Tariscope includes a flexible call rating system that takes into account:
- a rate plan assigned to a customer (subscriber),
- currency,
- type of day,
- time of day,
- various types of rounding,
- free seconds
- and much more.
Tariscope allows you to specify any number of rate plans that combine a set of rates. In addition to rates, rate plans may include some services that should be charged to all customers.
Rates are created for a particular telecom service privider, with which a telephone system is connected, and associated with certain telephone codes. In the Tariscope system, there are no restrictions on the number of rate plans, telecom service providers and rates.
Rate history
The Tariscope system keeps the history of each rate, that allows you to rate calls up to a certain date at a specific cost, after this date another cost will be used, and so on. Thus, if it is necessary to recalculate calls for any period, it will be used the cost that operated in this period.
Currency
Rates can be set in any currency. The only thing to remember is that the cost of the call will always be converted into the main currency in the system at the current exchange rate.
Billing period
A rate can be set per minute or per second. At the same time, Tariscope allows you to set some rates with per second accuracy, and other rates with a per minute accuracy.
Free seconds
A rate can include N-th number of free seconds of call, the cost for which is not charged.
Rounding
Different types of call cost rounding are supported.
The call cost depending on call duration
The Tariscope administrator has the option to assign a different call cost for rates depending on call duration. You can also assign different costs depending on the total amount of minutes spoken by subscriber. For example, up to 600 minutes of calls are charged at a price of USD 0.00, from 600 to 1000 minutes, the price is USD 1.00, and over 1000 minutes, the price is USD 0.80.
Cost for connection
If necessary, a call cost can include the cost for connection.
Call charges using different names
The call cost for which various rates are specified in the system can be recorded to the subscriber's account with the same name that the rate has or you can use a specific name for several types of rates. For example, there are different rates for Western, Eastern, Northern and Southern Europe. If there is no need to keep a record of calls in the subscriber's account for each of these directions, you can use a common name, with which the call cost will be chargeed to the subscriber's account. For example, for the above example, the name can be 'Europe'. The choice of a specific name for each rate, with which the call cost will be charged to subscriber accounts, or use of some generalized name, is primarily determined by the requirements for detailing information in subscriber accounts.
Dependence of rate price on day type and day time
Each rate can contain a different cost on dependence of type of day (working, holiday, weekend) and time of day. You can create any number of time periods with a specific cost.
Charges for each subscriber's extension
If a subscriber has several extensions (phone numbers), Tariscope can charge a call cost, telecommunications services to the subscriber's account for each extension separately, or in general to the subscriber.
Rating incoming and outgoing calls
Tariscope allows you to charge not only outgoing calls as most call accounting and billing systems do, but also, if necessary, it can charge incoming calls. This feature can be useful to some users, for example, those who use paid phone numbers.
Any number of telecom service providers with their own rates
A telephone system communicates with other telephone systems or gateways. To correctly rate the calls, routes (trunk groups) or gateways in Tariscope are linked with telecom providers whom calls are directed. In Tariscope, you can create any number of communication providers with specific rates and link them to the appropriate routes (gateways).
Alternative rating
Tariscope allows you to calculate a call cost at two different rates that belong to different telecom service providers. This allows the provider to simulate the application of a new rate or the provider can apply a second rate as a rate of the provider partner, with which it is necessary to perform mutual settlements.
Virtual subscribers
Tariscope that is a call accounting and billing system contains a feature that is named 'virtual subscribers'. What is it and for which purposes it can be used?
"Virtual subscribers" are pseudo-subscribers, which can be assigned to a route (a group of lines) or an IP gateway connecting your PBX with some communication operator.
Tariscope performs a call rating only if calls were made from or to a subscriber whose data are in the Tariscope database. In the case of transit calls, as a rule, there are no such subscribers and, accordingly, such calls are not rated. But if you still need to rate them, the virtual subscriber will come in handy. The entire cost of calls passing through a route or gateway will be charged on the subscriber and transit calls will also be charged.
Consider a different situation. For example, the PBX has 3 routes, each of which is connected to various telecom provides. And you want to know at any moment: how many calls and what call types passed on a route, how much they cost, what kind of telephone traffic prevails: incoming or outgoing, etc. Answers to such questions can be relevant both for corporate users who use the Tariscope Enterprise edition and for telecom providers who use the Tariscope Provider edition. This information can be obtained, for example, from a report on routes. But again, if transit calls pass through the routes, then these calls will not be rated without virtual subscribers, and the report will contain data that will not include the cost of transit calls. The use of virtual subscribers is the most correct way to solve such a task.
The feature of "virtual subscribers" can be especially actual for transit telecom operators or telecommunication operators offering services of a virtual PBX. Because Tariscope allows users simultaneous calculate the cost of calls at two different rates, you can immediately get the cost of calls that subscribers must pay and the cost at which it is necessary to carry out mutual settlements with another telecom operator.
Each license of Tariscope Enterprise and Tariscope Provider includes 3 virtual subscribers. Tariscope user can use them at his own discretion, both for ordinary subscribers and for virtual subscribers. If there is a need to create more than 3 virtual subscribers, then they need to be purchased additionally.
