Fixed Fee Tariffs

A fixed fee tariff centralises pricing for non-usage charges. Rather than entering prices on every feature individually, you define rates in one place. The platform then looks up the tariff whenever it needs a price for a one-off charge, recurring charge, carrier-imported charge, or manual transaction.

Fixed fee tariffs are especially useful when you have standardised pricing across many features. A single tariff can hold different rates for different number types, feature types and transaction types, and the platform picks the best match automatically.

Key Benefits

• Centralised pricing:change a rate in one tariff and it applies everywhere that tariff is used
• Flexible matching:define rates by number type, feature type, transaction type and carrier
• Inheritance:base one tariff on another so you only need to enter the differences
• Wholesale and retail:track cost and customer price separately with paired tariffs

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How Fixed Fee Tariffs Work

A fixed fee tariff contains one or more rates. Each rate specifies:

• What it applies to:which number types, feature types, transaction types and carriers
• How to calculate the charge:the charge type (fixed, pro-rata, markup, etc.)
• The value:the amount or percentage to use

When the platform needs a price for a transaction, it finds the tariff, scans the rates, and picks the best match. If multiple rates could apply, the most specific one wins.

When Tariffs Are Used

The platform checks for a fixed fee tariff in these situations:

• One-off and recurring charges:when a feature has no explicit charge amount, and the linked standard feature (if any) also has no amount
• Carrier-generated charges:when importing fixed fee files from carriers, to calculate the retail price from the wholesale cost
• Manual transactions:when you add a transaction and leave the value, wholesale value, commission profile or transaction code empty

See Non-Usage Charges for the full charge resolution chain.

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Tariff Lookup Chain

When the platform needs a fixed fee tariff for a feature, it checks these locations in order and uses the first tariff it finds. If none of these levels has a tariff, the platform checks for a default tariff as a final fallback.

1. Feature:a tariff set directly on the feature
2. Standard feature:a tariff on the linked standard feature
3. Number:a tariff on the number the feature belongs to
4. Service:a tariff on the service the feature belongs to
5. Customer:a tariff on the customer record
6. Default tariff:if no tariff is found at any level above, the platform checks for a fixed fee tariff with Default (Carrier/NumberType) availability. See Default tariffs.

This means you can set a default tariff on a customer and override it for specific numbers or features where pricing differs.

Example: You set your standard tariff on customer Acme Corp. All their features use it by default. When Acme migrates from another provider, you want to honour their existing rates on the migrated numbers. Set a legacy tariff on those numbers. Features on the migrated numbers use the legacy tariff; new numbers use the standard tariff.

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Tariff Inheritance (Based Upon)

You can base one tariff on another. The child tariff inherits all rates from the parent, and you only enter the rates that differ. This is useful for creating bespoke pricing for a customer without duplicating every rate.

• Rates defined directly on a tariff always override inherited rates
• If the parent tariff changes, those changes flow through to the child (for any rates the child hasn’t overridden)
• You can layer tariffs up to ten levels deep

Example: Your standard tariff charges £12/month for line rentals. A customer has negotiated £10/month. Create a new tariff based upon the standard one, and add a single rate for line rental at £10. All other rates come from the standard tariff automatically.

Cloning vs Based Upon

If future changes to the parent should not affect the child, clone the tariff instead of basing upon it. Cloning copies all rates at that point in time, with no ongoing link. Use the Actions menu > Clone action to do this.

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Charge Types

Each rate in a tariff has a charge type that controls how the value is calculated.

Do Not Bill

Creates a zero-value transaction. Use this to mark a charge as explicitly non-billable. The transaction exists for tracking but nothing appears on the customer’s invoice.

Fixed Cost

Charges a fixed amount with no pro-rating for the billing period. Suitable for one-off charges such as connections or installations.

Example: A rate with a fixed cost of £50.00 always charges £50.00, regardless of when in the month the charge is raised. If a feature count of 3 is set, the charge is £150.00.

Pro-Rata Cost

Charges a pro-rated amount based on the billing period. You must set a Charge Period (e.g. Monthly) so the platform knows the full-period rate.

