In this chapter, you will learn how to use the CSP Dashboard to:

• View customer details
• Define a rate card
• Define a rate pack
• Import a rate pack
• Define bill rate for a subscription
• Define a managed service
• Define a managed discount
• Generate a usage bill
• View daily lines
• View resource lifecycle

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About managing usage bills

Once you have configured Microsoft Azure with Aquila Clouds, you can access your customer details and details of resources utilized by them in the Aquila Clouds platform.
Note: Aquila Clouds displays your organization's customer details in approximately 24 hours from the time you have configured Microsoft Azure with Aquila Clouds. Hence, Aquila Clouds recommends you use the platform after 24 hours from the time you have configured.

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Workflow for generating usage bill

The following diagram provides a detailed workflow for generating usage bills for a customer.

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Viewing customer details

You can access the CSP Dashboard on the Aquila Clouds platform to view the details of any customer. You can use the filters to view the details of any specific billing cycle for the selected customer.
Before you begin: Login to the Aquila Clouds platform.

• To view customer details:

1. On the top bar, select Image Modified > CSP Dashboard .
2. Select the Azure tab > Summary tab > Customers tab.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the Customers tab for the selected cloud service provider.

1. Select the customer and billing cycle from the Customer and Billing Cycle lists respectively to view customer and billing cycle specific details in the Customers tab.

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Defining a rate card

Aquila Clouds platform enables you to define a rate card for any resource utilization by any customer or you can modify and reuse any existing rate card. Whenever you modify any rate card, Aquila Clouds creates another version of the rate card with the same name instead of overwriting the existing rate card. This enables you to view and use the old rates if they are still applicable.

• To define a new rate card:

1. On the CSP Dashboard, for the required customer in the Azure tab > Summary tab, select the Customers tab and click Image Modified in the Rate Card column.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the details of the available rate cards on the CSP Dashboard page.

1. Click Add Rate Card Line.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the Add Rate Card Line page.

1. Enter the following details.

• Region: Select the required geographical region for the rate card from the list.
• Category: Select the required category of the cloud resources being used by the end-customers. This makes it possible to use this rate card for all customers using the selected category of resources.
• Sub-Category: Select the required sub-category of the cloud resource being used by the end-customers. Options in this list are displayed according to the option selected in the Category list.
• Name: Select the name of the required resource being used by the end-customer. Options in this list are displayed according to the option selected in the Sub-Category list.
• Interval: Select the interval from the list which is a unit for which the billing rate is applicable. For instance, if you want to specify hourly billing rate for a Standard Node of Advanced Data Security > SQL Database, select Hourly from the list.
• Status: Select the current status of the rate card.
• Count: Enter the count of resources for which the rate card is applicable.
• Rate: Enter the rate applicable for this rate card. This rate is applicable for the resource count according to the specified interval.
• Effective Date: Specify the date from which this rate card is applicable.

Note: This field is not available for Azure Stack.

• Comment: Enter comments if any for this rate card.

1. Click Apply.

Aquila Clouds BillOps creates the rate card with the required details.

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Defining a rate pack

You can define a new rate pack that can be used for a customer or a group of customers. You can define a rate pack for one or more resource. You can set a pack level rate or you can set pack item specific rates.

• To define a new rate pack:

1. On the CSP Dashboard, in the Azure tab, select the Catalog tab.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the details of the available rate packs on the CSP Dashboard page.

