#freeswitch billing

The VoIP industry is booming because of its providers. The VoIP solution providers contribute to this industry by developing feature rich, advanced, and smart VoIP software solutions such as a mobile SIP dialer. On the other hand, VoIP service providers contribute to the growth and success of the VoIP industry by meeting day to day communication needs of businesses and end users by using different smart telephony platforms provided by the VoIP software providers.

A VoIP service provider might use different VoIP solutions such as a class 4 Softswitch solution and class 5 Softswitch solution to provide wholesale and retail VoIP services. Alternatively, a VoIP service provider might also be using a single smart telephony system to cater to one segment of VoIP consumers such as using multi tenant IP PBX to provide business phone services to businesses, enterprises, and SOHO (Small Office / Home Office).

A majority of these VoIP providers cater to the retail traffic or end users with their services as it requires less investment and manpower to cater to these clients. Adding some value added services or products can help them thrive at the fastest growing rate. One such value added VoIP product is a SIP dialer solution.

The VoIP software providers offer different types of SIP dialer aka SIP Softphone solutions and each of these SIP dialers has its own benefits and value. Two majorly used and popular SIP Softphone are must have in the offering list of this VoIP service provider.

1. Mobile SIP dialer

As the name suggests, it is a SIP Softphone for mobile devices aka smartphones. It is available as a mobile app for Android and iOS users and it can be installed on any mobile phone that has the compatible mobile OS.

This SIP dialer works as a native phone app, but it provides advantages of VoIP calling to the consumers. It works great for business executives that work from field such as marketing and sales executives. 

Having this SIP dialer for mobile in the offering list of a VoIP service provider helps them offer add-on to the businesses that use their multi tenant IP PBX based business phone services. The wholesale service providers can also offer these to other retail VoIP service providers with a white label SIP dialer for phone to add more to the revenue generation.

2. PC dialer

This is another Softphone that can be offered by the VoIP service provider to up-scale their offerings for their clients. A PC dialer solution is similar to the Softphone for smartphones with a difference that it is used for desktop or laptop systems. It is a software solution that can be installed on any desktop or laptop. It will have the same amazing communication features and VoIP communication benefits as a mobile VoIP dialer.

It is more beneficial for executives to work from the office or home and need to make many calls during their working hours. For example, call center agents, virtual assistants, etc. can use a PC dialer, which is also known as a SIP Softphone for PC to efficiently handle calls and also provide the logs to the company.

The VoIP service providers can generate revenue and branding benefits by offering a PC dialer solution to its customers.

Concluding notes

The driving factor behind the prosperity of the VoIP (voice over internet protocol) industry is the mounting demand for VoIP solutions among different users. From end users to small businesses, enterprises, and VoIP service providers, one or more VoIP solutions or services are used. Depending on the type of consumer, there are different VoIP solutions available. In this article, we will discuss more about open source VoIP billing software and how it dominates the VoIP industry and touches other industry verticals as well.

What is a VoIP billing solution? It is a versatile VoIP system that handles different aspects of a VoIP business to support a service provider with high business efficiency. The business aspects managed by a billing system in a VoIP system are listed below: -Client management -Tariff management -Rate card management -Billing and invoicing -Payment processing -Reports -And more

The billing software can be used with any VoIP solution such as: -Multi tenant IP PBX -WHMCS VoIP platform -Class 4 Softswitch -Class 5 Softswitch -Calling card system -SIP trunk software -DID number management -Call center software -And more

Types of VoIP billing platforms: Depending on different factors, you can segment types of billing solutions. The major and popular type of this platform is based on its license. Open source VoIP billing solution, which comes under GPL (General Public License) and is available for free. Proprietary billing software comes under a private license and you need to pay a license fee for that. In this article, we will explore how the open source billing software has been dominating the VoIP industry.

1. Proven track record A majority of open source VoIP platforms have been in the industry for decades. These platforms have become more mature and advanced over the years. Thousands of businesses worldwide use one or more open source VoIP solutions and share their feedback, questions, concerns, etc. on the forums. A huge community of open source contributors contributes to the enhancements and advancements of these platforms. This helps open source platforms, including open source VoIP billing solutions to mature over the years and provide the best software that has efficiently benefited thousands of businesses worldwide.

2. Simplify billing and invoicing for businesses The popular open source Asterisk or FreeSWITCH billing software simplifies the process of invoicing and billing with its value added features. The businesses can define different rate cards, tariffs, etc., and assign them to different VoIP products or services. The customers can also have a specific billing plan. This is a simple process as a provider does not need to manually perform this job every time. Even added taxes or penalties can be added to the invoice. Everything will be performed using a GUI based panel, which further simplifies the process.

