As per Statista, the market of telecommunication services, including fixed network and mobile services, was worth 1.4 trillion US dollars in 2017 and estimated to increase to nearly 1.46 trillion US dollars in size by 2020. The largest markets for telecom services are Europe, Asia/Pacific region, and North America.

The figures above must have given you an idea of the growth of the telecommunication industry. And, the larger the industry, the more customers/clients it has, so one can estimate that this industry serves millions of customers all over the world. But, are they capable of sending invoices to their every customer/subscriber the way they should? This question was almost unanswerable, and an advanced and modern telecom billing software system is the thing wherein the answer lies.

But, before we talk about advanced telecom billing software solutions and the things to consider when choosing them, we must discuss the major challenges in telecom billing management with solutions.

Major Challenges in Telecom Billing Management With Solutions

1. Dealing With Innumerable Customers And Payments

These days, the whole world is easily-connected by means of advanced telecom equipment tools, whether with wire or wireless. Moreover, the uncountable customers of this industry are clear and the finest example of the flourishing of this industry.

It becomes almost impossible to handle the data of every client. The fear of their data theft always lurks behind. Furthermore, managing the payment record, billing, and the tempting offers and discounts of customers as per their record and transaction is not a walk in the park.

Solution: There are innumerable telecom billing software companies highly-reputed for developing advanced invoice billing software tools capable of managing the data of such a large number of customers. And, these solutions keep reminding of the payments they owe. Moreover, some software systems come with high-technology-enabled features that provide your customers with alluring offers, discounts, and the like as per their transaction record.

2. Timely Management of Subscriptions 

Telecom companies have subscribers who pay for their services received monthly. It happens at the end of the month when the company account staff have to prepare their bills considering their last records. Let’s take an example of cable services from reputed businesses like Airtel, Vodafone, and so on. Such companies have their own way to deal with this issue.

Solution: The solution to this problem lies in the use of telecom billing systems that can prepare bills and generate invoices as quick as a flash. Doing so, you can reach your innumerable customers with their bills ready and ask them for the payment without any delay.

3. Late Payments Resulting in Delayed Cash Flow 

telecom billing system

Too much time consumption in preparing bills and sending invoices to your customers/clients late is going to be the main reason for receiving payments late. It is because your customers also need some time to arrange money for the payment. When they receive invoices suddenly, mostly they are unable to pay, which results in an unbalanced cash flow.

Solution: No one likes surprises, especially when it comes to taking money out of pocket. It’s wise to bank on advanced software systems or modern telecom billing solutions which generate invoices and send them to your customers before the payment time. Thus, your customers get more time and pay easily. Thus nurtures the relationship between your business and customers, thus strengthening your business with positive cash flow.

Also Read: Embarking The New Era of Invoicing For Telecom Agencies- Case Study

4. Inconsistencies in Billing And High Customer Attrition

If you don’t send bills to your customers at a particular and fixed period of time, then they will see your business negatively and consider your invoice management system unprofessional. It not only affects your cash flow, but it also creates problems for your customers by giving them an inaccurate idea of when to pay, thus angering them and forcing them to look somewhere else.

Solution: Using advanced telecom billing software takes only a few minutes to generate a bill and send them to your clients on a particular date will look more professional, thus leaving your clients with a positive impression of your company. Moreover, they will prepare themselves for the payment very well, thus paying you on time.

5. Customers Invoice Exceptions And Disputes

As the saying goes ‘nothing is perfect’, and this applies to your sent invoices to your clients too. Many times, your customers are given the bill asking for the payments more than their use of your services. In such cases, you are on the verge of having a spoilt relationship with your customers. Moreover, each customer uses your services by choosing a different package, with a different price. It’s not easy to prepare invoices within a short period of time considering these two factors.

Solution: The online invoice payment software specially-designed to manage a large number of customers as per their data is the only solution to this problem. It also takes into account the package a particular customer has taken. After that, it generates invoices as per their use of your services and the pack. Having a telecom billing software system like this is not less than a boon in such a complicated and critical situation.

6. Integration With Existing CRM and ERP Tools for Better Process Efficiency

You must be aware of the modern technologies CRM (customer relationship management) and ERP (Enterprise resource planning), and how big role they play in helping you manage your business efficiently and conveniently.

