Zero-Touch Billing

TimelyBill Automates Manual Billing Tasks

Billing is often the most manual, error-prone part of a telecom operation. It's also the easiest to automate when the proper systems are in place. Zero-touch billing or automated billing eliminates keystrokes, spreadsheet fixes, and late-night invoice corrections. With the right system, providers can move from “stuffing envelopes” to an accurate, automated billing workflow.

Side-by-Side: Manual Billing Challenges and TimelyBill’s Automated Approach

Manual Billing	TimelyBill
High error rates from spreadsheets & manual data entry	Automated usage importing with consistent logic
Delayed invoicing due to scattered usage files	Scheduled billing for on-time, predictable invoicing
Tax miscalculations from outdated data	Telecom-specific taxation via TimelyTAXES
Limited usage visibility	Searchable usage for customers & internal teams
Difficult to manage mixed bundles (RC, NRC, & hardware)	Native bundle support across all charge types
Slow changes when adding new plans or updating rates	Configurable product catalog for rapid updates
Limited auditability and unclear change history	Full audit trail across billing, taxes, & payments
Manual partner payouts managed with offline trackers	Automated multi-tier commissions tracking
Disputes caused by inconsistent or incorrect rating logic	Invoice logic tied back to each source charge
Scaling issues as customer or usage volume grows	Operational scalability driven by automation
Slow performance on large CDR imports	High-performance CDR ingestion

Automated Rating & Taxation

Zero-touch principle: Every usage record should rate automatically—no manual reviewing of CDRs, recalculations, or obscure tax lookups.

How TimelyBill helps:

• Real-time and batch rating engine that automatically applies usage rates based on product, provider, jurisdiction, or custom rules.
• Integrated tax engine for fast and reliable tax calculation.
• Automated ingestion of CDRs/XDRs from switches, SBCs, wholesale partners, and carriers.
• Provider-specific rules (e.g., 8XX rating, overage thresholds, bundled services).
• Automatic rerating when product rules or tax logic change.

Result: Clean, accurate rating without human intervention, even at scale.

Scheduled Billing Runs

Zero-touch principle: Billing cycles should run on schedule without requiring human attention.

How TimelyBill helps:

• Fully automated billing cycle scheduler that runs daily, weekly, monthly, or custom cycles.
• Automated detection of cycle exceptions (missing data, unclosed orders, incomplete provisioning).
• Role-based notifications that alert staff only when intervention is required.
• Batch actions (usage processing, proration, fees, discounts) run without operators having to initiate them.

Result: TimelyBill becomes a set-and-forget engine.

Automated Invoice Generation & Delivery

Zero-touch principle: Invoices should be generated and sent automatically.

How TimelyBill helps:

• Dynamic invoice templates automatically apply branding, logos, product detail layouts, and important messages.
• Automated PDF generation for every bill, including usage detail, summaries, add-ons, taxes, and surcharges.
• Automated delivery mechanisms:
  • Email delivery with custom content
  • Secure portal delivery
• Automated attachments: Promotional pages can be added without manual assembly.

Result: No assembling, merging, exporting, or sending—customers receive accurate invoices automatically.

Data Alarms

Zero-touch principle: Fix issues before a bad invoice goes out.

How TimelyBill helps:

• Automated tolerance checks detect:
  • Zero-usage anomalies
  • Unrated traffic
  • Missing or duplicate CDRs
• Auto-suspension rules for customers who exceed limits or generate suspect activity.
• Automated credit limits and dunning workflows—reduce churn and revenue leakage.
• Validation alerts are sent to the right team before invoices are finalized.

Result: Fewer disputes, fewer credits, fewer embarrassing “oops” invoices.

Automated Payments

Zero-touch principle: Payments should match invoices without a single spreadsheet.

How TimelyBill helps:

• Automated payment capture from ACH, credit card, or bank-generated files.
• Auto-reconciliation between payments, open invoices, and aging.
• Configurable payment rules (apply oldest first, apply by service, prioritize past due, etc.).
• Integrations to accounting/ERP (e.g., QuickBooks, Sage, NetSuite) through direct sync.
• Automated refunds, reversals, and adjustments tied back to audit-ready logs.

Result: Faster revenue recognition.

Impact of Zero-Touch Billing

With these automations in place, telecom providers see definite gains:

• Shorter revenue cycles
• Fewer billing disputes
• Lower staffing requirements
• Higher accuracy
• Fewer disputes

TimelyBill’s architecture was built to support fully automated revenue operations—not just by adding automation around billing, but by embedding it at every step of the billing lifecycle.