Callshop services

A callshop is a public facility where end users come to make low-cost international calls. A customer is guided to an available phone booth (cabin) where he makes calls and pays for them at the cash desk afterwards. The callshop is managed by a callshop reseller who sets the tariffs by which the end users are charged. The callshop reseller usually employs one or more callshop operators. Callshop operators control the authorized use of the booths, collect payments and provide customers with receipts.

The following step-by-step scenario explains how a customer makes a call in a callshop and how he/she is then charged for it:

1. First, a customer is directed by a callshop operator to an available booth.
2. The callshop operator unlocks this booth to allow the customer to enter.
3. Once inside the booth, the customer dials the desired destination number(s).
4. When the call session ends, the customer leaves the booth.
5. The operator presents the customer with a receipt for the call(s) made.

This handbook demonstrates how to configure a callshop reseller who provides callshop services to end users. In the example, the callshop reseller buys traffic from another reseller – for example, ABC Shuttle. The ABC Shuttle reseller, in turn, buys traffic directly from the ITSP but does not provide callshop services.

This handbook is intended for:

• resellers who provide VoIP services to callshop owners (a callshop owner is a callshop reseller in PortaSwitch)
• callshop owners who provide callshop services to end users
• callshop operators – personnel who operate callshops

Use this checklist to check off the operations you have completed while performing the system setup according to the instructions in this chapter. Please be sure to perform all of the operations in the order designated (all of the boxes should be checked), otherwise, the service will not work.

In this handbook, we assume that the ABC Shuttle reseller has already been configured by the administrator. For detailed instructions on how to configure a reseller in PortaSwitch, please refer to the Configuring a reseller for postpaid services or Configuring a reseller for prepaid services handbooks.

Open the reseller self-care page in a browser (by default https://<your-porta-billing-server-name>:8442) and log in with the credentials that were provided to you.

Bear in mind that callshop resellers can only provide callshop services to end users (no other services may be offered).

1. In the  Participants section of the reseller self-care interface, select Callshop Resellers.
2. On the Callshop Reseller Management page, click the  Add button.
3. Fill in the Add Callshop Reseller form:

   Main form (top)

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   • Customer ID – type a short name for the callshop reseller; this will be used on the web interface.
   • Customer Class – select a customer class for this callshop reseller. A customer class is a set of various parameters which can be applied to a group of callshop resellers. By choosing a specific class here, the callshop reseller automatically inherits all of the class properties (grace period, invoice template, etc.).
   • Currency – select the currency in which this callshop reseller will be charged.
   • Permanent Credit Limit – assign a credit limit for the callshop reseller.

   Usage charges tab

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   Create the resale tariff and generate the resale tariff rates that the ABC Shuttle reseller will use for charging a callshop reseller for outgoing traffic.

   

   

   Click Clone the selected Wholesale Tariff and then click Update. The Clone Tariff dialog box opens. Fill in the Clone Tariff information fields as described below:

   • Resale Tariff Name – type the resale tariff name here.
   • Add – type a profit markup (in percentage) you wish to apply to rates in the wholesale tariff.
   • but not less than – to reduce the risk of profit loss, type a fixed markup here. It will be added to the wholesale tariff’s rates if the calculated percentage markup is less than the specified fixed markup.
   • Resale Tariff Description – type the resale tariff description.

   When you are finished, click the Clone button.

   Clone products tab

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   The product is the main instrument that defines which services a reseller can offer to their end users. To provide a callshop reseller with a product, the ABC Shuttle reseller clones one of his products. The cloned product becomes ‘at the disposal’ of the callshop reseller.

   

   

   Click the Clone button. The Clone Subreseller Product dialog box opens. Fill in the Clone Subreseller Product information fields as described below:

   • Product Name – type in a name for the callshop reseller’s product.
   • Clone Discount Plan – select this checkbox if you want to include the original product’s discount plan with the new product. Otherwise, leave it unchecked.
   • Clone All Subscription – select this checkbox if you want to include the original product’s subscription with the new product. Otherwise, leave it unchecked.
   • Clone Rates – this option is only available if the new product and the original product share the same currency. Select this checkbox if you want to clone the original product’s sales rates. Alternatively, you can create a new product without defined sales rates. To do this, leave this checkbox unchecked.
   • Convert Rates – this option is only available if the new product’s currency differs from the original product’s currency. Leave this option as is if you want to use the current exchange rate. Otherwise, adjust the current exchange rate as necessary.
     If it is impossible to automatically get the current exchange rate, the system fills this field with a 0.00 value. In this case, you need to manually enter the exchange rate.

   When you have finished, click the Clone button.

   Web self-care tab

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   Specify the credentials that the callshop reseller will use for accessing their self-care interface.

   

   • Login – type the username that the callshop reseller will use for logging in to their self-care interface.
   • Password – type the password that they will use.
   • Time Zone – choose the time zone in which the callshop reseller will see their xDRs that will also define their billing period. For example, if you select America/Vancouver here and the billing period is Monthly, the billing period will start on the first day of the month at midnight (12 am) New York time.
   • Web Interface Language – choose the language to be used on the callshop reseller self-care interface.

   Information on all other tabs is optional. A more detailed description of these tabs can be found in the Create a reseller section of the Configuring a reseller for postpaid services or Configuring a reseller for prepaid services handbooks.

4. Click  Save&Close.

Open the callshop reseller self-care page in a browser (by default https://<your-porta-billing-server-name>:8442) and log in with the credentials that were provided to you.

