subject: Resellers With Call Accounting Service Headaches [print this page] Resellers With Call Accounting Service Headaches
The majority of call accounting dealers are experiencing avoidable headaches caused by call accounting service delivery issues. The process of delivering call accounting services is recognized as difficult and time intensive but with some relatively easy changes to normal operating procedures it can become very easy and extremely profitable. However, to make the changes necessary, the reader must have an open mind to accept there is a more efficient method. With your mind open, read further.Generally, Call Accounting is a low cost item with high ongoing service costs. This is so because of the environment in which it operates. Good results from traditional stand alone software are dependent on:a. the PBX working reliablyb. the PC and operating system used by the software is of good qualityc. the security of mains power, (the cleaning staff unplugging the data collection equipment to plug in a vacuum cleaner).Is the clients Local Area network stable?Are the call cost tables accurate and up to date?The customer needs call accounting reports at the end of the month, if for one day of the month just one of the items listed is inoperable or inaccurate then the reports will be incorrect. Incorrect reports lead to investigations to find the root cause, these are expensive and the customer does not want to pay. The reseller compromises on the cost of the investigation to avoid having an unhappy customer. For the reseller, an unprofitable encounter.The solution is to have more control over the environment, to limit the number of things that can go wrong, and to reduce the impact of those things you cannot control.Today, in real time, how does the reseller know if all the PBX in the installed base are producing call records and delivering them to the call accounting package? When will you find out which are faulty? Perhaps at the end of the month when your customer needs reports? Too late to guarantee customer satisfaction.Are the call tariffs up to date in your entire customer base? How long will it take to update all your customers? Lets say you have 400 customers, you visit site to update tariff tables, including traveling this takes about 2 hours per site. Your technician can do 4 per day, it will take 100 days to upgrade them all, that's 20 weeks. Is this practical?It is obvious to all - Something better than a stand alone software package must be found.The answer is a fully managed service, Software as a Service, a sophisticated web application that tells you when a site is not collecting data and allows you to update tariff tables from your desk. You know when there is a problem at a customers premises before the customer has any idea, 80% of the time a phone call asking the customer to check some basics like "Is it plugged in" will fix the problem and avoid difficulties at Report Time.Resellers are keen to offer excellent service to their customers, a web based based call accounting application is an easy way to improve your service delivery, and at the same time increase your profits, these services are very low cost leaving the reseller with a healthy profit margin.
