Configure Balance Template Thresholds

MATRIXX uses hard thresholds set on balances to stop subscriber activity when a credit limit is reached and soft thresholds to notify subscribers and group administrators when a usage milestone is reached. Notifications can be triggered when either occurs during subscriber usage.

About this task

This step is required if you plan to allow customers or customer service representatives (CSRs) to set personal credit limits in the future. During pricing compilation, if a balance template does not have a credit limit set, the pricing compiler generates one (setting it to infinity) by using a random ID. If customers or CSRs define a credit limit after the pricing has been compiled and loaded into the database, the credit limit ID generated by My MATRIXX might conflict with the credit limit generated by the pricing compiler. MATRIXX suggests you specifically define a default credit limit for all balances.

Configure thresholds in Edit Balance when creating or changing a balance template. For information about creating and changing balance templates, see the discussions about creating balance templates and changing balance templates.

Note: If you enter conflicting input values when you define your template, the associated template tabs are highlighted and an error shows for each set of conflicting input values. The error shows until the conflicts are resolved.

Procedure

  1. In Thresholds, click New Threshold.
  2. Enter a name for the threshold.
  3. (Optional) In External ID, enter any alphanumeric character to serve as a unique ID on this pricing object. The external ID can be used for any reason that is meaningful to your implementation of MATRIXX Engine. External IDs are saved to the pricing configuration file and loaded into the Pricing database.
  4. In Threshold Type, select the threshold type you want to apply:
    • Credit Limit — The threshold is based on the credit limit.
      Important: When selected, the threshold is a credit limit. A credit limit stops subscriber activity when the credit limit is reached.
    • Balance Amount — The threshold is based on the balance amount.
    • Consumed Amount — The threshold is based on the quantity of a balance being used from the credit floor towards the credit limit.
    • Available Amount — The threshold is based on the quantity of a balance remaining from the credit limit towards the credit floor.
    • Balance Floor — The threshold is based on the maximum allowable amount. This threshold type applies to prepaid balance templates that track prepaid balances only.
  5. In Type, select Absolute or Percentage:
    • Absolute — Sets the threshold as a specific amount.
    • Percentage — Sets the threshold as a percentage. For example, 85% of the credit limit or 90% of the consumed or available amount.
  6. In Value, enter the value of what you are basing the threshold on.
    For a Credit Limit threshold type, this is the value of the credit limit. For postpaid meters, this is a positive value. For prepaid meters, the credit limit is 0.
    For a Consumed Amount and Available Amount threshold type, the value must be non-negative.
  7. Click Create.
Configure Optional Threshold Properties
  1. To create a recurring threshold, select Recurring.
    (Optional) To limit recurring threshold triggers within a specified range:
    1. In Start, enter the amount that triggers the recurring threshold.
    2. In Stop, enter the amount that stops the recurring threshold.
    For balance templates, if the threshold is for a prepaid G/L balance, enter negative values. Both values are inclusive, and when the balance amount reaches zero (0), it is handled as a hard credit limit. For example, if a recurring threshold on a prepaid balance has a notification value of 30, a Start value of -20, and a Stop value of -100, the threshold notification will potentially trigger at -20, -50, and -80.
  2. To prevent the credit limit from being changed, select Locked.
    The credit limit on a prepaid balance is always locked to prevent revenue loss.
  3. To send a notification when the threshold (soft threshold or credit limit) is reached, select Notify.
  4. If you selected Notify, when the owner is a group, configure the group notification setting. In Group Notification, select one of the following options:
    • Use Group Settings — Use the setting set on the group.
    • Notify Admins — Notifies the group administrator.
    • Notify Members — Notifies group members.
  5. To generate an event (MtxBalanceThresholdEvent) each time the threshold is reached or crossed, select Event Enabled.
  6. Select Applies to Balance Increase to trigger a threshold when the balance increases above the threshold value.
  7. Select Applies to Balance Decrease to trigger a threshold when the balance decreases under the threshold value.
  8. In Threshold Cycle Notification Limit, select how often you want notifications for the same threshold to be triggered during a cycle:
    • Unlimited — A notification is triggered each time the threshold is crossed during a cycle. This is the default.
    • Once Per Cycle — A notification is triggered the first time the threshold is crossed during a cycle. Subsequent threshold crossings do not trigger a notification.
  9. In Threshold Cycle Event Limit, select how often you want events for the same threshold to be triggered during a cycle:
    • Unlimited — An event is triggered each time the threshold is crossed during a cycle. This is the default.
    • Once Per Cycle — An event is triggered the first time the threshold is crossed during a cycle. Subsequent threshold crossings do not trigger an event.
  10. If Once Per Cycle is selected for either Threshold Cycle Notification Limit or Threshold Cycle Event Limit, in Threshold Cycle, select the period over which the notification and event re-triggering applies:
    • None — Only one notification/event is sent for this threshold during the balance lifetime. This is the default.
    • Balance Cycle Aligned — The cycle used for the re-triggering of notifications and events is aligned with the balance cycle. This option does not display for simple balances.
    • Billing Cycle Aligned — The cycle used for the re-triggering of notifications and events is aligned with the billing cycle.
  11. Click Save.
    Note: If you change any values in these fields, you must click Save.