5 Steps to Build Your Calling Card Billing System

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Written by Fahham Saturday, 24 October 2009 20:38

5 Steps to build your calling card / billing system based on Asterisk PBX.

General concept of the calling card platform

The phone cards are a well-known product in telecommunication sector,

which can be employed from any country where a number of access isavailable. The phone calling card is a printed card containing the access

information and the information

of account to make international as well as national calls. The Card carry a

limit on the maximum use and are normally sold by on Internet or in the

street distribution.

Today the Calling Cards is one of the top business in the VoIP Industry and A2Billing with Asterisk is trying to complete

the needs for large, medium-sized companies and start-up who appreciate the Calling Cards business model. A2Billing

allows to craft a calling card management system over your Asterisk Server.

It’s powerful calling card platform can be easily deployed with Asterisk, it is providing wide set of tools to manage a

complex & advanced calling card system! With A2Billing & Asterisk, prepaid/postpaid calling card services are just as

easy to implement as to make a few entries through a web interface. With its user-friendly, powerful functionality,

A2Billing try to end to be the preferred billing software for Calling services. As Asterisk, the most valuable of A2Billing is

the open source nature.

The source are provided and the soft can be enhanced by the asterisk community or peoples that use it. This concept

will ensure that the soft will grow up and continue to fill the billing needs of the asterisk users. This solution aims to

manage all aspects of the calling card service and it takes care of the calling card service through real-time integration

for card activation, authentication and debiting the account balance of users. The solution provides Web interface for

administrator to manage all the billing system and for customer to see their own call history, balances and user data.

Requirements

PC

A PC or Server is required to run the software. The size and specification of the PC will be based on the number of

concurrent calls that are expected to pass through the platform, and the codecs chosen by the calling card operator.Refer to the Digium website and [http://www.voip-info.org] for minimum recommended specifications.

Platform

The A2Billing platform is a fully featured pre-paid and post-paid calling card platform built and designed on LAMP. (Linux,

Apache, MySQL and PHP) The telephony interface is supplied by Asterisk, the open source telephony toolkit designed

by Digium. The A2Billing platform has many features that are only found in high end calling card platforms costing many

thousands of dollars.

Line Interface Cards

In order to connect the A2billing platform to the PSTN, then a line interface card is required. Although there are a number

of clone cards, it is recommended that Digium cards are purchased for two reasons. Asterisk is designed by Digium, and

given that they supply the cards, one expects the cards to work with Asterisk with the minimum of effort. Digium makes

most of its money by selling Asterisk associated hardware, and given that Asterisk is open source, it is in all our interests

that the company continues to be supported financially to improve and bring more features to Asterisk.

VoIP Provider

Rather than send calls out via the PSTN, better rates can often be enjoyed using Voice over IP service providers. Ensure

that the VoIP provider allows concurrent calls.

Broadband

In order to take full advantage of all the features offered by A2Billing, a broadband connection will be required, preferably

with a fixed IP address. The amount of broadband will dictate how many concurrent calls you can make. The number of

calls that ADSL (Asymmetric Services) can carry will be dictated by the upstream speed, irrespective of the downstream

speed. Broadband is also required by the web interface to allow your customers to sign up online, and to make payments

via Paypal.

Paypal Business Account

A2Billing is equipped with a PayPal payment gateway. So having set up a PayPal business account, A2billling gives the

facility to collect payments online and securely with customers topping up their calling cards with either PayPal or any

major credit card. A2Billing also supports Authorise.net and Moneybookers.

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General Setup

SETP 1 - Log into A2Billing

http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/a2billing> (Username: root ; Password: myroot)

SETP 2 - TRUNK

Introduction

The trunk can be created either in Asterisk using sip.conf, zaptel.conf or iax.conf, or directly from the A2Billing interface.

If the trunk is created in Asterisk, then simply refer to the trunk name in A2Billing. Multiple trunks can be enabled, which

may have different rates, and will allow the system failover to a working trunk should the default trunk fail.

