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CDR Manual - Genesis Systems

1. Only if you want to use the Equipment Inventory Package If you wish to inventory and trace any telephone equipment or features to individual extensions for cost allocation purposes then you should complete this section prior to entering any extension information How does it work In medium to large size companies tracking and controlling your inventory of telephone equipment can be difficult Without some means of recording who has what you can quickly lose track of how the telephone equipment has been allocated Keeping manual records on paper is a very time consuming job that is often forgotten Your records soon become outdated This Equipment Inventory package allows you to control the distribution of your telephone equipment and calling features for individual extensions Common Equipment inventory may be recorded as well Virtually any feature equipment item etc can be associated with a particular extension s or just considered common equipment shared by all extensions Customized equipment reports can then be generated The screen allows you to sort the list by column headings and to search for a specific value To search for a specific value enter the value partial matches are applied and click search You can then use the column headings to sort your search results Clicking clear removes the search criteria and displays the entire list If your system is new then as you build the extension file you will identify the equipmen
2. cccccsccsecsccssecaccsassacceccdssetscassasvesecuacescsacshecsasesscdccensedeceecapabsachadsacdacchacesdusasheceadedsadacawesduasssncagcnay 29 Create Restore Backup Copie Sindrason nsii inean aaa a ia anea ara eia n aaae hiri riiai ia 30 Setting Hourly D COU Se a a a aaa a a a aaa AAA Eaa AAA Sanat laces sbi AEAEE Ea AEA spleens Aa E iaiaaeaia 31 Setting Access COES ainne e e o e a A tc 31 Setting Data Collection Parameters cccccccssscccsssscecessseecescseeccccsaseecessseeeeseeeaeeceeesaaeeceseeeeeeseeaececeseaaeeceseseeeeeeeeaeees 32 Call Processing Characteristics A A AT a E o dnd 34 Printing Reports and Listing S tereraa nattte annaa lados 36 Printing Hotel Motel Reports unicas ideada nidos 40 Viewing Rate Table Information cccssscccccsssseccssssseeccesseceecsseeeeecseesssececssaeeecesseeeeceseaaecesesaaeeeseeesseseeeeaaecesesaueeeeeeeeees 42 Recosting Galls inc A T S EET 42 Part 3 COPS TolllFraud ci read A tele hy a ae cee A Acco Sh More thas sre nee 42 COPS Toll Fraud Module sico edi 43 Part4 Genesis Diagnostics eii Aa is 44 DINOS A a aiii 45 PPPONGiCes sii E ease caie ee E A gash Meee ea 48 Remote Site Polling aiii alicia aida lead caidas 49 Installing the Multi Switchboard Version ooconocccoonncnonnnnonacanonanonanannnananananccnnnacnnnnccnn cacon ona cnn nana a nano nn nana ncnanancnanannnnnss 51 Configuring the PMS Interface cccssccccccsssecessseeccsssseecccssasecessseeeecseeeeecceeeaeeceseseeeecece
3. After you have entered your company hierarchy you can easily assign your extensions to the appropriate Department by clicking on the name in the tree you have built Any changes to the Extension File take effect immediately If you are changing the hierarchy that a particular extension is assigned to e g moving an extension to a different department then all calls from the beginning of the current reporting period will be re allocated based on your current changes Previous reporting periods must be re cost if you require these changes to be retro active Entering Dialed Digits Information Entering Dialed Digits Information Do really need to read this section No unless special billing or handling is required for a particular telephone number Normally you would contact your support center before making any entries here It is critical the features discussed in this section be completed correctly as serious call billing errors could result How does it work The Dialed Digits feature provides you with three extremely powerful tools 1 It allows you to optionally change the actual dialed digits reported in the call records from one telephone number to another The call is then billed according to the replacement telephone number This feature is especially useful when used with switchboards that report only speed call codes instead of the actual telephone number It allows you to specify a special Surcharge Markup and
4. Check with your telephone company and switchboard vendor if you are unsure Ring Seconds is the number of seconds that will be subtracted from the call duration once a call has exceeded the Minimum Seconds threshold The difference between Minimum Seconds and Ring Seconds is that Minimum Seconds determine whether a call should be costed and Ring Seconds is the amount of time to be subtracted from the reported call duration to allow for the called telephone to be answered The Ring Seconds must be less than the Minimum Seconds value If your telephone company provides you with Answer Supervision and your telephone system is capable of processing it you should set the Ring Seconds value to zero as the durations reported in the calls received from your switchboard will be the actual durations of the calls Check with your telephone company and switchboard vendor if you are unsure Some helpful hints The system will allow up to 9 different Call Timers Tables to be used simultaneously This allows you to have completely different sets of call timers for different trunks or groups of trunks For example you may wish to have a different set of call timers for your Tie lines where call set up times are generally longer For your convenience you can also specify individual table descriptions for easier tracking You will notice that different Minimum Call Seconds and Ring Time Seconds can be applied by call type category This improves billing accurac
5. The number of call records in any file varies greatly with the particular site at which the system is installed The size of the telephone switch the type of business and the type of call records being kept by the system are just some of the factors which determine the size of the file Since the size of the file varies so much the method for archiving it will have to be determined by the user Here are some storage possibilities Read write CD s Network Drive Tape Removable storage devices De archiving and Running Reports on Old Call Records Now that the call records are safely stored away there may come a time when you will need to retrieve them and run reports The process is simple Just copy your old call record file s back into the genroot cdr folder Indexes may need to be created by the system before any reports can be run This will be determined automatically be the system when you attempt to run reports The system will then advise you that it has to build the indexes first This process could take several minutes to complete depending on the size of the files and the speed of your computer
