Modifying service billing cycles¶
Sometimes it is necessary to modify billing cycles generated by Fleio for a service for various reasons.
For example if we want to change the billing date for a service we need to change the current cycle end date. Fleio bills the customer at the end of the billing cycle and next cycle start and end date are computed based on current cycle end date.
Warning
When editing cycles one must ensure there will be no gaps between the cycles if not intended. Fleio will not bill any
period that is not included in a billing cycle.
Changing the duration of a billing cycle may have various implications depending on if the cycle is shortened or lengthened. These implication are detailed in the next two sections.
Decreasing the billing cycle duration¶
OpenStack services¶
If the duration of the billing cycle is decreased, depending on the pricing rules and billing configuration the client may be overcharged in the following situations:
Limit billable seconds per month setting is enabled and service uses monthly cycles¶
Limit billable seconds per month settings is used to obtain consistent billing for resources if using monthly cycles.
Since months have different number of days if we bill resources per hour for example the price of a resource will vary
from month to month. Using this settings will bill the resource only for the first Billable seconds per month during
the cycle - if the resource exist for more than Billable seconds per month it will not be billed for that extra period.
Decreasing the cycle duration will not affect billed amount for the current cycle, but the client may lose some or all the free period for some resources.
Billing cyle pricing rules¶
Fleio allows you to define pricing rules per various time units. One of those units is Billing cycle, meaning that
if the rule is matched the client is billed the rule amount once per billing cycle.
Decreasing the cycle duration will not affect the amount billed by these rules. E.g., if you want to bill a resource
10 EUR per month you can have a service with monthly billing cycles and a pricing rule with 10 EUR amount that use
Billing cycle time unit. Editing the cycle and decreasing duration to 2 weeks will still bill 10 EUR.
Non OpenStack services¶
Decreasing the duration of a non OpenStack service billing cycle will still charge the full amount as defined on product cycle.
Increasing the billing cycle duration¶
OpenStack services¶
If the duration of the billing cycle is decreased, depending on the pricing rules and billing configuration the client may be undercharged in the following situations:
Limit billable seconds per month setting is enabled and service uses monthly cycles¶
Limit billable seconds per month settings is used to obtain consistent billing for resources if using monthly cycles.
Since months have different number of days if we bill resources per hour for example the price of a resource will vary
from month to month. Using this settings will bill the resource only for the first Billable seconds per month during
the cycle - if the resource exist for more than Billable seconds per month it will not be billed for that extra period.
Increasing the cycle duration will not affect billed amount for the current cycle, but the client may gain some extra free period for some resources.
Billing cyle pricing rules¶
Fleio allows you to define pricing rules per various time units. One of those units is Billing cycle, meaning that
if the rule is matched the client is billed the rule amount once per billing cycle.
Increasing the cycle duration will not affect the amount billed by these rules. E.g., if you want to bill a resource
10 EUR per month you can have a service with monthly billing cycles and a pricing rule with 10 EUR amount that use
Billing cycle time unit. Editing the cycle and increasing duration to 2 months will still bill 10 EUR.
Non OpenStack services¶
Increasing the duration of a non OpenStack service billing cycle will still charge only the amount defined on product cycle.