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Mass Escalation and Discount

Modules > Advanced Subscription Management > Periodic tasks > Mass escalation and discount

Use this page to update the escalation and discount rates of multiple billing schedules at once.

For more information about subscription billing and escalations and discounts, see Escalations and discounts.

Update Escalation and Discount Rates of Multiple Schedules

With the Mass escalation and discount page you can select billing schedules, based on filters that you select and then update the escalation and discount rates of the selected billing schedules. You can filter the available billing schedules by using:

  • Billing schedule numbers
  • Item groups
  • Customer accounts
  • Billing schedule groups

Billing schedules and billing schedule lines will not be available on the Mass Escalation and Discounts Processing page if:

  • Escalation is turned off.
  • Billing schedule lines where revenue split is used with BOM product items (top-level BOM items) and the items have No parent amount as the allocation method. 
    • If you use alternative allocation methods, then lines with allocation methods other than No parent amount can be used for mass escalation or discount processing.
  • Billing schedule lines where revenue split is used with BOM line items (line-level BOM items) and the items have Zero amount as the allocation method.
    • If you use alternative allocation methods, then lines with allocation methods other than Zero amount can be used for mass escalation or discount processing.
  • Billing schedule lines which are terminated or have the last billing status.

  • Billing line which billing frequency is shorter than the escalation frequency. For example, if the billing schedule frequency is Annually, and the escalation frequency is monthly, quarterly or semi-annually.

  • Billing schedule lines which are unbilled revenue lines.
  • Billing schedules lines which use the ASC 642 accounting standard. Those billing schedule lines will not be available if they are from sales orders which are not invoiced and if they have journal lines which have not been posted.

To update the escalation or discount rates of billing schedules, do the following:

  1. Go to Modules > Advanced Subscription Management > Periodic tasks > Mass escalation and discount.
  2. Under the General FastTab, for From date and To date, enter the range of dates to use to filter the available billing schedules.
    1. You can also use the Filter by options to select how billing schedules will be filtered, either by their start dates or end dates.
    2. If you are using a consumer price index (CPI) for your adjustments then select the calculation method to use for the CPI.
  3. Under the table of the General FastTab add a new line.
    1. Under Discount, select if the adjustment is an escalation (unchecked) or discount (checked).
    2. Enter a start date for the when the adjustment will apply.
    3. Enter a frequency for how often the adjustment will apply.
    4. Enter a percentage to use as the adjustment, or enter an amount to use as an adjustment.
    5. If you are using a CPI, select the CPI calculation method to use.
    6. Enter an end date for when the adjustment will stop applying.
  4. Under the Records to include FastTab, select Filter.
    1. In the filter page, select the filters you want to use to generate billing schedules and lines.
    2. After you have selected your filters, select OK.
  5. In the Mass escalation and discount page, select View preview to open a new page where you can preview your billing schedule lines and how adjustments will apply to them.
  6. In the preview page, review the information for the filtered billing schedule lines. You can edit the net adjustment percentage or net adjustment amount for any billing schedule line if they need to be corrected.
    1. If you need to go back to the previous page select Back.
  7. After you have reviewed the adjustments, select Process to apply the adjustments.

After you have applied the adjustments you can then view the updated amounts in your billing schedules. Go to the View Billing Detail page to view those details.

Append Escalation and Discount Option

When enabled, the Append Escalation and Discount Option allows users to append or replace the unit price when the escalation/discount start date is the same. Additionally, the system will not replace the escalation/discount for past dates when setting escalations/discounts in the future. Changes to escalations/discounts will also be tracked.

Example - If Set to Yes

An existing escalation with no end date has been set, with a Mass Escalation and Discount scheduled to run with a start date of 01/01/2025 and no end date. After processing, the existing escalation line(s) will remain as is and a new escalation line will be added to the billing schedule line escalation window.

Example - If Set to No

An existing escalation with no end date has been set. After processing, all existing escalation will be cleared, and a new one will be created.

Update Empty End Date When Appending Option

When enabled, this option allows users to keep the prior escalation end date as is when manually creating escalations and discounts on a billing schedule line. In this instance, the prior escalation end date will be updated to one day prior to the new escalation start date. For example, the new escalation start date is 07/01/2024; the prior escalation (when applicable) will be updated to 06/30/2024. This option will only be enabled if the Append Escalation and Discount option is enabled.