Example: A rate with a pro-rata cost of £12.00 per month, where the service runs for half a month, charges £6.00. With a feature count of 2, the charge is £12.00.

Percentage Markup

Calculates the retail price as a percentage markup on the wholesale cost. The wholesale cost comes from either the carrier transaction value or a wholesale tariff.

Example: A carrier charges £8.00 wholesale for line rental. A markup rate of 50% produces a retail charge of £12.00. For negative values (credits), the markup is subtracted rather than added.

Percentage Markup (Suggested Retail)

Works like percentage markup, but applies the markup to the suggested retail value from the carrier transaction rather than the wholesale cost. Use this when your carrier provides a recommended retail price in their files.

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Rates and Priority

The Rates tab on a tariff shows all active rates, including those inherited from a parent tariff. Rates are listed in priority order (highest first).

How Priority Works

When a transaction matches multiple rates, the platform uses these rules to pick the winner:

1. Depth:rates from the tariff itself beat rates from a parent (and grandparent, etc.)
2. Specificity:rates that match fewer types are more specific and win over broader rates. A rate for “0800 numbers with line rental features” beats a rate for “all number types”

This means you can define a catch-all default rate (e.g. 25% markup on all transactions) and then add specific rates where needed (e.g. £12 fixed for line rentals). The specific rate applies where it matches; the default covers everything else.

Applies To

Each rate can be filtered by:

• Number Types:e.g. Geographic, Non-Geographic, 0800
• Service Types:e.g. Broadband, Hosted PBX
• Feature Types: e.g. Line Rental, Voicemail, Call Divert
• Transaction Types: e.g. Service Charge, Connection Fee
• Carriers:e.g. only apply to charges from a specific carrier

Leave a filter blank to match all values for that filter. The more filters you set, the more specific (and higher priority) the rate becomes.

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Wholesale and Retail Tariffs

When the wholesale fixed fee module is active, tariffs are marked as either Retail or Wholesale.

Retail tariffs calculate the price shown on the customer’s invoice. They are looked up through the standard tariff lookup chain (feature → standard feature → number → service → customer).

Wholesale tariffs calculate the expected carrier cost. They are matched based on the carrier providing the service, using the Wholesale For field on the tariff. A wholesale tariff with no carriers specified acts as a default for all carriers.

The Two-Step Pattern

When both wholesale and retail tariffs are in use:

1. The platform finds the wholesale tariff (matched by carrier) and calculates the cost
2. The platform finds the retail tariff (matched by feature/number/customer) and calculates the customer price

If the retail tariff uses Percentage Markup, the markup is applied to the wholesale value calculated in step 1. This lets you set a consistent margin across all carrier charges.

Example: Carrier A charges £8.00 for line rental. Your wholesale tariff records this as the cost. Your retail tariff has a 50% markup rate. The customer is charged £12.00, and the platform records £8.00 as the wholesale cost and £4.00 as the margin.

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Fixed Fee Tariff List

View all fixed fee tariffs from List Fixed Fee Tariffs on the main menu. The list shows:

• The tariff name and description
• The customer, if it’s a bespoke tariff (highlighted in green)
• The parent tariff, if it’s based upon another

Tariff Availability

Each tariff has an availability setting:

• Available:can be assigned to any customer
• Historic:only usable by customers already on it; not shown for new assignments
• Headline:highlighted and shown at the top of tariff lists
• Default (Carrier/NumberType):automatic fallback when no tariff is found through the standard lookup chain. See Default tariffs.

You can also restrict a tariff to specific customer groups or a single customer.

Default (Carrier/NumberType) tariffs appear in the main tariff list alongside standard tariffs.

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Creating a Fixed Fee Tariff

1. Go to the fixed fee tariff list
2. Click Add New Fixed Fee Tariff
3. Enter the tariff name and description
4. Set the availability and, if needed, the customer or customer groups
5. Optionally select a Based Upon tariff to inherit rates from
6. Click Save

The tariff page appears, but the tariff has no rates yet. See Managing Rates below for how to add them.