1. Click Add Rate Pack.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the Add Rate Pack page.

1. Enter the following details.

• Name: Enter the name for the rate pack.
• Enable Pack Level Rates: Select Yes to define pack level rate. For pack level rate, you don't have to define item level rates. If you select No, define item level rates. For item level rates define the primary resource on which overall rate of the rate pack is based.
• Comment: Enter comments if any for this rate pack.
• Add Field: Click to add details of required resources that are to be included in this rate pack. You can use this option to add more than one resource in the pack.
• Category: Select the required category of the cloud resources being used by the end-customers. This makes it possible to use this rate pack for all customers using the selected category of resources.
• Sub-Category: Select the required sub-category of the cloud resource being used by the end-customers. Options in this list are displayed according to the option selected in the Category list.
• Name: Select the name of the required resource being used by the end-customer. Options in this list are displayed according to the option selected in the Sub-Category list.
• Unit: Select the unit from the list for which the billing rate is applicable. For instance, if you want to specify hourly billing rate for a Standard Node of Advanced Data Security > SQL Database, select Hourly from the list.
• Primary: Toggle this field to On if this resource is the primary resource in the rate pack. The total rate of the rate pack is mainly based on Primary resource if you define item level rates.
• Rate: Enter the rate applicable for this pack item. This rate is applicable for the resource count according to the specified interval.
• Quantity: Enter the quantity of resources for which the rate pack is applicable.

1. Click Apply.

Aquila Clouds creates the rate pack with the required details.

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Importing a rate pack

Aquila Clouds platform enables you to define a rate card for any resource utilization by any customer or you can modify and reuse any existing rate card. Whenever you modify any rate card, Aquila Clouds creates another version of the rate card with the same name instead of overwriting the existing rate card. This enables you to view and use the old rates if they are still applicable.

• To import a rate pack:

1. On the CSP Dashboard, for the required customer in the Azure tab > Summary tab, select the Customers tab and click Image Modified in the Rate Card column.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the details of the available rate cards on the CSP Dashboard page.

1. Click Import Rate Packs.

1. Select the check box for the required rate pack.
2. Click Apply.
3. Click Do you wish to confirm?.

Aquila Clouds BillOps imports the rate pack for the selected customer. If a rate pack includes more than one resource, a separate rate card is created for each resource included in the rate pack.
Note: If you import a rate pack for a resource that has the same name as an existing rate card for the same resource, Aquila Clouds BillOps creates a new version of the rate card after importing the rate pack.

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Defining bill rate for a subscription

Aquila Clouds BillOps platform enables you to define a bill rate card for any subscription availed by any customer or you can modify any existing bill rate card. Whenever you modify any rate card, Aquila Clouds creates another version of the rate card with the same name instead of overwriting the existing rate card. This enables you to view and use the old rates if they are still applicable.

• To define a bill rate for a subscription:

1. On the CSP Dashboard, for the required customer in the Azure tab > Summary tab, select the Customers tab and click Image Modified in the Subscriptions column.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the details of the available subscriptions on the CSP Dashboard page.

1. Click Image Modified Edit.

1. Enter the following details.

• Computation Type: Select Fee to enter the amount or Percentage to enter the percentage of the rate as the bill rate for the subscription.
• Rate: Type the fee or percentage for the bill rate.

1. Click Apply.

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Defining a managed service

You can define a managed service to add cost of any service used by the customers.

• To define a managed service:

1. On the CSP Dashboard, for the required customer in the Azure tab > Summary tab, select the Managed Services tab.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the details of the managed services on the CSP Dashboard page.

1. Click Add Managed Service.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the Add Managed Service page.

1. Enter the following details.

• Service: Select the required category of the managed service provided to the end-customer.
• Resource: Select the required cloud resource being used by the end-customers. Options in this list are displayed according to the option selected in the Service list.
• Computation Type: Select the Fee to enter the amount or Percentage to enter the percentage of the rate as the required computation type of the rate slab for the managed service.
• Comment: Type the required comment for the managed service.
• Add Field: Click to add rate slab details of required resources that are to be included in this managed service. You can use this option to add more than one rate slabs.
• Type: Select based on which this rate slab is applied for the managed service.
• Quantity: Type the required quantity of resources for which this rate slab is applicable.
• Rate: Type the rate applicable for the managed service for the selected quantity of resources.

1. Click Apply.

Aquila Clouds BillOps creates the managed service with the required details.

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Defining a managed discount

You can define a managed discount to add a discount on one or more resources. This discount is included in the rate card.