Example 1

  • Append escalation and discount lines = Yes

  • Update empty end date when appending = Yes

  • Existing escalation end date = Never

Mass escalation processing options:

  • Append escalation and discount lines = Yes

  • Update empty end date when appending = Yes

Results

A new escalation line will be added. The end date of the prior escalation will be updated from “Never” to 12/31/2024, one day prior to the new start date 01/01/2025.

Example 2

  • Append escalation and discount lines = Yes

  • Update empty end date when appending = No

  • Existing escalation end date = Never

Mass escalation processing options:

  • Append escalation and discount = Yes

  • Update empty end date when appending = No

Results

A new escalation line will be added. The end date of the prior escalation will remain as “Never”.

Example 3

Mass escalation processing options:

  • Append escalation and discount = No

Results

When Append Escalation and Discount is set to No, all prior escalation will be cleared.

Note: If there are multiple existing escalations or discounts, only the latest escalation (or discount depending on the option) will be updated.

Align With Renewals

When enabled, users have the ability to align the escalation with the last renewal or next renewal date of a schedule line. The value of these fields will default to the values on Parameters screen. Billing Schedule records with the same values won't be filtered, but this can be achieved by adding a condition to the “Records to include” section.

Align With Renewal Date

Align with renewal date = No

  • Escalation and discount works with default behavior

  • “Align with” dropdown is disabled

Align with renewal date = Yes

  • Filters the schedule lines that are set to renew automatically

  • “Align with” dropdown is enabled

Align With Last Renewal

Align with = Last renewal

  • The “From date” and “To date” filters filter the schedule lines according to the current schedule line dates

  • The “Start date” and “End date” will not be editable because the “Start date” will be determined based on the start date of the last renewal period

This option is used when the mass escalation is applied after the new renewal period is created. The purpose of finding the escalation and discount start date automatically and aligning it to the last renewal period is to prevent system from applying a proration to the escalation amount.

Examples
Billing Frequency Schedule Line Start Date Schedule Line End Date Mass Escalation Applied On Calculated Escalation Start Date
Annual 01/01/2025 31/12/2026 01/01/2026 01/01/2025
Quarterly 09/01/2024 08/31/2026 09/01/2025 07/01/2025
Monthly 10/01/2024 09/30/2026 10/01/2025 08/01/2025

Align With Next Renewal

Align with = Next renewal

  • The “From date” and “To date” filters filter the schedule lines according to the next renewal start date

  • The “Start date” and “End date” are not editable because these are determined based on the start date of the next renewal period. This calculation will be done separately for all the schedule lines that are targeted during this process; therefore, each schedule line will have a different escalation and discount start date.

This option is used when the mass escalation is applied before the new renewal period is created. The purpose of finding the start date automatically is to ensure the escalation isn't started early, and instead delay it until the start of the next renewal period.

Examples
Billing Frequency Schedule Line Start Date Schedule Line End Date Mass Escalation Applied On Calculated Escalation Start Date
Annual 01/01/2025 31/12/2025 10/01/2024 01/01/2026
Monthly 09/01/2024 08/31/2025 04/01/2025 09/01/2025
Quarterly 09/01/2024 08/31/2025 05/01/2025 09/01/2025

Batch Jobs

When enabled, users can create a batch job that runs in the background to retrieve the billing schedule lines that will be included in the processing.

The parameter section and the escalation and discount grid will be disabled when data generated by a batch job is available, or when a batch job is in Waiting or Running status.

If data has been previously generated, it will be automatically displayed on the grid at the bottom of the window.

  • Available buttons include:

    • Generate data/Refresh data – Opens the batch dialog window to regenerate a set of data based on the new parameters and filters. This will delete the existing set of data.

    • Batch – Opens the batch dialog window to process the escalation/discount to apply to the corresponding billing schedule line.

    • Close – Closes the window.

When this functionality is disabled, the user can click Preview to retrieve the records and view the list of billing schedule lines where the escalation or discount will be applied. This option is recommended for small datasets only.

Editing Data

Users have the option to edit the data on the grid or export to Excel.

After downloading the file generated, users must configure the connection to Microsoft Dynamics add-ins from Excel.

Note: When multiple sources of escalation and/or discount exist, the 'Next Adjustment Percentage' and 'Next Adjustment Amount' fields cannot be edited.

Fields

When you open the Mass escalation and discount page the following fields are available

Mass escalation and discount fields
Field Description
General FastTab header
Use batch job

Enable to have a batch job be created to run in the background to retrieve the billing schedule lines that will be included in the processing.

