1z0-996-22 Sample Questions Answers

In Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service, proration can be disabled on three key entities: the Calculation Rule Business Object, Bill Factor, and Rate Version Calculation Group. Proration is a method used to adjust charges or quantities based on the portion of the billing period or rate version effective period that they cover. Disabling proration on these entities allows for greater control over how charges are calculated and applied, ensuring that they align with the specific billing and rate strategies of the utility company. This is particularly important in scenarios where fixed charges or quantities are applied irrespective of the portion of the period they cover​​.

References:

• Oracle documentation on Service Quantity Proration: Service Quantity Proration​​.

The rating functionality can be called by plug-in spots that are associated with bill segment creation or bill segment financial transaction creation. These plug-in spots allow you to apply custom logic or calculations to the bill segment or the financial transactions that are generated from the bill segment. The base package-supplied algorithm types that can be used for rating are C1-Rate and C1-RateByFormula. These algorithm types can be configured with rate schedules, rate components, and rate formulas to perform various types of rating calculations. References: Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service Billing Configuration Guide, Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service Billing User Guide, Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service Plug-in Spot Configuration Guide

Bill segments are the entities that contain the details of how a bill was calculated and how it will be printed on a bill. A bill typically contains one bill segment for every active service agreement linked to its account. A bill segment contains information showing how the segment was calculated and how it should be printed on the customer’s bill. The actions taken to create a bill segment are dependent on the service agreement’s SA type. For example, a service agreement that charges for metered service is produced as follows:

• The system requests for the amount or usage consumed (or billing determinants) from Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management (e.g., the number of lamps, the number of gallons of water, the peak kW, etc.).
• The service agreement’s rate is applied to the amount consumed to calculate how much the customer owes for the service. A bill segment and a financial transaction are generated to reflect the results of this calculation. The system has different bill segment creation algorithms for different types of service agreements, such as deposits, adjustments, or flat fees. The bill segment type on the service agreement’s SA type determines which algorithm to use. Bill segments are linked to the source information (e.g., service agreement, rate, meter read) and can be modified by changing the source information and regenerating the bill segment. References: Maintaining Bill Segments, Bill - Bill Segments

A final measurement is a measurement that has been validated, edited, and estimated by the Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service. A final measurement can record up to 10 derived values in addition to the primary measured value. The derivation formula for each value on a final measurement is controlled by the measuring component type. Derived values are not reliant on consumption values, but can also come from factors, historical data, or another source1. References: About Final Measurements, Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service - Get Started, Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service 22A What’s New

 Specifications are sets of attributes that define the physical and functional characteristics of an asset or a component. Specifications can be used to store information such as dimensions, weight, color, model, serial number, manufacturer, and so on. Specifications can also include peer specifications, which are specifications that are related to the same asset or component, but have different purposes or scopes. For example, an asset can have a specification for its installation details, and another specification for its maintenance requirements. Peer specifications can be linked by using the peer specification type and the peer specification ID fields. The other options are not true because specifications do not include the inspection history of an asset, which is stored in the asset history business object. Specifications can apply to both assets and components, as long as they have the same specification type. A single specification can be used on multiple assets or components, as long as they have the same specification type and specification ID. References: Specifications, About Specifications, Peer Specifications

 When the source of a Financial Transaction is canceled, it results in a new reversal Financial Transaction being created. The reversal Financial Transaction has the same amount as the source Financial Transaction, but with the opposite sign. The reversal Financial Transaction also has the same source as the source Financial Transaction, but with a different status. The source Financial Transaction remains in the system, but its status is changed to “Canceled”. The reversal Financial Transaction is used to reverse the financial impact of the source Financial Transaction on the account balance and other financial calculations. References: Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service Financial Transaction - Main, Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service Cancel Reasons, Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service Setting Up Payment Cancellation Reasons

 According to the Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service User Guides, a payment arrangement is an agreement between the utility and the customer to pay off an overdue balance in installments over a period of time1. A payment arrangement has bill segment-related financial transactions that reflect the amount and the due date of each installment2. The number of bill segment-related financial transactions depends on the number of bills that will contain the customer’s payment arrangement details2. For example, if a payment arrangement has four installments and each installment is due on the same date as the regular bill, then there will be four bill segment-related financial transactions, one for each bill2. However, if a payment arrangement has four installments and each installment is due on a different date than the regular bill, then there will be eight bill segment-related financial transactions, two for each bill (one for the regular bill and one for the payment arrangement installment)2. References: Payment Arrangements, Payment Arrangement Financial Transactions, Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service - Get Started

