## Settings for Dates in M3ter Settings for dates are required in several functional contexts in m3ter. This topic provides a quick reference starter on how dates are handled in m3ter, such as when configuring dates for your billing operations: - [Date/Time Fields - Format](https://docs.m3ter.com/guides/getting-started/working-with-dates-in-m3ter-easy-reference#datetime-fields-format) - [Setting your Organization Timezone](https://docs.m3ter.com/guides/getting-started/working-with-dates-in-m3ter-easy-reference#organization-timezone) - [Dates for Billing and Pricing](https://docs.m3ter.com/guides/getting-started/working-with-dates-in-m3ter-easy-reference#dates-for-billing-and-pricing) - [Dates for Usage Data](https://docs.m3ter.com/guides/getting-started/working-with-dates-in-m3ter-easy-reference#dates-for-usage-data) ## Date/Time Fields - Format Date/time fields are required to be in _ISO-8601_ format: - For example, the `ts` field used for the timestamp when you use the [Submit Measurements](https://docs.m3ter.com/api/measurements/submit-measurements) API to make a usage data measurement ingest into the platform needs to be in ISO-8601 format. **Tip: More on ISO-8601?** If you would like to learn more about the background and history of this standardized format, we suggest this resource as a starting point: [ISO 8601](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601). ## Organization Timezone Timezone is a baseline setting for dates in your Organization and it’s important to understand how the timezone setting affects date/time settings you select. ### Setting your Timezone The default timezone for a m3ter Organization is UTC. You can quickly change this setting in the Console: - Select **Settings**: - Select **Edit** on the **Organization configuration details** panel. On the **Organization configuration** page scroll down to the **Timezone** setting: - **Timezone**. Enter the timezone for your Organization. You can use any format that is valid under Release 2021c of the tz database (tzdata). For example: - If you want to set your timezone by a UTC offset of plus one hour, you can enter **UTC+1:00**. - If you want to set your timezone to GMT plus one hour, you can enter **GMT+1:00** or **GMT+1** or **+1:00** or simply **+1**. - If you want to set your timezone to a regional timezone by tz database name, you can select from the drop-down list, for example, **Europe/Berlin**. **Tip!** Alternatively, you can use the `timezone` request parameter for the [Update OrganizationConfig](https://docs.m3ter.com/api/organizationconfig/update-organizationconfig) API call to set your Timezone. ## Dates for Billing and Pricing Your m3ter setup for controlling when and how bills for an end-customer account are created involves several key aspects: - [Billing Frequency](https://docs.m3ter.com/guides/getting-started/working-with-dates-in-m3ter-easy-reference#billing-frequency) - [First and Subsequent Bill Creation Dates](https://docs.m3ter.com/guides/getting-started/working-with-dates-in-m3ter-easy-reference#first-and-subsequent-bill-creation-dates) - [First Bill Dates for Prepayments/Commitments](https://docs.m3ter.com/guides/getting-started/working-with-dates-in-m3ter-easy-reference#first-bill-dates-for-prepaymentscommitments) - [Dates for Pricing](https://docs.m3ter.com/guides/getting-started/working-with-dates-in-m3ter-easy-reference#dates-for-pricing) - [End Dates for Billing are Exclusive](https://docs.m3ter.com/guides/getting-started/working-with-dates-in-m3ter-easy-reference#end-dates-for-billing-are-exclusive) - [Billing In Arrears/In Advance](https://docs.m3ter.com/guides/getting-started/working-with-dates-in-m3ter-easy-reference#billing-in-arrearsin-advance) ### Billing Frequency Billing frequency means how often bills are generated - every day, week, month, and so on. You can set **Billing frequency** when you create Plan Templates for your Products. Each Plan will be based on a Plan Template and will inherit the billing frequency setting. You’ll then be able to attach a Plan to an end-customer Account, and go on to price the attached Plan to define the billing charge rates against the Account for consuming your Products. In the Console, go to **Pricing>Plan Templates>Create Plan Template** and for **Bill frequency** there are four options: - **Daily**. Starting at midnight each day, covering a twenty-four hour period following. - **Weekly**. Starting at midnight on a Monday morning covering the seven-day period following. - **Monthly**. Starting at midnight on the morning of the first day of each month covering the entire calendar month following. - **Annually**. Starting at midnight on the morning of the first day of each year covering the entire calendar year following. Note that when the repeat cycle of bill creation - weekly, monthly, and so on - _starts_ depends on the date you have defined as the start date for each of these billing frequency options. ### First and Subsequent Bill Creation Dates Linked to billing frequency are settings that define when bills are generated for the first time. When first billing dates are set, dates for subsequent bills depend on the billing frequency you’ve selected. For example, in a simple case where you are using a monthly billing frequency and set a first bill date of January 1st, subsequent bills will be created on the 1st of each month following throughout the billing period. In m3ter, we use the concept of **Epoch** dates for billing periods: **Year**, **Month**, **Week**, and **Day**. To define the Epoch dates for billing periods, go to **Settings>Organization** and on the **Configuration** tab, select **Edit** on the **Organization Configuration Details** panel and set the **Epoch** dates. ### First Bill Dates for Prepayments/Commitments You can create Prepayments/Commitments amounts for your end-customer Accounts. If your end-customer hasn’t paid the Prepayment amount in full upfront at the start of their contract, you can use billing options to control how the outstanding Prepayment fees are to be billed against the Account. You can do this in two ways: - Bill with a Plan - Bill on a Schedule In the Console, go to **Accounts** and open the Account. On the **Prepayments** tab, select **Create Prepayment**. If the **Amount pre-paid** is less than the **Amount**, then the **Billing** options are enabled. #### Bill with Plan - Set First Bill Date 1. Select **Bill with plan**. 2. Use the optional **Billing cycle date** to set a date when line items for the Prepayment fees will first appear on a Bill. #### Bill on a Schedule - Set First Bill Date 1. Select **Bill on a schedule**. 2. Use the **Add** button to define the details of the first Bill in the schedule for Prepayment fees due. 3. Enter a **Date** for the first Bill. ### Dates for Pricing In the Console Pricing Editor, you can add a Plan for a Product, add an Aggregation or a Counter, and then create a Pricing for the Plan: - You _must_ enter a **Start date** and can _optionally_ enter an **End date**. - Start/End dates define the period you want the Pricing you’ve configured to apply to the Plan. ### End Dates for Billing are Exclusive You must define start and end dates in contexts related to billing on your end-customer Accounts. ### Billing In Arrears/In Advance Related to dates for billing, you can define when _standing charge_, _minimum spend_, and _Prepayment fee_ amounts will be billed - either in arrears or in advance. ## Dates for Usage Data When you have completed your usage-based pricing and billing setup in m3ter, you can submit some test usage data for an Account. This allows you to then calculate bills on the basis of the data you’ve submitted and check everything is working as you expect it to before switching to your production environment.