6. etc would be changed to ABC Company regardless of any extra trailing Account Code digits This feature is commonly used with lawyers and accountants where part of the Account Code they enter is the client number and part is the matter number Replace Leading Digits optional this option allows just the leading digits of the original account code to be replaced with the replacement digits and the rest of the number is left intact The number of replacement digits specified determines how many of the original digits are replaced Surcharge Table Number optional allows a special Surcharge and Tax table to be applied when billing a call record containing this account code Remember the higher the Surcharge table number 1 9 the higher the priority of the Surcharge table over other tables that may qualify Any Account Code changes take effect immediately Capture All Calls Feature Capture All Calls Feature Professional Version Only Do really need to read this section No the system defaults to always storing Long Distance outgoing calls If you want local incoming or incomplete calls normally billed at zero and dropped by the system to be retained for reporting purposes then you must complete this section A common mistake is that users assume that the Capture All Calls feature must be turned ON in order for the Traffic Reports to collect all call data This is false as Traffic Statistics are accumulated regardless How
7. Applications The 1980s 1990s gave birth to a new era of cost consciousness in companies of all sizes Companies can no longer let operating expenses escalate without some means of monitoring and controlling them Until recently corporate telephone costs from both time and money have represented one of the most expensive and yet hardest to control areas of corporate expenditures This package gives you that control Some companies have attempted to control and allocate their telephone expenditures using various manual methods In addition to being costly and ineffective none of the manual methods provided for the proper allocation of telephone calls placed over fixed rate facilities or provided any means of traffic measurement Also none of these methods permit the distribution of telephone equipment charges to division departments and extensions Hence the need for a computerized telephone management like this one Back Hotel and Motel Applications Hotels and Motels are heavy users of this package Many are using it to allow their guests to make 1 telephone number as opposed to strictly 0 telephone number calls DDD as opposed to operator assisted In some cases the telephone call information is sent directly to the hotel motel s computerized Property Management System PMS that can be running on the same computer or a different computer located elsewhere In the hotel motel environment it can generate significant rev
8. How does ACK NAK Protocol work Records will be sent from the Call Accounting software and the PMS will respond to these records by acknowledging that the record was received properly or by sending a signal that the record was not received properly The next call record may be sent if the acknowledgment is received by the system from the PMS or if there was an error or no response from PMS the current record is sent again ACK NAK refers to the characters used to acknowledge receipt of data from another system e The ACK Acknowledge character is defined as ASCII 6 CTRL F e The NAK Negative Acknowledge character is defined as ASCII 21 CTRL U These characters will be sent by the PMS and not the Call Accounting system because only the Call Accounting system checks for these characters When using ACK NAK protocol and a NAK or no response is received from the PMS the records are written temporarily to the disk file called PMSQUEUE 001 for future transmission This routine is designed to recover from power failures and to allow records to be saved in case the PMS does not respond or cannot process records as fast as this software produces them After recovering from a power failure or when the PMS starts responding again all records stored in PMSQUEUE 001 will be sent to the PMS After all records in PMSQUEUE 001 have been sent the system deletes the file a Normal Interface Activity Typically the communication on the interfac
9. Tax Table to be used when billing particular telephone numbers It allows you to specify special call billing rates for specific telephone numbers Area Codes States or Provinces or Countries These special rates will be used instead of the ones contained in your system s rate table So basically this feature allows you to create your own custom rate table that over rides the system s rate table when billing specific telephone numbers This screen allows you to sort the list by column headings and to search for a specific value To search for a specific value enter the value partial matches are applied and click search You can then use the column headings to sort your search results Clicking clear removes the search criteria and displays the entire list What terms do I need to understand Original Dialed Digits is the actual telephone number or speed call code reported by your switchboard in the raw call records minus any access codes like 9 82 etc but including any dialing prefixes like O or 1 It can also contain the 2 character state province abbreviation like TX WA BC or three character country abbreviation like USA CAN CBI that you want the rates entered into this table to apply to Replacement Digits optional is the actual telephone number or portion thereof that you want to use as the replacement number The call is then billed according to the Replacement Digits If this field is skipped the original diall
10. Typically just the Data Collection Module is installed on a remote computer that has a static P address non changing The collection module actively collects call data at the remote site from the source and saves it in disks files until a command is sent from the host computer to transmit the call data over the network back to the host site You must specify the Static IP address and port number used by the remote computer running the Data Collection Module so the host computer knows where to go to locate the call data Collect Call Records using a Custom Program This option is used when a special program is required to extract call record data from your telephone system A special instruction sheet accompanies your system CD providing special instructions if any to enable this feature You must specify the custom program name supplied by us and the time interval that the program is to be run to extract the calls records Pressing the lt Properties gt button will display the any additional special settings for the particular program you require Special configuration or setup may also be required to the telephone system to enable this feature to work depending on your system s requirements Refer to the enclosed instructions Call Processing Characteristics Setting Misc Call Processing Characteristics Do really need to read this section No not unless you need to make specific system operational changes Prior to making any cha
11. aligns with your telephone company s billing date 2 Never select 29 30 or 31 as your Monthend date because these dates do not occur in some months The Automatic Monthend cycle will happen during the midnight cycle AT MIDNIGHT ON THE DATE YOU HAVE SPECIFIED SO ENSURE YOUR PC IS LEFT RUNNING OVERNIGHT SO THIS CYCLE CAN EXECUTE How do Manual Monthends work Manual Monthends can be performed at any time by simply specifying the Period Starting and Ending dates you wish to use The system will perform a Monthend using the dates you entered manually either right now or at the next midnight cycle Another important feature with Manual Monthends is that it can be used to over ride your Automatic Monthends if required For example in the event you are using Automatic Monthends and for some reason your system fails to perform your Automatic Monthend e g the computer was turned OFF that night you can manually force a Monthend by specifying the Period Starting and Ending dates When performing Manual Monthends any call data occurring AFTER the specified Period Ending Date will remain in the current month s call accumulation file Any call data occurring BEFORE the specified Period Starting Date will be stored in a separate previous month file How do Delete Previous Months Call Data By default the system does not automatically delete any previous or current month s call data files Normally you must manually select the periods y
