Concepts
Flat-fee pricing is the simplest model in Zenskar. It involves charging a fixed, recurring, or one-time amount regardless of how much the customer uses the service. This model provides maximum predictability for both the vendor and the customer.The logic of dimensions
Flat-fee pricing is a 0-dimensional model. It depends on zero external factors; it is a mathematical constant. Think of this as “The anchor.” In a world of shifting usage and complex variables, the flat fee remains stationary. It does not move based on volume, attributes, or transaction values. It serves as a solid foundation for a contract, ensuring a baseline of revenue regardless of activity.SaaS example: Cloud log storage
A monitoring platform offers a “Platform access fee” that grants the user the right to use the dashboard and storage infrastructure. This fee is the same whether they store 1 GB or 1,000 GB.
The “Anchor” calculation:
Because there are no variables to consider, Zenskar simply applies the constant value defined in the product.
Get started
To implement flat-fee pricing, you must first define the product in your library.- Navigate to the Library: Go to Contracts > Products.
- Create a Standalone Product: Click + CREATE NEW and choose Standalone Product from the dropdown. The Create Standalone Product page will appear. Fill in the required details and click Save & Proceed at the bottom right.
- Open Price Details: You will be redirected to the Price Details page. Click + Add Price to configure pricing for the product.
- Select Flat Fee Pricing Model: In the Pricing Model dropdown, select Flat Fee.
- Add Price Details and Save: Fill in the required details and click Confirm. Once complete, click Done on the Price Details page to finalize the setup.
How-to: Add a flat-fee product to a contract
1. Via Contracts
- Open the target contract in Contracts > Contracts.
- In the Summary tab, click + ADD PRODUCT V3.
- Search for and select your configured flat-fee product.
- Click ADD PRODUCT. You will be redirected to the Summary page. Click Publish.
2. Via Customer
- Open the target customer in Customers.
- Go to Contracts and click + CREATE CONTRACT.
- In the Summary tab, click + ADD PRODUCT V3.
- Search for and select your configured flat-fee product.
- Click ADD PRODUCT. You will be redirected to the Summary page. Click Publish.
Reference
Technical specifications
System architecture
In Zenskar, all pricing models are governed by a hierarchical relationship between entities:- Contract: The legal agreement between you and your customer.
- Phase: A specific time-bound period (e.g., Q1, implementation phase) within that contract.
- Product: The actual service or software module being sold.
- Pricing model: The specific logic (flat-fee pricing) that defines how that product is billed.
Price resolution flow
The following flow describes how flat-fee pricing calculates the final price:- Product library: Defines the global flat fee (c) and the billing frequency.
- Contract: Links the product to a customer.
- Billable metric: Does not require usage data (q); the value is pulled from the product definition itself.
- Billing engine: Bypasses usage aggregation and directly injects the constant as a line item on the invoice.