Rate Plan Types

Rate Plans may be one of two types: License based (Seat Based), or Usage based.

• Pre-pay, License based models, allow customers to purchase individual licenses, or packages of licenses, the price for which is defined by the Rate Plan.
• Post-pay, Usage based models, configure Vindicia Subscribe to calculate your customer's bill based on their usage during the Billing Period, and the defined Rate Plan.

With License Based Rate Plans, Products are priced according to Pricing Tiers, based on the number of Licenses purchased. When the AutoBill is first created, the number of Licenses it purchases may be entered, and the first Transaction immediately processed. This allows customers to pre-pay for Entitlements granted by the AutoBill.

With Usage Based Rate Plans, Pricing Tiers are created which calculate charges based on the number of items used. Entitlements are granted in advance of use, and customers are charged and billed according to the number of items used during the previous Billing Cycle. Usage Based Rate Plans are, therefore, post pay.

As with other Vindicia Subscribe pricing structures, Entitlements are granted by AutoBills in good standing, based upon their inclusion of Entitlement-granting Products or Billing Plans. In both standard and License-Based pricing plans, a number of Product Items is purchased at the beginning of each Billing Cycle. Upon successful completion of the Billing Transaction, Entitlements are granted for the following Billing Cycle.

Note Rate Plan pricing is metered in units called Rated Unit Events. Each Event may be a single user license, a minute of phone use, or a gigabyte of storage space, depending upon the Unit of measure defined for the Rate Plan. For the purposes of the Rate Plan, an Event is not a moment in time, but a reported number of Rated Units.

In Usage-Based pricing plans, the number of use-events are reported throughout each Billing Cycle. The Account is then billed according to the number of items consumed during the previous Billing Cycle, and granted Entitlements for the following. Although use based Rate Plans are billed in arrears, Entitlements are determined in advance. That is, a successful Billing Event will entitle your customer for their next Billing Cycle.

With Usage Based pricing, use the Vindicia Subscribe API to report each access event to Vindicia Subscribe. At the end of the Billing Cycle, both the Rate Plan's Pricing Tier structure and the number of events logged will be used to determine the price to be billed.

Note Neither Entitlement verification nor use Event logging is automated through Vindicia Subscribe with Rate Plans. Work with Vindicia Client Services for more information to manage Entitlements for Rate Plans.