JeraSoft Billing proudly presents the new software version 3.20. The complete revision list can be found below.

Major Updates

Swap Deals

One of the most significant developments in this current release is adding a new module for Swap Deals management. From now on, you'll save time and effort in configuring and monitoring the progress of the bilateral deals with your partners. The section is presented as a list:

Screenshot: Swap Deals section

As this version of the module is pilot, we are open to suggestions and comments as to how we can improve it both visually and functionally. Please send your insights to [email protected]. We are always happy to hear from our clients!

The section supports Swap Deals management for multiple services and destinations. You will be able to see forecasts per deal, revenue calculations, as well as informative alerts to ensure you'll fulfil your commitments on time.

You can get to know more about the Swap Deals configuration within the system in the respective User Guide article.

Screenshot: Swap Deals section. Items List tab

Dynamic Routing

Dynamic Routing Policies

In order to give more flexibility, the Routing Policies module has been completely reworked in the newest version. It is now possible not only to use predefined Routing Policies but to create your own with a set of factors that fits your business needs. Available factors are:

As you can see, newly added factors are PDD, SCD, Vendor Debt, and Payment Due. The latest two allow you to consider Cash Flow within the routing procedure.

Screenshot: New Routing Policy add form

Generally, the Routing Policies section looks more insightful and simple now:

Screenshot: Routing Policies

As seen from the screenshot, the "Simple Quality", "Simple LCR", and "Proportional" policies are the same as before and include the same factors. To simplify things and speed up the Routing Map generation, the "Complex Quality" and "Complex LCR" have been converted to simple ones, respectively. We have also added a "Cash Flow" policy to illustrate new factors available for routing. The overall speedup of the Routing Map generation (performed by Dynamic Routing Manager service) is 1.5-5 times depending on the specifics of your rates and settings.

Quality Factors

The quality-based factors (ASR, ACD, PDD, and SCD) are taken as before from the Summary Report for the last X minutes, defined by "Analyze Period" in the System Settings. It is possible to set "Minimal Statistics Quantity" as a number of records to be present in the statistics to consider these factors as reliable. If the vendor didn't have enough data for the given period, default values would be taken instead.

Screenshot: Dynamic Routing settings

Inline Quality Filters

For added convenience, you can now specify QoS filters (ASR and ACD) for each routing rule in the Routing Plan. It allows you to remove vendors with lower quality from the routing in real-time. 

Screenshot: Routing Plan rules

The filters are applied to the quality factors in the same way as it is done for Routing Map generation, including "Analyze Period", "Minimal Statistics Quantity", and defaults values given in System Settings. The filters can be applied to both Dynamic and Static rules. 

If you would like to notify the administrator and/or vendor about the drop in the quality, you have to use Factors Watcher in the same way as before. 

DID Routing

The routing to DIDs have been simplified in two ways:

Screenshot: Routing plan. DID routing

Let's assume your customer has 2 DIDs (801001 and 801002). Now instead of adding rates for both DIDs, you can set a single rate for code 801. However, if the call will be placed for a number with an 801 prefix, that is not assigned to any customer, this specific customer will be selected as a vendor for this code not under DID rule, but regular Dynamic rules if they are present. To avoid this scenario, we suggest the following:

  • Create a Code Deck with all existing DIDs in your system and set the same name "DID" for all of them;
  • Use Traffic Processing with this Code Deck configured to match by Code Name "DID" and place tag "did";
  • When adding the abovementioned rate to the customer set tag "did" on it, to match only in case the number is actual DID. 

Billing Increment Check

To improve profitability check, we've added Billing Increments matching between Customers' and Vendors' rates in the routing. To use the feature, set the Match Increments field under the Rules Processing section of the Routing Plan. If selected, it will exclude vendors with increments that do not match customers' rates from the routing list.

Screenshot: Routing Plan settings

The field has three options:

The option checks that Customers' increments proportionally overlap Vendors' increments. The following table shows sample scenarios:

Customer RateVendor RateResultNotes
Min TimePay InternalMin TimePay Interval
60606060OKExact match
306301OKFull overlap
30666OKFull overlap
11306FAILVendor Increments are higher
7766FAILEven though Customers increments are higher, with call duration of 7 seconds this case will lead to 7 seconds billed on customer and 12 seconds billed on vendor

Stop Hunting Rework

The option "Stop Hunt" on the rules of the Routing Plans has been reworked according to the industry requirements. Before the current version, it was considered by the system only if the route under the rule was accepted. Now it will work in all cases, even if the route has been rejected due to some checks.

Screenshot: Stop Hunt checkbox

Screenshot: Stop Hunting rejection reason

However, to avoid stop hunting on rules, which are filtered based on originator, not on the "quality" of the route itself, the logic is as follows. If "Stop Hunt" is enabled, but the rule was rejected due to "Orig Tags" mismatch or "Reseller Mismatch" - "Stop Hunt" will be ignored.

Source Code routing

The new version includes improvement in the Routing Map building for the rates with defined Src Code. Previous versions considered only rates without Src Code when building Routing Map. It leads to improved Profit Margin checks. While running Routing Analysis, do not forget to set Src Party ID in the filter section for correct analysis.

