Telecom Billing Platform FAQs | SAFE Billing System
Frequently Asked Questions About SAFE Billing
Find quick answers to common questions about our telecom billing platform. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, contact our team.
The SAFE Billing Platform is a complete billing solution made for UK telecom resellers. It handles everything from CDR processing to invoice delivery and payment collection. This helps you save time, cut down on errors, and get paid faster.
The SAFE Billing Platform is designed specifically for UK telecom resellers. It works for businesses of all sizes - from small startups with a handful of customers to large enterprises with thousands of users. The platform is ideal for anyone selling fixed line, VoIP, mobile, or data services.
Unlike generic billing software or expensive enterprise systems, SAFE is built specifically for UK telecom resellers. This means we understand the unique challenges you face. We offer UK-based support from industry experts, with features like CDR processing for over 85 formats, white-label options, and built-in UK compliance. Our platform is more affordable and user-friendly than enterprise solutions, while being more powerful than generic billing tools.
The SAFE Billing Platform is developed by Safe Online Billing Limited, a family-run UK business with deep telecom industry experience. Founded in 2005, we've created a billing platform based on real-world telecom reseller needs. Being a small team allows us to be more responsive and provide personalised service that larger providers can't match.
For most telecom resellers, the platform can be set up and ready to use within 5-7 working days. The exact time depends on how complex your billing needs are and the state of your current customer data.
Yes, we provide tools and help to move from your current billing system. We can import your customer data and service details to ensure a smooth switch. We have templates for preparing your data and can work with most standard formats.
We've designed the implementation to need minimal input from your team. You'll need to provide your customer data, branding assets, and rate cards. Someone from your team should be available to make decisions about platform configuration and to attend training.
The transition can be nearly invisible to your customers. With our white-labelling, invoices and the customer portal will have your branding. The main difference your customers will notice is the improved clarity of bills and access to the self-service portal - both positive changes!
The SAFE Billing Platform supports CDRs from all major UK carriers for fixed line, mobile, and data services. We support over 85 CDR formats and regularly add new ones based on user requirements. This includes all the main UK networks and wholesale providers.
Yes, the platform offers full white-labelling. You can add your logo, colours, and branding to invoices, the customer portal, and all customer messages. Your customers will never see the SAFE brand. Advanced white-labelling options include custom domains, fully customisable email templates, and tailored portal interfaces.
Yes, the platform fully supports recurring billing for services like line rentals, monthly subscriptions, and other regular fees. You can set different billing cycles (monthly, quarterly, yearly), handle mid-cycle changes fairly with automatic prorating, and manage contract renewals. The system also supports bundle pricing and tiered pricing models.
The customer portal gives your customers 24/7 access to their billing info. They can view and download invoices, check usage details with interactive dashboards, update payment information, and make payments online. The portal shows your company branding and can be accessed through your own domain name. It's fully responsive, so it works well on mobile devices too.
The platform supports multiple payment methods including credit/debit cards with continuous authorisation (via Stripe), Direct Debit through GoCardless, and secure payment links for one-time payments. Customers can manage their payment methods through the secure portal. The system automatically reconciles payments with invoices and provides real-time payment status updates.
Yes, while SAFE is optimised for telecom services, you can also use it to bill for other types of products and services. This includes equipment, IT support, software licenses, consultancy, and other recurring or one-time charges. The platform's flexible service setup allows you to create and manage various types of billable items.
The platform is built to handle UK tax requirements. It automatically calculates VAT at the correct rates and produces tax-compliant invoices that meet HMRC requirements. The system manages tax reporting and can handle different tax scenarios like reverse charge VAT where needed. Tax rates are kept up to date as part of our regular platform maintenance.
Yes, the platform allows for flexible pricing at customer, group, or service level. You can create custom pricing plans for different market segments, set up volume discounts, create promotional offers, and manage special pricing for specific customers. This flexibility helps you tailor your pricing strategy to different parts of your business.
Yes, the platform includes comprehensive reporting capabilities. You can analyse profit margins by customer, service type, or product line. The system can compare your buying costs against selling prices to show exactly where your profits come from. Reports can be scheduled to run automatically, exported in multiple formats, and shared with team members.
No, the SAFE Billing Platform is cloud-based. There's no software to install or keep updated. You can access it from any modern web browser on any device with internet access. This includes desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.
