Using CA Service Accounting › Introduction

Introduction

CA Service Accounting is a financial application that can be used for controlling IT costs, managing demand through billing and chargeback, allocating costs, budgeting and planning IT Services.

CA Service Accounting enables businesses to allocate their IT costs and create flexible, customized pricing models for their IT services. The software can be used to plan IT budgets and justify budget requests; implement corporate chargeback for IT resources, and bill customers for IT services on a per-use basis.

In addition, CA Service Accounting does the following:

• Enables usage-based or transaction-based billing by importing external usage through data mediation
• Adjusts charges based on SLA contract violations, when CA Service Catalog is integrated with CA Business Service Insight

Key features of CA Service Accounting include:

• A service builder to create flexible, customized options for an organization’s IT services
• A chargeback component to allocate cost back to Business Units, including service level charges and adjustments
• Scheduled account invoice processing and financial reporting used for budgeting and planning
• A facility for managing subscriptions, invoices and profiles

CA Service Accounting provides companies with the ability to:

• Improve Communication and Alignment

  A Chargeback implementation triggers dialog over many aspects related to IT Services, such as advantages, costs, and requirements. With a deeper understanding of how IT is being used within an organization, services can be better aligned to meet the business objectives of each Business Unit by correcting or eliminating pervasive inefficiencies.

• Increase Governance and Financial Transparency

  With increased transparency and accountability reported through a successful chargeback strategy, organizations can be more adept in making astute business decisions based on true IT costs.

• Influence Customer Behavior

  Allocating costs to the end-user raises awareness and influences customer behavior. As Business Units become more cost-conscious with their expenditures, inefficient and frivolous behavior can be curtailed, placing better constraints over the cost of IT. The results typically include a more accurate depiction of profitability and increased control over the cost of IT.

• Transition IT toward a Measurement Culture

  By moving Business Units, and the organization as a whole, toward a culture of measurement, increasingly efficient management and continual improvement of overall business processes result.

• Calculate Return on Investment (ROI)

  The ability to identify usage either by consumer or department enables IT to easily calculate the return on investment. The detailed information available in Service Accounting also enables IT to perform cost-benefit analysis.

More information:

Chargeback

Manage Invoices

Manage Subscriptions

Service Builder