The Phone Bill report

Introduction
Running the report
Creating the report
The report's results

Introduction

The Phone Bill report is primarly used in situations where you need to produce a telephone bill for clients or company cost centres. Examples include business centres, serviced offices, hospitality, or any organisation that needs to bill back calls made by clients.The bill can include fixed charges for items other than telephone calls. The result of the report is a fully-fledged telephone bill, in the same style as one you would expect to receive from a telephone company. See the section on customising reports for information about how change the complete look and feel of the bills you produce (e.g. including your own logo at the top of the bill).

Marking up calls

The markup of the calls is added at Directory level. This means that users can be given access to all reports, if required and see the marked up cost, rather than the "real cost". It also means the user does not have to remember to add a markup each time the report is run as it will automatically be added.

To add a markup to a specific group, go to the Directory and select the group you are interested in and select Propertiesas shown below:

The following pop-up box will appear. Click on the Charge tab and add the markup required, as shown below. In the example below a 50% markup will automatically be added to all calls in this group.

Running the report

On the Reports screen, click on Phone Bill in the reports list and then press theSelect this reportbutton.

A new window will appear, where you can select the criteria for your report.

Selecting the reporting period

Every report requires a period to run over. This is generally defined as the "Reporting period".

There are several preset periods that can be selected from a drop-down list. The predefined periods are based on a standard Gregorian calendar and are defined as follows:

If you want to be more specific, you can choose the Custom period from the drop-down list. This option will allow you to define the Start date and End date yourself, as well as the Start time and End time of the calls you want to report on.

When the report is executed, the reporting engine will substitute the start and end dates based on the current date or the relevant selection made by the user.

Once you have set the report's period, click on theNextbutton to set more of the report's parameters or select theFinishbutton to run the report.

Selecting the reporting entity

The reporting entity paramater allows you to select which part of your organisation you want to run the report for (site, extension group, channels or individual extensions).

Site

TIM Plus will allow you to log information from up to five sites. If you want to report on a particular site, select your preferred site from the drop-down list, alternatively leave the default settings as All sites.

Sites

All sites

The username and password you have been allocated might be restricted to a specific site or group. If you need additional permissions, please contact your system administrator.

Group

There is no limit to the number of groups you can create on one site. Groups, like sites are available as a drop-down list. You can choose to report on a specific group or leave the default setting as All groups.

Groups

All groups

Please note that the drop-down list for each group will appear only if a site has already been selected.

User

Once a site and group has been selected, you can also choose to report on a particular user from the drop-down list, or you can leave the default setting as All users.

User

All users

Once you have set the report's entities, click on theNextbutton to set more of the report's features or select theFinishbutton to run the report.

Selecting the report filters

This option allows you to filter out certain calls from your results, by selecting the values of the parameters. 

These filters allow you to be very specific, when deciding the call information you would like to display in the final report.If you do not want to select any filters, simply press theNextbutton to skip.

Please find a brief description of all filters below:

Account code

If you want to produce a bill consisting of all chargeable calls made using a particular account code, enter this code in the field provided. 

Account code

0140

To report on more than one account code, you can use a comma to separate the entries.

Call type

This filter allows you to define the type of call you would like to report on. If you would like to report on all calls, leave the default setting as All calls.

Call type

All calls

If you want to report on one call type in particular, expand the drop-down list and select from the available options.

Carrier

If you use more than one carrier, you can choose which carrier's calls to report on. To report on all calls from all carriers, leave the default setting as All carriers.

Carrier

All carriers

If you only use one carrier, there will be no drop-down list available and no option to choose a different carrier.

CLI

The Caller Line Identification (CLI) is a phone number that calls your organisation. This is sometimes withheld by the person making the call.

You may choose to report on calls from a particular CLI or from numbers beginning with a particular CLI. For example, for calls from Tri-Line you would enter 02072652600.

CLI

02072652600

This filter accepts the comparison operators ! and * (e.g. to exclude calls from Tri-Line, you would use !020726526*). To report on more than one CLI, user a comma to separate the entries.

