View Categories

Multi-Class Bucket Tier Calculation

Table of Contents

Last verified with: 10.8.6.0

Overview #

LogiSense Billing supports advanced inclusion models where the size of one usage bucket is calculated based on the volume of another usage class consumed during the billing period.

This capability allows service providers to dynamically grow a customer’s included usage entitlement based on how much of another service they consume.

In simple terms: For every X amount of Usage Class A consumed, the customer receives Y amount of Usage Class B included in their bucket.

This enables flexible commercial models commonly seen in Communications and SaaS markets, particularly for usage driven pricing strategies.

Why This Capability Matters #

Modern pricing models increasingly reward customer adoption and cross product consumption. Many providers want to:

  • Encourage customers to consume more of a core service
  • Bundle services in a more dynamic way
  • Offer inclusion that scales automatically with usage
  • Avoid rigid, all or nothing threshold based entitlements

Traditional buckets are fixed in size. This feature introduces a bucket whose size grows based on actual usage volume of another service during the billing period.

This allows businesses to create innovative commercial models without custom development.

How It Works at a Business Level #

This capability uses Usage Volume Tiers, a bucket-tier calculation type that adjusts available bucket allowance based on consumption of another usage class during the billing period.

The bucket size is calculated at billing time, based on the final usage totals for the period.

The model supports proportional growth. That means inclusion increases gradually as usage increases, rather than unlocking only after a hard threshold is reached.

Example concept:

If the rule is:
10,000 API Requests included for every 1 GB of Data Transfer consumed

Then:

  • At 100 KB of data, a small proportional amount of API requests is included
  • At 500 MB of data, half of the 10,000 requests are included
  • At 1 GB of data, the full 10,000 requests are included
  • If configured to repeat, the inclusion continues growing for each additional GB

This creates smooth, scalable entitlement growth.

Where This Can Be Used #

This capability is available for:

  • Service level buckets
  • Package level buckets
  • Share Plan buckets across multiple services or packages

It can be configured in the product catalog and overridden at the account level when needed.

Real World Communications Use Cases #

1. Bandwidth Driving Request Volume #

A communications provider offers CDN services where:

  • For every 1 GB of bandwidth consumed
  • The customer receives 10,000 included HTTP requests

As customers push more traffic, their included request allowance grows automatically.

Business benefit:

  • Encourages bandwidth growth
  • Aligns pricing with customer scale
  • Reduces friction from sudden overages

2. Data Usage Driving SMS Allowances #

A mobile operator offers an IoT connectivity plan:

  • For every 100 MB of data consumed
  • The customer receives 50 included SMS messages

This supports use cases where devices primarily transmit data but occasionally require SMS notifications.

Business benefit:

  • Incentivizes primary service usage
  • Creates a bundled value perception
  • Supports cross service adoption

3. Automatic Usage Credits #

A telecom provider wants to reward high data consumption:

  • For every 100 GB consumed
  • 25 GB is automatically bucketed as included

This effectively acts as a dynamic volume discount.

Business benefit:

  • Encourages higher data adoption
  • Delivers built in loyalty benefits
  • Simplifies discount modeling without manual credits

Real World SaaS Use Cases #

1. Storage Driving API Access #

A SaaS analytics provider offers:

  • 1,000 API calls included
  • For every 10 GB of data stored

As customers store more data, their integration capacity increases.

Business benefit:

  • Ties platform usage together
  • Encourages data growth
  • Supports ecosystem expansion

2. Compute Driving Feature Access #

A cloud platform charges for compute hours but includes additional feature usage:

  • For every 100 compute hours
  • 5,000 workflow executions are included

Business benefit:

  • Encourages deeper platform usage
  • Aligns cost with delivered value
  • Avoids rigid plan boundaries

3. Revenue Share or Marketplace Models #

A SaaS marketplace platform may offer:

  • For every $10,000 in transaction volume
  • $500 in included promotional credits

This allows dynamic incentives aligned to platform performance.

Key Characteristics #

1. End of Period Calculation #

The final bucket size is determined during usage billing based on the total volume consumed during the billing period.

This ensures accurate inclusion calculation without impacting real time rating performance.

2. Proportional Growth #

The bucket does not require customers to fully reach a threshold before receiving inclusion.

Instead, inclusion grows proportionally as usage accumulates.

This prevents overage shock and provides predictable scaling.

3. Repeatable Tier Option #

The bucket can be configured so the last tier repeats, allowing the allowance to continue scaling as usage volume increases.

This enables unlimited scaling, such as:

  • 10,000 Requests per 1 GB
  • Repeating infinitely

The inclusion continues growing as long as usage increases.

4. Account Level Customization #

At the account level, administrators can override:

  • The included threshold amount
  • The usage volume required to trigger inclusion
  • Whether the tier repeats

This supports negotiated contracts and enterprise custom pricing.

Share Plan Support #

For shared usage environments, such as:

  • Multi service telecom plans
  • Enterprise SaaS accounts with multiple workspaces
  • Group or invoicer level billing

The total usage across participating services can determine the bucket size.

For share plan buckets, usage-volume tiers are supported when the bucket is configured with threshold-per-account-service behavior.

Example:

If a share plan includes multiple services and total bandwidth across them is 5 GB, each configured share bucket calculates inclusion based on that total usage.

This enables enterprise wide scaling benefits.

Important Considerations #

  • The usage class that drives the bucket must be clearly defined
  • Money based buckets are supported as the inclusion, but usage volume calculation must be based on usage, not revenue
  • This bucket type does not support rollover models
  • Once a bucket tier is in use by referenced bucket records, its tier calculation type cannot be changed.
  • If multiple buckets use the same driving usage class, each calculates independently

Strategic Impact #

Usage Volume Based Bucket Tiers enable:

  • More sophisticated inclusion strategies
  • Revenue aligned growth models
  • Cross product bundling without manual adjustments
  • Scalable enterprise pricing
  • Competitive differentiation in usage based markets

This capability supports advanced commercial models seen in leading Communications and SaaS companies and allows LogiSense customers to implement them directly within the platform.