The telecom invoicing software you use must be integrated with these two software systems to enhance their function, thus allowing you to handle your business tasks without faults. Are you worried? Find the solution below.

Solution: some telecom billing software can be easily integrated with your CRM and ERP to enhance their functions. You’d better go for such advanced software, as the market is crowded with such software tools.

7. Customization as Per Specific Business & Tax Requirements

Different packages come with different offers, discounts, and taxes, and expecting a billing software system to be aware of this fact and work accordingly is worth-worrying.

Solution: Serving each and every client differently and perfectly can be done using a modern-technology-powered software system, as it keeps track of their package, tax, discount, and offer and prepares the invoice after taking all this into account. So, don’t wait and go for the one to take your business to the next level.

8. Customer Data Safety

When invoices reach your customers, then most of them use online mediums to pay the bills. As all is getting advanced so does hackers. They are always in search of the banking details of your customers to take advantage of.

It is not only your ethical but also your professional duty to keep your customer banking details secure by using advanced technology equipment or software. If you can’t, then you can’t even dream of keeping your customers tension-free.

Solution: highly secure telecom billing software systems are with advanced technology to keep your customer details safe, thus winning their trust. So, fulfill your professional and moral duty by having one for your telecom business.

Must Read: Top 10 challenges Faced by an Organization in ERP Implementation

What to Look for When Choosing a Telecom Invoice Software System?

Telecom billing systems

 

Having told you about the major challenges in telecom billing management with solutions, we find it our duty to let you know what to look for when choosing a telecom invoice software system so that you don’t regret it after purchasing it in the future.

Things to Remember Before Purchasing a Telecom Billing Software Solution: 

1. What Else it Gives you Apart From Generating Invoices (Features)?

The purpose of a billing software tool is to generate invoices, but when it comes with some advanced and helpful features, then it becomes more valuable and special to us. These features help us run our business much better. Some of these features are:

  • Project Management: if you know what is happening at every stage of a project, then you will be able to manage it perfectly. Furthermore, it will be easier for you to know when to make changes and modifications. It doesn’t matter how far you are physical. This feature will keep you in the office virtually.
  • Management of Multi-Currency and Multilingual: online systems have erased the world boundaries, and they have made possible for anybody to reach anywhere in the world by using digital means.

So, you will have customers from all over the world, and they will pay you in their own currency, and a software system that can convert their currency into your own will be very helpful for both of you. Moreover, if this software fills the communication gap by removing the language problem, then it is giving you beyond expectations.

  • Staff Management: Knowing what each staff member is doing at a particular moment and how fast they complete their task will give you a clear idea of how much to assign them and which one of your staff members is perfect for a specific task.

2. Can Your Software be Modernized as per Your Business Growth?

Sometimes, you reach your business goals at a lightning speed, and your tools betray you by providing you services at their own speed, which makes your business stagnant.  Your telecom invoice software must be able to adapt to your business growth, thus allowing to grow more easily.

3. What Are The Pricing Options For The Telecom Billing Software?

Usually, there are two pricing models for a telecom billing software system in the market. They are a one-time license and subscription-based.

In a one-time model, you have to make an upfront, one-time payment to buy the licenses and own the software forever. While, in a subscription-based model, you have to buy that for a fixed and specific period at a fixed price.

Subscription-based pricing is ideal for cloud-based offerings, on the other hand, on-premise solutions are provided for the one-time licensing model. You will need to buy software updates and upgrades when choosing an on-premise solution.

How Invoicera Helped One of an International Telecommunications Client With Invoice Software Customization?

With our recent client based in the Texas state of USA, asked us to completely customize a telecom billing software for them. Few of the scope of the work are mentioned below:

“The scope of the project includes implementation of Invoicera in Offline mode with existing features of the application incorporated with customized workflow/ features intended to convert the raw data from billing CDRS and turn it into a readable detailed bill for each client.”

And as per the need, Invoicera provided its clients with custom solutions in their telecom billing software. Keep on reading to know how Invoicera customized telecom billing solutions.

  1. CDRS to Invoice Creation Process
  2. Invoice Management
  3. Recurring Invoice Management
  4. Client Management
  5. Staff Management
  6. Customized Reports
  7. And, Technical Assistance.

custom billing software

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