Cost

If you want to add a filter for call costs, type in the cost you wish to define, as shown below. 

Cost

<2.00

This filter allows you to specify a range (-) or use comparison operators (>, <, ! and *).

Destination

If you want to filter calls to a specific, known destination, you can type the destination in the field provided. This filter accepts the comparison operators ! and *.

For example, if you want to exclude all calls to France, enter !France*, as shown below:

Destination

!France*

Dialled number

To filter calls to a specific number, type the number that was dialled in the box provided. The dialled number can be a number that you dial out, or a DDI number within your organisation that someone dials in to get to a particular extension.

To filter calls to a specific area, a partial number may be entered (e.g. 0033, for calls to France). 

Dialled number

0033

This filter accepts the comparison operators ! and * (e.g. to exclude calls to 0207 265, enter !0207265* ).

Duration

To filter calls above or below a particular duration, enter the number of seconds and the relevant symbol in the box provided. This filter allows you to specify a range (-) or use comparison operators (>, <, ! and *).

Duration

>1800

In the above example, the filter will look for calls longer than 1800 seconds (30 minutes). Alternatively, you may want to exclude calls below a certain threshold (e.g. below 3 seconds).

LCR code

If you are using Least Cost Routing (LCR), you may want to filter your results the by LCR code, in order to check a bill from your LCR provider. To do this, enter the LCR code in the box provided.

LCR code

162

This filter accepts the comparison operators ! and * (e.g. to exclude a specific LCR code, add the code with the required operators !162*)

Response

This option allows you to filter calls based on their response time.The results will be filtered according to the response time threshold that you define in the provided field. The threshold you specify will be measured in seconds.

Response time

>10

In the above example, the search results will display calls that have a response time above 10 seconds.

Start time

This option allows you to filter calls based on the start time of the call, which is basically the time of day the call started. Enter your preferred start time in the field provided, using the following format hh:mm:ss.
For example, if you want your results to include calls logged after 10 a.m. only, you need to enter 10:00:00 in the Start time field, as shown below:

Start time

10:00:00

Trunk access code

If you want to filter your results by a trunk access code, enter this in the field provided.  For example, to exclude all calls with access code 9, add !9 in the filed provided.

Trunk access code

9

This filter accepts the comparison operators ! and *.

Selecting the report options

This section allows you to further narrow down your report results, by excluding certain types of calls or sorting the results in a particular manner. The filters are fairly self-explanatory. For example, if you would like to exclude weekend calls from the report, simply tick the option to exclude weekend calls. If you would like to ignore missed calls shorter than a specific duration, simply enter the duration in the box.

Selecting the report options

This section allows you to further narrow down your report results, by excluding certain types of calls or sorting the results in a particular manner. The filters are fairly self-explanatory. For example, if you would like to exclude weekend calls from the report, simply tick the option to exclude weekend calls. If you would like to ignore missed calls shorter than a specific duration, simply enter the duration in the box.

Exclude weekends

This option allows you to exclude weekend calls from any results shown. If you would like to exclude weekend calls, simply select the tickbox to exclude weekend calls.

Exclude weekends

Summary only

When running a report, you may not want to display in the results every call lost. If you want to only show a summary of lost calls - instead of listing all calls - tick the box Summary only as shown below:

Summary only

Don't replace numbers with contact names

Tick this option if you do not want to replace dialled numbers, CLIs and account codes with their equivalent names, as defined in your web user's contacts list(s).

Don't replace numbers with contact names

Hide unused

This option allows you to exclude unused extensions from the results shown.

Hide unused

Hide charges

If you wish to hide the charges applied to this report, tick the box provided.

Hide charges

Sort order

Choose whether you would like the results of the report to appear in ascending or descending order, by selecting from the drop-down list provided.

