Complete Guide to Usage Management in Salesforce Revenue Cloud

Table of contents

Introduction

Usage-based pricing has become increasingly popular as businesses look for flexible ways to monetize their products and services based on actual consumption. Salesforce Revenue Cloud offers powerful usage management capabilities to help businesses track, rate, and bill customers based on their actual usage.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore how to set up and leverage usage management in Salesforce Revenue Cloud, walking through the entire process from configuration to invoicing.

What is Usage Management?

Usage Management is a feature in Salesforce Revenue Cloud that enables businesses to track, rate, and bill customers based on their actual consumption of products or services. It supports multiple billing models:

Products with included usage grants: For example, a subscription product that includes a specific allocation (like 1,000 API calls per month) with overage charges for exceeding that allocation.
Pure usage-based products: Pay-as-you-go models where customers are billed solely based on their consumption.

Key Concepts in Usage Management

Before diving into the setup process, let’s understand some key concepts:

Concept	Description
Usage Resource	The actual consumption metric you’re tracking (e.g., API calls, storage usage)
Unit of Measure	The unit used to quantify the usage (e.g., tokens, gigabytes)
Product Usage Grant	The allocation included with a product (e.g., 1,000 tokens per month)
Usage Definition Product	The product that appears on invoices for usage-based charges
Rate Cards	Define the pricing for usage consumption (base rates and tier-based rates)
Usage Summary	Aggregated usage data for billing periods
Liable Summary	Invoice-ready usage charges

Setting Up Usage Management

Let’s walk through the complete process of setting up usage management for a fictional AI product with a monthly subscription that includes a usage allocation with overage charges.

Step 1: Create the Main Product

1 Create your primary product

Navigate to Products in Salesforce
Click “New” to create a new product
Enter product details:
- Product Name: “AI Power Design Hub”
- Set the product to Active
- Usage Model Type: “Anchor”
- Configure Sell: “Allowed” (depending on your requirements)
Save the product

2 Assign to a product category

Navigate to the newly created product
Click “Add to Category”
Select an appropriate category (e.g., “AI” under “Software Catalog”)
Save the assignment

3 Configure the Product Selling Model

From the product record, go to related list for Product Selling Model Options
Create a new Product Selling Model Option
Select “Term Based Monthly” as the selling model
Use the default proration policy
Save the selling model option

4 Create a Price Book Entry

From the product record, scroll down to the Price Book Entries related list
Create a new Price Book Entry
Set the list price (e.g., $25 per month)
Save the price book entry

Note: After creating your product, it’s a good practice to refresh your product index immediately. Navigate to Setup > Product Discovery Settings > Index and perform a full or partial index rebuild.

Step 2: Create Unit of Measure Class and Unit of Measure

1 Create a Unit of Measure Class

Navigate to the Unit of Measure Class object
Click “New” to create a new record
Enter:
- Name: “AI Processing Unit”
- Code: [Unique code]
- Status: “Draft” (initially)
Save the record

2 Create a Unit of Measure

Navigate to the Unit of Measure object
Click “New” to create a new record
Enter:
- Name: “AI Token”
- Code: [Unique code]
- Unit of Measure Class: “AI Processing Unit” (the one you just created)
- Sequence: 10
- Type: “Count”
- Status: “Active”
Save the record

3 Update the Unit of Measure Class

Navigate back to your Unit of Measure Class
Set the Default Unit of Measure to the “AI Token” you just created
Change the Status to “Active”
Save the record

Step 3: Create the Usage Resource

1 Create a Usage Resource

Navigate to the Usage Resource object
Click “New” to create a new record
Enter:
- Name: “AI Token Consumption”
- Unit of Measure Class: “AI Processing Unit”
- Default Unit of Measure: “AI Token”
- Code: [Unique code]
- Category: “Usage”
- Usage Aggregation Policy: [Select appropriate policy]
- Status: “Draft” (initially)
Save the record
Change Status to “Active” and save again

Step 4: Create a Usage Definition Product

This is the product that will appear on invoices for usage-based charges.

1 Clone your main product

Navigate to your main product (AI Power Design Hub)
Use the “Deep Clone” function
Name the cloned product: “AI Power Design Hub Definition Product”
Complete the deep clone operation

2 Configure the Definition Product

Navigate to the cloned product
Ensure it is set to “Active”
Ensure it has a Product Selling Model Option (should be cloned from the original)
Note: You don’t need a Price Book Entry for this definition product

Step 5: Create a Product Usage Grant

This defines the allocation included with your product.

