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Tariff matching is defined per account and was described in the Client accounts chapter.
Creating new tariff
To add a new tariff press the Add button located in left up corner. Already in the dialogue you will be asked to set some of the properties.
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A newly created tariff will have an empty rates. You can add them manually or import from a file which is much more convenient way.
Settings
Each tariff has its own set of properties. They are available in the General tab in the tariff edit panel.
Tariff name
A tariff identifier which must be unique in the system. Tariffs created by resellers have the reseller identifier automatically added to the name as a prefix, e.g. If the reseller identifier is Roy and the tariff name is Standard, then the tariff name in the system with the prefix would be Roy:Standard
Minimal time
Defines the minimal duration of a call (in seconds) that is charged as one block. Even if the call is connected for a shorter time it will be charged for the time set as the Minimal duration. Resolution steps required to cover minimal duration will be used to calculate the cost. If the resolution is 6 and the minimum time is 40 then the minimum time will be 7 billing steps as 7*6=42 seconds.
If the minimal duration is set to 0 (default value) the minimal cost will be determined by the billing step (resolution). Using minimal duration is required only if it should be different from the resolution.
Resolution (billing step)
Rates defined in the tariff are per one minute. Resolution allows for fractional charging, i.e. for time units different than one minute. Usually it will be one second but can be any number of seconds.
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Per second billing allows for very accurate charging for the time used by the caller.
Surcharge time and Surcharge amount
This value defines the initial duration of a call (in seconds) which will be charged with a Surcharge amount. The remainder of the call will be charged using Minimal duration and Resolution.
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After the Surcharge time the billing starts as if it was the beginning of the call. For example, if the Surcharge time field is 10 seconds and Surcharge amount is 0.1 then the first 10 seconds of each call will be charged 0.1 and only after then will the normal billing start.
Tariff multiplier
In some situations you may want the clients to see in the dialer or portal different rates than those at which they are actually charged. The Tariff multiplier is a value by which the charging function will multiply the rate when calculating the cost of call.
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This feature is also used in Calling cards services, the IVR announces the cost of the call based on rates whereas the charging function takes the rate multiplied by the tariff multiplier’s value.
Rate addition
Works in a similar way to Tariff multiplier but instead of multiplying, it adds a defined value to a rate per minute.
Time span
When this option is enabled you can set different rates for different days or hours. The time spans can be defined per each prefix in the Rates tab. This option only mark the tariff as supporting time spans. After enabling you have to save the change, only then the time span related fields will appear in rate edit view.
Currency
Defines the tariff rates currency. See details in the Currency section.
Rates
Rates tab is a list of prefixes and their corresponding parameters including cost per minute and other properties.
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When many variations of a prefix have the same rate you should consider replacing them with one, more general prefix. Tariffs including fewer prefixes are easier to manage. In some situations however you may want to keep detailed breakouts for reporting purposes.
When adding a new prefix, you need to utilize either the SMS Rates tab or the Calls Rates tab. Additionally, when searching for rates, select either the Calls or SMS rates tab and click on 'Show Filters' to display the input field
For each prefix you can define a set of properties, some of the parameters are used for cost calculation. They will differ for SMS and call type of event.
Call rates properties
Description
Description of the entry, usually related to the area or network represented by the prefix, e.g. UK Orange mobile.
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If you assign a bundle to a particular prefix it will make the charging function first to check if the client account has the bundle’s balance. If yes, the cost of the call will be calculated according to the bundles properties and rates. For details check the chapter dedicated to Plans
SMS rate properties
SMS is charged per its occurrence, there is no duration and therefore there is fewer parameters that influence the calculated cost. They include Multiplier and Addition which works same as for the call rate.
Assigning countries
Both in VUP and the dialers a user can look for rates per country by choosing the country from the drop down list. Information about the selected country is sent to the voipswitch platform which responds with the prefixes, rates and descriptions for those records from the client’s tariff that have the chosen country assigned.
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You can assign countries using bulk operation by first selecting prefixes by ticking their checkboxes and then click on More button and choose Assign countries from menu.
Importing rates from file
Import function is next to the Add button in the Calls/SMS Rates tab. Next drag and drop the csv file that contains the rate list using your right mouse button or press on the field to upload the rates . You can also tick the Convert currency option, it will convert voice rates from the file being imported to one of the currencies defined in the system. The rates will be calculated using the ratio assigned to the chosen currency.
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Existing prefixes are not replaced if there is the same prefix in the import file. If you want to replace the records from the tariff with the new ones from the file you should first remove the existing entries. To do so check the rows which should be removed (or tick the first checkbox which selects all rows) and then go to More and click Delete.
Exporting rates
In the Call or SMS Rates tab, there is the Export function on the right. It lets you download the rates from the system to a csv file. The file format is exactly the same as for importing rates into the system.
Exporting rates is often helpful if you want to apply several changes in the list. The easiest way is to download them to a file, open in excel or any other editor, work locally and then replace the rates on the server through the import procedure.
Copying a tariff
If you want to create a new tariff based on an existing one you should use the Copy function which is under the New menu in the main Tariffs section (above the list of tariffs).
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There are separate modification options for sms and calling rates.
Define future changes
This function’s purpose is to override the existing tariff with a new one at a given moment in future. For example when you work on a new rates and want to make them effective from the beginning of the week. The Event Manager process is responsible for switching the tariffs at the programmed moment.
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In the future tariff you can edit all the settings as for the regular tariff. In addition you can change the date and time when the change will take effect.
Tariff to Dialed number
Tariff to DNIS feature allows to use a different tariff depending on the dialed number. It is used only in two stage dialing scenarios when a client first connects to the access number and then dials the destination number through the IVR. Depending on which access number was used to dial in to the IVR the system will choose appropriate tariff.
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Two entries with the same prefix and same who can use type cannot be added. Same prefixes are allowed only if they differ in type, i.e. one entry is for the client type and the other for resellers only.
Tariff to ANI
Similarly as the Tariff to DNIS this option is used mainly while providing the calling cards service. Tariffs to AN'I enables changing the tariff depending on client’s ANI (Caller ID).
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This feature is configurable per client account. If you want to enable for a particular client click on the menu button next to the tariff drop down list in the client edit view and in the dialogue select the Tariff based on caller ID option.
NPA
The NPA numbers table enables changing the tariff assigned to a client according to two parameters – the dialed number and Caller ID. This feature is useful in the USA, where it is often necessary to use different tariffs depending on the destination state and the origination state. This function requires a special table that links places with codes.
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