That dog is definitely having a good laugh at someone’s expense. And let’s face it, bad billing can get very expensive. The good news is your billing system should be able to help you determine whether your hard-earned usage is finding its way to the punch line or the bottom line.
So, what leads to revenue loss in a billing system? One important place to look is in usage processing. Usage processing errors occur all the time. They can be caused by switches, data errors from carriers and even human error. But no matter what the source, your billing system should protect your revenue, identifying unprocessed records, classifying them and allowing you to correct errors so you can collect all the revenue you’re due.
Identifying failed usage records
If your billing system lacks a way to identify unprocessed usage records or manage them once they’ve been detected, you are losing revenue. IDI’s Unbillable Usage Interface is a powerful tool that service providers can use to secure a comprehensive picture of all usage processing failures. If you can’t see it, you can’t fix it and you can’t bill for it.
Classifying and managing the errors
Once you have the unprocessed usage records identified, the billing system needs to be able to tell you why those records failed. IDI provides robust error codes and customer-configurable processing rules to make managing unbillable usage records fast and easy.
Correcting and re-processing the usage
The final piece of the unprocessed usage puzzle is the ability to make corrections and re-process the records so they can be rated and billed. This should be accomplished in a seamless, real-time manner through a user friendly GUI, not through complex queries and analysis. The harder it is to identify and re-process errors, the more likely it is the usage (and your revenue) will end up “dropped.”
Another helpful hint for revenue assurance
Look for a billing partner that has a long-standing association with third-party Revenue Assurance companies. Revenue Assurance organizations make their living analyzing usage data and finding systemic errors in usage processing, including those caused by or missed by the billing system. Any billing partner routinely subject to that level of scrutiny is likely to have the right tools in place to manage unprocessed usage.
When it comes to usage processing errors, providers need to understand their billing system’s capabilities and assess who’s getting the last laugh.