3. Automate billing to save resources The open source VoIP billing software developed using FreeSWITCH and OpenSIPS will automate the whole process of invoicing and billing. Even the most intricate billing will be performed automatically. The software will create an invoice and send it directly to the user as per his or her billing cycle. This invoice will also have a link for payment processing. This software will also send a receipt of the bill and payment in PDF format. More than 95% of actions will be automated and will not require manual resources. This will not only speed up the process and make it more efficient, but it will also eliminate manmade errors.

4. Allow customized billing based on business requirements The open source platforms give access to the code of the software along with the solution. This gives the flexibility of customizing features, modules, etc. of the VoIP billing software solution. Businesses can not only use a white label VoIP billing platform, but also add new features and modules or enhance the performance or features of existing ones to meet custom business needs.

5. Can be used with any VoIP platform or software The open source FreeSWITCH and Asterisk billing software can be integrated with any VoIP solution regardless of its VoIP development technology. Unlike many proprietary billing systems that can only be used with either a multi tenant IP PBX system or a calling card system, but not with any other solution. This makes open source billing platforms dominating in the industry.

6. Cost effective The open source VoIP billing solution comes under GPL, which provides software access with code for free. It means you can use an open source VoIP platform for free without investing a penny in it. In case, if you don’t know how to install or configure a software solution, then you may need to take technical help, which would cost you a certain fee. But, the open source FreeSWITCH and Asterisk billing software solutions come for free. The same software can be used with more than one VoIP solution without investing anything in addition. For example, if you are using a DID number management and class 4 Softswitch solutions, then for both of these VoIP solutions, you can use the same open source platform to automate billing and invoicing. You don’t need to pay an additional fee for that like a proprietary billing platform.

Concluding notes All major driving factors of open source billing software make it the best platform, which businesses and the best VoIP service providers have been using for decades. The open source VoIP billing solution providers constantly add new and advanced billing features of this platform, which keeps it on the list of top billing platforms even if there are thousands of proprietary billing solutions available. In a nutshell, the open source VoIP billing software provides two major influencing benefits to businesses:

Superior functionality

Zero investment

VoIP service providers use different types of VoIP solutions to run their businesses and generate revenues. In some cases, from class 4 Softswitch software to hosted calling card platform, SIP trunk software, multi tenant Softswitch, and multiple other VoIP solutions are used by the providers to run an omnichannel business. On the other hand, some service providers choose to ace one of the top VoIP solutions to dominate one market segment in the VoIP telephony world. The multi tenant IP PBX software is one of the solutions that are majorly used by businesses to run the business as the best VoIP service provider.

To help these service providers, the VoIP software development companies have come up with an IP PBX system that is built by leveraging the power of cutting edge technologies and multi tenancy characteristics. Let’s explore more details about this software and how it benefits service providers.

1. Enterprise grade communication 

The enterprise grade voice and video communication have become necessary in businesses. The service providers can meet this business need by using the top multi tenant IP PBX system. This system uses cutting edge technologies such as FreeSWITCH to support hundreds of concurrent calls without degrading voice or video quality. In addition to that, the multi tenant PBX solutions also support enterprise grade communication features to empower businesses with a reliable and modern communication tool.

2. Excellent customer communication 

The multi tenant IP PBX platform supports several features that can help in delivering excellent customer support. Some of the key features available in this software to provide customer services are as below:

Call queues

Ring group

Time and holiday based call routing 

Call recording 

Call forwarding

Call transfer 

IVR

And more

3. Consolidated collaboration

The multi tenant IP PBX system not only provides excellent customer communication features, but also internal collaboration features like an extension to extension calling, voicemail, etc. All these features intend to provide a reliable collaboration tool to support remote work, too.

4. Centralized administration of communication

The multi tenant IP PBX software provides a centralized administration and control panel to the service provider. This not only helps in managing tenants, but also simplifies administration of usage of the system, assigning rate cards using a VoIP billing solution, etc. This software helps in delivering excellent control over the whole business model, which is much needed in this kind of business.

5. Monitoring with analytics 

Monitoring any business is necessary to get insights related to the following:

Customers

Demanding features or services 

Experience 

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

The modern multi tenant PBX solutions provide reports and insightful analytics that can help service providers gauge how the business is moving forward. This not only helps in optimizing workforce and service models to deliver a better customer experience, but it also helps in defining new profit making strategies based on the solid data available in the system.

Concluding notes

In conclusion, whether you use an open source multi tenant PBX or a third party multi tenant PBX solution, you can take advantage of having a centralized system to run your business as the best VoIP service provider. You can deliver excellent call quality along with enterprise grade features. At the same time, the multi tenant IP PBX software will ensure that you get complete and centralized control over all operations and tenant accounts. This gives a great business tool to generate revenue.

