Integration with a solution order
Subscription billing items have been made available in solution orders to set-up and allow for integration with SAP Subscription Billing.
Beside subscription specific functionality, a subscription billing item in a solution order also supports some generic functions which are also available for the other items in the solution order.
Master data records such as products and business partners (like the sold-to party), as well as the set-up sales areas must be consistent with the products, customers, and markets as defined in SAP Subscription Billing.
The following are available in SAP S/4HANA Cloud - Service:
| Product item category group | SBPD | Sub.Billing Product |
| Item category in the solution order | SOSB | Subscr. Billing Item |
Subscription rates
Rate Elements were also introduced for a subscription billing item.
Rate element product, rate type and net value are retrieved from the SAP Subscription Billing system via a simulation and cannot be changed directly in a solution order.
There are three condition types added to the pricing procedure for the solution order to store the prices retrieved from SAP Subscription Billing for the rate elements. These three condition types are called PMP1 (One-Time Price), PMP2 (Recurring Price) and PMP3 (Usage-Based Price).
Tax amounts and the gross value are calculated based on the pricing procedure of the solution order in SAP S/4HANA Cloud.
Subscription parameters
Subscription Parameters define additional attributes for a subscription product, such as the number of licenses (seats) for a software product. The subscription parameters that are specified in a solution order item, must have been configured first for the product in SAP Subscription Billing.
Pricing Parameters in a solution order item are used to calculate the price for the subscription. The pricing parameter that can be specified must also have been configured first. This is done in the rate plan template that is assigned to the product in SAP Subscription Billing.
Simulation options for a subscription billing item
Clicking on the Simulate button triggers a manual simulation through a synchronous communication between SAP S/4HANA Cloud and SAP Subscription Billing. In cases where manual simulation of a subscription billing item is NOT executed before the item is saved, an asynchronous process is triggered to perform the simulation.
When the simulation status of a subscription billing item in a solution order is Pending, it is recommended to perform a simulation. By doing so, the default data for reference and a real-time view of all other data, such as the calculated values, is retrieved from SAP Subscription Billing.
The following tasks are executed during a simulation:
- Validation whether pricing parameters and subscription parameters are consistent and fit to what is set-up in SAP Subscription Billing.
- Retrieval of the missing pricing parameters and subscription parameters, and their default values, from SAP Subscription Billing.
- Retrieval of rate elements and terms from SAP Subscription Billing.
- Forwarding of the parameter values and terms that have been specified in the solution order to SAP Subscription Billing and retrieval of the calculated values, based on the calculation rules in SAP Subscription Billing.
Regarding the simulation status:
| Simulation Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Simulation has not yet started or is pending to start after new inputs are entered. |
| Error | Errors occurred during the simulation. |
| Completed | Simulation has completed without errors and data has been updated. |
| Actions which impact the Simulation Status | Resulting Change to the Simulation Status |
|---|---|
| Set to Pending. |
| Choose the Simulate button |
|
| Choose the Save button when the simulation status is Pending. | Set to Completed if the asynchronous simulation process is successful (business errors may exist in this case). Set to Error if any technical errors occur during the asynchronous simulation process. |
| Choose the Redistribute button when the simulation status is Error. | The system redistributes data for the solution order and therefore also triggers the asynchronous simulation process. Set to Completed if the asynchronous simulation process is successful (business errors may exist in this case). Set to Error if any technical errors occur during the asynchronous simulation process. |
Orchestration and a subscription billing item in the transaction history
Forward data exchange: responsible to create follow-up subscriptions in SAP Subscription Billing with solution order reference. Released items are eligible for follow-up creation. Open and In Process items are picked up for offline/asynchronous simulation in case of a change in contract terms, subscription parameters and pricing parameters.
Backward data exchange: responsible to update solution order item with the follow-up subscription reference upon successful creation of a follow-up document. The subscription reference is reflected in the Transaction History and allows a direct navigation to SAP Subscription Billing. Also sets the status of the item as Completed when the follow-up subscription is created.
A subscription item in progress reporting
The Solution Order Progress displays the process flow for a subscription at both header and item level.
At header level, the document flow of the subscription billing item is displayed and the attributes for the subscription node are fetched from the provider contract which is associated to the subscription. The provider contract is created in SAP S/4HANA Cloud from SAP Subscription Billing through an inbound event.
The subscription node offers navigation to the subscription itself in SAP Subscription Billing and also to the provider contract in SAP S/4HANA Cloud.
