Case studies / Technology and Telecom
Case studySubscription billing for a technology and telecom provider
A technology and telecom provider replaced manual invoicing across its offices with one recurring billing process, shared customer data and consistent partner management.
Overview
A technology and telecom provider selling connectivity, cloud communications and managed services to business customers, directly and through resellers, from several regional offices.
Scale. Around 4 offices, several thousand business subscriptions on monthly and annual terms, about 50 reseller partners and a support desk serving every region, delivered as a phased, multi-location programme.
The challenge
Invoices were manual. Each office kept its own list of customer contracts, prices and discounts, and billing staff built invoices each month from spreadsheets and usage exports. Mid-month upgrades, cancellations and price changes were easy to miss, and customers regularly received invoices that were too high, too low or late.
Recurring billing and support load were handled differently in each place. Billing errors generated a steady stream of support cases and credit notes, and support staff could not see contract or billing details without asking finance. Revenue was recognised using different methods in each office, and group finance spent days reconciling figures at month-end.
Partner and reseller management was inconsistent. Commissions were calculated by hand from contract lists that did not always match billing, and partners disputed statements. There was no single view of customers, contracts, revenue or partner performance across offices.
The solution
Every subscription now has one contract record holding the products, prices, discounts, term and renewal date. Invoices are generated automatically each cycle, with upgrades, cancellations and price changes applied from the date they take effect, and usage charges added from validated usage data. Revenue is recognised consistently across offices.
Support agents see each customer's contract, invoices and payments alongside their cases, so billing questions are answered on the first contact. The client portal lets customers view invoices, usage and support cases and update payment details themselves, reducing calls to both billing and support.
Partner commissions are calculated from the same contract data that drives billing, and partners receive consistent statements each month. Shared master data for customers, products, contracts and partners links time and expense capture, billing and client portals, banks and payments, and management reporting.
The engagement
- Eight months
- Five specialists, with the finance director, head of billing, partner manager, support lead and regional operations managers
- Process mapping, recurring billing, usage charges, credit notes, revenue recognition, partner and reseller commissions, support case links, client portal, bank and payment integration, shared master data, pilot and phased rollout.
Integrations
- Time and expense capture
- Billing and client portals
- Banks and payments
- Management reporting
How we delivered it
- 01
Map the work with the people who do it
Five weeks
We worked with billing clerks, support agents, partner managers and finance staff in each office, tracing real contracts from sale to invoice, payment and renewal. With the finance director we agreed the scope: recurring billing, usage charges, revenue recognition, partner commissions and support links.
- 02
Design common processes and integrations
Ten weeks
The billing team designed one product and price catalogue and one contract record for every subscription. Finance agreed a single revenue recognition approach. Support asked to see contract and billing history alongside each case. We connected usage data, banks and payments, the client portal and management reporting.
- 03
Pilot in one location
Six weeks
One office billed its customers through the new process for two cycles, alongside the old one. The pilot revealed contracts with undocumented discounts and usage records that arrived after the billing cut-off. Discounts were captured on the contract record and a late-usage rule added.
- 04
Roll out in waves and track results
Eleven weeks
The remaining offices followed in two waves, with contract data cleaned and checked before each move. Leadership reviewed invoice accuracy, credit notes, support cases about billing and partner disputes monthly.
Results
- Billing errors fell
- Fewer billing-related support cases
- Partner commissions calculated from the same data
- Teams worked from the same data across locations
Billing errors fell. Invoices built from one contract record matched what customers had agreed, and the number of credit notes and billing complaints dropped steadily after each wave of the rollout.
Support load from billing questions eased, because agents could answer most queries directly and customers could find invoices and usage themselves. Partner disputes became rare once commissions were calculated from the same data as invoices.
Teams worked from the same data across locations, month-end reconciliation shortened and leadership could review revenue, renewals and partner performance monthly from one report. Finance closed the books faster each month, and the group could plan pricing changes knowing they would be applied correctly on every invoice.
Most of our support tickets used to start with an invoice. Now customers can see exactly what they are paying for, and so can we.
What made the difference
A software firm reconciled billing and revenue automatically. A small pilot exposed undocumented discounts and late usage data while they were cheap to fix.