1 Create a Product Usage Grant

Navigate to the Product Usage Grant object
Click “New” to create a new record
Enter:
- Name: “AI Token Grant”
- Usage Resource: “AI Token Consumption”
- Quantity: “1000” (tokens allocated per period)
- Product Offer: “AI Power Design Hub” (your main product)
- Unit of Measure Class: “AI Processing Unit”
- Unit of Measure: “AI Token”
- Overage Chargeable: “Yes”
- Status: “Draft” (initially)
- Usage Definition Product: “AI Power Design Hub Definition Product”
- Validity Period Terms: “0”
- Period Unit: “None”
- Draw Down Order: “Expiring First”
- Start Date: [Set as needed, e.g., beginning of the year]
Save the record

Step 6: Create Rate Cards

Rate cards define the pricing for usage consumption. You’ll need a base rate card and potentially tier-based rate cards for volume discounts.

1 Create a Base Rate Card

Navigate to Rate Cards
Click “New” to create a new record
Enter:
- Name: “AI Token Base Rate”
- Rate Card Type: “Base”
- Effective From: [Set appropriate date]
Save the record

2 Create a Base Rate Card Entry

From the Base Rate Card record, create a new Rate Card Entry
Enter:
- Usage Resource: “AI Token Consumption”
- Product: “AI Power Design Hub”
- Product Selling Model: “Term Based Monthly”
- Is Rate Negotiable: “Yes” (if applicable)
- Status: “Draft” (initially)
- Rate Unit of Measure: “USD” (or your applicable currency)
- Overage Rate: “0.10” (10 cents per token)
- Effective From: [Set appropriate date]
Save the record
Set Status to “Active” and save again

3 Create a Tier Rate Card (for volume discounts)

Navigate to Rate Cards
Click “New” to create a new record
Enter:
- Name: “AI Token Tier Rate”
- Rate Card Type: “Tier”
- Effective From: [Set appropriate date]
Save the record

4 Create a Tier Rate Card Entry

From the Tier Rate Card record, create a new Rate Card Entry
Enter:
- Usage Resource: “AI Token Consumption”
- Product: “AI Power Design Hub”
- Product Selling Model: “Term Based Monthly”
- Is Rate Negotiable: “Yes” (if applicable)
- Status: “Draft” (initially)
- Rate Unit of Measure: “USD” (or your applicable currency)
- Effective From: [Set appropriate date]
Save the record

5 Create Tier-Based Rate Adjustments

From the Tier Rate Card Entry, create new Rate Adjustment records for each tier:
- Tier 1: 1,500 to 5,000 tokens @ $0.09 per token
- Tier 2: 5,001 to 10,000 tokens @ $0.08 per token
- Tier 3: 10,001+ tokens @ $0.07 per token
For each tier, specify:
- Lower Bound: [Starting quantity for tier]
- Upper Bound: [Ending quantity for tier, leave blank for highest tier]
- Rate: [Tiered rate amount]
Save each tier record
Set the Rate Card Entry Status to “Active” and save

Step 7: Link Rate Cards to Price Books

1 Create Price Book Rate Card Links

Navigate to Price Book Rate Cards
Click “New” to create a new record
Enter:
- Price Book: “Standard Price Book” (or your applicable price book)
- Rate Card: “AI Token Base Rate”
Save the record
Create another Price Book Rate Card for the Tier Rate Card

Step 8: Create a Usage Grant Binding Policy

1 Create a Grant Binding Policy

Navigate to Grant Binding Policies
Click “New” to create a new record
Enter:
- Name: “AI Token Grant Binding Policy”
- Product: “AI Power Design Hub”
- Grant Binding Type: “Self”
Save the record

Step 9: Create a Rating Frequency Policy

1 Create a Rating Frequency Policy

Navigate to Rating Frequency Policies
Click “New” to create a new record
Enter:
- Usage Resource: “AI Token Consumption”
- Product: “AI Power Design Hub”
- Rating Period: “Monthly”
Save the record

Step 10: Refresh Decision Tables

1 Refresh all relevant decision tables

After making these changes, you need to refresh several decision tables:

Rate Card related decision tables
Rate Card Entry decision tables
Price Book Rate Card decision tables
Price Book Entry decision tables

This can be done through:

A screen flow that refreshes multiple tables at once
Manual refresh of each decision table
Scheduled refreshes in your organization

You can monitor the progress of these refreshes in Setup > Monitor > Workflow Services.

Pro Tip: Create a screen flow or scheduled job that refreshes all necessary decision tables to streamline this process.

