Set up tariffs and pricing rules

Important

Draft documentation
This content is a draft version of the SkyBill documentation and is subject to final review. Some information may be incomplete or inaccurate. Features, terminology, and procedures may change before the official release.

A tariff is a pricing plan that specifies the services you bill and the method used to calculate the charges. The Utility Tariff Card page is the starting point for creating and maintaining prices for the utilities you supply.

A tariff combines two elements:

• Tariff components
• Rates and pricing conditions

First, create the tariff components that describe the different ways you track consumption. Then add those components to a tariff and apply the appropriate rates or advanced pricing rules. When the tariff is ready, set its starting date to make it available. You can also update or end the tariff to ensure that existing contracts and future billing remain accurate.

To create a tariff

1. Select Search (Alt+Q) in the upper-right corner, enter Utility Tariffs, and then choose the related link.

2. Select New to create a tariff.

3. On the General FastTab, configure the fields as described in the following table.

   Field	Description
   Code(*)	Enter a unique identifier for the tariff.
   Name(*)	Enter a name that describes the tariff.
   Starting Date(*)	Enter the date when the tariff becomes active.
   Ending Date	Leave this field blank as long as the tariff is active. Use this field only with the Create New Tariff Version action to specify the end date of the current tariff version. By setting up end dates, you can clearly distinguish between different versions of the tariff. To learn more, go to the Change a tariff.
   Reconcile Previous Periods	[Add description]
   Reconcile Period Formula	[Add description]

   (*) Required field.

4. In the Tariff Lines section, add tariff components and set their prices. You can add multiple components to a single tariff. Repeat the steps described in the next section for each tariff component.

To create and configure tariff lines

1. Select Search (Alt+Q) in the upper-right corner, enter Utility Tariffs, and then choose the related link.
2. Select the tariff you want to configure and open the Utility Tariff Card page.
3. In the Tariff Lines section, select New to add a new tariff line and configure the fields as described in the following table.

Field(s)	Description
Tariff Component Code(*)	Select the tariff component.
Name	The field is automatically filled in based on the selected tariff component. You can modify the name if necessary.
Resource(*)	Select the resource that applies to this tariff component. To learn more, go to Resources.
Cost and Profit	Enter the values associated with the tariff line. Those fields are optional but can be useful for internal analysis.
Rate(*)	Enter the price that applies to the tariff line. The rate is expressed as a price per unit of measure, such as dollars per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for electricity or dollars per cubic meter (m³) for water.
Margin	Enter the desired profit margin for the tariff line. This is the percentage that you want to add to the cost to determine the final rate.
Discount % and Discounted Rate	Set up a discount that applies to the tariff line. SkyBill displays these discounts on the sales invoice. Discounts follow the same concept as the Line Discount on the Sales Invoice in Dynamics 365 Business Central. To learn more about discounts in Business Central, go to Set up prices and discounts.
Discount Start Date and Discount End Date	Specify the period when the discount is valid.
Type	[Add description]
Rate/Cost Calculation	Specify calculations of either the Profit or Rate field. Choose the Profit=Rate-Cost option if you know the cost and rate, or choose the Rate=Cost+Profit option if you know the cost and the profit.
Index Formula	Specify the external component that indexes the prices. This is a price formula that can be applied to the tariff line. The Index Formula is primarily used by district heating providers, where the price of heat depends on the market gas price. The utility company can sign a contract with the customer in which the heat price is indexed to the gas price. This way, the company can limit the risk caused by market price fluctuations.
Cons. Conversion Formula	[Add description]
Step Tariff	Select the checkbox to enable step tariff pricing for the tariff line. To learn how to set up step tariffs, go to Step tariffs. You specify the step tariff details, including the step tariff rates, on the Utility Step Tariffs SKY page. However, SkyBill applies the setup on the Utility Step Tariffs SKY page only if you select the Step Tariff checkbox on the tariff line.
Minimum Quantity and the Maximum Quantity (W)	Specify the range of quantities to which the tariff line applies when displayed on the company website. When multiple pricing plans are displayed, the customer selects a plan and enters a quantity within the min-max boundaries defined for that plan.
Unit of Measure	Select the unit of measure that applies to the tariff line.
Hide (W)	Select the checkbox to hide the tariff line on your company website. For example, the website where you present your offering can contain three options: Basic, Standard, and Premium. Each option represents a different tariff. You can show selected tariff details on the portal and hide others. Some tariff lines in SkyBill are included on the tariff for technical reasons. You may want to hide them.
Hide Price (W)	Select the checkbox to hide price on the company website.
Hide Min/Max Quantity (W)	[Add description]
Editable	Select the checkbox to allow editing of the tariff line on the company website.
Short Description and Long Description (W)	Enter brief and detailed descriptions of the tariff line to display on the company website.
Landlord Rate Share field and the Tenant Rate Share	Specify the percentage of the rate that applies to the landlord and tenant, respectively. Learn more about how to set up landlord and tenant billing on the tariff lines.

(*) Required field. (W) Field used only on the company website.

Advanced pricing options

You can enhance your tariff lines with advanced pricing options to accommodate various billing scenarios and customer needs. Select one of the following actions on the Tariff Lines.

Index Setting

Index settings are used for tariff components where prices depend on external vendors, such as gas costs.

Step Tariffs

Step tariffs allow you to define different rates for specific consumption ranges within the same tariff line. This approach provides flexibility in designing pricing models, for example, by offering lower rates for basic usage and higher rates for excess consumption. To learn more, go to Step tariffs.

Time of Use

In some regions, utility companies set different day and night hours for summer and winter. You can configure these seasons in SkyBill so that different day and night rates are applied automatically based on the active season. To learn more, go to Time of Use.

Change a tariff

Whenever you need to update a tariff, for example, to change prices or add new components, create a new version of the tariff. This way, you maintain a clear history of changes and ensure that existing contracts and future billing remain accurate.

For each tariff, you can specify the date it expires. To do that, choose Actions, and then choose Create New Tariff Version. You cannot create a new version of a tariff unless you specify the end date of the current version.

You can also view the previous versions of the tariff by selecting Archived Tariff Versions from the Related tab.

Related information

Design details
Apply step tariffs to utility consumption
Create utility contracts
Time of use pricing
Work with Business Central