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Product Codes

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Last verified with: 10.8.6.0

Overview #

Product Codes in LogiSense Billing provide a flexible way to assign multiple pricing variations to the same catalog package or service within an Account Price Plan.

At a business level, Product Codes allow organizations to:

  • Offer special pricing for specific customers or segments
  • Support promotions and limited-time offers
  • Manage grandfathered pricing
  • Differentiate pricing for the same product across brands, channels, or hierarchies

Rather than duplicating catalog items, Product Codes enable pricing variation while keeping the underlying product structure clean and consistent.

What Is a Product Code? #

A Product Code is an identifier attached to a Package Service Price Plan (PSPP) within an Account Price Plan (APP).

In simple terms:

  • The Catalog defines the standard product and default pricing.
  • The Account Price Plan (APP) defines account-specific pricing.
  • The Product Code allows multiple pricing versions of the same package or service within an APP.

Product Codes are used by the billing engine to determine which pricing rules apply when an Account Package is billed.

Why Product Codes Matter #

Without Product Codes, businesses would need to:

  • Duplicate packages for every pricing variation
  • Create complex composite price plans
  • Manually override pricing on individual account packages

Product Codes eliminate this complexity by providing structured pricing control.

They are particularly valuable in:

  • Communications markets (telecom, IoT, MVNO)
  • SaaS subscription environments
  • Multi-brand or multi-channel businesses
  • Organizations managing large account hierarchies

How Product Codes Work #

1. Creation #

Product Codes are created when adding a Package Service Price Plan to an Account Price Plan.

Each Product Code is:

  • Associated with a specific package + frequency combination
  • Unique at the Owner level
  • Stored centrally for reuse and validation

This ensures consistency across account hierarchies and prevents conflicting definitions.

2. Assigning a Product Code to an Account Package #

When creating an Account Package (AP):

  • A Product Code may be specified
  • If used, the system links pricing to the matching PSPP in the applicable APP
  • If no Product Code is used, pricing is treated as a NULL Product Code and standard APP or catalog pricing applies

If the currency of the Product Code pricing does not match the account currency, it cannot be used.

3. Pricing Logic in Billing #

During billing:

  1. If Account Package override pricing exists, that pricing is used.
  2. If not, billing evaluates the Product Code on the Account Package.
  3. If a matching Product Code exists in the applicable APP, that pricing is used.
  4. If no match exists, catalog pricing applies.

Product Code pricing can apply to recurring, non-recurring, transition, and tiered pricing when matching Account Price Plan pricing exists.

This ensures consistent behavior across subscription and one-time fees.

Account Hierarchies and Product Codes #

LogiSense supports account hierarchies where parent accounts may define price plans inherited by children.

Account Price Plan selection is based on proximity in the hierarchy.

Product Code availability is determined by the active Account Price Plan in the account hierarchy for the effective date being billed or provisioned.

This flexibility allows businesses to evolve pricing structures without disrupting existing customers.

Lifecycle Management #

Removing Account Price Plans or Product Codes #

If matching Product Code pricing is no longer available, the system validates availability during account-package creation and pricing falls back according to pricing precedence rules.

Product Code records are cleaned up appropriately to allow reuse.

This prevents orphaned pricing logic and ensures system integrity.

Real-World Use Cases #

Communications Market Examples #

1. Promotional Mobile Plan #

A telecom provider offers:

  • Standard “Unlimited Data Plan”
  • Promotional “Unlimited Data Plan – Black Friday”

Instead of duplicating the plan:

  • Same package
  • Different Product Codes
  • Different pricing

When the promotion ends:

  • New customers cannot use that Product Code
  • Existing customers continue on grandfathered pricing

2. Enterprise Contract Pricing #

An IoT provider sells:

  • “Connected Device Package” at standard rates
  • Custom negotiated pricing for a global enterprise

Using Product Codes:

  • Standard customers use NULL or default pricing
  • Enterprise account uses Product Code “ENT_GLOBAL_2025”
  • Billing automatically applies negotiated rates

3. Wholesale vs Retail Pricing #

An MVNO supports:

  • Retail subscribers
  • Wholesale reseller accounts

Same core service package, but:

  • Retail pricing tied to Product Code RETAIL_STD
  • Wholesale pricing tied to WHOLESALE_A

This avoids product duplication while maintaining pricing separation.

SaaS Market Examples #

1. Grandfathered Subscription Pricing #

A SaaS company increases pricing in 2025.

Existing customers remain at legacy rates.

Approach:

  • Old pricing tied to Product Code LEGACY_2024
  • New pricing tied to default or new Product Code

Existing subscriptions retain the old code. New subscriptions use new pricing.

2. Channel-Based Pricing #

A SaaS vendor sells:

  • Direct
  • Through resellers
  • Through marketplace partners

Each channel may use:

  • Same product
  • Different Product Codes
  • Different pricing models

This supports partner margins without altering the product catalog.

3. Multi-Tier Pricing Experiments #

A company tests:

  • Standard subscription
  • Beta pricing tier
  • Discounted pilot group

Product Codes allow temporary pricing experiments without catalog complexity.

Business Benefits #

1. Pricing Flexibility Without Catalog Complexity #

No need to clone products for every variation.

2. Controlled Grandfathering #

Maintain historical pricing without blocking new strategies.

3. Hierarchical Price Governance #

Support enterprise structures where pricing may be defined at parent or child levels.

4. Reduced Manual Overrides #

Less reliance on one-off account-level pricing overrides.

5. Strong Governance and Validation #

  • Currency alignment enforced
  • Product Code uniqueness at owner level
  • Structured cleanup when price plans are removed

When to Use Product Codes #

Product Codes are recommended when:

  • The same product needs multiple pricing definitions
  • You are running promotions or limited offers
  • You need grandfathered pricing
  • You are supporting wholesale or partner channels
  • You are managing complex account hierarchies

They are not required when:

  • Only one pricing model exists
  • Simple catalog pricing is sufficient

Summary #

Product Codes provide a strategic pricing control mechanism in LogiSense Billing.

They allow businesses to:

  • Apply differentiated pricing to the same product
  • Manage promotional, negotiated, and legacy pricing
  • Support complex account hierarchies
  • Maintain billing integrity and automation

For communications and SaaS businesses operating in usage-based, subscription, or hybrid billing models, Product Codes are a foundational capability that enables controlled pricing flexibility at scale.