Billing

Billing a call is the action of setting a price to a call that implies cost.

Billing calls depends upon an automatic process:

  • When a call is about to be established, IvozProvider verifies that it will be able to bill it.

Error

If with the current configuration (active and applicable rating plans for a given client and for the specific destination) it won’t be possible to bill the call, IvozProvider will prevent its establishment.

  • Once a call that implies cost is hung up and is parsed by an asynchronous process, it is listed in External calls.

Billing methods

IvozProvider supports 3 different billing methods. Billing method is configured at client level via Billing method parameter.

Postpaid billing

  • Call rating is done after the call ends.
  • No configurable limit or balances involved.

Prepaid billing

  • Call rating is done during the call.
  • Clients with prepaid billing method have a preconfigured balance that will be decrement during the call.
  • When the balance reaches zero, all established calls for the client will hang up.
  • Clients cannot place new calls with zero or negative balance.
  • Low balance email notifications can be configured.

Pseudo-prepaid billing

  • Call rating is done after the call ends.
  • Clients with pseudo-prepaid billing method have a preconfigured balance that will be decrement after the call ends.
  • Clients cannot place new calls with zero or below balance.
  • Low balance email notifications can be configured.

Warning

Call duration is limited to the maximum duration possible with available balance at the moment of call establishment.

Price and cost

  • Call price is the amount of money the brand operator will charge to its client for every call.
  • Call cost is the amount of money the brand operator will be charged by the carrier for every call.

Call cost calculation is optional, as no every carrier has Calculate Cost? setting enabled. On the other hand, call price calculation is mandatory for every outgoing call.

Note

Carrier call cost calculation, if enabled, is always done postpaid. Carriers with negative balance are allowed and no call will be hung up when carrier balance reaches 0.

Concepts

This topic will cover every topic involved in the billing process: