How are plan groups, plans, plan variants and components related?
In order to manage your product catalog optimally in billwerk, it is important to know the relationships between the plan groups, plans, plan variants and components.
Plan Groups
Plan groups represent the top-level category to depict your product catalog in billwerk. You can use plan groups to for example distinguish different business or economic area. Plan groups are marked red in the illustration above.
Examples:
Telecommunication Contracts EU
Telecommunication Contracts US
Consulting Services EU
Plans
Plans are always assigned to exactly one plan group and reflect the actual subscription products you offer. The plans are marked in green in the illustration above.
Examples:
Mobile Phone Flatrate
Mobile Phone Flatrate+
Mobile Phone Plan 100
Plan Variants
Plan variants are always assigned to exactly one plan. They refer to the same product, but allow the differentiation of contract terms, fees and other factors. If a customer books a plan variant with you, a contract is created. If a customer books several plan variants, several contracts are created. The plan variants are highlighted in yellow in the upper figure.
Examples:
Monthly Contract
Monthly Contract with Discounted Price
Annual Contract
Components
Components are always assigned to exactly one plan group and can be assigned to all plan variants of the plan group. Components allow you to offer additional services that can be billed per period or based on metered usage. Components that are billed per period behave like a contract in the contract (plan variant) and can be added or canceled separately from the plan variant. You can find out how to create components here.
Examples:
Mobile Phone per Minute Rate
1GB Data Volume
Highspeed Internet Package