BSS behavior in Monthly Payments, too.


Azure Reservation Order

By pressing "Add to Order", an order will be created with one order item for the selected Azure Reservation. The order item will include the generic product "Microsoft Azure Reserved Instances", but in the item characteristics you can see the Azure Reservation you have purchased. Please examine both cases of orders (One-Time & Monthly Billing Frequency) as depicted in the two following distinct tabs. 


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titleOne-Time Billing Frequency

Order based on "One-Time" Billing Frequency.

For the calculation of Azure Reservation unit price, our system will use account's related price list. 

For more details on how the Azure Reservations are billed, check please .


Ui tab
titleMonthly Billing Frequency

Order based on "Monthly" Billing Frequency.

For the calculation of Azure Reservation unit price, our system will use account's related price list (if any). 

Order View of an RI with Monthly Billing Frequency

On add to Order action on BSS RI wizard, a new order is created with the RI product. In the created BSS order, the order item for Reserved Instance product will have as unit price the total reservation cost divided by the number of RI terms and rounded up to 2 decimals. However, we also keep the reservation's total price which is calculated by multiplying the divided rounded unit price by the number of reservation terms. Specifically, we get the reservation's total cost from the excel file, we divide it by the Reservation's number of terms,  we apply Pricelist'd discount and we round up this amount to 2 decimals. This is the order's item unit price when billing frequency is set to Monthly. We also keep the reservation's total cost which comes from the multiplication of rounded unit price with the number of SKU's terms.

Example: Reservation's total cost for 3 years comes from MS Pricelist = 439,20 €/Instance. When this product is added to an order with a monthly billing frequency, the order's item unit price: 439,20 € / 36 months = 12,20 €, apply 10% margin, so order's item unit price = 13,55555555555556 ≈ 13,56 € (after rounding up to 2 decimals according to our Rounding policy). We also keep and save as reservation's total cost = 15,06€ * 36 (months) = 488,16 €

We also take into consideration the orders cost price. Since the order's unit price is the divided amount, order cost price should also be divided. Order's cost price for an RI order item is the RI's cost price we get from Microsoft's pricelist with no Pricelist discount. Order item cost price should be monthly too, when an RI is chosen to be paid monthly. We have the following option to find the order's item cost price: 

Calculate order unit price by order cost price: Microsoft's price = 439,20 € / instance. Divide this amount by 36 (SKU terms) → 439,20/36 = 12,20€/Month → This is the order's time cost price

apply 10%Margin : 12,20/(1-10%) =  13.55555555555556 ≈ 13,56 € (after rounding up to 2 decimals according to our Rounding policy)


For more details on how the Azure Reservations are billed, check please .


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Do not edit an Azure Reservation Order Item

Although our system allows you to edit the Azure Reservation Order item, we advise against it. If you want to change something, you should delete the order that was created and re-run from the ordering wizard.



Order Execution

For executing the order you created, you need to select the "Execute Order" from the Shortcuts menu.  You must select the 3rd option and as "Start Date" set always today.

The execution process will:

  • Provision the Azure Reservation in Microsoft System
  • Create an asset record that is the representation of the Azure Reservation in BSS.
  • Invoice the Azure Reservation.

Provisioning an Azure Reservation

Before completing the order execution, we will do again a check if the selected Azure subscription has been registered for purchasing an Azure Reservation. If it is successfully registered, we will proceed with the provisioning of the Azure reservation in Microsoft systems. 

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We don't support yet to grant the owner role to the end customer to the Azure Reservation. This means that you (the CSP) are the owner of the Azure reservation and you need to login into Azure portal for making the end customer the owner of the Azure reservation.

Invoicing an Azure Reservation

With the completion of the order execution, our system will generate an invoice for charging either in advance for 1 or 3 years or in monthly payments (depending which Azure reservation you selected). The reseller / direct customer will know exactly what he pays for his Azure reservations as there will be separate invoices for his Azure reservations and his pay-as-you-go Azure subscriptions. In the following two tabs you can find the analysis of both charging types.


