Calculating Partial Periods

Essentially, a partial period is one where the start date of the contract line item does not fall on the first day of a charge period (or billing period), or where the end date of the contract line item does not fall on the last day of a charge period (or billing period). This means that the contract line item has only spanned part of the start or end period.

Whether a partial period is calculated as part of a charge period or billing period depends on the contract line item's charge term and billing term. When a line's charge term and billing term are different, partial periods are calculated using the shorter period. For example:

  • If a contract line is charged monthly and billed yearly, a partial first period is calculated in relation to the first month.
  • If a contact line is charged yearly and billed quarterly, a partial first period is calculated in relation to the first quarter.

For more information about charge terms and billing terms, see Charge and Bill Contracts at Different Intervals.

A more precise explanation of how partial periods are calculated using charge terms is given below.

Partial First Charge Period

A first charge period is considered a partial period if the following calculation is true:

(Contract line start date + Charge term) - Charge term ≠ Contract line start date

In the example illustrated below, a contract line has a start date of Tuesday, August 8, 2017 with a charge term of MB+4d (so each charge period starts 4 days after the first day of the month).

Contract line start date (Tuesday, August 8, 2017) + charge term (MB+4d) = Tuesday, September 5, 2017.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017 - charge term (MB+4d) = Saturday, 5 August, 2017.

This is not the same as the contract line start date (Tuesday, August 8, 2017), which means that the first charge period is a partial period.

Illustration

Partial Final Charge Period

A final charge period is considered a partial period if the following calculation is true:

Contract line end date + 1 day ≠ Charge period start date + Charge term

In the example illustrated above, a contract line has an end date of Tuesday, October 31, 2017 and the charge term is MB+4d.

Final charge period start date (Thursday, October 5, 2017) + charge term (MB+4d) = Sunday, November 5, 2017.

This is not the same as the contract line end date + 1 day (Wednesday, November 1, 2017), which means that the final charge period is a partial period.