Bill collection, the process of getting money from customers that owe you money, can be an expensive and time-consuming effort for business owners. If you’re in the telecom industry, however, you have another option to consider: CDR billing, or call detail record billing. In this article, we’ll take a look at what CDR billing is and why it can be better than traditional means of bill collection in some instances.
What is CDR (Call Detail Record)?
If you’re not in telecom, you probably have never heard of CDR. The good news is it won’t be long before everyone will become familiar with it. In fact, many experts are calling CDR billing one of the greatest innovations ever happened to the telecom industry.
A call Detail Record (CDR) is an accounting record of a call that travels through a network between two locations A and B. Here, A represents origin and B represents the destination. While travelling from A to B, there can be multiple hops where a call may get transferred from one location or carrier to another.
This transfer is represented by letters C, D, E and F. So if you want to know how much your company has spent on calls made by its employees over the last month or last year then all you need is CDR data which would give you detailed information about each call like start time, end time, duration etc.
Why does CDR Billing matter?
CDR (or call detail record) billing is a way for telecom companies to be compensated for business services rendered. The basic idea behind CDR billing is that carriers and network operators charge service providers based on how many minutes their customers spend on a phone call or data session.
This is measured in minutes of use or minutes of airtime, which are typically rounded up to the nearest whole minute when provided to end-users. This can have an impact on both mobile plans and fixed-line telephone bills.
Some people may not even realize they’re paying for minutes used at all; it can get confusing if you’re looking at your monthly bill. Let’s take a look at what CDR billing is all about and why it matters to you as an individual consumer or small business owner.
How to keep track of your telecom billings?
Although you can use a spreadsheet for basic data, specialized telecom billing software for tracking billing and revenue is a better choice. CDR billing software will allow you to track complex metrics such as usage patterns and revenue from multiple sources, helping you develop sophisticated pricing plans.
Many telecom billing software providers offer free trials of their software so that you can decide if it’s a good fit before making a purchase. If you don’t want to invest in software, you can also find templates online or create your own by building a spreadsheet using advanced formulas. However, all these things wouldn’t replace proper billing software.
What is the main difference between telecom billing services?
There are two main types of telecom billing systems: hosted and on-premise. Hosted systems are run by third-party companies (such as NICE Systems) which manage all aspects of your telecom service; they take care of network integration, installation, maintenance and customer support while allowing you to focus on selling services.
On-premise systems require that you buy or lease hardware from a provider and install it in your office, giving you more control over how data is stored but requiring that you hire an IT specialist to maintain it. Most providers offer both options depending on what’s best for your business needs.
Final Thoughts
Thank you for reading! In this blog, we dive deep into what CDR billing is and why it can be better than traditional means of bill collection in some instances. We cover how it works, the benefits of using it, and the scenarios where it could be a better choice. Do you have any questions about CDR billing? Let us know in the comments section! We would love to hear from you.