12. alpha numeric characters to describe the names of each division department cost centre etc that makes up your company s hierarchy These names will be printed on your reports Extension Number The actual Extension Number assigned by your switchboard The system permits Extension Numbers to be up to seven alpha numeric characters Any letters reported in the extension number received from your switchboard are normally stripped off For example your switchboard may report Extension number 4401 as DN4401 When you entering the information into the system DN4401 must be entered as just 4401 Identifying any extension names or numbers to the system is optional If not identified the system will still track calls for the extensions Hourly traffic information may not be printed as discussed earlier in this section You can always go back at a later time and assign extensions Extension type optional is used to determine what type of extension this really is You can distinguish between Normal extensions Hotel Room extensions Fax Machines and Telephone Trunks This is important in some cases because Hotel rooms when configuring the PMS interface you may wish to only send calls made from hotel rooms to your PMS system thus excluding calls from administration extensions Fax machines by defining any local as a fax machine you can have separate Call Timer values Ring Seconds and Minimum Seconds apply to calls made from this extension
13. and data bits must be set exactly to the same settings as the remote buffer box uses for transmitting Failure to get this correct could result in polling failure The polling software at the central site must be set to receive data with even parity and seven data bits because the E COMMS buffer box will only respond to these settings Buffer Box Type select the E COMMS buffer box type from the list Contact your technical support center first before using any other make Software Installation Instructions main site If you are installing polling software there will be one extra diskette for each of the polled sites and some additional instructions Follow the instructions below Step 1 Install the regular system software disks 1 2 3 etc and the remote site disks as discussed in the Installation section if you have not already done so Step 2 Type SITE to bring up the site selection menu From here you can select the site you wish to configure Step 3 Select Adjust Control Settings then choose Set Data Collection Parameters and enter the polling information for this remote site Step 4 Repeat for each site You must configure all sites as they are completely different systems You must also enter the site specific information such as Trunk Numbers Division Department and Extension information for each site Buffer Box Installation Instructions remote site The following instructions discuss configuration and instal
14. calculated based on your current settings If selected the Drop zero cost calls like local calls then only calls with a legitimate cost are retained during the re costing process with the exception of Operator assisted calls that are always retained by the system Part 3 COPS Toll Fraud Part 3 COPS Toll Fraud What is the COPS Toll Fraud Module What action does it take What is on the COPS status screen How do set my COPS Parameters How do print COPS Toll Fraud Reports Helpful hints COPS Toll Fraud Module COPS Toll Fraud Module What is the COPS Toll Fraud module Telephone fraud is becoming a major concern to many system users A better means to control telephone abuse AS IT HAPPENS is often required as opposed to examining reports at month end Your system is equipped with a very powerful Toll Fraud tracking module called COPS Control Over Phone System COPS can be used by anyone who wants immediate notification when a call meeting certain user defined characteristics is completed COPS is useful in all environments from small motels to large government offices or corporations Use of the COPS Toll Fraud module is completely optional An optional COPS Interrogator package is available for Nortel PABX that works with the basic COPS module to actually detect and disconnect fraudulent calls in progress Contact your dealer for more details Without COPS system users would normally wait until they run their month
15. cell number pager number address etc Email address and comments fields are also available 18 CLID Reporting when available from your switchboard the incoming caller s telephone number is shown on your reports 19 20 21 22 23 24 Switch Maintenance Software Integration f you have purchased our software for performing Moves Adds and Changes to your PABX MAC s then the extension information can be automatically shared between the two packages eliminating dual entry and maintenance of information NANP OCC Prefix and Telco Dialing Features The system recognizes calls using the new North American Numbering Plan alternate carrier prefix dialing codes and Telephone Company dialing features like 67 69 etc Power Failure Recovery The software software fully recovers from power failures without user intervention Full Trouble Reporting Full comprehensive Trouble Reporting is included so reporting a problem is as simple as running a report and emailing or faxing it to your support centre Password Security Multiple levels of password security are included where access is denied to certain areas of the system until the correct password is entered The system continues to process calls while waiting for the correct password Annual Software Maintenance Program you can subscribe to our Annual Software Maintenance program that ensures you will always have the most current telephone rates pr
16. does it work In addition to saving long distance calls the system can capture Local Incoming or All call information using the Capture All Calls feature The Capture All Calls feature allows retaining of local incoming or all call s information in addition to long distance for ALL extensions or any preselected mixture of extensions trunks and divisions or departments This feature will only work if your switchboard has been programmed to report call detail records on ALL calls whether local incoming and long distance This feature is especially useful for performing random checks throughout the month on extension or trunk activity You may wish to ignore this feature until after your system has been operational for a while Helpful hints Remember when using this option you will use more hard disk space to store the extra calls being retained by your system Generally if only a few extensions are affected the additional storage requirements will be nominal However if you wish to use this feature for all e g several hundred extensions you should ensure you have enough free disk space for the extra call storage Remember your switchboard must be configured to send ALL call detail information before this feature will operate properly What terms do I need to understand Keep Local Calls Activating this feature will force the system to store local outgoing calls for reporting purposes Local calls are normally not store