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Discount Plan Allowances

Each rate can optionally add allowances to up to four discount plans. When the billing run creates a service charge from the rate, it automatically tops up the linked discount plan pools.

This is useful when bundle inclusions are driven by the tariff rather than by the feature, for example when a carrier’s fixed fee file includes a line rental charge that should also grant inclusive minutes.

How It Works

On the rate form, the Discount Plans section has four slots. For each slot you can set:

• Discount Plan:the plan to add allowances to
• Multiplier:how many units of allowance to add (defaults to 1). The allowance amounts come from the plan’s base values (minutes, data, events, calls, cash), scaled by the multiplier and the feature count.
• Allowance Pool Name:an optional named pool. Use this with named pool sharing to direct allowances into a specific pool.

Example: Carrier File with Bundled Minutes

A carrier sends a fixed fee file containing a £10 line rental charge per number. Each number should also receive 500 inclusive UK minutes.

1. Create a discount plan called “UK Calls 500” with 1 free minute as its base allowance
2. On your fixed fee tariff, add a rate for the carrier’s line rental charge type
3. In the Discount Plans section of that rate, select the “UK Calls” plan and set the Multiplier to 500
4. When the billing run processes the carrier file, it creates the £10 service charge and adds 500 minutes to the UK Calls pool for that number

This approach is especially helpful when bundle sizes vary by number type or carrier. You can set different multipliers on different rates without creating separate features for each bundle.

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Editing a Fixed Fee Tariff

This covers changes to the tariff itself: its name, description, availability, and which customers or groups it applies to. For changes to the individual rates within a tariff, see Managing Rates.

1. View the tariff
2. Click Edit
3. Make your changes
4. Click Save

Changes to a tariff’s availability take effect immediately. The platform will start or stop offering the tariff to the matching customers from that point onwards. Existing features already linked to the tariff are not affected by availability changes.

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Managing Rates

Rates live inside a tariff and define the actual prices. The sections below cover adding, editing and deleting rates on an existing tariff. They apply to both newly created tariffs (where you are filling in the rates for the first time) and established tariffs (where you are adjusting prices over time).

Adding a Rate

1. Open the tariff and go to the Rates tab
2. Click Add New Rate (or Add menu > New Rate)
3. In the Applies To section, select the number types, feature types, transaction types and carriers this rate should match. Leave fields blank to match all.
4. In the Costs section:
   • Select the Charge Type (Fixed Cost, Pro-Rata Cost, etc.)
   • Enter the Cost (amount in £ or percentage)
   • If using Pro-Rata Cost, select the Charge Period
   • Optionally set a Commission Profile and Transaction Code
5. Click Save

Repeat for each rate you need.

The rate form also has an optional Discount Plans section. If this rate should add allowances to a discount plan pool, see Discount Plan Allowances.

Editing a Rate

1. Open the tariff and go to the Rates tab
2. Click the rate you want to change
3. Click Edit
4. Update any of the fields: Applies To filters, Charge Type, Cost, Charge Period, Commission Profile, Transaction Code, or Discount Plan allowances
5. Click Save

The platform stops you saving if the new combination of number types, feature types, transaction types and carriers duplicates another rate on the same tariff. The error message links to the existing rate, so you can adjust the filters to keep each rate’s Applies To combination unique.

Edits apply the next time a charge is created using this tariff. Charges already raised on previous bills keep their original price.

Deleting a Rate

1. Open the tariff and go to the Rates tab
2. Click the rate you want to remove
3. Click Actions menu > Delete
4. Confirm the deletion

Deleting a rate is permanent. From the next time a charge is created against this tariff, charges that previously matched this rate will fall through to a less-specific rate on the same tariff if one exists, or to the tariff lookup chain if not. Charges already raised on previous bills are not affected.

Dated Rates

Each rate can carry an optional Start Date and End Date. When the platform raises a charge against this tariff, it picks the rate whose date range covers the charge’s effective date:

• A rate with no Start Date applies from the beginning of time.
• A rate with no End Date applies indefinitely.
• For the same Applies To combination, date ranges must not overlap.

