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Billing in the telecom world is a whole lot more complicated than your monthly phone bill (even though phone bills can be pretty complicated these days). Industry trade magazine Billing World & OSS Today summarized it as, "If you can't order it, you can't provision it! If you can't provision it, you can't bill for it! And if you can't bill for it, it's just a hobby!" Telecommunications billing software is an essential part of any telecom company's operations; it can mean the difference between profitability and bankruptcy. Major components involved in telecom billing software applications: • CDR (Call Detail Records): The CDR is the cornerstone of billing. It keeps a record of all call activity: who called whom, for how long, etc. CDR generation is so critical for phone companies that they typically have an additional monitoring application that can verify and check the CDR records. • EBPP (Electronic Bill Presentation and Payment): EBPP provides an online self-service mechanism for customers. Customers can view their account online, pay bills, dispute charges, and more. This gives customers a convenient option for managing their account, and automates these tasks so they don't require support staff intervention. • Mediation: Mediation automates data collection across diverse network elements- voice, data, wireless, wireline, and IP networks. It helps validate and standardize the data and then distributes it to the necessary billing and support systems. • Accounts Receivable: This application maintains the customers' account balances by responding to the billing application, handling payments and adjustments, and any other customer financial activities. • Charging: Telecom charging applications typically include some form of product catalog management, rating, and invoicing. The product catalog should be used by ordering, service activation, and billing functions. • Collections: This application supports customer service in handling past due accounts. It monitors accounts on an ongoing basis and reports on overdue and delinquent accounts. It also assists in fraud management functions. If you're interested in learning more about billing in telecommunications, take a look at Billing World & OSS Today (Billingworld.com). This print/online magazine is dedicated to back-office software decision makers. It contains feature articles in the areas of billing, OSS , system integration, and CRM. Web Design - Small business custom website from EverestWebDesign.com. Rich Christiansen - Management metaphors at RichChristiansen.com. |
Telecommunications billing software