Using Usage Management

Now that you’ve completed the setup, let’s look at how to actually use usage management in a real-world scenario.

Step 1: Create a Quote and Order

1 Create a Quote

Navigate to Quotes
Create a new Quote
Add the customer account
Save the quote
Click “Browse Catalogs” to add products
Select your price book
Add your main product (AI Power Design Hub)
Set the quantity (typically 1 for subscription products)
Set appropriate start and end dates
Save the quote line

2 Create an Order

From the Quote, create an Order
Ensure the Order has billing and shipping addresses
Activate the Order

When the order is activated, several important records are created in the background:

Asset for the main product
Usage Entitlement Bucket
Usage Entitlement Account
Wallet for tracking usage consumption

Step 2: Refresh Asset Decision Tables

1 Refresh Asset-related decision tables

After creating the order and assets, refresh these decision tables:

Asset Rate decision table
Asset Rate Card Entry decision table
Asset Tier-Based Rate Adjustments decision table

Step 3: Create Usage Records

1 Record actual usage

Navigate to Usage Details in the Usage Management app
Click “New” to create a new Usage Detail record
Enter:
- Account: [Customer Account]
- Quantity Unit: “AI Token”
- Status: “Pending”
- Quantity: “1500” (or actual usage amount)
- Reference Record: [Asset record for the main product]
- Usage Resource: “AI Token Consumption”
- Activity Date: [Date within the billing period]
- Start and End Date: [Appropriate times for the usage event]
Save the record

Note: In a real-world scenario, usage data would often be automatically imported from external systems through integrations or APIs.

Step 4: Summarize Usage

1 Run the Summarize process

In the Usage Management app, navigate to Usage Details list view
Click “Summarize” button
This launches a background job that creates:
- Usage Summaries for each billing period
- Aggregated usage data with grant consumption and overage calculations
Monitor job progress in Setup > Monitor > Workflow Services

Step 5: Calculate Rates

1 Run the Rate Calculation process

In the Usage Management app, navigate to Usage Summaries list view
Click “Calculate Rate” button
This launches a background job that:
- Creates Usage Rateable Summaries
- Applies appropriate rates based on tier structure
- Calculates total charges for usage
Monitor job progress in Setup > Monitor > Workflow Services

Step 6: Create Liable Summaries

1 Create Liable Summaries for invoicing

Run the “Create Liable Summary” flow
This process prepares the usage data for invoicing by:
- Creating invoice-ready liable summaries
- Setting their status to “Ready for Invoice”
Monitor job progress in Setup > Monitor > Workflow Services

Step 7: Generate Invoices

1 Create invoices for the usage

Navigate to the customer’s account
Click “Generate Invoices”
Set appropriate target date and invoice date
Click “Generate”
View the generated invoice, which should include:
- Regular subscription charges ($25/month for the main product)
- Usage charges for consumption beyond the included grant (based on tiered pricing)

The invoice will show the usage definition product name, but the line item will display the usage resource name (“AI Token Consumption”) for clarity to the customer.

Understanding the Usage Wallet

Once the setup is complete and an order is activated, a “wallet” is created for the customer that tracks their usage entitlements. To view this:

Navigate to the customer’s account
Go to the “Wallet” tab
You’ll see the assets with associated usage grants
Click on an asset to view:
- The usage resource
- Current consumption percentage
- Remaining balance
- Unit of measure

Best Practices

Automate decision table refreshes: Create scheduled jobs to refresh decision tables regularly to ensure usage rating works correctly.
Test your setup thoroughly: Create test quotes, orders, and usage scenarios to verify your configuration works as expected.
Implement data validation: Set up validation rules to ensure usage data is accurate and complete before processing.
Monitor background jobs: Regularly check background job status in Workflow Services, especially for large volumes of usage data.
Create clear documentation: Document your usage product setup, rate cards, and processes for your team.

Conclusion

Usage Management in Salesforce Revenue Cloud provides powerful capabilities for businesses implementing usage-based pricing models. Whether offering products with included usage allocations, purely consumption-based products, or a hybrid approach, you can now confidently set up and manage usage-based products in your organization.

By following the steps outlined in this guide, you’ve learned how to:

Set up the underlying data structure for usage tracking
Configure tiered pricing for usage consumption
Process usage data through summarization and rate calculation
Generate invoices that include both subscription and usage-based charges

As subscription businesses increasingly adopt usage-based components in their pricing strategies, mastering Salesforce Revenue Cloud’s Usage Management capabilities will become an essential skill for administrators and consultants working with billing systems.