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Pricing, SKUs and Meters

Purpose

Defines how the CMS models chargeable items (SKUs), how prices are set (flat or tiered), how credits/discounts apply, and how this connects to commissions.

Core concepts

  • SKU: A metered service or unit that can be priced (for example: VM vCPU-hour, managed disk GB-hour, static IP per hour).
  • Price: The monetary rate attached to a SKU. Can be flat or tiered.
  • Thresholds: Quantity breakpoints where a rate changes (tiered pricing).
  • Adjustments: Bulk increases or decreases by percentage or absolute values, applied across selected SKUs.
  • Credits and discounts: Monetary or quantity-based reductions that may apply at tenant, subscription, or resource scope.

Scoping and precedence

  • Pricing selection and credits respect scope. In practice:
  • Tenant-scoped pricing/credits override region defaults when configured.
  • Subscription-scoped pricing/credits can further customize for a specific workload.
  • Resource-level credits (when supported) apply last for fine-grained cases.

When no custom scope is present, region defaults are used.

Currency and FX

  • Billing can run in a selected display currency.
  • FX conversion applies at report time or during rating, depending on configuration.
  • Historical FX rates should be preserved to ensure reproducibility of past invoices.

Operational guidance

  • After changing prices or thresholds, re-rate affected periods or trigger targeted usage reprocessing, so billing reflects new prices where policy allows.
  • Price comparison tools and cloning workflows help align price sheets across regions or offers.

Commission linkage

  • Commission rates are defined at the Partner or Distributor level.
  • Monthly billing aggregates by partner/distributor scope; commissions are calculated from those aggregates and stored for downstream reporting and payout.
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