• To define a managed discount:

1. On the CSP Dashboard, for the required customer in the Azure tab > Summary tab, select the Managed Discounts tab.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the details of the managed discounts on the CSP Dashboard page.

1. Click Add Managed Discount.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the Add Managed Discount page.

1. Enter the following details.

• Category: Select the required category for which the discount is to be provided.
• Sub-category: Select the required sub-category for which the discount is to be provided.
• Resource: Select the required resource for which the discount is to be provided.
• Rate: Type the rate applicable for the discount for the selected resources.
• Computation Type: Select the Fee to enter the amount or Percentage to enter the percentage of the rate as the required computation.
• Comment: Type the required comment for the discount.

1. Click Apply.

Aquila Clouds BillOps creates the managed discount with the required details.

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Generating a usage bill

You can generate usage bill for a customer according to the rate cards, rate packs, or managed services defined for the customer. You can also define ad-hoc costs if any to be accounted for the monthly bill. . You can set the status of the usage bill to Draft if you need to modify the bill. You can set it to Internal Review and send it for approval to the BillOps Reviewer or BillOps Admin users. Once approved by the BillOps Reviewer or BillOps Admin, you can send the PDF of the bill to customer approval and set the bill to the Customer Review state+bharatraj1@gmail.com +sharath@aquilaclouds.com +kalpesh@aquilaclouds.com I thought we changed this to multiple states now (... internal approved, etc.)?
Assigned to Bharat Rajpal. +desmond@aquilaclouds.com +sharath@aquilaclouds.com +kalpesh@aquilaclouds.com Since I had leveraged content from the CSP Getting Started guide, I think this got missed in my updates.
My apologies for the same.Thanks, Bharat!
Can you also update the Getting Started Guide?

• To generate a usage bill:

1. On the CSP Dashboard, for the required customer in the Azure tab > Summary tab, click Image Modified in the Monthly Bill Details column.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the details of the monthly bill on the CSP Dashboard page.

1. (Optional) Click Add Ad-hoc Cost to account for any ad-hoc service provided to the end-customer.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the Add Ad-hoc Cost page.

1. (Optional) Enter the following details and click Apply.

• Note: Type the required note for the ad-hoc cost.
• Price: Type the price for the ad-hoc cost.
• Comment: Type the required comment for the ad-hoc cost.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the details of the available rate packs in the Monthly Detail Bills tab on the CSP Dashboard page.

1. Select the Monthly Bills tab for the same customer.

1. Click Image Modified in the Edit column to set status for the bill and generate an invoice if the bill status is set to Customer Review or Bill Sent.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the Edit Billing State page.

1. Enter the following details and click Apply.

• Status: Select the required status for the usage bill. BillOps Admin users can modify any state. BillOps Operator users can modify all states except Internal Approved. BillOps Reviewer users can modify the Internal Approved state depending on whether bill requires more modifications or it can be sent to customers for approval.
• Comment: Type the required comment for the usage bill.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the details of the usage bill on the Monthly Bill Details tab. If the bill status is set to Customer Review state, the bill PDF is generated and can be made available to the customer.
For the Customer Review, Customer Rejected, Customer Approved, Bill Sent and Bill Paid states the communication is handled via email or ERP with required customers.

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Viewing daily lines for a customer

You can view the Daily Lines tab to access the daily usage details of resources for the selected customer.

• To view daily lines:

1. On the top bar, select Image Modified > CSP Dashboard .
2. On the CSP Dashboard, for the required customer in the Azure tab > Summary tab, select the Daily Lines tab.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the daily lines details on the CSP Dashboard page.

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Viewing resource lifecycle details for a customer

You can view the lifecycle details of all resources used by a customer.

• To view resource lifecycle details:

1. On the top bar, select Image Modified > CSP Dashboard .
2. On the CSP Dashboard, for the required customer in the Azure tab > Summary tab, select the Resource Lifecycle tab.

Aquila Clouds BillOps displays the resource lifecycle details on the CSP Dashboard page.