The billing process in SAP Subscription Billing encompasses various stages that are essential for capturing, calculating, and generating accurate bills for the services or products subscribed to by customers. The process typically involves the following key steps.
- Usage Data Capture: The billing process begins with the capture of usage data, and recurring or one-time fees that may include information about the quantity of services or resources consumed by customers within a specific billing period. This data serves as the basis for calculating the charges that will be included in the bill.
- Rating and Pricing: Once the usage data is captured, SAP Subscription Billing applies the relevant pricing and rating rules to calculate the charges associated with the consumed services. This step involves mapping usage data to predefined pricing models and tariffs to determine the cost to be billed to customers.
- Bill Generation: After the charges are calculated, the solution generates itemized bills that detail the services utilized, the corresponding charges, and any additional fees or discounts. These bills are tailored to the specific subscription terms and billing cycles defined for each customer.
- Bill Presentment: Once the bills are generated, the solution enables the delivery of the bills to customers through systems, such as SAP S/4 HANA, for electronic statements, online portals, or traditional paper invoices. This ensures that customers receive timely and accurate billing information.
Summary
In the previous unit, you have uploaded usage data to SAP Subscription Billing. The amount to be charged to the customer for the specific usage record was calculated and then incorporated into the bill. The bills are segregated between usage-based fees and recurring fees. In the following steps, you will create an API call to fetch the bill information. All relevant details regarding the customer's payment obligations are found within the bill.