17. end reports before looking for unusual calls By this time the calls are usually old and it can be difficult to trace a call to its source Now with COPS you can follow up on those suspect calls and take action immediately You define what constitutes a fraudulent call What action does COPS take COPS works when your system is running and collecting call data from your switchboard Basically it examines each call as it is received from your switchboard to see if it matches any of the Toll Fraud parameters you have entered If a call matches your parameters the following actions can be taken flip immediately to the COPS screen and display the suspect call s beep continuously until a key on the keyboard is depressed as an acknowledgement that you are aware of the call dial a pager telephone number send an email to a Distribution List recipient disconnect the call if your switchboard is a Nortel PABX and you have purchased the optional COPS Interrogator package send a text message to a mobile device such as a cellular phone or pager IT 1S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT COPS WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO NOTIFY YOU IN REAL TIME IF YOUR SYSTEM IS ALWAYS ACTIVELY COLLECTING CALL DATA FROM YOUR TELEPHONE SYSTEM Otherwise the calls will still be tracked and you will still be notified BUT this will only happen when the call data is received and processed by the software What is on the COPS Toll Fraud Status Screen Daily Totals T
18. existing internal fax modem E Computer s serial port is defective F Switchboard is not programmed to send call data G Error message Cannot find GCOM Calls will not be collected H Other offending software running on the PC simultaneously Buffer Box systems PAUSE button is ON or cables have been disconnected Problems A B Cabled incorrectly from switchboard so that switch will not send data only Pins 3 7 required otherwise you must strap any others at the switchboard end of the cable OR Pins 2 and 3 need to be reversed Solutions 1 If this is a brand new installation then check the Switchboard s SMDR specifications and cabling requirements You may need to strap certain pins together AT THE SWITCH END or reverse pins 2 amp 3 transmit amp receive data 2 Check the SMDR CDR cable running from your switchboard to your computer to ensure it has not been disconnected damaged shorted or come loose from the PC or the switchboard or it is plugged into the wrong serial port on your computer 3 The switchboard CDR SMDR card may be defective This can occur due to power surges grounding problems and electric phase problems Problem C Speed parity and data bits don t match switchboard CDR output Sometimes the CDR port is programmed or re programmed to send data at a different speed than your system is expecting Solution Determine what speed your switchboard is using when transmitting data If it is diff
19. files for the next reporting period The previous month s call record files remain in your system until you manually delete them Five output options are available to you for your reports display the report on the screen print the report on the printer write the report to a disk file email the report distribution list name 1 Display the report on the screen If you choose to display the reports on the screen you will notice some data fields normally seen on the printed reports are missing This happens because the screen is not wide enough to display all the fields on one line Therefore you may have to print the report on the printer email or write it to a disk file to get all the desired data fields 2 Print the report on the printer If you have chosen to print the reports on the printer all data fields are printed 3 Write the report to a disk file If disk file output is selected the system asks for the name of the file to which the report will be written The system will generate the three digit file suffix like 001 depending on how many sites you have If you are a single site then all your data file suffixes end with 001 4 Email Professional series only If this option is selected reports will emailed to the recipient Naturally for this option to work your PC must have an internet connection and the Email Settings screen in the system must be correctly completed You can simply click on the email de
20. information is displayed summarized by Department Account Code Area Code etc depending on which report you have selected 2 Detail Reports where the actual detail of the calls is displayed like date time duration number dialed account code cost etc A total line is given at the end of each report 3 Custom Reports Professional series only are summary detail or traffic reports you have created using call selection parameters and then named to a custom name for future report printing 4 Listings where just configuration information you have entered into your system is displayed like extension division department trunk names 5 Traffic Reports Professional series only where peg counts of call traffic and durations are displayed by hour of day and day of week The Call Traffic reports show ALL call traffic not just long distance REGARDLESS of whether you are charging for local calls and incoming calls OR have the Capture All Calls feature turned ON How do Print Reports Manually You can print any report manually upon request Simply select the period s you wish to print reports for If you wish to include several periods calls on your reports simply check the desired periods You can print reports for either the current or any previous reporting period at any time At midnight on the day you have chosen to be your month end date the system will close all current call record collection files and open new
21. is primarily used in hotels it can be used anywhere you wish calls to be billed to an alternate extension number The system defaults to billing a call to the original extension placing the call as reported in the raw call records IF THE ORIGINAL EXTENSION AND THE BILL TO EXTENSION POINT TO DIFFERENT SURCHARGE AND TAX TABLES REMEMBER THE HIGHEST SURCHARGE AND TAX TABLE NUMBER GETS APPLIED The original extension no the call was placed from also appears on your reports Comments general optional is a 40 character alpha numeric miscellaneous editorial created by you Typically this comment field would contain information that would be common to the primary and any secondary extension names ie Room Names or Numbers etc Equipment Codes optional is the six character code describing each different equipment piece or calling feature to be allocated to this extension You must have completed Entering Equipment List before you can use this feature Switch Maintenance Interface synchronize Options If you have purchased our switch maintenance package for performing Moves Adds and Changes to Nortel PABX s then extension information can be exchanged between packages without the need for dual entry You can select Do nothing where information is not shared for this extension between the Switch Maintenance and Call Accounting packages Import from MAC Package where extension name information is obtained from the CPND Calling Party Na
