When does the Cisco billing process start to the Partner on behalf of their Customer Organization?

The billing process for Cisco typically commences when the first Full-Time Service Worker (FTSW) is completed. This indicates that the initial stage of the service setup has been finalized and that resources are being allocated to ensure that the service is in place for use. This approach allows billing to align more closely with the actual resource deployment and utilization, rather than prematurely starting the billing cycle at the contract signing or trial initiation, which may not reflect the actual service usage and can lead to discrepancies in invoicing.

Starting the billing process with the completion of the FTSW ensures that all components necessary for fulfilling the customer’s requirements are in place before billing begins, reinforcing a customer-centric approach to service delivery and financial accountability. This method is particularly beneficial since it aligns the billing with performance and service readiness, leading to better customer satisfaction.