Yes, the SAFE Billing Platform provides API access for connecting with your CRM, accounting software, or custom applications. The API lets you both pull data from and push data to the platform, creating smooth workflows across your business systems. We provide detailed documentation, code examples, and integration support.
The platform can collect CDRs in multiple ways: automatic retrieval from carrier SFTP servers, pulling from email attachments, direct API connections, or manual upload. The method used depends on your carriers and your specific needs. We can set up automated collection for most major UK carriers.
The platform can process CDRs at various speeds from monthly to real-time, depending on your needs and how often your carriers provide CDRs. We'll process CDRs as soon as they become available from your carriers.
Yes, the platform is designed to handle VoIP billing including SIP trunking, hosted PBX systems, and softphone solutions. It supports billing for extensions, call groups, and other VoIP-specific features. The system can process CDRs from most popular VoIP platforms and handles the specific rating requirements of IP-based voice services.
The platform includes thorough reporting tools, including revenue reports by customer and service type, usage analysis reports, margin calculations, customer behaviour insights, payment collection reports, and custom report building tools. Reports can be exported to various formats.
SAFE includes advanced error detection that flags potential issues before invoices are sent. These include unusual usage patterns, rating anomalies, and mismatches with carrier invoices. You can review and fix these before finalising bills. The system keeps a full audit trail of any changes made during the billing process.
Yes, you can set up the workflow to include an approval step where invoices are held for review before being sent to customers. This gives you a chance to check for any issues and make changes if needed. You can choose which types of invoices need approval and which can be sent automatically.
SAFE automatically spots payment failures and starts a workflow you can customise. The system can send notification emails to customers, retry the payment, attempt to use alternative payment methods. All payment actions are tracked in the system with a full history.
Yes, many parts of the billing workflow can be customised to match your specific business processes. This includes billing cycles, approval workflows, notification settings, and payment collection settings. Our implementation team will work with you to configure the platform to match your preferred way of working.
Yes, the platform includes anomaly detection that can automatically alert you to unusual usage patterns. You can set thresholds for different types of services and receive alerts when usage exceeds normal patterns. This helps identify potential fraud, billing errors, or opportunities to upsell customers who are outgrowing their current service plans.
Security is a top priority. The platform uses strong encryption for data, full backup systems with point-in-time recovery, strict access controls, and is hosted in UK-based data centres with advanced physical security. We follow industry best practices for secure development and regular security testing.
Yes, the SAFE Billing Platform is designed to be fully compliant with GDPR requirements. We have put in place proper technical and organisational measures to ensure the security of personal data, including data minimisation, purpose limitation, and secure processing. The platform includes tools to help you meet your own GDPR obligations, such as data export and deletion capabilities.
The payment processing system is PCI-DSS compliant with tokenisation, ensuring customer payment details never touch your systems or our platform directly. This completely removes your PCI compliance burden while maintaining the highest security standards for payment processing. We use established payment providers like Stripe and GoCardless who maintain the highest security standards.
All data is stored in secure UK data centres. We never transfer or store your data outside the UK, ensuring compliance with UK data protection regulations and minimising delays for UK-based users. Our infrastructure is designed for high availability with redundant systems.
Data is backed up constantly with point-in-time recovery options. Our backup system keeps multiple copies of your data, with both local and geographically separated backups to ensure data safety. The platform also creates daily snapshots of your customer database that you can download or have sent automatically to your own storage. We regularly test all our backup and recovery procedures to make sure they work properly in any situation.
Yes, the platform is designed to help you meet Ofcom requirements for telecom billing accuracy. The system includes features to support regulatory reporting and maintain compliance with Ofcom guidelines. Regular updates ensure the platform stays current with any changes to regulatory requirements.
Yes, we maintain a comprehensive disaster recovery plan that is regularly tested and updated. Our infrastructure is designed with redundancy at multiple levels to prevent service disruptions. In the unlikely event of a major incident, we can restore service quickly from geographically separated backups to minimise any impact on your business.
We provide support during standard UK business hours (9am-5:30pm, Monday-Friday) via email and phone.
Yes, we provide comprehensive documentation including user guides. This is available 24/7 and covers all aspects of using the platform. The documentation is regularly updated to reflect new features and improvements.
We release regular updates to the platform, typically including minor improvements and bug fixes monthly, with larger feature updates quarterly. Updates are applied automatically with no downtime, and we provide advance notice of any significant changes. All updates are included in your subscription at no additional cost.
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