Rating Service
One of the most powerful parts of our system is our dynamic rating architecture. Rating is the process of calculating the “price” of a chargeable event. On the surface rating may seem to be a simple problem but in reality it can become very complex. For example: Tiered Rating, where the unit price varies with the total number of events; Special Day Rating, where prices vary depending on the day of week; Mixed Plan Rating, where more than one rate plan applies to different parts of the transaction.
Rate Engines
Rate Engines define the particular method of counting or measuring to calculate a price. Each Rate Engine supports a different method of rating items to create prices. Each Rate Engine can support an unlimited number of Rate Plans (see below). Generally, each engine will support a single style of rating. Standard styles include, tiered time-based rating, event count rating, fixed rate plus time, preferred/standard time periods, etc.
In addition, custom Rate Engines can be developed to support your specific rating requirements. The entire rating/pricing system is built using SDP's collaborative service model which makes adding new rating features easier than ever. Rate Engines can be added and removed from the system without impacting the stability or integrity of the application. Basically, a new Rate Engine is just dropped into the application. Once activated it will be available for creating new Rate Plans.
Rate Plans
Rate Plans contain specific rating elements used by a Rate Engine. Rating elements are the set values required by the Rating Engine, such as, price per hour, preferred arrival times, etc. The actual number and kind of elements are set by the individual Rating Engines.
Each Rate Plan has a linked Rating Engine, a common name, and a date-range that establishes when the Rate Plan will be active. The linked Rating Engine determines the specific kind, and number of rating elements required to define the Rate Plan.
For example, time-based parking Rating Engines will require a set of time durations and prices. (E.g., 0-1 hours for $10, 1-4 hours for $20, 4-8 hours for $24, 8-24 hours for $30, etc.) Likewise, an event based Rating Engine will require a set of event counts and prices. (E.g., 1 event at $0.10, 2-100 at $0.08 per event, 101-1000 at $0.06 per event.)
Some Rating Engines require rating elements to define "preferred" days and times. These support selective pricing based on when the customer takes the chargeable action. Other advanced Rating Engines are designed to select the Rate Plan that should be used based on the conditions of the event. E.g., (Peak times may be rated using a Rate Plan based on 30 minute time blocks, while off-peak times may be rated using a Rate Plan based on multi-hour blocks, etc.).
Rating Pipeline Hooks
Pre and Post rating hooks provide an opportunity for external systems to inspect and affect the pipeline message outside of the standard process. This is a very powerful feature for incorporating other enterprise services into the rating process.
Rating Chronology
All rate plan defintions contain an active date range so you can schedule upcoming rate changes to occur automatically. Upgrading rates for entire groups of customers is a snap. Historical rate plan information can be retained for you to reference as long as desired so you can easily look back at prior rate changes.
Accounting Integration
When designing a Rate Plan the rating elements used to create charges and determine prices are mapped to local GL accounts. Then when a rated transaction is charged, or paid, corresponding journal entries will be made in the GarageCraft Finance Service. For example, rate elements in a parking Rate Plan can be assigned to the local Revenue GL account, or Parking GL account, or any other revenue account created in the system. Some of our customers like to design a specific rate plan for a large client. Then they assign the rate elements to use a GL account specifically for that big client.
See Finance Service to learn more about the Enterprise Accounting to GarageCraft Financial Accounting integration.