22. or an optional Buffer Box How does it work Due to the ever increasing methods employed by telephone system manufacturers of sending CDR information from their telephone equipment we have enhanced our programs to accept call data from numerous different sources and methods A brief explanation of the Set Data Collection Parameters screen follows This section discusses how to set up the serial port s TCP IP ports Nortel BCM Cisco or other custom collection programs or a remote GCOM collection program to be used by your system for collecting raw call information The items discussed below apply to both Primary and Secondary data collection ports If you are collecting call data from only one source your switchboard then you can completely ignore any references to the Secondary Port However if you have purchased the Internet Useage Interface or Multi Switchboard options that require a second port for call collection you may be required to activate the Secondary Port Also refer to separate installation instructions for Buffer boxes and the Appendices in this manual for more information when installing Multi Switchboard versions and the Internet Usage option for more information What terms do I need to understand Primary Port is the port used by the system to collect raw call data from your phone system Either serial TCP IP Nortel BCM Cisco or custom programs or a remote GCOM can be used depending on your telephone
23. partial matches are applied and click search You can then use the column headings to sort your search results Clicking clear removes the search criteria and displays the entire list Account Code handling is the topic covered in this section Refer to Entering Extension Information for details on special Authorization Code handling You must determine which of the two applications applies to you then complete the appropriate section in the manual What terms do I need to understand Original Account Code is the actual Account Code typically numeric that the user dials when placing the call This number is reported exactly as dialed by the user in the raw call detail records collected by the system The system can handle variable length alpha numeric Account Codes up to 14 digits Replacement Account Code optional is the replacement alpha numeric Account Code up to 14 characters in length that you wish to appear on your reports This feature allows you to replace the project client or employee account number with an actual alpha numeric name Apply on Partial Match optional allows the Replacement Account Code value to be substituted even on a partial left to right match of the Original Account Code For example if an Original Account Code was entered as 1234 and a Replacement Account Code was defined as ABC Company and Apply on partial match was desired all Account Codes starting with 1234 like 12349876 12346654
24. system Special instructions for configuring your collection port may accompany your CD depending on your telephone system s make and model Secondary Port Number this is the second optional port used by the system to collect call data from a second switchboard Multi Switchboard version or Internet Usage from an Internet Service package You must purchase the these options first for this feature to work Refer to the appropriate appendices for more information Export data from this computer Gcom used at a remote site only is only used under special circumstances and under the assistance of technical support staff where data needs to be accumulated at a centralized site Basically this setting allows the Data Collection Module Gcom installed at a REMOTE SITE location to transmit call data it has collected and saved to a host computer also running the Gcom collection module like Gcom talking to Gcom You must specify just the Port Number to be used by the remote computer to transmit the call data to the host computer This Port Number must exactly match the Port Number setting on the host computer s Collect Data from a Remote Computer discussed below An IP address is not required here because the remote computer doesn t care what the IP address is of the host computer just the port number the host computer wants the data to be made available on Remember setting is for exporting call data from this computer not collecting it Collect
25. that time they will be reassigned to their proper divisions and departments Entering Trunk Information Entering Trunk Information Professional Version Only Do really need to read this section You may ignore this section completely if all your trunks are Central Office two way trunks and just regular DDD call costing is required The system will automatically add your trunk numbers to the system files under the C2WAY category for reporting purposes This section explains how to configure the system with all the different types of telephone trunks lines or facilities that your company may use This section is not for the novice it is one of the most difficult sections in this manual The screen allows you to sort the list by column headings and to search for a specific value To search for a specific value enter the value partial matches are applied and click search You can then use the column headings to sort your search results Clicking clear removes the search criteria and displays the entire list What are Trunks A telephone line or trunk is simply the line run into your office building or home that connects your telephone system to the outside world The most common type of telephone line is called a CO Central Office trunk However based on your company s size or needs your company may use any combination of CO WATS Tie FX or Miscellaneous trunks in their telephone network The WATS trunk category although still pr
26. the call records There are numerous record formats available so it is imperative you select the one that matches your PMS The 3 most common formats are discussed here If none of those formats matches your PMS requirements then contact technical support for more information Hotel ID and Checksum allows you to change the 3 character ID and specify whether to a append checksum append an XOR checksum or no checksum You MUST IGNORE these and leave these fields blank unless advised by technical support Send Calls to PMS this setting allows you to select the type of records that you wish to be sent to the Property Management System You can select records from administration phones only hotel rooms only or all records be sent to your PMS The type of record e g Room versus Administration is determined from the Extension type entry in the extension file screen Protocol is the protocol to be used when transmitting records to the PMS computer to ensure the record is received intact There are numerous different protocols Our software uses of the most common protocols ACK NAK and ENQ ACK NAK You may also select none if no protocol is available The only problem with no protocol is that there is no way of knowing if the PMS computer is ready to receive call information or if it received it intact PMS timeout is the number of seconds this software will wait before re transmitting a call record to the PMS if no response is recei