List Trunk

This screen lists the trunks already created in the system. The system allows a prefix to be added or removed from every

call using this trunk

Modify the default Trunk (TRUNK -> List Trunk -> Edit)

PROVIDER TECH: Your Asterisk Trunk Protocol (SIP or IAX)

PROVIDER IPHOST: Your Asterisk Trunk IP/Name

SETP 3 – RateCard

Introduction

The rate card section is used for defining rates and tariffs. It is imperative that an accurate set of dialling codes is

obtained, so that calls can be rated correctly.

If the dialled digits do not match an entry in the rate card attached to the customer, then the call cannot be terminated. A

Call Plan is a collection of rate-cards. Therefore a rate-card must be created before the Call Plan, and then added to the

group. Both carrier costs and retail rates can be added into this section which will assist in ensuring that each destination

is profitable. A Call Plan has many rate cards – A rate card has many rates The Call Plan is applied to a customer via the

edit customer screen.

Create a new rate card. A descriptive name, a start date and an expiry date can be set, as well as the trunk to use. If no

trunk is specifically defined, then the default trunk will be used. The DNID (Dialled Number Identifier) Prefix allows the

definition of a rule to choose this particular rate card. DNID by default is set to all, to match every DNID. The DNID can

be set to an individual number to always choose this rate card when the number matches.





Create a RateCard. RATECARD -> Create new RateCard

Add Rate

Rates can be added individually, but this can become tedious, so an import rate function is described below.

Select the rate-card to which you want to add the rate, enter the dial prefix, which matches the rate and give a

destination. The remaining fields are filled in with carrier cost, retail cost, minimum duration and minimum billing interval.

More control over the rates charged can be enabled by editing a setting in a2billing.conf. The screen will then offer theoption to apply stepped charges to the customer. Stop and start dates, days and times will allow different rates to be

applied at different times of the day or week. Note that if there is no matching dial-code / day /time, then the call will not

be terminated.

There is also a setting which when selected, sets that destination to be included in the package offer as free time to call.

Create a new Rate. RATECARD -> Add Rate

RATECARD Name of the card created before

DIALPREFIX 1

DESTINATION USA

BUYING RATE 0.1

RATEINITIAL 0.2

SETP 4 – Tariff Group / Call Plan





Create Call Plan

A rate-card has to be created first. A group can contain many rate-cards. Give the Group a descriptive name, and then

select whether the rate should be chosen on the basis of LCR (Least Cost Routing) or LCD (Least Cost Dialling)

LCR will select a rate based on the cheapest carrier cost, whereas LCD will select the cost on the basis of the cheapest

charge to the customer. There is an option to remove the international dialling prefix as some VoIP carriers do not

require the leading 00 (0011 in the USA). If the prefix is removed, then the rate card dialling codes must be in the same

format, for instance 441 for UK National calls rather than 00441 (0011441 for the USA).

This screen also allows the possibility of applying a Package Offer for a certain number of minutes to a destination.

Create a Tariff Group. RATECARD -> Create TariffGroup

TARIFFPLAN: Name of the RateCard created before

SETP 5 – Customer

A customer has a number of properties, mainly a card number, an Alias and a password. The card numbers are unique,

and both identify the customer as well as providing secure access. The numbers are generated randomly with no

obvious pattern, so that a hacker cannot calculate valid card numbers. The customer is also assigned with a numeric ID,

which is simply consecutively numbered at 1.

Attached to the card number is an Alias. This number, or the customer's email address is used to log in to the web site

graphical user interface. Customers can be created by:-

*- Accessing the sign-up page – [http://xxx.xxx.xxx/a2billing/signup]

*- Create the customer through the management pages. This will create a single customer.

*- Generate Customers, which will create a whole batch of customers, where the card numbers can be printed on cards

and sold through retail outlets.

*- Import Customers, to provide for existing customer details to be imported from a legacy platform.