International travelling has become common nowadays. From leisure trips to higher studies, business trips and many more reasons encourage people to travel abroad. During their international trips, people have to communicate back home. International direct calling is quite expensive. There are some free applications available for international calling, but again, there are some limitations and inconveniences attached to it such as both parties have to have that app. The calling card solutions can be a great money saving tool that offers international calling services without any added hassle.

What is a calling card system? VoIP calling cards give a great solution for cheap international calling. The user receives a card similar to a SIM card from a VoIP service provider. This card will connect the call to either the provider’s VoIP route or to a dedicated route assigned to a user to call at international destinations. As these cards use a SIP based calling mechanism to connect calls, the cost of a call will be lower than direct calling. The platform used to manage these cards by a service provider is called VoIP calling card platform.

There are two types of VoIP calling cards available in the market: -Prepaid -Postpaid Both of them have the same mechanism as a normal SIM card for calling. Either you pay the bill at the end of the billing cycle or you recharge your card to use cheap international calling services. You can leverage the advantages of calling using any of these types of calling cards. In this article, I will share how you can save more money using the prepaid international calling card offered by a provider or one of the calling card resellers. Top tips to save money using prepaid international calling cards:

1. Choose a cheap calling card When you are looking for an international cheap calling card, there are plenty of options in each country. In fact, at the airport only you can get the best calling cards from calling card resellers. Some of the branded card providers cost higher for this solution and service. Thus, it is advisable to buy it from one of the providers that offer cheaper services and cheaper cards. The calling card solutions and their features can be explored in detail to buy the best and cheap option.

2. Use LCR for international calling The calling card platform offers an array of features to the service providers and one of the most useful features is call routing strategies. There are multiple strategies available to provide different services. For example, a priority call ensures that your call gets priority in routing and receives crystal clear voice quality. If you want to save on international calling, you must ensure that you use LCR (Least Cost Routing), which is the cheapest for international calling.

3. Take advantage of real time billing Real time billing is not available in each calling card system, but it is necessary. Check with your provider about its availability. It will make sure you can make calls only till you have a balance in your account and your phone doesn’t go in the negative balance. This is a cheaper solution for calling with a prepaid card.

To cope with transiting customer demands and increasing competition, businesses need to focus on increasing customer engagement. Along with using skilled staff, businesses also need to invest resources in getting the best tools. The good news is VoIP Softswitch solution providers offer multiple solutions as a hosted system, which takes off the concerns related to expenditures. Even the most advanced and feature rich multi tenant hosted PBX solution is available with a rental model.

A multi tenant IP PBX software solution, which is also known as hosted IP PBX system, is a full featured business communication platform. It strengthens all types of business communication, so the main need of the business can be satisfied.

1. Internal communication and collaboration get consolidated

The first thing businesses need to work on is consolidating internal processes, communication, teams, etc. The multi tenant PBX software helps in achieving this. It has some amazing features, which can consolidate internal communication and collaboration such as the extension to extension calling, call transfer, etc.

All these features can be accessed remotely. It means that business team members don’t need to wait till they meet in the office to connect with each other and discuss. Also, they don’t need to use any third party tool for remote communication, which may not log business conversations or may use sensitive business data.

2. Work as a customer engagement machine

Not only call center solutions, but a multi tenant hosted PBX solution as well works as a customer engagement machine. Yes, if you handle a lot of customer support requests, you must use a call center solution, but if you have moderate requests or if you don’t find need all features available in the contact center software, then using a multi tenant IP PBX software solution is sufficient as it has multiple amazing communication features to engage clients.

3. Let you track everything

Any conversation carried out via a multi tenant PBX software solution will be logged into the platform. It means you can see all details and statistics in the reports of this software to take the required decision or make the required changes in the strategy.

You can also record calls similar to contact center software for quality assurance.

4. Centralized communication

One of the major advantages of using a multi tenant PBX solution is that it centralizes the administration of communication carried out via different business branches. This can be a huge advantage as the main headquarter of the business will not only have access to all reports and recording, but it will also have access to administer features to be allowed to use in a business or not.

5. Will not cost the earth

Using a multi tenant IP PBX system can be very expensive if you choose to buy the license. But, thanks to VoIP Softswitch solution providers who offer PBX multi tenant solution as a hosted system with a monthly rental model. This makes the use of this platform easier and cheaper. You can also use an open source multi tenant PBX software system. But, in that case, you may end up managing technicalities related to the platform. Thus, using a hosted platform can be a boon for any business.

Concluding notes

In a nutshell, businesses in the 21st century need advanced and better solutions. Communication being an internal part of the business, using the top infrastructure for communication can define the present and the future. Using a PBX multi tenant solution can be expensive, but worth using as it is a full featured, comprehensive, reliable, robust, and scalable communication solution that any business can use.