Configure Included Units and Prepayments for Usage-Based Charges

Contents

Overview

Ordway supports usage-based billing using meters and usage events. With this framework, usage events can be tracked and billed based on consumption.

The usage events framework now supports Included Units and Prepayments, enabling more flexible usage-based billing models.

Meters track events associated with a subscription. When usage exceeds the included units, additional billing may occur or charges may be deducted from prepaid balances (drawdown).

This article explains how to:

• Configure a subscription with a usage charge
• Associate a meter
• Configure included units
• Send usage events
• Configure prepayments
• Review usage in billing schedules

Prerequisites

Before configuring usage-based billing, ensure that:

• A meter has already been created. 
• The meter is configured to track events (for example, counting events).
• The plan includes a usage-based charge.

Note: Please contact the Support team to enable this feature.

Configure Usage-Based Billing with Meters

Follow these steps to configure a subscription with usage-based billing.

Select a Plan with a Usage Charge

1. In the left navigation menu, click Contracts & Orders → Subscription Contracts. The Subscription Contracts page is displayed.
   
2. Click Add to create a new subscription.
3. In the Plans and Charges section, click Select Plan.
   
4. Select a plan that includes a Usage charge.
5. Click Done to add the plan to the subscription.

Assign the Meter

1. In the Plans and Charges section, locate the usage charge.
   
   
2. Click the Edit icon next to the charge.
   
   
3. Select an existing Meter.
4. Enter the Included Units.
5. Example: 
   1. Meter: Event Usage
   2. Included Units: 5
6. Click Save.  The “Subscription Successfully created” message appears.

Configure Included Units

Included units allow a certain amount of usage before billing starts.

Example

• Included units: 5 events
  

This means the first five events are free, and no billing occurs for them.

Activate the Subscription

After configuring the meter and included units:

1. Review the subscription configuration.
   
2. Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
   
3. Click ACTIVATE. The subscription status changes to Active, and the system begins tracking usage events.

For more details, see Create New Subscription

Send Usage Events

Once the subscription is active, usage events can be sent for the customer.

Example

Send 5 usage events for the subscription.

Since the subscription includes 5 included units, the events are treated as free usage, and no billing is generated.

View Usage in the Billing Schedule

To review recorded usage:

1. Navigate to Contracts & Orders → Billing Schedules.
2. Open the billing schedule associated with the subscription.
   
3. The billing schedule displays:
   1. Recorded usage events
   2. Included unit consumption
   3. Billing lines

Example

Because the included units cover the events, no billing is generated.

Exceeding Included Units

If usage exceeds the included units:

Example

Result

These charges appear in the billing schedule.

Prepayment Information 

The Prepaid Information section allows you to configure prepaid usage settings such as prepaid units, refill behavior, expiration rules, and refund options.

Enable Prepaid Units

This option enables prepaid usage billing for the subscription.

• Yes – Customers pay in advance for usage units or an amount.
• No – Usage is billed normally without a prepaid balance.

When enabled, the system creates a prepaid balance that is consumed as usage events occur.

Prepayment Type

Defines how the prepaid balance is calculated.

Amount

• Customers prepay a monetary value
• Usage charges are deducted from this balance.

Units

• Customers prepay a specific number of usage units.
• Each usage event reduces the available units.

Prepaid Units

Specifies the number of prepaid usage units available.

Example:  Prepaid Units = 5

The customer can consume 5 units of service before additional billing occurs.

Prepaid Unit Expiry

Defines when prepaid units expire.

Examples:

• Contract Term – Units remain valid for the entire contract period.
• Billing Period – Units expire at the end of each billing cycle.

Expired units are no longer available for usage consumption.

Refund Unused Units on Cancellation

Determines whether unused prepaid units are refunded when the subscription is canceled.

• Yes – Remaining prepaid units are refunded.
• No – Unused units are forfeited when the subscription ends.

Examples

• Prepayment Type – Amount 
• Prepayment Type – Units 

Prepayment Type – Amount 

When Prepayment Type = Amount, the customer prepays a monetary value that is used to offset usage charges.

Example Configuration

• Enable Prepaid Units: Yes
• Prepayment Type: Amount
• Prepayment Amount: $50

Result

1. The customer prepays $50.
2. Each usage event generates a charge.
3. The charge is deducted from the prepaid balance.

Example

Once the prepaid balance is exhausted, additional usage may trigger new billing or auto-refill, depending on the configuration.

Prepayment Type – Units 

When Prepayment Type = Units, the customer prepays a fixed number of usage units.

Example configuration

• Enable Prepaid Units: Yes
• Prepayment Type: Units
• Prepaid Units: 5

Result

1. The customer receives 5 prepaid usage units.
2. Each usage event consumes 1 unit.
3. Once all units are consumed, additional usage triggers billing or requires balance refill.

Drawdown Behavior

Drawdown refers to deducting usage charges from the prepaid balance.

When usage occurs:

• Usage events generate charges
• Charges are deducted from the prepaid balance
• Remaining balance continues to decrease until exhausted

MRR and ARR Reporting

Currently

• Usage-based charges are not included in MRR and ARR reports.
• This includes:
  • Metered usage charges
  • Usage without events
  • Prepayment drawdowns

Support for including usage charges in MRR and ARR metrics is planned for a future release.