Create Customer

Create customer allows the administrator to create a single customer. Certain fields are pre-filled, such as the card

number, Card Alias and password. These fields can be edited, however, one must be careful not to compromise the

security of the customer’s account. The card number and the password are used to authenticate a SIP or IAX client,

while the Card Alias (or customer email address) and password are used to access the customer web interface.

Simultaneous and individual access can be set here. This is a very powerful tool to reduce fraud. Extremely large

telephone bills can be racked up in a very short space of time, and indeed, I have seen a company lose £112,000 over a

weekend on a single post-pay card with simultaneous access, as multiple concurrent calls were being made to a

premium rate number. If individual access is enabled, then the fraudster will only be able to make a relatively few calls,thus reducing your exposure.

Customers can be set up as either Pre-paid or Post-paid. Pre-paid customers have to charge their account with a sum of

money before they can make calls. Each time that the customer makes a call, the balance can be read out to them. Post-

pay customers pay the operator on receipt of an invoice, after the call has been made. However, to limit the liability and

debt risk, a credit limit can be set-up within the system, which if exceeded; the customer will be able to make no more

calls.

Create a Customer CUSTOMERS -> Create customer

WEBUI PASSWORD 1234

CREDIT 10

TARIFFGROUP Name of the TariffGroup created before

Generate Customers

The Generate customers section allows the administrator to create multiple cards with the same properties, which can

then be printed on physical cards and sold via retail outlets. More information on individual fields can be gleaned from the

list or create customer screens.





List Customers

Customers previously created are listed here. Click edit to change the properties of a customer. The fields are all fairly

self explanatory, with text below most fields to explain and clarify the purpose of the field. Clicking Edit will give access to

the individual properties of the customer. The form allows VAT to be charged, as well as selecting which tariff group will

apply to this customer. Additionally, the page allows the administrator to search for a specific card, or a batch of cards.Having defined a search criterion, the cards selected can be exported in CSV or XML format. Alternatively, certain

properties of the card can be batch updated.

It is from this interface that cards are topped up manually via the refill button. This tops up the card, and the when

payment is received, it is appplied via the Add New Payment button.

Customer login:

http://xxx.xxx.xxx/a2customer

Username: Card Number, Password: WEBUI PASSWORD

Now, your calling card billing system is ready. For use choose one of the two following methods:





Method 1:

Customer dials a number to access the service

Method 2:

Customer uses SIP or IAX agent (Software or

hardware)

extensions_custom.conf

Un-comment the lines of the CallingCard application

Modify the Incoming Route of the assigned number to

Custom App: custom-callingcard,s,1

Authentication:

Method 1 Method 2

When a customer dials the

assigned number, A2Billing

will prompt to enter the card

number

Using Caller ID

Log into A2Billing

http://xxx.xxx.xxx/a2billing

CUSTOMERS -> List

Customer

Click Edit on the customer

you want to be

authenticated using Caller

ID

Enter the Caller ID at the

end of the page

(CALLERID)

Modify a2billing.conf,

change cid_enable=NO to

YES

If the customer will access

the service using thatCaller ID, A2Billing will

NOT prompt for a PIN

Add to sip.conf

#include additional_a2billing_sip.conf

Add to iax.conf

#include additional_a2billing_iax.conf

Add to extensions_custom.conf

[callingcard]

;allow phones to access trunks

include => outbound-allroutes

exten => s,1,Answer

exten => s,2,Wait,2

exten => s,3,DeadAGI,a2billing.php

exten => s,4,Wait,2

exten => s,5,Hangup

Log into A2Billing http://xxx.xxx.xxx/a2billing

CUSTOMERS -> List Customer

Click SIP or IAX on the customer you want

Click GENERATE

ADDITIONAL_A2BILLING_SIP.CONF

Click Click here to reload Asterisk Server

CUSTOMERS -> List SIP-FRIEND

Click Edit on the customer you want to modify

Change SECRET to the same value as WEBUI

PASSWORD

Change NAT to meet your requirement

Change ALLOW to meet your requirement

Last Updated ( Monday, 29 August 2011 10:33 )


5 Steps to Build Your Calling Card Billing System

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