How to create a virtual subscriber, see the article.
You can find information about other features of Tariscope Enterprise on the page.
You can find information about other features of Tariscope Provider on the page.
Tariscope structure
Tariscope is a suite of interrelated desktop and Web applications, services and servers for the Microsoft Windows. Tariscope can be installed on the following systems: Micosoft Windows Server 2012 R2, 2012 or 2008 R2 or Microsoft Windows 10, 8.1, 8 or 7.
A general structure of Tariscope is shown in figure below. The Tariscope Enterprise and Tariscope Provider editions have the same structure.
A Tariscope core consists of the Tariscope Main server and the Tariscope database. The Tariscope database is a database for Microsoft SQL Server 2016, 2014, 2012 or 2008 R2 of any edition. The Tariscope installation package includes an installation of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Express edition. The Tariscope database contains almost all the information of Tariscope.
The Tariscope Main server manages the connections between the Tariscope services and applications. The Tariscope Main server can be located on the same server where Microsoft SQL Server is located or on another server that has a connection with the first server.
The Tariscope Management application is intended to configure and manage Tariscope.
The Tariscope Observer service collects CDR (SMDR, AMA, etc.) and executes an initial processing of these data. The separate Tariscope Observer service is used to collect CDR from each telephone system. The number of simultaneously working Tariscope Observer services does not restrict.
The Tariscope Tasks service provides an automated generation of reports, the Tariscope database backup or archiving, receiving currency rates, etc. by schedule.
The main application of the system is the Tariscope application. It includes all abilities of the Tariscope Management program and also provides an analysis of call information, creation of reports and charts, analysis of a call traffic intensity, subscriber management and much more. It is available both a desktop and Web application. The number of simultaneously working Tariscope users does not restrict.
The Tariscope NetFlow Collector provides a collection and processing of information about IP traffic.
The Personal Area is a Web interface of subscribers (customers) to information about calls, IP traffic, account status, payments and much more.
You can find information about other features of Tariscope Enterprise on the page.
You can find information about other features of Tariscope Provider on the page.
Comparison of Tariscope editions
There are two Tariscope editions: Tariscope Enterprise and Tariscope Provider.
The Tariscope Enterprise edition is a call accounting software. It is recommended for companies which wish to control expenses on telephone calls of employees.
The Tariscope Provider edition is a telecom billing solution for telecommunications service providers.
The main difference between the Tariscope Enterprise and Tariscope Provider editions is that Tariscope Provider provides the maintenance of customer accounts taking into account both charging for telecom services (not only for calls as it does Tariscope Enterprise) and accounting payments from customers.
Other differences of the editions are enumerated in the table below.
| Feature | Tariscope Enterprise | Tariscope Provider |
| Licensing | Depends on number of subscribers | Depends on number of extensions and IP addresses* |
| Personal accounts of customers | - | + |
| Accounting of services | - | + |
| Payment document creation | - | + |
| Accounting of payments | - | + |
| Rates based on volume of services provided | - | + |
| System administration | + | + |
| Supported PBXs (telephone exchanges) | + | + |
| Subscriber (customer) management | + | + |
| Call accounting | + | + |
| Alternative rating | + | + |
| Powerful filtering | + | + |
| Reporting | + | + |
| Data comparison | + | + |
| Restriction feature | + | + |
| Personal area | + | + |
| Call traffic measurement | + | + |
| Interaction with hotel systems | + | + |
*IP addresses is taken into account if Tariscope Provider is used to collect IP data traffic.
You can find information about features of Tariscope Enterprise on the page.
You can find information about features of Tariscope Provider on the page.
Traffic measurement
According to Recommendation E.503 the telephone traffic analysis based on CDR can be applied to the following applications:
- Telephone system dimensioning, planning and administration;
- Telephone network dimensioning, planning and administration;
- Telephone system performance monitoring;
- Telephone network performance monitoring;
- Support to maintenance;
- Network management;
- Tariff and marketing studies.
The main problem, which usually solved by analysis of telephone traffic, is an estimate of traffic intensity in telephone communication channels.
Majority of PBX owners use traffic analysis to detect the necessity to extend bandwidth of trunks or to decrease number of trunks if they are underloaded. In the first case there is a possibility of loss of incoming calls, and as a result, the possible loss of profits. In the second case, if the trunks are not used, enterprise resources are used ineffectively.
Traffic measurement can be used to detect a fraud. For this task you must collect statistics by traffic for one-two years per month, per day (working day, weekend, holiday), per specific day period, etc. And if you detect the unusual traffic for a specific day period this requires to analyse origins of traffic increase for identification of fraud.
Tariscope allows to build a chart of telephone traffic intensity for any time period, simultaneously display a few charts to compare them and much more.
Tariscope user can get the traffic intensity of trunks, gateways and subscriber lines.
You can find information about other features of Tariscope Enterprise on the page.
You can find information about other features of Tariscope Provider on the page.