This lets you stage a price change ahead of time. Both the old and new rates sit on the tariff together, and the platform switches between them automatically on the agreed day.

Recommended workflow: when you give a customer notice of a price change, add the new rate immediately with its Start Date set to the day the change takes effect. The platform automatically applies the dated rate from that day onwards and keeps using the existing rate up to the day before; you do not need to set an End Date on the existing rate.

Worked example: from 1 April 2026, your Business Line Rental rate rises from £12.00 to £12.50. On 1 March you:

1. Open the tariff and go to the Rates tab
2. Click Add New Rate, enter the same Applies To filters with Cost £12.50
3. Pick 1 April 2026 in the Start Date calendar
4. Save

April’s recurring charges go out at £12.50; March’s stay at £12.00.

Mid-cycle changes: a plain edit to a rate only affects the next charge raised against this tariff. If a charge has already been raised for a period that the change needs to apply within (say, monthly line rental already billed up to 30 June, but the new price is meant to apply from 15 June), editing the rate cannot reach back into that already-raised charge. Use the dated route instead: add a new rate with Start Date set to 15 June 2026. The platform will then pro-rate the old and new prices across the billing period when it raises the next charge that covers the changeover. This requires the fixed-fee dated-rate module to be enabled.

Back-dating: setting a Start Date in the past is allowed and changes the price the platform will use for future charges from that date. However, fixed-fee charges already raised on finalised invoices are not retroactively adjusted. If the change needs to flow back to charges that have already been billed, either unapprove the affected invoices so the platform recalculates them against the new dated rate, or raise an adjustment by hand if the invoices need to stay as they are.

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Actions

Use the Actions menu on a fixed fee tariff for these operations:

• Clone:create an independent copy of the tariff with all its rates. The clone has no ongoing link to the original. Use this when you want to freeze rates at a point in time, or create a starting point for a substantially different tariff.
• Apply Increase (In Place):increase all rates on this tariff by a percentage. Modifies the existing tariff in-place. Optionally takes an Effective Date to schedule the increase for a future day rather than applying it immediately. Available from the Expert menu (requires expert level 5 to edit). See Price Increases.
• Create Increased Version:create a new tariff with rates increased by a percentage, leaving this tariff unchanged. Optionally takes an Effective Date so the new version’s increased rates only apply from that day onwards. See Price Increases.

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Default Fixed Fee Tariffs

A default fixed fee tariff acts as an automatic fallback. When no tariff is found through the standard lookup chain (feature, standard feature, number, service, or customer), the platform checks for a default tariff.

This is useful as a safety net for features or transactions that have no explicit tariff assignment at any level.

How matching works

Unlike call tariffs, fixed fee defaults do not require top-level For Carriers or For Number Types fields. Instead, matching relies on the specificity of individual rates on the tariff. Each rate specifies which number types, feature types, transaction types, and carriers it applies to, and the platform picks the best match.

The platform matches a default fixed fee tariff using:

• Availability must be Default (Carrier/NumberType)
• Retail must be Retail or Retail + Wholesale (not Wholesale-only)
• Currency must match the customer’s currency (or be unset)
• Customer/group restrictions:if the tariff is restricted to a customer or group, the customer must match

Rate specificity

When the platform finds a matching default tariff, it picks the best rate using specificity. Rates that match more criteria win over broader rates. The priority order for rate fields is:

1. Carrier:rates for a specific carrier beat rates with no carrier filter
2. Transaction type:rates for a specific transaction type beat broader rates
3. Feature type:rates for a specific feature type beat broader rates
4. Number type:rates for a specific number type beat broader rates

A catch-all rate (all filters blank) acts as a last resort within the tariff.

Priority between default tariffs

When multiple default tariffs could match, the platform picks the most specific:

1. Customer-specific:a default tariff linked to that customer
2. Customer group:a default tariff for a matching customer group
3. General:a default tariff with no customer or group restriction

Deletion restriction

You cannot delete a fixed fee tariff while its availability is set to Default (Carrier/NumberType). Change the availability to another value first, then delete it.