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Ui tab
titleOne-Time Charge

Charge for "One-Time" Billing Frequency

  • The # represents the row number of the invoice list. 
  • The is a link to the asset record.
  • The Code is the products code.
  • The Description of an Azure Reservation item is the Microsoft SKU title.
  • The Billing Period is empty only when the "Billing Frequency" was set to "One-Time".
  • The Unit Price depicts the whole cost of the product.
  • The Unit has the name Instance.
  • The Quantity is the number of same products (SKUs) which were ordered.
  • The Original Total is depicting the original unit price before any changes or discounts.
  • The Discount is depicting the percent of discount that the Original Total is experiencing.
  • The Total is depicting the final price, to be paid, after the changes or discounts have been implemented.
  • The Total Before Tax is the sum of Total prices before the addition of any VAT (if applicable).
  • The Final Price is the sum of Total prices after the addition of the VAT (if applicable).



Ui tab
titleMonthly Charge

Charge for "Monthly" Billing Frequency

  • The # represents the row number of the invoice list. 
  • The is a link to the asset record.
  • The Code is the products code.
  • The Description of an Azure Reservation item is the Microsoft SKU title.
  • The Billing Period is populated with the billing period of a month only when the "Billing Frequency" was set to "Monthly".
  • The Unit Price depicts the partial cost of the product for that month, indicated by the "Billing Period".
  • The Unit has the name Instance.
  • The Quantity is the number of same products (SKUs) which were ordered.
  • The Original Total is depicting the original unit price before any changes or discounts.
  • The Discount is depicting the percent of discount that the Original Total is experiencing.
  • The Total is depicting the final price, to be paid, after the changes or discounts have been implemented.
  • The Total Before Tax is the sum of Total prices before the addition of any VAT (if applicable).
  • The Final Price is the sum of Total prices after the addition of the VAT (if applicable).



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The main difference between the two Billing Frequencies when it comes to invoicing is that:

  1. With the One-Time choice, there are no data populating the column "Billing Period" whereas with the Monthly choice there are data populating the column "Billing Period" which essentially depict the time period (month) from which the Unit Price is derived from.
  2. The second difference is that the "Unit Price" of an ordered Azure Instance, when the Billing Period is set to Monthly, will always depict the monthly price (part of the total price), meaning the partial charge deriving from the total cost of the ordered product (SKU) for the given month. Whereas when the Billing Period is set to One-Time, then the "Unit Price" will always depict the total price of the ordered product (SKU).  



View "Monthly Fixed Charges Plan" Section

The "Monthly Fixed Charges Plan" section is displayed on the Reservation View on BSS under the Invoices section and presents all completed charges and all upcoming charges which are generated with the Reservation creation. The main difference here is that all completed charges are related to a corresponding generated invoice. (This invoice may contain charges not only for the Reservation but also for other products, too.) An analysis of the two tabs (Completed Charges &  and Upcoming Charges) follows in the below sub-sections.

In this section, 4 records are displayed for example, so there is also a link "All Charges (##)"  that redirects you to a page with more extensive analysis of all the charges to be displayed. In that page, there is a list with both completed and upcoming charges which are sorted by date.

 

Completed Charges Tab

The content of this tab contains 5 columns:


  1. The completed charge icon. 
  2. The Billing Period field which reflects the billing period of charge which is monthly and starts counting from the purchase date.
  3. The Date field which reflects the charge's due date which is the due date of the Pending Invoice and the date of the Generated Invoice.
  4. The Invoice field which is the invoice's number link and is displayed only for completed charges. A charge is marked as completed the moment a pending invoice gets generated for this specific charge.
  5. The Reservation Monthly Charge field which is the monthly charge after all discounts apply (Pricelist's margin/markup, Volume Discount and Promotion) in Account's base currency.

Upcoming Charges Tab

The content of this tab contains 4 columns:



  1. The upcoming charge icon.
  2. The Billing Period field which reflects the billing period of charge which is monthly and starts counting from the purchase date. 
  3. The Date. 
  4. The Reservation Monthly Charge.



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