27. the Send a test pattern option Place some test calls and see if any data is displayed on the screen b If you see clean data then the switchboard and the PC are operating correctly Check the data collection settings in the software menus c If you see data but it is garbled then try again using different data settings When the data looks clean make note of the current settings and check the Set data collection settings in the software menus and enter the correct settings d If no data is seen and you know the computer s port is operational from Step 1 then the problem lies with the switchboard Contact your switchboard vendor for help Appendices Appendices e Installing Remote Site Polling e How does Remote Site Polling work What terms do need to understand Software Installation Instructions main site Buffer Box Installation Instructions remote site Additional Notes e Installing the Multi Switchboard Version e Configuring the PMS Interface e Whatis a PMS Interface What terms do need to understand How does ACK NAK Protocol work What are the record formats Installation Instructions e Exporting Calls to Other Programs e Option 1 Batch Mode e Option 2 Real time Mode e Archiving amp De archiving Call Records e Archiving e De archiving Remote Site Polling Remote Site Polling How does Remote Site Polling work The Remote Site Polling option allows call detail information to be poll
28. the call The original extension no the call was placed from also appears on the reports The software supports up to 14 character Authorization Codes Email Address is an optional field that contains the email address if any of this extension entry Comments individual optional is a 40 character alpha numeric miscellaneous editorial created by you Typically this comment field would contain information that would only pertain to the individual primary and any secondary extension name Description and Value fields are user determined fields up to 10 different ones that can be used to enter additional information about each individual extension name You determine the label name to be used under the Description column such as Home Phone No etc and also the information entered into the Value field The Description Label once entered is common to all extension names Some helpful hints 1 If this is a hotel or motel installation all extensions will default to extension type Hotel for hotel room Although it is advisable but not necessary to define each hotel room extension in the system you must at least identify the administration extensions especially if you have a Property Management System PMS and you only wish calls placed from hotel rooms to be transmitted and posted to the PMS Setting the extension type allows the system to determine which calls are placed from hotel rooms If you plan to use a Surcharge Tax tabl
29. you should contact your system dealer for further information as changes are constantly being made in this area This section discusses the various different settings on the SET PMS Parameters screen and how configure it Installing and configuring PMS Interfaces can be extremely difficult However once installed correctly they operate with little or no user or technician involvement If you are experiencing problems during the installation please call us for help What terms do I need to understand PMS Port Number is the port number COMI 2 3 or 4 that will be used by the system to send records to your PMS computer Remember you must have at least 2 serial ports in your system for this option to work one port for receiving the call information from your switchboard and the other port is for sending the costed call information to your PMS computer Speed is the transmission speed to be used by the system when sending the call information to the PMS computer Typically 300 1200 2400 and 9600 bps are most common Parity is the parity to be used by the system when sending the call information to the PMS computer Valid settings are N none E even O odd M mark and S space Data Bits is the number of data bits to be used by the system when sending the call information to the PMS computer Valid settings are 7 and 8 data bits Output Record Format is the actual format you require the system to use when transmitting
30. Billing Seconds is 30 and the Increment Billing Seconds is 6 Monthly Line Rental is the actual line rental charge you pay the telephone company each month Do not confuse this with any bulk rates where you pay a flat rate for hours of usage Apply Monthly Rental to Calls at Month End Allows a portion of the line rental charge discussed above to be added on to the cost of each call during the system s month end cycle This amount is only added once at month end to each call using this trunk and is therefore not desirable for hotel motel sites The actual amount added is computed by dividing the Monthly Line Rental by the Total Number of Minutes of usage on this trunk The resulting rate per minute is then added to the cost of each call using that trunk Rate Table Name When special billing or discounting of calls is required other than the regular DDD for your area a special Auxiliary Rate Table can be ordered from your supplier You may be required to supply billing information to aid in the creation of this table Once you have received your table a special rate table name may need to be added here to activate it A separate instruction sheet will accompany the table to help you Discount File Name is the name of the discount file if any to be used with the auxiliary rate table discussed above Instructions to activate both auxiliary rate tables and discount tables are supplied with the diskette Discount Plans are special bul
31. Call Records from a Serial Port Serial Port Number You must enter the PC COM port number 1 2 3 etc to be used by the system to collect this data The system defaults to COM1 Speed is the data transmission speed used when receiving call records from your phone system Valid settings are 300 1200 2400 4800 9600 19200 and 38400 bps Parity is the parity used when receiving the call information The valid settings are N for None E for Even O for Odd M for Mark and S for Space Data Bits valid settings are 7 and 8 data bits Buffer Box installed must be activated if you have installed an external buffer box with the system You must also set the Protocol Used discussed below to Continuous XON This must be done to enable special hand shaking between the buffer box and your PC Failure to set this will result in call data information staying in your buffer box and never being processed causing the buffer to eventually fill and overflow Protocol Used is the protocol used or required by your data collection device buffer box or telephone system if any when transmitting call information to this system This setting should never be changed unless you have received special instructions from us Current valid settings are None default setting used under most conditions Continuous XON most commonly used when a buffer box has been installed Echo back incoming data required by some telephone systems to se