Sort order

Ascending

Sort results by

You may choose the order in which results are sorted by selecting the appropriate option from the list provided:

Sort results by

Date & time

Introduction

Primarily for use in situations where you need to produce a telephone bill for a client or group of clients, for example in a business centre, a hospital, or other organisation with a front-of-house function. The result is a fully-fledged telephone bill - in the same style as one you'd expect to receive from a telephone company. See the section on customising reports for information about how change the complete look and feel of the bills you produce e.g. including your own logo at the top of the bill.

Marking up calls

The markup to calls is added at Directory level. This means that users can be given access to all reports, if required and see the marked up cost rather than the "real cost".

It also means the user does not have to remember to add a markup each time the report is run as it will automatically be added.

To add a markup to calls for any group, go to the Directory and select the group you would like to mark-up, then select Properties as shown below:

The following pop-up box will appear. Simply select the Charge tab and add the markup required as shown below. In the example below a 40% markup will automatically be added to all calls in this group.

Running the report

On the Reports screen, click on Phone bill in the reports list and then press the Select this report button.

The following report selection criteria window appears:

Reporting period

Every report requires a period to run over. This is generally defined as the "Reporting period".

There are several pre-defined periods that can be selected from a simple drop-down list as shown above.

The built-in periods are based on a standard Gregorian calendar and are defined as follows:

If you want to be more specific, you can choose the Custom period from the bottom of the drop-down list. This option will allow you to define the start date and end date yourself, as shown below. When you need to be even more specific, you can also choose a start time and end time.

When the report is executed, if the user has selected an in-built period, the reporting engine simply substitutes the start and end dates based on the current date and the period the user selected.

Once you have set the report's period, click on the Next button to set more of the report's features or select the Finish button to run the report.

What do you want to report on?

In addition to the reporting period, each report offers you the opportunity to define exactly what you want to report on. This is generally a site, group or user.

Site

TIM Plus will allow you to log information from up to five sites. If you want to report on a specific site, select that site from the drop-down list or to select all sites' data, leave it at the default All sites as shown above.

NOTE: The username and password you have been allocated may mean you are restricted to specific sites or groups. If you have any difficulty accessing other sites or group, please contact your system administrator and check that access has been enabled.

Group

There is no limit to the number of groups available on each site. Groups, like sites are available as a drop-down list. You can choose to select a specific group or leave at the default All groups. Please note that the drop-down list for each group can only appear if a site has already been selected.

User

Once a site and group has been selected, you can decide whether you would like to report on all users or select a particular user from the drop-down list as shown above.

Once you have set the report's entities, click on the Next button to set more of the report's features or select the Finish button to run the report.

Filter call information

You have the option of filtering the information, based on a number of call filters. These filters allow you to be very specific, when deciding the call information you would like in the final report.

If you do not want to select any filters, simply press the Next button to skip.

Please find a brief description of all filters below:

Account code

If you want to produce a bill consisting of all chargeable calls made using a particular account code, enter the account code in this filed. To report on more than one account code, simply comma separate.

Call type

This filter allows you to define the type of call you would like to report on. If you would like to report on all calls, leave at the default All calls.

Carrier

If you use more than one carrier, you can choose which carriers calls you would like to report on.

To report on all calls from all carriers, leave at default.

If you only use one carrier, there will be no drop-down list available and no option to choose a different carrier.

CLI

The Caller Line Identification (CLI) is the number associated with the incoming call. This is sometimes withheld by the person making the call.

You may choose to report on calls from a particular CLI or from numbers beginning with a particular CLI by entering the number in here. For example, for calls from Tri-Line you would enter in "02072652600". This filter accepts the comparison operators ! and *, e.g. to exclude calls from Tri-Line use "!020726526*".

To report on more than one CLI, simply comma separate.

Cost

If you want to add a filter for call costs, simply type in the cost you wish to define as shown nearby and add the appropriate above, below and between symbol . This filter accepts range (-) and comparison operators (>, <, ! and *).

