Telecom For Dummies

You can receive your invoice in any number of ways, and as your company and your phone bill grow, you need to ask for your invoice your way. Most carriers have at least two options for billing, and sometimes more.

Going old school with paper invoices

Most people and many businesses still receive their phone bill in the form of a paper invoice that arrives in the mail with a remit envelope enclosed. The bulk of your invoice consists of the itemization of every call made during the invoice period. The itemization includes

• The time and date every call was made

• The phone number that received the call

• The duration of the call

• The cost of the call

 Tip  The lines of data that describe the specifics of your calls are referred to in the telecom world as your call detail record, or CDR.

Having the best of both worlds with CD-ROM billing

When your phone bill has so many pages to it that it is thicker than an unabridged dictionary, you should ask to have the section of your invoice that individually lists your phone calls removed from the printed invoice and sent to you on a CD-ROM. This format is better for large companies because you can import the call detail from the CD-ROM to a Microsoft Excel spread-sheet or Access database. Plus, it saves paper.

After you’ve entered all the call information into a database, you can manipulate the calls to find a cost per minute on each call, sort the calls by area code, cost, date, time, or view the information however you choose.

 Remember  CD-ROM billing isn’t a free service with all carriers. The fee is generally not that expensive, and well worth the benefit of having all the data of your phone bill at your fingertips.

Getting digital with online billing

Many new carriers have elaborate Web sites that enable you to sign up for new services, make changes to your account, and see your invoice. If you’re a techie-minded person, this may be your dream come true. Some carriers even have real-time invoice posting so you can see what your balance is, including the call you just finished making two minutes ago. If this is something that excites you, you can easily find out whether carriers offer such services by checking the Web. Printing your invoice, or at least a summary page, allows you to keep a record for posterity. Many companies provide PDF versions of your invoice to download and save on your computer as well.