Account structure
Before you use the SOAP API to manage accounts, it is important to understand how changes to an account affect the account's subscriptions.
An account is the node of a tree structure. An account's subscriptions are children of the account, and these subscriptions can have child subscriptions in turn. If you change an account or subscription, the change also applies to the children of the account or subscription.
- discounts
- cost centres
- stationery and dispatch settings
- billing frequency
Example: A simple tree structure
This example shows you a simple tree structure for an account and subscriptions. Many Smile accounts have this simple structure.
In the following diagram, Joe Smith has subscriptions for mobile, ADSL and CAT services. The mobile subscription is entitled to 5% discount on usage charges.
All subscriptions inherit their contact details, stationery and billing frequency from the account. However, the discount on the mobile subscription is not inherited from the account, so the discount applies only to the subscription.
Figure: A simple tree structure
Example: A complex tree structure
This example shows you a complex tree structure for an account, subscription and four child subscriptions.
In the following diagram, Company ABC has a data service subscription with a download limit of 1TB/month. This subscription has four ADSL child subscriptions for the company's remote offices; the child subscriptions each have a download limit of 5GB/month.
All subscriptions inherit their stationery and billing frequency from the account. If a remote office downloads more than 5GB in a month, that subscription is shaped but the other child subscriptions are unaffected. However, if the data service subscription downloads more than 1TB in a month, that subscription and all ADSL child subscriptions are shaped.
Figure: A complex tree structure
