A product is a combination of services you provide to customers for a price.

To create a product, fill in the initial product information and click Save.

To proceed with the remaining product configuration, click Open in the confirmation dialog shown at the bottom of the page.

Product name

The internal product name is shown on the administrator interface.

Product name visible to end-users

The product name is shown to end-users on their self-care interfaces.

Product type

Choose a type for your product:

• Main product - This represents the basic services available to your customers.
• Add-on product - This enables access to a certain service feature (e.g. call waiting) and has a recurring cost (subscription) associated with it.

You can assign one main product and a virtually unlimited number of add-on products to an account.

Add-on products have precedence over the main product. No matter what configuration is defined for the main product, it will be overridden by settings defined within add-on products.

Priority

Assign a priority level to the add-on product.

Each add-on product has a priority level associated with it (from low to high). If more than one add-on products are assigned to an account, the add-on products with higher priorities override settings defined for the add-on products with lower priorities.

Currency

Choose a currency the product will be priced in.

Managed by

Choose whether the product will be managed by an administrator or a particular reseller.

Account default ACL

Choose an Access Control List (ACL) for accounts with this product assigned.

ACLs control which objects end users can access and which actions they can perform.

Account role

• Choose an accounting role for the product. 
• This defines what the accounts with this product assigned are designated for (e.g. whether the accounts represent phone lines, prepaid cards, or top-up vouchers).
• An administrator defines account roles for both accounts and products. This introduces the following constraint – a product can only be assigned to an account having the same role.

Realm

Choose an account realm for the product. This allows you to impose a scope of uniqueness for account IDs.

You can create Products by searching for products in the dashboard

Once the product has been created you need to specify the services to be used with the product. This can be done by navigating to Services and adding services. Once added it will give you options to add the services.

On the Services panel, you define which service types are included with the product. A service type is a description of the physical service provided to end-users.

To add a service type:

• Click Add service.
  • In the Select service to add dialog, select the check box next to the service type you want to add.
  • Click Add.
    • Note that to add the IPTV service you must first configure the IPTV parameters on the Configuration server web interface.

To remove a service type:

• Click next to the service type you want to remove.
• Click Delete in the confirmation dialog.
• To define the service type configuration settings, click
• The Service type configuration panel opens.

Adding usage charges

Here you define how to charge your customers for the service usage.

• To do this, you need to configure the rating table. 
• This is the main component of a product definition. 
• It specifies which services your customers have access to, how they are to be charged for them, and what the permitted access points (nodes) are.

Each entry in the rating table consists of:

• Service – The type of provided service.
• Node – The node on which the service is provided to end-users.
• Access code – This parameter allows you to use different tariffs for the same service. For example, you can use different tariffs for outgoing, incoming, and forwarded calls using the OUTGOING, INCOMING, and FOLLOW ME access codes, respectively.
• Tariff – The tariff to charge end users for the provided service.
• Reseller tariff – The tariff to charge a reseller for the service they provide to their users.
  • To edit an entry in the rating table, click .
  • To remove an entry in the rating table, click.

Adding a rating entry

• To add an entry to the rating table, click Add. 
• For each entry, define the settings listed below and click Save.

Service

• Choose the type of service that is provided.

Node

• Choose the node on which the service is provided to end-users.

Access code

• Type in the Access code if you want to use different tariffs for the same service.

Tariff

• Choose the tariff to charge end users for the provided service.
• For the voice call service, you can apply different tariffs based on the routing plan used to route the call. 
• To do this, select Assign Tariffs per Routing Plan from the list and configure the Tariffs per routing plan mapping table.

Reseller tariff

• Choose the tariff to charge a reseller for the service they provide to their users.
• For voice call service you can choose the Default tariff value. This means that the reseller is charged using the tariff assigned to them (Reseller > Services > Voice calls > The default tariff for voice calls).

Tariffs per routing plans

• Configure the tariff/routing plan mapping table.
• Click Add tariff.
• For the Other Routing Plans option in the Routing plan list, assign the tariff you want to apply for calls routed via the routing plan explicitly assigned to an account (for example, when an end-user makes a call without dialing a selection code). For reseller products, also select the tariff to charge the reseller.

