What a package is

A package is a price list for data. It says which mobile networks a customer is charged for and how much each MB costs. Every package belongs to one group, and only that group's customers can use it.

A customer either has a package chosen for them, or follows their group's default package. Following the default is usually best: change the default and every following customer moves with it.

How a customer's price is decided

For each network, the billing engine takes the first of these that exists:

1. A price override for the customer on that network.

2. A price override for the customer's group on that network.

3. The customer's package, or the group default if they have none. The package must be switched on and belong to the customer's group.

4. Otherwise the traffic is not charged.

Price overrides are the older way of setting prices. This tool shows them but does not change them. Use "Why is a customer charged this?" to see which rule applies to a customer.

Same price, or price drops as volume grows

Same price for all traffic: each network has one price per MB.

Price drops as volume grows: each network has volume bands, each with its own price. The customer's volume so far this month decides which band applies. Two settings control how:

• How volume is counted. Each network's monthly volume decides its own band. 50 GB on MTN and 50 GB on Vodacom are two separate 50 GB totals. All charged networks are added together to decide the band. 50 GB on MTN and 50 GB on Vodacom count as 100 GB.

• When a cheaper band is reached. When a customer reaches a cheaper band, everything they used this month is re-priced at that band's rate. This is the usual choice. Each part of the month is charged at its own band's rate, like income tax brackets. Earlier traffic keeps its higher price.

Free traffic

Marking a network as free traffic keeps it in the customer's reports but never charges for it, and it does not count towards volume bands. Removing a network from the package is different: its traffic is then not charged and also drops out of billing reports.

When changes take effect

The billing engine reads packages again every few minutes (about 5).

With "Re-price the whole month at the new rate", the whole current month is re-priced at the customer's band on the next run.

Otherwise, traffic already billed keeps its price and only new traffic uses the new prices.

Things that silently charge nothing

• A customer on a switched-off or deleted package.

• A customer on another group's package.

• No package and no group default.

• A network with no price, or a banded network with no bands.

• Gaps between bands, or volume above the last band's upper limit, when only traffic above each threshold is re-priced.

The health check finds all of these.