32. Charge and is not too commonly used now First Interval Length seconds optional but must be used if a First Interval Rate has been specified is the number of seconds in the first billing interval Typically the first interval length is 60 seconds unless your long distance carrier or you wish to bill calls using some other interval like 30 or 6 seconds Second Interval Rate cents optional is the rate in cents you wish to bill calls based on the Original or Replacement digits discussed above for the second period of time normally 60 seconds This feature allows you to charge a different rate for each additional time period minute if desired Many telephone companies charge less for the second time periods minute than the first Second Interval Length seconds optional but must be used if a Second Interval Rate has been specified is the number of seconds in the second billing interval Typically the second interval length is 60 seconds unless your long distance carrier or you wish to bill calls using some other interval like 30 or 6 seconds Minimum Charge optional is the minimum amount that the call will be billed regardless of the actual calculated cost of the call For example a call lasting 1 minute would normally be billed at 45 cents But after all time of day discounts were calculated the call is actually billed at 23 cents With a minimum Charge of 35 cents specified the call will be billed at 35 cents rather tha
33. DR records continuously e g 6 with 20 or 4 with 5 Check your phone system s documentation if you need further information PABX CDR Computer COM Computer COM Port 25 pin Port 25 pin Port 9 pin Transmit 2 or 3 3 2 Ground T 7 5 Step T Program the switchboard to send ALL call records at the speed and parity you previously set Sending ALL call records ensures accurate Traffic reports and the ability to monitor local amp incoming calls Step 8 Click on the desktop icon and enter the system You should now see call records being displayed on the screen as they occur If your phone system is not very busy place a test long distance call at least 1 minute and watch for the record to appear on the screen when you hang up Step 9 If your switchboard attaches Access Codes and Alternate Carrier Codes or Telephone Feature Dialing Prefixes other than 66 67 69 which have already been added to your system s configuration directly onto the front of the dialed digits then you must enter them into the Access Codes screen YOU MUST IGNORE THIS STEP IF THESE CODES ARE NOT ATTACHED DIRECTLY TO THE FRONT OF THE DIALED DIGITS OR IF THEY ARE SEPARATED FROM THE DI GI TS BY SPACES OTHERWISE CALL COSTING ERRORS WI LL OCCUR If you are installing this on an SL 1 Meridian 1 then you should enter the access codes here This info
34. Genesis Professional 8 Express User s Manual Topics Covered Introduction Part 1 Installing the Software Part 2 Using the Software Part 3 COPS Toll Fraud Part 4 General Diagnostics Appendices Copyright notice Genesis Copyright 8 Trademark Notice Copyright O 1985 2007 Genesis Systems Corporation Langley B C Canada Information in this document is subject to change without notice or commitment by Genesis Systems Corporation No portion of this manual may be reproduced in any form by any means without the prior written consent of Genesis Systems Corporation The Genesis Telephone Management System Professional Express software programs are copyright 1985 2007 by Genesis Systems Corporation The software described in this document is distributed on an individual sales basis for the personal use of the original purchaser only Further the software described in this document is distributed under a license agreement and a non disclosure agreement It is against the law to copy these software programs by any means except for the sole purpose of creating backup copies to be retained by the original purchaser SL 1 Meridian 1 are a trade marks of Northern Telecom MS DOS amp Windows are trade marks of Microsoft Corporation Genesis Telephone Management System Genesis Professional Genesis Express Genesis 911 and Genesis ACD GenSwitch Genesis Contact Center Manager Genesis Traffic Manager GenWatch are all trade marks of G
35. MS Interface What is a PMS Interface The PMS Interface option allows your system to transfer telephone call information and charges to another computer system running some type of Property Management System PMS The most common method of sending these records is by an RS 232 connection from a serial communications port on the Call Accounting computer to a serial communications port on the PMS computer Another method of sending the records is by providing a flat ASCII disk file that the PMS software can periodically retrieve providing the PMS software is running on the same computer Call technical for more information The PMS Interface feature is typically used in the hotel environment where call information received from this software is transmitted to another computer for posting directly to the customer s folios usually in real time It is also used by large legal and accounting offices running a centralized accounting system on a separate computer who require clients telephone information for statement preparation In order for this option to work you must have at least two serial ports in your computer one to receive the data from your telephone system the other to transmit the records to the PMS computer There is no industry standard for the protocols or record formats used by PMS systems The most common record formats and protocols used have been included in your system However should none of these match your requirements
36. The call record files are not backed up by the system because of their potential size A tape drive backup or compression programs can be purchased to back up these files if desired The call record file names are CURR today s calls CURRTRAF today s traffic data CROOOOOO current month s calls except today TROOOOOO current month s traffic data except today Cryymmdd previous months calls yymmdd is the cut off date Tryymmdd previous months traffic data When the desired files have been backed up ensure you store the backup media in a safe place Repeat for each site in a Polling Multi tenant or Multi switch version Setting Hourly Discounts Setting Hourly Discounts Do really need to read this section No unless you wish to create your own customized discount tables to be applied when billing your calls How does it work These optional Discount Tables are over ride tables containing the time of day discounts percentages you wish to use instead of the ones included with your system Up to 9 different tables can be created These discount tables are created by the system user and allow different discounts to be specified by hour of day and day of week Simply enter the desired discount percentage for the appropriate period To activate these tables you need to refer to the Entering Dialed Digits Discount Table Number section Use the settings in that screen to activate these discount tables based on th
37. ams The Data Export Utility is an optional program that allows you to export your system s call record information directly into other software packages This export utility can run in either batch mode on demana or real time mode continuously as calls occur This procedure copies the call records retained by the system into a file called SELECT OO1 in the Call Accounting system installation sub directory This file may then be copied onto a floppy diskette or into any other sub directory for further processing During the transfer of records from the system files to the ASCII file SELECT 001 the records are re formatted according to user determined specifications The default record output format is included with this utility But many different formats are available Check with your system dealer for more information This export utility program EXPORT EXE may be run as often as you wish It will only copy and reformat records that have been received since the last time this program was run Instructions for batch mode export Step 1 Type EXPORT on the keyboard while in the Y CDR sub directory Wait while the records are being extracted and formatted The records will be stored in SELECT OO1 Step 2 Copy the output file SELECT OO1 to the sub directory that contains the accounting spreadsheet or database software Step 3 Read the ASCII file into the other system The SELECT OO1 file remains intact with the old records until the