 The major entities that hold the key geographic, demographic, and financial information related to a customer who is financially responsible for a property are:

• Account: An account represents the financial relationship between a customer and the utility. It contains information such as the account number, account type, account status, billing cycle, payment plan, and balance.
• Customer Class: A customer class is a grouping of customers based on common characteristics, such as residential, commercial, or industrial. It determines the default values for various attributes, such as rate schedules, service agreements, and billing options.
• Person: A person is an individual who is associated with an account, such as the account holder, a contact, or a guarantor. It contains information such as the name, address, phone number, email, and identification number of the person.
• Premise: A premise is a physical location where a utility service is provided. It contains information such as the premise number, premise type, premise status, address, coordinates, and service point.
• Service Agreement: A service agreement is a contract between a customer and the utility that defines the terms and conditions of the service, such as the service type, start date, end date, rate schedule, and billing frequency.

These entities are linked together in a hierarchical structure, as shown in the following diagram1:

References:

• Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service Business User Guide, Chapter 2: Customer Information, Section 2.1: Understanding Customer Information
• [Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service Administrative User Guide], Chapter 2: Configuring Customer Information, Section 2.1: Configuring Customer Information Entities

The high-level process from loading measurements through calculating usage is as follows1:

• Load Initial Measurements: This step involves loading the raw measurement data from the head-end systems or other sources into the Initial Measurement Data (IMD) table. The IMD can be of scalar or interval type, and can have different statuses, such as new, processed, or rejected2.
• Validate, edit, and estimate Initial Measurements: This step involves applying the Validation, Estimation, and Editing (VEE) rules to the IMD to check for data quality, completeness, and accuracy. The VEE rules can perform various actions, such as validating the IMD against predefined criteria, editing the IMD values based on business logic, estimating the missing or invalid IMD values based on historical or statistical methods, or generating exceptions for the IMD that require manual intervention3.
• Create Final Measurements: This step involves creating the Final Measurement Data (FMD) from the IMD that have passed the VEE rules. The FMD are the processed and validated measurement data that are used for further processing, such as usage calculation, billing, reporting, or analysis. The FMD can also have derived values that are calculated from the FMD values using derivation formulas.
• Calculate Usage: This step involves calculating the usage transactions from the FMD using the usage calculation rules. The usage calculation rules define how to calculate the service quantity and price for a usage transaction based on the usage subscription, the rate schedule, the measuring components, and other parameters. The usage transactions are the output of the usage calculation process that are used for billing or other purposes. References:
• 1: Overview of Usage Calculation
• 2: About Initial Measurements
• 3: About Validation, Estimation, and Editing
• : About Final Measurements
• : About Usage Transactions

 Specifications are a way of defining the characteristics and behavior of assets or other entities in Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service. Specifications can include sets of procedures, and careful handling instructions for hazardous or delicate materials, as well as attributes that provide information about the entity. Attributes are data elements that can be used to store and display values, such as dimensions, weight, color, model, serial number, and so on. Attributes can also be used to define relationships between entities, such as parent-child, sibling, or peer-to-peer. Attributes can be configured to have different data types, validations, default values, and display options. References: Specifications, Attributes, Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service - Get Started

When a payment is canceled in Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service, the system automatically generates a new Financial Transaction to reverse the original Financial Transaction. This process is an integral part of the payment cancellation procedure, ensuring that the financial records are accurately updated to reflect the reversal of the previous transaction. It is important to note that canceling a payment is distinct from canceling a tender, and it typically occurs if the original distribution was frozen and found to be incorrect​​​​.

References:

• Oracle documentation on Cancel (A Payment): Cancel (A Payment)​​.
• Oracle documentation on How To Cancel A Payment Arrangement: How To Cancel A Payment Arrangement​​.