When to use default fixed fee tariffs

Default tariffs work well when:

• You want a safety net to catch features or transactions with no assigned tariff
• You have a standard markup that should apply to most charges by default
• You prefer not to assign fixed fee tariffs to every customer individually

For the call tariff equivalent, see Default Tariffs in the call tariffs guide.

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Practical Examples

Standard line rental pricing

You charge £12/month for all line rentals. Create a tariff with one rate:

• Feature Types: Line Rental
• Charge Type: Pro-Rata Cost
• Cost: £12.00
• Charge Period: Monthly

Assign this tariff to customers (or set it as the default). Every feature with a “Line Rental” feature type and no explicit charge uses this rate.

Bespoke override for one customer

A customer has negotiated £8/month for internal numbers but standard pricing for everything else. Create a tariff based upon your standard tariff, with one rate:

• Number Types: Internal
• Feature Types: Line Rental
• Charge Type: Pro-Rata Cost
• Cost: £8.00
• Charge Period: Monthly

Set this tariff on the customer. Internal line rentals charge £8; all other charges fall through to the standard tariff’s rates.

Markup on carrier costs

Your carriers supply wholesale costs in fixed fee files. You want a 40% markup on everything except 0800 numbers (which get 25%). Create a retail tariff with two rates:

Rate 1 (catch-all):

• Applies To: (all blank)
• Charge Type: Percentage Markup
• Cost: 40%

Rate 2 (0800 override):

• Number Types: 0800
• Charge Type: Percentage Markup
• Cost: 25%

Rate 2 is more specific, so it wins for 0800 numbers. Everything else uses Rate 1.

Default fixed fee for unmatched charges

You want a safety net to catch any feature or transaction that slips through without an explicit tariff. Create a default fixed fee tariff with a single broad rate.

1. Create a fixed fee tariff
2. Set Availability to Default (Carrier/NumberType)
3. Add a rate with all Applies To filters blank and a Charge Type of Percentage Markup at 30%

This catch-all rate covers any charge where no tariff is found at the feature, number, service, or customer level. The 30% markup applies to the wholesale cost.

If you need different markups for specific carriers or feature types, add more specific rates to the same tariff. The platform picks the most specific rate that matches each transaction.

Fixed fee tariff field reference

The fields below make up a fixed fee tariff record. The individual rates within a tariff are documented in Tariff and Discount Detail Records.

Fixed Fee Tariff Name

This section contains the basic identification and description information for the fixed fee tariff.

Field	Description
Fixed Fee Tariff Name	The name of the fixed fee tariff
Description	Optional description of the fixed fee tariff

Tariff Availability

This section defines the availability and scope of the fixed fee tariff, including which customers and carriers can use it.

Field	Description
Tariff Availability	The availability status of this fixed fee tariff
Retail Tariff	Whether this is a retail or wholesale tariff
Currency	The currency for this fixed fee tariff (if different from default)
Customer	The specific customer this tariff is for (if customer-specific)
Customer Groups	The customer groups that can use this fixed fee tariff
Wholesale For	The carriers this wholesale fixed fee tariff applies to

Fixed Fee Tariff Type

This section defines the type and inheritance structure of the fixed fee tariff.

Field	Description
Based Upon	The parent fixed fee tariff this tariff is based upon

System Information

Field	Description
Original Fixed Fee Tariff	Fixed fee tariff this increase was based upon (self for in-place increases)
Increase %	Increase percentage applied to this fixed fee tariff
Effective Date	Date from which a scheduled fixed fee tariff increase applies
Increase Scope	Which fixed fee charges were included in the increase
Last Modified	Timestamp of the most recent modification to this fixed fee tariff
Created	Timestamp when this fixed fee tariff was created

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Related Pages

• Call Tariffs: usage-based pricing for calls and metered services
• Discount Plans: inclusive minutes, allowances, and call discounts
• Price Increases: apply percentage increases to tariffs and standard features
• Features: how features link tariffs to numbers
• Non-Usage Charges: how charges flow through the platform