Feature - Gateway Billing
- Lisa Clancy
This work is in release 4.26.0
We have added the ability for an EPAO to enter future forecasts for gateway throughput. These forecasts will provide key data for EPAOs to see and track performance via the new Billing section. These forecasts will also provide Skilltech Solutions with the data needed to process gateway credits, as we enter each new quarter.
We have added a new area where the epaPRO Gateway Credits can be tracked. This is available via the new Billing screen under System Management.
Users require the new Read Gateway Billing permission to view these details.
Forecasts Screen
The forecasts are calculated based on the financial years agreed in the contract between the EPAO and Skilltech Solutions. Typically this will run from August to July, with quarters being represented as;
August → October
November → January
February → April
May → July.
The forecasts tab can be found within the new Billing screen, which is under System Management.
In order to see this screen, the user will need the new Read Gateway Billing permission.
Updating forecasts requires the new Update Gateway Forecasts permission.
It is possible to change the forecast year by using the Financial Year dropdown. This will allow for past years to be shown and also the next year.
We are making use of some foundational development made with the Essentials work, which means data as far back as that version will be available within this screen.
Due to Skilltech billing each quarter based on the forecasts within that quarter, it is not possible to edit forecasted values once the quarter has begun. For example, if it is the 23rd of March, then February, March and April will be unavailable to edit, along with all months in the past.
The “annual forecast” field acts as a quick summary and shortcut method for distributing an annual forecast over the month.
When updating the monthly forecast, which you can do by entering into the individual fields below, the annual forecast will also be updated with the sum of all months.
It is also possible to enter a value into the “annual forecast” field and then click the Calculate monthly button which will distribute the annual figure into each of the months. As shown below on the screenshot - we have selected the next financial year and you can see where we have added the annual forecast of 10,000 gateways - if we then click on Calculate Monthly it will spread this evenly across the months. You can then Save this forecast using the save option bottom left of the screen
Note that if the figure does not equally divide, the remainder will be placed into the last month.
New Permissions
Update Gateway Forecasts
This permission is given to the owner role by default and will grant the user the ability to update the forecasts.
To help with visibility of future forecasting, credits purchased/carried over and the number of credits consumed we have added a new billing dashboard for Enterprise customers. The new dashboard provides an overview on a quarterly or monthly basis, forecasting for annual or monthly, a list of gateway transactions, and a list of the credit history showing how the credits have been carried over, or are remaining etc.
Note; that this is all based on the billing financial year with epaPRO which runs from August to July.
Overview Boxes
The four boxes at the top of the billing screen provide a high-level overview of the current credit status. All of these boxes are YTD (Year to Date) for the current financial year.
From left to right these boxes are:
The credits remaining in the current financial year
The credits used in the current financial year
Usage that has been forecasted in the current financial year
Credits that have been purchased in the current financial year
If more information is needed on how these figures have been calculated, you’re able to dive deeper using the summary, forecasts, gateway transactions, and credit history tabs.
Summary Tab
This tab provides two graphs to allow you to visually see the estimates vs actual vs purchased figures. The toggle in the top-right corner “Compare to previous” will overlay both the current and previous financial year figures to help with a comparison of the previous year.
The top of the tab also has the “Financial Year” selection to allow you to see historic data as well as next year for estimates/comparisons.
It is worth noting that the historic data is only available since our Essentials work was launched. This means the 2021-22 financial year may not be accurate.
This tab also shows a quarterly and monthly summary to allow you to see breakdowns and comparisons vs the estimated usage.
Forecasting Tab
This tab is where the forecasts for the upcoming quarters/months/year can be entered and viewed. More details on this can be found in the release notes above for Forecasts Screen.
Gateway Transactions Tab
The Gateway Transactions tab is fairly simple and shows a list of gateways that have been approved. This makes use of the foundation work we made in Essentials and so includes the plan (since any gateway processed while on the Essentials plan does not count as a credit usage). This is paginated and shows the provider what the gateway was for.
Credit History Tab
Finally, the credit history tab provides a way to see details about how the credits are being managed.
This list is shown with the most recent activity first. The table will show the following:
Type - this will be Purchase, Carried Over, Adjustment, Refund, or Other
“Purchase” indicates that that amount of credits have been bought, for example when entering a new quarter
“Carried Over” is when we enter a new financial year, there may be a number of credits from Q4 that are carried over into Q1 of the new year
“Adjustment” is when a change to the credits is needed. For example any carried over credits that have expired at the beginning of Q2
“Refund” is when Skilltech has refunded a number of credits
“Other” is for anything that falls outside of the normal operations, the description will explain what/why this happened
Value - this will be a positive or negative number indicating the amount of credits
Description - will contain further details where necessary
Invoice Number - will sometimes be populated and will be the invoice reference relating to the action, such as a purchase
Processed By - will be the name of the Skilltech Employee that processed the credit change
Date - will be the date/time the credit change was processed, note that this may not be the same as when the entry was added to epaPRO, as the credit change may happen before it’s been logged into the billing screen
Permissions
This screen introduces new permissions under the “Billing” heading, listed below:
Read Credit HistoryThis will allow the user to see the credit history tab within the billing screen. Note that this does not allow them to see the billing screen and is intended for users where they need to see usage/forecasts but do not need to see the more detailed historyRead Gateway BillingThis will provide the user with access to this new Billing screen, however, it will not give them visibility of the credit history tab unless they also have the permission aboveUpdate Gateway ForecastsThis will provide the user with the ability to update the forecasts where they are allowed to do so, for example, future quarters or year