A Service Agreement Type (SA Type) is a configuration entity that defines the properties and behaviors of a service agreement, such as what service is provided, how it is priced, how it is billed, and how overdue debt is collected1. Therefore, the following statements correctly describe what a SA Type controls:

• A. It controls the Late Payment Charge Calculation Method. A SA Type specifies how late payment charges are calculated for overdue bills, such as using a fixed amount, a percentage of the bill, or a combination of both1.
• B. It controls the Service Type to be billed. A SA Type determines what type of service is supplied to the customer, such as electricity, gas, water, or sewerage1. A service type also defines the characteristics and measurements of the service, such as the unit of measure, the measuring component type, and the service quantity identifier2.
• C. It controls the valid Rates that can be applied to the service agreement type. A SA Type defines the rate eligibility rules that determine which rates can be assigned to a service agreement of that type1. A rate is a pricing structure that determines how a service is charged based on various factors, such as consumption, demand, time of use, or fixed charges3.
• D. It controls debt age. A SA Type defines the debt aging rules that determine how overdue debt is tracked and reported for a service agreement of that type1. Debt aging rules specify how debt is categorized into different aging buckets based on the number of days past due, and how interest is applied to each bucket4.

The following statement is incorrect:

• E. It controls where the bill is to be sent. A SA Type does not control where the bill is to be sent. This is determined by the bill routing option that is configured for the account or the service agreement. A bill routing option specifies the delivery method and the destination of the bill, such as email, paper, or third-party service.

References:

• Defining Service Agreement Type (SA Types)
• Understanding Service Types
• Understanding Rates
• Understanding Debt Aging Rules
• [Understanding Bill Routing Options]

Based on the information provided in the Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service documentation, the three configuration areas that impact the usage calculation process in the context of the D2-UsageTransaction business object are as follows:

• VEE Rule (Validation, Estimation, and Editing Rule): The VEE rule is crucial in the usage calculation process as it involves the validation, estimation, and editing of meter data before it is used for billing and other purposes. This ensures the accuracy and reliability of the data used in the calculation.
• TOU Map (Time of Use Mapping): Time of Use (TOU) mapping is significant in the usage calculation process, especially for customers on TOU rates. It involves mapping the consumption data to different time periods, which are often priced differently. This impacts the overall calculation of the usage cost.
• Usage Calculation Rules: These rules define how usage is calculated based on various factors such as consumption data, rate schedules, and other relevant parameters. They are integral to determining the final usage charges.

These configuration areas are integral to the process of calculating usage, ensuring that the calculated data is accurate, corresponds to the appropriate time periods, and aligns with the specific billing rules and rates applicable to the customer.

A Payment Arrangement Request is a business object that supports the step-by-step process of creating a Payment Arrangement, which is an agreement between the customer and the utility to pay off the outstanding balance in installments. A Payment Arrangement Request can perform the following functions:

• Examines the Account’s eligibility for Payment Arrangement: The Payment Arrangement Request can check if the account meets the criteria for a Payment Arrangement, such as the account status, the account type, the delinquent amount, the number of previous Payment Arrangements, and the collection process stage.
• Calculates delinquent amount for Service Agreements eligible for Payment Arrangement: The Payment Arrangement Request can calculate the total delinquent amount for the service agreements that are eligible for a Payment Arrangement, based on the payoff balance and the payment arrangement type. The delinquent amount is the amount that must be paid off by the Payment Arrangement.
• Determines if the Payment Arrangement Request requires approval: The Payment Arrangement Request can determine if the request needs to be approved by a supervisor or an external agency, based on the approval rules and the payment arrangement type. The approval rules can include the delinquent amount, the number of installments, the down payment amount, and the payment arrangement type.

References: Lifecycle Of A Payment Arrangement Request, Payment Arrangement Requests, Setting Up Payment Arrangement Requests

The IMD Seeder BO (D1-IMDSeeder) is used to create and update initial measurement data (IMD) records. It has a system event called “Validation” that specifies the algorithm to perform critical validations on the IMD records. If an implementation needs to add new critical validations, they can either modify the existing algorithm or create a new algorithm and assign it to the “Validation” system event. This way, the new validations will be executed whenever the IMD Seeder BO is invoked. References: Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service User Guide, Calculation Rule Validation, Cloud Services Implementation Guide