Select all the routing plans permitted for the accounts belonging to this product from the Routing plan list and assign them the respective tariffs.

Click Save.

Overdraft protection

• Define the overdraft protection settings for a rating entry.
• Remaining balance requirement
• This indicates whether an account must have a certain amount of funds available prior to session authorization.

No restriction – PortaBilling® will not verify an account’s available funds if that account has sufficient funds to cover session charges. Thus, an account with no available funds can make and receive free of charge calls.

Positive amount available – The account must have some available funds to use the service, regardless of the service itself being provided for free (e.g. free calls).

Positive amount greater than breakage – This increases the number of available funds required to use the service. PortaBilling® will check the account’s available funds against the Breakage value defined for the product. The account can use the service only if their available funds are greater than the breakage value.

Originating line information

You can separate rating entries based on originating line information (e.g. whether the call was made from a home phone or a payphone). Make sure your telecom provider supplies you with this information in the call setup.

Allow zero charged services for suspended users

Move the slider to allow the use of free services for suspended users.

Rate match mode

Charge calls either based on the destination or the caller’s number:

Default – Rating is based on the destination number.

Based on the caller number – PortaBilling&Reg; uses the caller's number to match the rate from the tariff.

Send alerts when overdraft is detected

• Move the slider to receive notifications when PortaBilling® detects fraud attempts. 
• These are attempts to use the services simultaneously while all funds are locked by a session (for services such as calling with prepaid cards). 
• This can be the result of inaccurate overdraft protection constraints.

Lock at least ... for each session

• Specify the minimum amount of funds PortaBilling® will lock when authorizing each session, even a free one. 
• PortaBilling® computes the session duration and the number of funds to allocate for the session (session deposit) based on the tariff rate and the total amount of available funds. 
• If the computed session deposit is lower than the defined minimum, PortaBilling® locks the minimum. 
• If the computed session deposit is higher, then PortaBilling® locks this amount. 
• To illustrate, consider the fund locking flow for an account with $10 of available funds and $5 minimum lock defined. 
• If the computed session deposit is $11, PortaBilling® locks $11; if the computed session deposit is $3, PortaBilling® locks $5. 
• Note that simultaneous sessions are not possible with this configuration.

• To allow establishing simultaneous sessions and ensure overdraft protection for them, enable the dynamic re-authorization, and combine this option with the Each fund lock allocates no more than an option. 
• In this case, PortaBilling® locks the amount you specify in the Lock at least... for each session option and computes the session duration based on the Each fund lock allocates no more than option value.
• For example, the Lock at least ... for each session value is $2, the Each fund lock allocates no more than value is $1. PortaBilling® locks $2 and computes the session duration for $1 during the initial authorization. To re-authorize the session, PortaBilling® locks and computes the next session duration chunk based on $1.

Limit maximum locked funds for each session to

• Specify the maximum amount of funds PortaBilling® will lock when it authorizes the session. Note that PortaBilling® computes the session duration based on the total amount of available funds. 
• For example, you define $3 to be locked for every session. If the customer has $10 in available funds, PortaBilling® computes the session duration for $10 but locks $3. As a result, $7 remains available to establish simultaneous sessions. If the customer establishes the second session while the first one is in progress, PortaBilling® authorizes it for $7 and locks another $3.
• Thereby you can fine-tune the strictness of overdraft protection for postpaid services where a certain overdraft can be allowed. It is effective if both the Overdraft protection option and the dynamic re-authorization are disabled (or your gateway does not support it).

Each fund lock allocates no more than – Specify the maximum amount of funds to lock and compute the session duration for the first authorization. If the gateway does not support the dynamic re-authorization, the session will be disconnected (e.g. if the fund lock value is $3 and the call price is $1 per minute, PortaBilling® authorizes the call for 3 minutes and then instructs the call to be disconnected).

In the case of dynamic re-authorization, this also determines the extension (chunk) of already consumed funds. From the example above, PortaBilling® authorizes the call for $3 and in 3 minutes re-authorizes it for $3 provided the account has enough available funds. Otherwise, it will calculate the call duration based on the remaining available funds.