Salesforce Billing and CPQ Implementation Done Right – A Success Story

A quick glance at Salesforce CPQ and Billing would convince anyone that installing and configuring them in their Salesforce Org is a matter of a few clicks. But the reality hits them hard as soon as they get their hands on it.

In the last year, we came across many similar cases where customers tried to do the same but ended with an off-centered implementation. The results were:

• Broken workflows
• Discrepant sales quotes
• Wrong billings, etc.

In this blog post, we will cover a similar story and how our Salesforce experts provided a judicious solution to one of our customers.

How the Story Began

An entertainment company, which deals in user-generated videos, was using Salesforce Billing as an addition to its CPQ instance for generating bills from a single platform. But the workflows went haywire and the results were:

• Erroneous quote line editor in CPQ
• Imprecise billings and royalties

So, the company contacted us.

After a thorough analysis of their Org, our Salesforce experts documented the errors. Then, the customer was provided a detailed consultation about what went wrong and we helped them understand the architecture of the product.

How We Went About it to Provide a Solution

There were a number of issues within the Org so, our experts took a sequence-wise approach to address the issues. Given are the details of every step we followed:

1. Revising the Usage Billing Mechanism

1.1. Syncing Customer Data in Salesforce Billing

The first step was, of course, to revise the billing mechanism in Salesforce Billing based on the usage of videos. In order to fix it, our Salesforce experts uploaded the data of all the previous users in Salesforce Billing.

1.2. Customizing the Process for Calculating the Standard Usage

After uploading the data of users, the next step was to customize the workflow that the customer was using to calculate the standard usage of videos. Thus, our experts then uploaded the data about the products, user subscriptions, and start & end date in Salesforce Billing. This helped to sync the product and subscriptions data with the users’ data and thus, enabling accurate calculation of standard usage and right billing.

2. Rectifying Issues with Calculating Royalties

The company used to credit a royalty amount to the video owners based on the usage and popularity of videos. But that was also being affected by hardwired workflows. So, to rectify that, our experts developed a separate custom solution within the Org to accurately calculate and transact the royalty amount to be credited.

3. Reconfiguring Quote Line Editor in CPQ

The next in the row was ‘quote line editor’ in CPQ. To sort out its issues, the editor had to be reconfigured based on the business process and requirements. So, our experts reconfigured with correct syncing of data by following the proven best practices and also taking business processes into consideration.

4. Creating a High-level Documentation

We, at Grazitti, believe in going above and beyond to enrich our customers’ experience with us. So, to help the customer understand the whole process and for future reference, our experts also created high-level documentation of processes involving product configuration and mapping of processes.

After ensuring the accuracy of Salesforce CPQ and Billing, the Org was handed over to the customer. And the whole project was completed within 40 days.

The Lessons Learned

An off-centered Org can turn your experience with it into a nightmare. And incorrect quotes and billings can also lead to revenue losses and a negative brand image. No company would want that. So, it’s always good to consult with experts in complex scenarios like this.

Do you have any such complex situation within Salesforce that’s been bothering you?