This new import tool option called “Import of Additional Billing Data” is a different import option from the existing Import Usage Data option of the import tool because it provides you with the flexibility to import usage records including the unit price and unit cost, without the need to create PPU add-ons and PPU product types to configure the metered resources. Therefore, for the new option of the import tool to be operational, you just need to create a PPU container product as well as a PPU subscription based on that product, without the need for extra maintenance that the existing import tool option requires.

Locating the Additional Billing Data Importer

The Additional Billing Data importer option can be found in the BSS portal by navigating to BSS > Billing > Usage Data, and clicking on the Import File button.

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Then, the new import option resides next to the existing “Import Usage Data” import tool option. Within this latest option, the BSS user can import usage records, as well as the unit cost and sell prices for these usages, and the initial quantities of newly created PPU Subscriptions, from manually created Excel spreadsheets, directly into the BSS portal.

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Preparation Before Importing Usage Records with Billing Data

As previously mentioned, BSS users can import additional billing usage records while the initial quantity of newly created PPU Subscriptions is automatically been filled in with the default value of one(1).

The BSS user must first create an Excel spreadsheet with eight (8) distinct column titles, namely, AccountCode*, Subscription, Resource, Quantity, Start Date, End Date, Unit Cost, and Unit Price.

Then, to import additional billing usage records into the Additional Billing Data tool, each row must be filled in with the respective data representing the Account identifier(be that the account description or account code or another custom account field), the Subscription name, the Resource name of that subscription, the Quantity of the usage, the Start and End Date of the billing period, as well as the Unit Cost price and the Unit Price (sell price) of the PPU metered resource.

Also, during the first import, the initial quantity of a newly created PPU Subscription will be filled in automatically by the system with the default value of one(1). Therefore, this action of defining the PPU subscription quantity is handled directly and automatically by the system during the first import of usage records for newly created PPU subscriptions. Furthermore, deleting the import file will not decrease the subscription quantity down to 0.

Once the Excel file is created and saved, the BSS user can continue with the import.

Importing Usage Records with Billing Data

To begin the import of the Excel spreadsheet containing the usages per Subscription resource, per BSS Account, the BSS user can proceed with the following steps:

1. Click on the Import File button.

2. Click Browse and choose the Excel file you created from your computer and the Excel sheet you wish to import.
   Then, click Next.

3. Once the Excel spreadsheet is loaded, map the required fields of the import tool with those defined in the Excel spreadsheet columns.

The fields are the following:

• Account Identifier (Mandatory): The account identifier used to determine which account the usage record is for. It
  can be any Account Identifier or Account Custom Field chosen by the BSS user. The Additional Billing Data import field provides a drop-down menu with all available BSS Account identifiers (e.g., Account Code, Account Description) and any predefined Account Custom Fields (e.g., Custom Account Identifier).

• Subscription (Mandatory): The name of the subscription for which the usage record is for. The selected subscription must belong to the selected Account. The subscription doesn't have to be currently active, provided that the start and end date fall within a period when the subscription was active.

• Resource (Mandatory): The name of the resource usage.  

• Quantity (Mandatory): The quantity that needs to be billed. The value may be negative only when the usage record is used to increase or decrease the quantity of the subscription. 

• Start Date (Mandatory): The starting date of the measuring period (billing period). This must fall within a period when the subscription was active.

• End Date (Non-mandatory): This field defines the end of the measuring period (billing period). This must fall within a period when the subscription was active.

• Unit Cost (Mandatory): The default unit cost price, without any margin, markup, or VAT. The cost prices will be added in the currency retrieved by the PPU subscription. This value should be either zero (0) or a positive number.

• Unit Price (Mandatory): The default unit sell price, without any margin, markup, or VAT. The sell prices will be added in the currency retrieved by the PPU subscription. This should be a positive number. This value should be either zero (0) or a positive number.

4. After the mapping process is complete, click on Run Import and wait for the platform to load and provide the import status.

5. Upon completion, the imported usage records and their billing data will be related to the corresponding subscriptions.

The following updates will be made to the accounts:

• The Subscription Quantity will be updated from zero (0) to one (1).

• The Subscription Amount will be calculated and displayed in the account on BSS and Storefront (subscription view, renewal view, and subscription list). This amount is determined by adding the subscription's unit price, any applicable add-on charges, plus consumption charges, including any pricing rules applied. Whenever a user uploads a new usage data file, the subscription amount is re-calculated and updated to match the latest import.

• An invoice will be generated at the end of the day.

Viewing the Import Results

When clicking on the view log highlighted text, under the Log File column, the user gets navigated to the Import Results pop-up window. In there, the user can check two main elemental information.