  • Yes: If data has been previously generated, it will be automatically displayed on the grid at the bottom of the window.

  • No: After setting the parameters and filters, the user can click Preview to retrieve the records and view the list of billing schedule lines where the escalation or discount will be applied. This option is recommended for small datasets only.

Consumer price index (CPI) calculation

Select the method to use for CPI escalation calculation.

  • Prior CPI: Uses the previous CPI value for the escalation calculation.
  • Base CPI: Uses the base CPI value for the escalation calculation.
Append escalation and discount
  • Yes: Any escalation or discount will be added to the existing escalation lines on the Billing Schedule Line.
  • No: Any escalation or discount will overwrite any existing escalation lines on the Billing Schedule Line.

This setting must be enabled on the Parameters page.
Update empty end date when appending

Enable to update the escalation end date when creating escalations and discounts on a billing schedule line. It will only update if the existing end date is “Never”. This setting must be enabled on the Parameters page.
Align with renewal date

Allows users to select how they would like to align the renewal date with an escalation. The default field values will be based on the values set on the Parameters page, but can be adjusted as desired.

  • Yes: Align with dropdown will be enabled, and will filter the schedule lines that are set to renew automatically.
  • No: Escalation and discount will continue to work with its default behavior, and the Align with dropdown will be disabled.
Align with

Allows users to select whether they wish to align the renewal date with the last renewal or next renewal. This field is only available when Align with Renewal Date is enabled.

  • Last Renewal: Provides the last renewal start date as the escalation start date. This option is used when the mass escalation applied after the new renewal period is created.

  • Next Renewal: Provides the next renewal start date as the escalation start date. This option is used when the mass escalation applied before the new renewal period is created.
Filter by Select whether to filter available schedules by their start dates or by end dates.
From and To dates Select the range of dates to use to filter the available billing schedules and lines.
General FastTab lines
Discount

Select whether or not the adjustment will be an escalation or discount.

  • Yes: The adjustment will be a discount.
  • No: The adjustment will be an escalation.
Start date Enter the start date for the escalation or discount.
Frequency Select the frequency of the adjustment.
Percentage Enter the percentage of the escalation or discount. This field is unavailable if you have entered an amount.
Amount Enter the amount of the escalation or discount. This field is unavailable if you have entered a percentage.
Consumer price index Select the CPI schedule that is used for the calculations.
End date Select the end date for the escalation or discount.
Records to include
Billing schedule number Displays the billing schedule number if a filter is used for this field.
Customer account Displays the customer account if a filter is used for this field.
Item number Displays the item number if a filter is used for this field.
Item group Displays the item group if a filter is used for this field.

When you select View preview, the following fields are available.

Mass escalation and discount preview fields
Field Description
Customer account Displays the customer account of the adjustment.
Name Displays the name of the customer.
Line number Displays the line number which is affected by the adjustment.
Item number Displays the item number affected by the adjustment.
Product name Displays the product name.
Item group Displays the item group which the item belongs to.
Unit Displays the unit of measurement for the item.
Original price Displays the original price of the item.
Last invoiced period Displays the amount of the last invoiced period of the billing line.
Next invoice price Displays the next invoice price which has the adjustment applied.
Previous adjustment percentage Displays the calculated percentage of the previous adjusted amount and the original price.
Previous adjustment amount Displays the calculated difference between the last invoiced price and the original price.
Net adjustment percentage Displays the percentage of the adjustment. You can edit this field if necessary.
Net adjustment amount Displays the amount of the adjustment. You can edit this field if necessary.

Actions

When you open the Mass escalation and discount page the following actions are available

Mass escalation and discount actions window
Button Description
New Adds a line where you can create a record.
Remove Deletes a record.
Filter

Select to specify conditions for billing schedule filtering. You can filter billing schedules using:

  • Billing schedule numbers
  • Item groups
  • Customer accounts
  • Billing schedule groups
View preview Select to open a preview page which displays information about how the adjustments are applied and will affect the selected billing schedules.
Generate data/Refresh data Opens the batch dialog window to regenerate a set of data based on the new parameters and filters. This will delete the existing set of data.

When you select View preview, the following actions are available.

Mass escalation and discount actions - View preview
Button Description
Process Select to process the adjustment for the billing schedules.
Back Select to go back to the Mass escalation and discount page.
Batch Select to open a batch processing dialog. You can set up a batch process for processing adjustments.
Cancel Select to close the preview page.