Reliable and timely communication is a necessity for any business. You need to reach out to customers, teammates, suppliers, and other stakeholders. The majority of business processes today depend on communications.
Telecommunications services ensure seamless connectivity. The increased dependence of businesses in telecom services necessitates a billing system that will help manage telecom usage, monitor expenses, and control costs.
If your business is in the telecommunications industry, telecom billing software can help you improve everyday business operations. Additionally, software developers can incorporate tailor-made features that are designed to support your business’ unique processes.
What is Telecom Billing Software?
The billing process for telecom services is complicated – and a telecom billing system automates and simplifies the labor-intensive tasks. It ensures accurate tracking of end-user consumption and optimizes efficiency, thereby saving money and time.
Traditional vs. Modern Telecom Billing Systems
Traditional telecom billing systems were limited to handle billing for SMS and voice services. As the services of telco providers have expanded, a robust billing solution that can cater to new schemes and subscription plans has become necessary. These IT solutions can be modified to meet the business’ current requirements.
In a rapidly evolving and highly competitive market, telecom providers need a billing system that is flexible enough to adjust to the changing products and services. Older billing systems also lack online capabilities which further reduce their efficacy. Modern telecom billing solutions address all of these needs.
With billing software, you can compute usage as well as generate and send billing statements to subscribers. It also provides a platform for monitoring payments and receivables.
Unlike other utilities, telecommunications services often have complex rates and charges. A subscription plan can include phone, SMS, internet, and other connectivity services. And in recent years, telecom providers have further expanded their range of services, which now includes upfront charges, hardware costs, software licenses, support, consultancy, etc. Since not all consumers avail of similar services, calculating their monthly bills can be tough.
For connectivity and voice services, the billing solution calculates the usage based on the call detail records (CDRs) which are automatically created every time a subscriber uses the communications network. The system calculates the costs based on the usage and the subscription tariffs. Monthly billing is sent electronically or through snail-mail on a scheduled billing period.
Developers of telecom billing system, Kansys, emphasized that these IT solutions are capable of monitoring the costs of services that they purchase from suppliers. This enables the business to check the accuracy of supplier billings as well as manage their expenses properly. With this software, businesses address any losses due to improper charges from suppliers.
How Telecom Billing Solutions Help Your Business
Real-time usage monitoring
Telecom billing systems enable businesses to capture CDRs in real-time. Hence, you can generate invoices anytime should a subscriber request for one.
Service provisioning
Modifying, adding, and canceling products are not uncommon in telecom services. With telecom billing solutions, you can quickly revise the billable items depending on the products the end-users avail. The additional charges, such as upfront costs and installation fees, are automatically reflected on the subscriber’s bill.
Simplify back-office processes
Managing high volumes of subscribers can be a difficult task. Typical back-office functions include recording customer service usage; provisioning services; adding new subscribers; calculating and generating invoices; receiving payments; tracking unpaid bills; terminating delinquent accounts; and more. Telecom billing solutions automate repetitive, labor-intensive, and time-consuming back-office processes. Thereby, you can focus on more important matters and become more productive.
Efficient billing process
Billing systems provide you with a reliable and efficient payment method, thus ensuring convenience for subscribers. It enables subscribers to check and pay their bills on their smart phone or computers. Likewise, it can also help businesses save a lot of time and money on printing and sending out bills.
Data validation
Telecom billing solutions can quickly identify and eliminate duplicate entries or data errors. This avoids double billing of the same subscriber, thus preventing any disputes.
Ensures transparency
Finally, telecom billing ensures accessibility and transparency of subscriber details. With this system, end-users can review their bills and check for any discrepancies. Proving timely, accurate, and detailed data on telecom usage increases subscriber confidence. It also helps build a trustworthy brand.