1. The Summary of the import process contains information such as the start and completion date, the import status, and the comments of the import.

2. The Detailed log of the import process contains granular information detailing the steps of the importer per each import sub-tasks.

Viewing the Imported Usage Records with Billing Data Object

When clicking on the submission page, the user gets navigated to the Additional Billing Data object view page.

On this page, the following sections exist: 

1. Basic Information: Submission Date, Source Type, Source Name, Log File, Status.

   • Import Results: Three fields are shown here, the amount of total usage records, the amount of successful imports, and the amount of failed ones.

   • Notifications & Updates Section: The section that can be seen in every object in BSS. 

   • Detailed Log  All records originating from the import through the Import File Wizard or the call of the import API can be seen here. Two tabs can be shown in this section, and in each tab, 10 records can be viewed. 

     • "Failed" tab: In this tab, the user can view the failed records, but they are also offered the opportunity to fix the problems faced during import and resubmit these records.

       To this end, in this tab, the following elements can be seen: 

       1. The 8 aforementioned fields that every usage record has, but in text mode, so that the user can edit them. 

       2. Errors Found for the specific record. For example:

          • For errors related to the Account Identifier, the error message is dynamic and shown as: <Selected account identifier name> is Undefined

          • Error related to the Subscription: Subscription is Undefined

          • Error related to the Resource: Resource is Undefined

          • Errors related to the date fields: Start Date must be subsequent to Subscription SignUp Date, Start Date must be subsequent to Subscription Start Date for Pay-per user charges, End Date Cannot be after Current Date, Start Date must be an earlier date than End Date, etc.

          • Errors related to the unit cost and unit price: UnitCost or UnitPrice cannot be less than zero for Metered Resources.

       3. The problematic field, with red color. 

       4. In case the problematic field is the Account Identifier, the user cannot change the Account Identifier that was previously selected in STEP 2. If they want to change it anyway, they must cancel this import and start a new one.
          
          

     • "Successful" tab: In this tab, the user can view the successful records.

       Specifically, they can see the following: 

       1. Customer: Link to the customer for whom the usage record is.

       2. Subscription: Link to the subscription involved in the process.

       3. Resource: The name of the resource usage.

       4. Usage Type: Pay-per-use/ Metered.

       5. Charge Entity: In the case of a PPU product, this is a link to the product charged.

       6. Start Date: The beginning date of the consumption data.

       7. End Date: The end date of the consumption data.

       8. Quantity: The quantity of the resource.

       9. Unit Cost: The default cost price per unit of resource.

       10. Unit Price: The default sell price per unit of resource.

       11. Unit of Measure: The unit of measure of the product derived from the charge entity field. 

       12. Billed: A green checkbox appears in case the usage record has already been invoiced. Otherwise, it is left blank. 
           
           

2. Actions available on this page: 

   • "Apply changes and perform import again": This action is only available in the "Failed" tab and offers the user the opportunity to re-import fixed usage records.
     
     

     The results of this action are: 

     1. If the import is not done immediately, the view returns to the list of the usage data objects, and the status of the specific object becomes "Import in progress". If the import is done immediately, the view page gets refreshed. 

     2. The indices for the amount of successfully imported/ failed records get updated. 

     3. In the history of this usage data object, an entry can be seen bearing the comment "Imported X corrected records". 

   • "Export": This action is available to both tabs, and it allows the user to export the usage data records of each tab in an Excel file.  

Invoicing of the Usage Records with Billing Data After the Import

Since the importing of the metered resources with billing data is allowed for previous billing cycles, as well as the current billing cycle, no Pending invoice is visible although it has been created, for successful imports. These records are directly stored in the system database. In the next execution of the billing service, a check is initiated for any imported resource usages that have not yet been invoiced. The invoice will be generated automatically on the same night of the import date and the invoice will become available inside the invoices of the related account in the BSS portal.

Rounding Example During Invoicing

You can check the following example to have a better understanding of the rounding logic of additional billing data after their import and during their invoicing. Let’s assume the following Excel file for a PPU Subscription with the following data:

Step 1: Provided Excel Data

Step 2: Database Record Creation

 
Step 3: UI Display of Values in the Importer Tool

Step 4: Invoice Generation, assuming a Price List with 10% Markup

• Usage1: (0,3 * 250,20) = 75,06* 1,1 = 82,566 ~ 82,57 $

• Usage2: (2 * 3412,8645) = 6825,729 * 1,1 = 7508,3019 ~ 7.508,30 $

• Usage3: (3,48 * 6029,3986) = 20.982,307128  * 1,1 =  23.080,5378408 ~ 23.080,54 $

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