1. OVERVIEW › 1.3 Overview of Tailoring CA MICS Accounting and Chargeback Option › 1.3.3 Rate Table Specifications

1.3.3 Rate Table Specifications

You use the rate tables to indicate which journal files will
be charged for and how to charge for the work in each file.

There is one rate table for each CA MICS Accounting and
Chargeback unit and one for complex-level external files.
You must activate the journal files to be charged for by
defining journal file specifications and at least one
charging algorithm for each journal file.

A charging algorithm is a set of computation codes and rates.
If you define more than one charging algorithm for a journal
file, you must use algorithm qualification to indicate which
data to charge with each algorithm.

You can also specify a journal file exit if you need to
provide for special processing.


JOURNAL FILE SPECIFICATIONS

Journal file specifications include the following:

o The number of journal file cycles to be kept

o Whether to use data compression

o Whether to use zone charging

o Whether to use priority charging

o Whether to use journal file prorating

o An effective date time stamp variable, usually start or end
  time stamp.  If you associate rates with effective dates in
  your charging algorithm, this identifies the variable whose
  contents will be compared to the current time stamp at run
  time to determine the rate to use.


ALGORITHM SPECIFICATION

This is where you define your charging algorithms.  You can
define a single charging algorithm to apply to all work in
the journal file, or you can define multiple algorithms for
different subsets of the work.

In each charging algorithm, you specify each charging element
to be used.  Normally, you specify one computation code and
rate for each charging element, but you can also use "control
variable charging" to vary the computation code and/or rate
based on the value of a control variable.  For example, you
might charge different rates for print lines depending on the
form number.

You can associate a date with each charging element to
indicate when it will be used.  This is called the effective
date.  For example, if you want to change your rates
effective January 1, 1996, you might enter each computation
code and rate twice, once with no effective date and once
with an effective date of 1/1/96.

You can use special computation codes to implement a minimum
charge or a surcharge for each unit of work.


ALGORITHM QUALIFICATION

This is where you indicate which charging algorithms to use
for which subsets of the data being charged.  You do this by
specifying the SYSID, SUBSYSID, SUBTYPE, COSTCTR, and
WORKUNIT values that identify the work to be charged by each
algorithm.

SUBSYSID, SUBTYPE, and WORKUNIT have different meanings for
each journal file.  You control their meanings using the
Journal File Eligibility panel, or the Complex-Level External
File panel.  Refer to Sections 1.3.4 and 1.3.13 for more
information about these specifications.


QUALIFICATION GROUPS

If you have lists of SYSID, SUBSYSID, SUBTYPE, COSTCTR, or
WORKUNIT values that you need to specify for an algorithm,
you can use the Qualification Groups panel to create lists of
values and name each list.  Then you can specify the name of
the list in algorithm qualification each time that you need
to refer to the list of values that it contains.