Destination

If you want to filter calls to a specific destination and that destination has been added to your locations field, simply type the destination in here. This filter accepts the comparison operators ! and *, e.g. to exclude all calls to France use "!France*".

Dialled number

To filter calls to a specific number, type the number in the dialled number field. To filter calls to a specific area, a partial number may be entered here e.g. "0033" for calls to France. This filter accepts the comparison operators ! and *, e.g. to exclude calls to 0207 265, enter "!0207265*".

Duration

To filter call above or below a particular duration, simply enter the number of seconds and the relevant symbol. This filter accepts range (-) and comparison operators (>, <, ! and *).

In the example nearby, the filter will look for calls above 1800 seconds (30 minutes). Alternatively you may want to exclude calls below a certain threshold e.g. below 3 seconds.

LCR code

If you are using Least Cost Routing (LCR), you may want to filter by LCR code in order to check a bill from your LCR provider. To do this simply enter the LCR code in the LCR field. This filter accepts the comparison operators ! and *, e.g. to exclude a specific LCR code, simply add as follows "!162*".

Response

This filter allows you to filter based on the response times to calls. You have the option of filtering for calls above or below a threshold. You can define this threshold in the box alongside.

The figure relates to seconds. e.g. the example nearby shows 10 seconds. By selecting from the drop-down list, you will be able to filter calls that took more than 10 seconds to answer or see calls answered in less than 3 seconds.

Start time

This filter allows you to filter calls based on the start time. This is the time of day when the call started in the format hh:mm:ss, e.g. if you want calls after 8 a.m. only, then enter the start time in as "08:00:00" as shown nearby.

Trunk access code

If you want to filter by Trunk access code, simply enter the Trunk access code in this field. This filter accepts the comparison operators ! and *. The * is not needed if it's an exact match, so the 9 for TAC should just be "!9", e.g. to exclude all calls with access code 9, add "!9" to the TAC field.

Specific Options

This section allows you to add more specific filters to your report. The filters are fairly self-explanatory. If you would like to exclude weekend calls from the report, simply tick the option to exclude weekend calls.

Exclude weekends

This option gives you the option of excluding weekend calls from any results shown. If you would like to exclude weekend calls, simply select the tickbox to exclude weekend calls.

Exclude transfers

Select this option if you would like to exclude transfers when running a report. For example if you were running an incoming call analysis report and wanted to see only how well calls were answered when first presented, you would choose the option on excluding transfers.

Summary only

If you would like to provide a summary listing the total number of calls and the cost rather than a detailed list of individual calls made, tick the 'Summary only' option shown here.

Don't replace numbers with contact names

Tick this option if you do not want dialled numbers, CLIs and account codes replaces with their named equivalents, as they are defined in your web user's contacts list(s).

Hide unused

This option gives you the option of excluding unused extensions from the results shown. To exclude unused extension, simply select the tickbox, as shown below:

Hide charges

Charge information will not be applied to this report.

Sort order

Choose whether you would like the results of the report to appear in ascending or descending order, by selecting from the drop-down box.

Sort results by

You may choose the order in which results are sorted by selecting the appropriate option from the list shown below:

Creating the report

When you have chosen a reporting period, and are happy with your selections, you have two options:

• Run the report now
• Schedule for future delivery

To choose your preferred option, select the appropriate button.

If you choose to run the report now, click the Run now button. The results will appear immediately in your chosen format.

To schedule the report for delivery at a later date, follow the instruction given on the Schedule a report section.

Phone bill - The results

When selecting Web as the output format, this report will appear as below.

The Web format allows for complete flexibility when viewing any report. To view details of any filters or selection parameters used in creating this report, simply click on About this report at the top right of the page.

As with all reports, the header of the report includes the report title, any name you may have given to it, and the date and time it was run.

All headers are clickable allowing you re-arrange the report layout in seconds, to sort the calls in ascending or decending order based on the header clicked.

The headers of this report are as follows:

If you would like to go back and view any report for a larger section of the organisation, simply click on the appropriate link in the breadcrumb as shown below: