Computers and phones have converged. They are now one and the same thing, running on the same IP network, sharing the same infrastructure and technology.
What this means for Managed Service Providers (MSPs), is that their business clients now look to them to provide telecom services such as VoIP, fixed line, mobile and data circuits, along with the regular IT services they have always provided.
Business customers want a single point of supply for their data and voice technology, so the MSP ends up becoming their telecom provider.
This is a great opportunity for MSPs to lock in new recurring revenue and margin, make their customers more “sticky” and increase the value of their businesses. However, with this new business comes the added complexity of new types of systems, but more importantly, new types of billing.
Datagate Innovation has recognized this shift in the market and the fact that a new kind of billing software is required to equip MSPs to bill telecom services automatically, accurately and in compliance with applicable taxes and laws. Datagate is a SaaS billing solution, designed for MSPs to bill telecom services and integrate with their in-house systems, to function optimally at minimal time and cost.
Integration with ConnectWise (Option)
Datagate recognized that many thousands of MSPs around the world use ConnectWise to run their businesses because it handles most of the functionality they require. However, ConnectWise does not handle telecom billing, so ConnectWise MSPs must use Datagate for this function.
Because of the large number of MSPs using both Datagate and ConnectWise, Datagate Innovation decided to integrate the systems to share customer data and make Datagate’s invoices visible to ConnectWise users, thereby giving ConnectWise users the full picture of services being provided and billed to any customer.
The objectives of the integration between the two systems, is to minimize the need for re-keying, maximize data accuracy & integrity and make ConnectWise the single “source of truth” to see data from both systems in one place.
Integration with CCH SureTax (Option) for American telecom tax
In the United States, each state, county, city and federal jurisdiction applies their own tax and compliance rules to telecom providers. This means that, depending on where a telecom customer is located, a specific set of taxes and surcharges will be applicable on their telecom invoice.
In order to deal with this complexity and make telecom billing easy, safe & compliant for MSPs, Datagate integrated with CCH SureTax, one of the leading telecom tax calculation systems. Furthermore, CCH SureTax is now included in the price of Datagate in the North American market.
Making Telecom billing easy, accurate and compliant for MSPs
Datagate is committed to a long-term strategy of enabling MSPs to sell wholesale telecom services (such as VoIP, mobile and data circuits) to their customers and bill these services on their own invoice, using their own pricing plans.
Telecom billing has mainly been the domain of larger telecom specialists, whereas now with Datagate, all MSPs can be telecom providers.
Mark Loveys 