The Charge Consolidation feature gives users the ability to consolidate projected Charges, in order to create fewer Charge records in the database.

This option, defined on the Rate Plan Search Map, groups projected Charges by shared characteristics specified by the user (e.g. by Item, Rate, etc.) and optionally defines how additional column values should be aggregated (e.g. Sum by Additional Discount, Maximum Rate, etc.).

When Charges are consolidated, a backup file containing all underlying data from the projected charges is created in JSON format. This file is located on the Charge record under the Consolidated Charge File field.

Optionally, the user can define if the JSON file should generate a CSV backup file during the Create Transactions process and be attached to the resulting Transaction.

The following usage types may leverage this option:

Consumption
Count

Currently, Ad Hoc is not supported.

Charge Consolidation is ideal for high volume customers who:

Wish to reduce the number of records stored in NetSuite.
Do not require granular Charge information for generating transactions or calculating revenue, but need to retain Charge data (as a backup) for invoices.

Before you Begin

Charges should only be consolidated down to the most granular level needed for revenue reporting.
When consolidating Charges, it is helpful to ensure that the attribute charges are grouped by is reflective of the way prices are calculated; if not, the backup file may be difficult to understand.
By default, the following summarizations will be applied when Charges are consolidated (unless other custom Aggregations are specified on the Rate Plan Search Map):
- Service Start Date = Minimum of the projected Service Start Dates
- Service End Date = Maximum of the projected Service End Dates
- Quantity = Sum of projected Quantities
- Amount = Sum of projected Amounts
  - (Note: Amount aggregation should not be overridden, as the purpose of Charge Consolidation is to calculate pricing on a granular level, then sum those prices.)
- Rate = Consolidated Charge Amount divided by Consolidated Charge Quantity

Key Characteristics

Consolidation does not impact pricing calculation (e.g. Price Books, Contract Pricing, etc.) because grouping is applied after initial rating of usage data.
By default, Consolidation files are purged after 90 days.
- If necessary, the ZAB Administrator can override this in ZAB Preferences under ‘Archive Consolidated Charge File’.

Consolidation Behavior and Backup Files

The consolidation process occurs during the Rating process, after the price is calculated. One Charge is created per Charge Consolidation Grouping for each Charge Period. The Charge is stamped with a Charge Consolidation file, which contains all of the underlying data (in JSON format) from the projected charges.

This file offsets the need to add more records to the database for processing.

This file includes data on both consolidated and non-consolidated Charges in the same billing period. If additional columns have been defined on the ‘Charge Consolidation Aggregation’ tab of the Rate Plan Search Map, those values will also appear in this file. The file is deleted and recreated each time Charges are regenerated or re-rated.

Adding Charge Consolidation Grouping and Aggregation

Charge Consolidation may be leveraged with consumption or count data.

To configure Charge Consolidation Grouping and/or Aggregation:

Go to the Rate Plan Search Map intended for consolidation.
If using the CSV Backup File option, check the Generate Backup File checkbox.
Scroll down to the Rate Plan Search Map subtabs: Charge Consolidation Grouping and Charge Consolidation Aggregation.
To group projected Charges, click the New ZAB Consolidation Grouping button.
On the ZAB Consolidation Grouping record:
- Determine which Search result column contains the attribute projected Charges should be grouped by, then enter the column’s number in the Search Result Column field.
  
  In this example, projected Charges will be grouped by Item (column 10).
  
  Saved Search with column 10 (Item) highlighted
By default, the OOTB ZAB aggregations will occur for that Consolidation Grouping. To override the default behavior, or to aggregate additional data, click the New ZAB Consolidation Aggregation button.
- Each column defined on the Charge Consolidation Aggregations tab will be included in the JSON file.
On the ZAB Consolidation Aggregation record:
- On the Search Column field, enter the column number that contains the attribute that Charges should be aggregated by.
- Select the Data Type of the search column entered.
- On the Summary field, specify how the search column selected should be summarized based on the field’s data type.
- Click Save.
Click Save on the Rate Plan Search Map.

CSV Backup Files

When the ‘Generate Backup File’ function is selected, a CSV file is generated during Transaction creation and attached to the created Transaction in the ZAB Backup File field. These files can also be found in the File Cabinet per the location specified under ZAB Preferences.

Note: The ZAB Backup Field will need to be exposed on any custom transaction forms.

Optional: Use Custom Labels In Backup File

This setting is only available when using the Charge Consolidation feature and Generate Backup File.

If checked, the following out-of-the-box-labels will be displayed by default for the related fields: Amount, Rate, Quantity, Start Date, and End Date.

If custom labels are used in the related Saved Search for those fields, or for columns defined via the 'Charge Consolidation Aggregations' tab, the custom label will be used. If a custom label is defined on the search for an Aggregation column, the field ID will be used in the backup file.

If unchecked, the generated backup file will display the field ID for all out-of-the-box ZAB and custom mappings.

Charge Consolidation Example

FAQ

Q: Is there an easier way to review the JSON file data?

A: To read the backup data in a clearer format, you may use a JSON formatter.