Use Case Setup
This section covers setup for common use cases. The steps list what to do; actual setup is in the respective sections of the user guides.
This assumes you are ready for the Mediation setup and Usage Processing setup. These are not covered here.
Note that for any use case:
- Understand the entire use case from plan setup and instance management to invoice line presentation.
- Understand how our PS team or an SI partner, plan to connect the use case with workflow solutions or customizations.
- Learn how the service sells with an order and how line items appear on the invoice. This may give you more insight of how the use-case needs to be actually modelled.
- There may be a terminology or understanding gap regarding experience with Aria and its use case. For Allegro, you might need to approach the use case with a fresh perspective.
- Volume Rating
- Volume rating, also known as 2-pass or bill-time rating, applies a single tier rate to all usage in a billing period based on the customer’s total accumulated usage. The article explains how to configure accumulators, plans, and Allegro price-offers so that usage types share a common balance-based tiered pricing model using the Volume Rating option.
- Aria Customized Tier Rates for Accounts
- This article explains how Aria allows account-specific customized usage tiers and tier rates using core Aria customized tiers, while Allegro monetization models themselves do not yet support customized rates in the catalog or order flow. It outlines the expected behavior and setup steps, including configuring accumulator resources, defining plans and price-offers, and how the rating engine selects customized versus standard tier pricing based on the subscription’s configured price unit.
- Time Model-Based Pricing
- Time model-based pricing in Aria Allegro lets you rate usage based on derived time attributes such as day of week, time of day (including peak/off-peak and custom windows), and holidays within a Transaction Attribute-based pricing model. This article outlines how to configure time models, set up plans and price offers, and define ordered transaction-attribute groups (with a recommended ANYDAY/ANYTIME/ANYHOLIDAY fallback) so that qualifying usage records receive the correct time-based rates.
- Zone Model-Based Pricing
- Zone model-based pricing in Aria Allegro allows you to monetize usage based on Standard or Geographical zone models using calling party, called party, and distance attributes for rating (for example, calls from the US to the EU or rest of world). It explains configuration steps for creating zone models, assigning them to plans and usage services, defining pricing by zone (including wildcard and best-match logic), and setting up default fall-through pricing for unmatched call combinations.
- Quantity Tier Usage Pricing
- This article explains how quantity tier usage pricing in Aria Allegro applies different rates to segments of a single long usage event, such as a multi-hour Zoom session, based on duration tiers beginning at zero for each record.
- Progressive Tier Usage Pricing
- Progressive Tier Usage Pricing in Aria Allegro applies tax bracket–style tiering to usage, allowing different pricing tiers to apply within a single billing cycle or even a single usage record as thresholds are crossed. The article explains how to configure this model by setting up accumulators, core Aria plans, and a TIERED/BALANCE-based price offer with a PROGRESSIVE tier type that maintains a running total for subsequent usage records.
- Tier Shared Pricing in a Plan Instance Hierarchy
- This article describes how Allegro supports tier-shared pricing by using a common accumulator so multiple VOICE and SMS usage types in a plan instance hierarchy can share tier thresholds while still being rated with their own tier rates. It walks through a setup where non‑international VOICE and SMS usage types contribute to a combined accumulator, which then determines the progressive balance-based tier applied to each relevant usage record across the hierarchy.
- Use It or Lose It Recurring Allowance
- This article explains that, in Aria Allegro, allowances on data plans are use-it-or-lose-it by default, with rollover not yet supported, and that data usage records consume from the recurring grant tied to the recurring service. It then outlines step-by-step setup instructions for configuring the allowance resource, core Aria price plan and services, and Allegro price offers so that each usage record draws down the allowance and offsets charges without exceeding the rated quantity.
- Shared Allowance in a Plan Instance Hierarchy
- This article explains how Aria Allegro supports a shared allowance model within a master plan instance hierarchy so a single allowance can be consumed by multiple usage types and related child plans. It outlines the expected behavior, variant where the allowance is on an add-on plan, and step-by-step setup to configure allowance resources, price plans, and price offers so usage records draw down a common allowance balance that cannot exceed the rated quantity or amount.