In order to start selling a product, the callshop reseller needs to define the rates for their sales tariff (i.e., rates that end users will be charged). Rates for the sales tariff can be defined in one of the following ways:

• Uploaded from a .csv or .xls file. The rate upload procedure is described in detail in the Rate import handbook.
• Generated during the Clone product procedure.
• Generated by applying a markup (in percentage) to rates defined in the wholesale tariff.

The rate generation procedure by applying a percentage markup is described below in this section.

To generate rates for the sales tariff, perform the following steps:

1. In the  Rating section of the callshop reseller self-care interface, choose Tariffs.
2. On the Tariff Management page, click on the sales tariff for which you want to generate rates. The Edit Tariff page opens.
3. If necessary, modify the tariff parameters. Refer to the Create a tariff for reseller’s use section of the Configuring a reseller for prepaid services handbook for more details.
4. On the Edit Tariff page, click the Generate Rates button. The Generate Rates dialog box opens.
5. In the Generate Rates dialog box, enter the following parameters:
   • Add – type a percentage markup that will be applied to the wholesale tariff rates.
   •  but not less than – to reduce the risk of profit loss, type a fixed markup here. It will be added to the wholesale tariff’s rates if the calculated percentage markup is less than the specified fixed markup.
   • Interval First – specify the first billing unit (in seconds) for the new rates. If this field is left empty, the value for the first billing unit will be taken from the wholesale tariff rates.
   • Interval Next – specify the next billing unit (in seconds) for the new rates. If this field is left empty, the value for the next billing unit will be taken from the wholesale tariff rates.
6. Click OK.

A callshop represents a public facility where customers can come to make low-cost international calls and pay for them afterwards. Each callshop reseller can have multiple callshops.

1. In the  Participants section of the callshop reseller self-care interface, choose Callshops.
2. On the My Callshops page, click  Add.
3. Fill in the Add Callshop form:

   Main form (top)

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   • Customer ID – short name for the callshop; this will be used on the web interface.
   • Customer Class – select a customer class for this callshop. A customer class is a set of various parameters that can be applied to a group of callshops. The callshop will automatically inherit all of the class properties, such as currency rounding up rate, statistics generation, etc.
   • Blocked – blocks all booths in this callshop (i.e., if this checkbox is checked, all booths in this callshop will become unusable). Leave this check-box unselected.
   • Product – select a product for this callshop.
   • Currency – this field is read-only and displays the currency in which end users will be charged. The currency value is taken from the product assigned to this callshop.

   Other information fields in the New Callshop form are optional and do not need to be specified during callshop creation.

4. Click  Save&Close.

Now you can create booths for your callshop.

1. In the  Participants section of the callshop reseller self-care interface, choose Callshops.
2. On the My Callshops page, click the Booth icon next to the callshop for which you want to generate booths. The Booths Management page opens.
3. On the Booths Management page, click  Generate. The Generate Booths dialog box opens.
4. In the Generate Booths dialog box, enter the number of booths to be used in this callshop.
5. Click OK.

Callshop operators are the personnel who operate callshops and perform such duties as: control the authorized use of booths, collect payments from customers and provide customers with receipts.

1. In the  CC Staff section of the callshop reseller self-care interface, choose Callshop Operators. The Operator Management page opens.
2. On the Operator Management page, click  Add.
3. Fill in the New Callshop Operator form:

• Callshop – select a callshop that the callshop operator will operate.
• Login – type the username that the callshop operator will use to log in to their self-care interface.
• Password – type the password that the callshop operator will use to log in to their self-care interface.
• Time Zone – specify the time zone in which the callshop operator will see the xDRs.
• Web Interface Language – select the language to be used on the callshop operator self-care interface.

Now your callshop is configured and ready to operate. The guidelines on how to operate a callshop are outlined in the sections below.

To quickly respond to shifting market demands, callshop resellers can easily adapt their sales rates by changing products in their callshops. Once a new product is chosen, this new product is assigned to all booths in this callshop.

1. On the Edit Callshop page, open the Product dropdown list.
2. Choose the desired product from the list and click  Save&Close.

Open the callshop operator self-care page in a browser (by default https://<your-porta-billing-server-name>:8446) and log in with the credentials that were provided to you.

A customer comes to the callshop to make calls. Unlock a booth for him/her.

1. In the  Participants section of the callshop operator self-care interface, choose Booths. The Booths Management page opens.
2. On the Booths Management page, choose a free booth and click the Click to Unlock icon to unlock the booth. The customer can then make calls to desired destinations.
3. Once the customer leaves the booth, to prevent unauthorized use of the booth, click the Click to Lock icon to lock it.

Present the customer with the receipt for the call(s) made in the booth.

1. On the Booths Management page, click the  Checkout icon for the booth from which the calls were made. The Booth Call Summary dialog box opens.
2. In the Booth Call Summary dialog box, check/fill in the following information fields:
   • Total Call Charges – this shows the total charges for the calls made from the booth.
   • Rounded Charges – this shows the total charges rounded up to the value specified for this callshop. For example, setting the rounding up value to 0.05 will round up 1.26 to 1.30; setting it to 1.00 will round up 1.26 to 2.00.
   • Additional Charges – this presents additional charges a callshop operator may add to the customer’s bill (such as internet usage or a cup of coffee).
   • Amount Due – this shows the total amount the customer must pay.
   • Amount Paid – this shows the amount paid by the customer.
   • Change Due – this calculates the change the operator returns to the customer.
3. Click the Pay button to submit the payment information and then click the Print button to print the receipt.
4. Collect payments from the customer, return change and provide him/her with a receipt.