Screenshot: Routing Analysis query. Src Code Routing

Routing Analysis

The Routing Analysis section has been visually reworked to make it more efficient for the client to analyze the query results. The new Output options include:

Screenshot: Routing Analysis settings

Other improvements are related to the columns shown in the Routing Analysis:

The last improvement is related to the grouping of the results:

Screenshot: Routing Analysis query

Vendor Credit Limit

To make routing management more versatile, the Client Info settings block has a new field added - Credit limit - for Terminator Settings. This setting lets you control the credit limit you have on the vendor's side.

Screenshot: Vendor Credit Limit in Client's settings

This credit limit will be applied to vendors during the routing check to remove them from the routing result if vendor balance + credit limit hits the entered threshold.

Routing Plans (since 3.20.1)

To simplify the work logic of the Origination Limit in the Routing Plan parameters, it now functions as follows. If the mentioned limit is not set, it will work as before - allowed for the owner and all its sub-companies and/or sub-managers. If it is specified - it will include owner and selected companies and/or managers, but not their children. To actually include child companies, you'll need to select them.

Rates

Rates Import

To make the import process even more simple yet functional, we've added a few new options to the Step 2: Import Settings:

NameDescription
If Unchanged

If the system detects rates in the imported file with all the same settings as the ones already present in the Rate Table but Effective Date, you'll have the option to either preserve or skip them:

  • Save rows
  • Skip rows
On Warnings

This option manages alerts from the Analysis Settings section. If any, you'll have the option to either preserve them, skip or abort the whole import process.

  • Save rows
  • Skip rows
  • Abort import
Billing Increments Check

If enabled, the system will raise an error in case imported rates' billing increments differ from those already present in the Rate Table.

  • Disabled
  • Enabled

Screenshot: Step 2: Import Settings

Additionally, the On Duplicates mode has been deprecated as the system can automatically detect duplicates during import. If any are found, they would be skipped.

As for the general import flow, if there is any change between the rate in the rate file and the existing rate, the system will resave the rate from the import file.

Import Reverting

The import reverting process has been reworked for the ability to restore more accurate pre-import data. That is, if any changes were made to the Rate Table during import, by reverting a particular import, all of them would be discarded to leave the current rates as they were before import.

For instance, if you chose to stash the current rates during the import process, once you'd run the undo procedure, all of them will be again active. Also, the last modified date of the Rate Table would be restored to the one before the faulty import.

Screenshot: Import History

Jurisdictional Billing Module

NANP Processing functionality

We've broadened the area detection functionality for the Jurisdictional Billing module. From now on, for those clients who have access to the LERG database, the system will be able to pull not only data on interstate/intrastate and interlata/intralata areas but also interMTA/intraMTA and local. For that, we use the LERG 6, LERG 8, and LCA databases.

This functionality is available in the Traffic Processing section of the billing system. If enabled, it will check the filtered numbers (specified in the Match section of the TP rule) through the North American Numbering Plan. You can set it up in the respective field of the rule creation form:

Screenshot: NANP Processing in a Traffic Processing rule

Minor Updates

Provisioning API

Email Rates Manager Handler

To enable defined tasks between preparing certain import process and actually importing rates to a Rate Table, we've added a new event - Email Rates Manager - to Provisioning API

Screenshot: Email Rates Manager handler in Provisioning API

With this handler, you will be able to stop the system processes right after the prep phase to execute any other needed tasks.

Import Handler

To allow notifications or any other third-party events on the import process results, we've added a new handler to the Provisioning API - the Import handler:

Screenshot: Import handler in Provisioning API

From now on, whether a particular import process failed or succeeded, you'll be able to pull this data (import status, types of errors/warnings, if any, number of errors/warnings, etc.) from the billing system to execute some other tasks.

Number Portability

LNP: Lithuanian DB

We've added support for Lithuanian LNP DB.

Screenshot: Lithuanian LNP Gateway

Balance Report

Improvements in UI

The Balance Report section faced a couple of renamings:

Additionally, the Payment Accounts filter now accepts multiple values for added convenience.

Screenshot: Balance Report settings

CoreAPI

Clients authentication

Direct access to Client's Customer Portal Credentials has been deprecated and a dedicated method created for this need. See the code example below:

client = coreapi.clients.authenticate(
	cp_login="cp_jerasoft",
	cp_password="password"
)

Traffic Processing

Improvements in UI

All changes are related to UI improvements of the Traffic Rules section:

Screenshot: Traffic Processing section advanced search

Screenshot: Traffic Processing rules list

Authorize.Net

Gateway currencies support

We've broadened the Authorize.Net currencies support by adding CAD as one of the available Gateway Currencies for integration. You can set this up in Reseller settings -> Autocharge Settings tab.

UI

Pagination improvements

In sections where no exact count of rows estimated in order to improve performance, we have removed the "Last Page" button to avoid confusion.

Deprecations

Please be noted that the following sections are marked as deprecated:

They will be fully removed in the next versions.