- Multiple Shared Allowances
- This article explains how Aria Allegro supports multiple shared allowances within a master plan instance hierarchy so recurring services can share allowance balances across different usage types in a subscription. It describes the expected rating behavior and provides step-by-step configuration guidance for setting up multiple shared allowances on recurring services and associated usage price offers in core Aria and Aria Allegro.
- Pricing for Combination of Usage Attributes
- This article explains how Allegro’s usage attribute-based pricing lets you define rates for specific combinations of usage record attributes like QoS, Usage Class, and Flex Attribute 1, with pricing applied based on the best matching combination. It also outlines the setup steps in core Aria and Allegro—configuring plans, rate schedules, and usage attribute-based price offers—so allowances and rates are correctly applied to each usage record.
- Prospective Tier Pricing
- This article explains that prospective tier pricing in Aria Allegro uses usage accumulated over a prior evaluation period (days, months, quarters, or years) to determine a fixed tier price for a future pricing term. It then outlines the expected behavior, variations in term lengths, and a step-by-step setup process, including configuring accumulators, plans, and a tiered price-offer with a prospective tier type and balance-based tier reference.
- Combine Pricing Models
- This article explains how Aria Allegro’s COMPOSITE pricing model lets you combine multiple monetization capabilities—such as time model, tier pricing, and transaction attributes—into a single pricing configuration. It walks through a use case that ties progressive tier pricing to day-of-week and time-of-day attributes, plus setup steps for configuring accumulators, time models, and transaction-attribute-based tiers.
- Derive Usage Quantity Instead of Passed Attribute
- This article explains how Aria Allegro can derive usage quantity when network elements or external applications do not send a quantity attribute on usage records, using Rate Unit and Rate Unit Map configurations tied to services and price offers. It describes configuration steps for service types, rate units, mappings, plans, and price offers so the rating engine can compute quantities via expressions, prior meter reads, or database functions and then apply the correct usage rates.
- Multi-Rate for Usage With No Dependency
- This article explains how to configure the Multi Rate Usage type in Aria Allegro so that multiple charge types (connection fee, per-minute usage, and surcharge) are applied to each usage record without pricing dependencies between them. It walks through a VOICE call example, showing expected invoice results, configuration steps in both core Aria and Allegro, and optional variants such as separating charges onto distinct invoice lines.
- Multi-Rate for Usage With Pricing Dependency
- This article explains how to configure Aria Allegro’s Multi Rate Usage type so that multiple charges (connection fee, per‑minute usage, and a percentage surcharge) are applied to a single usage record with pricing dependency between them. It walks through a VOICE call example, configuration steps in both core Aria and Allegro, and shows how the system produces either a single blended invoice line totaling 1.29 USD for a 10‑minute call or separate invoice lines for each charge variant.
- Customized Minimum Commitment as an Allowance
- This article explains how to configure a customized minimum commitment in Aria Allegro so it grants a per-account, use-it-or-lose-it allowance, where usage within the allowance is free and only overage is billed. It outlines supported variants (such as sharing commitments across usage types) and provides step-by-step setup instructions spanning Allegro system properties, allowance resources, core Aria pricing, and account subscription configuration.
- Minimum Commitment With a True-up
- This article describes how to configure a minimum commitment with a true-up in Aria Allegro so usage is billed normally, no extra charge applies when usage exceeds the commitment, and a delta true-up charge is assessed only when usage falls short. It outlines configuration steps using accumulators, customized recurring commitment charges, and the NSF framework so that under-commitment true-up fees can be rated in Allegro and synchronized to core Aria at term end.
- Single VOICE File
- This article describes how to configure Aria Allegro to rate a single VOICE usage file into one invoice line item using zoning, special-call quantity handling, and transaction attribute-based pricing. It walks through setting up the source platform, zone and rate models, mediation rules, plans, and price offers, and then outlines variants for quantity-tiered and balance-based tier pricing by zone.