Which call accounting software is right for you?

Call accounting software is used to monitor telephone calls lenght and cost, and associate it with the respective accounts which originated the call. This is frequently used by the hospitality industry to allocate calls to clients, both for hotel rooms or in a business environment, such as conference rooms. Choosing tghe right call accounting software will depend on your requirements as a business.

What to look for

There are different types of call accounting software vendors: generalistic ones which will do things mostly all businesses need, and those who target a specific niche and only offer features relevant for a niche, such as hotel room accounting software, or shared office space call accounting software. Your requirements
Decide on a list of things your call accounting system needs to be able to perform. This may include a call logging software system, the ability of recording outgoing calls for training purposes or being able to manage pre-paid credit for your users. If you also require other services, such as monitoring the Internet usage of your users, try to find a telecom billing software which implements this feature. Integration
If you have an existing system, be it for office accounting or in the case of a hotel, property management, you will be best served with a call accounting system which can integrate seamlessly with your existing accounting applications. Ask the vendor about it prior to purchase, since in some cases integrating the call accounting software may require a long implementation time, or specialist knowledge which is often expensive The size of your business
While it is nice to be able to grow, buying an extremely complex call accounting software intended for a big hotel when you have just a cottage with three rooms may be not only expensive, but ineffective. At the same time, if your chosen system cannot keep up with your existing volume of call,s it will not be useful and may need to be replaced with a more expensive one.

Practical considerations

Most call accounting systems require specific equipment in terms of telephone terminals and other hardware. Ask your current hardware provider Many telephone systems providers have good relationships with call management software providers. This means you could get a better price by asking your provider first. This does not mean you need to accept his recommendation if it does not suit your budget, but it's often a good place to start. Check for reviews
Once you have short-listed some providers, make sure you check for reviews before contacting their sales team. Dealing with an over-enthusiastic salesman is easier if you know what questions to ask, and can get clarification on any dubious point raised during your research.