38. ar in any reports The originating trunk in a tandem call is treated as the extension Hence all tandem calls are grouped together in the Tandem Division and Tandem Department categories unless the trunks are assigned otherwise You are required to identify all trunks to the system for the Traffic reports to work correctly 10 Overseas calls will be billed at the telephone company rates Separate Minimum Seconds and Ring Seconds values may be used to offset the generally longer call set up time All 01 operator assisted overseas calls North America are handled in the same manner as 0 operator assisted North America calls They are not costed but are retained in the call collection file and appear on your reports The 011 direct distance dialed overseas calls are billed in the same manner as 1 11 All CO calls Central Office DDD will be assigned a two letter destination code and city name that identifies the call s destination 12 All local and long distance directory assistance 411 and 555 1212 calls 800 and 900 calls are billed according to the user determined rate If your rate is zero the calls will be dropped by the system and will not appear in any reports 13 All calls placed from unidentified extensions extensions not entered into the system s extension file will be billed correctly but will be allocated and reported under the Unassigned Division and Unassigned Department until they are identified to the system At
39. ates according to the rate table supplied with your system These calls are assigned to the C2WAY trunk type category Any taxes and surcharges to be applied must be set by the user 3 All WATS Tie FX and Miscellaneous calls are billed at a user determined rate per minute unless an optional auxiliary rate table has been ordered for that facility If this rate is set to zero these calls are dropped and will not appear in any of the reports subject to the conditions outlined in point 1 4 All eligible long distance CO calls are billed at your telephone company s rates When applicable the appropriate time of day discounts are applied unless tome of day discounts have been turned off The Rate Table subscription service will ensure that the rates and discounts used by your system are correct and up to date 5 All incoming calls are dropped by the system unless the call was placed on an incoming trunk such as 800 service where a cost applies Again the user must determine a rate per minute for these trunks or order an auxiliary rate table so call costing can occur Otherwise the call will be billed at zero and dropped by the system subject to the conditions outlined in point 1 6 All transferred or conference calls are generally billed to the originating extension regardless of the number of parties involved in the call 7 All calls shorter than the user defined Minimum Seconds threshold are considered to be incomplete by the system T
40. ation about your trunks The Trunk Type field discussed above is limited to 5 characters so with this Trunk Description field you can enter more specific information about your trunks Call Timers Table Number is the Call Timers Table number to be used by each trunk to adjust the call durations reported by your switchboard Refer to the Call Timers Table section for more information The system defaults to using Call Timers Table number 1 Surcharge amp Tax Table Number The Surcharge amp Tax Table to be used by each trunk can be specified Refer to the Surcharge amp Tax Tables section for more information The system defaults to using Surcharge amp Tax Table number 1 Fixed Rate per Minute is a user determined charge per minute to be applied to non CO trunks If you do not wish to cost calls on any of these trunks then set the rate per minute to O and these calls will be discarded by the system but the Traffic information will still be retained Minimum and Increment Billing Seconds For special trunks like WATS Tie FX and Miscellaneous where a user defined rate is used the actual billing intervals must be set For example some calls are billed for the first 30 seconds regardless of how short the call actually was and then in 6 second intervals thereafter So a call that was 1 minute and 15 seconds long would be billed as 1 minute and 18 seconds 30 seconds minimum followed by 8 six second intervals In this case the Minimum
41. count plans can be applied when billing calls 12 Extensive Reporting over 100 different standard reports can be generated Special customized reporting features allow the user to select the parameters for the calls to be extracted and printed on the reports e g all calls over 10 00 to area code 403 between the hours of 9 00 a m and 11 30 a m 13 Custom Reporting The system allows you to create and name your own custom reports for future use 14 Automatic Monthend An automatic monthend is performed on a date pre determined by you New files are opened for the next month Previous months call data is kept indefinitely or until you archive it and delete it from the system 15 Automatic report generation you can pre select a group of reports including Custom Reports that will be automatically displayed printed or emailed at pre selected intervals 16 Equipment I nventory allows you to inventory allocate and charge to each extension the telephone equipment calling features or any other non related items Comprehensive equipment distribution lists can be produced showing you where all the equipment is located 17 Directory allows you to produce complete company directories sorted and printed in user determined formats Multiple people can be assigned to individual extension numbers to facilitate company directories Up to ten user defined fields are available for special items you wish to track like home phone number
42. d at zero by default in the same manner as Operator Assisted unless any surcharges or markups are specified If you wish to apply any surcharges or markups over the basic call cost specify them in the table Remember to specify any applicable taxes that apply to the surcharge and markup amounts Directory Assistance Charge is a service charge applied to 411 calls In some areas you are also charged for long distance directory assistance 555 1212 If you wish 411 and 555 1212 calls to be costed by your system you must enter the charge into the system Enter 0 as the Directory Assistance Charge if you wish the system to ignore and discard these calls Remember to specify any applicable taxes 800 and 900 Service Calls are billed by the system at zero by default unless any surcharges or markups are specified Remember to specify any applicable taxes that apply to the surcharge and markup amounts Maximum Surcharge and Markup Ceiling is a user determined dollar amount that any combined surcharges and markups will not exceed The purpose of this maximum ceiling is to avoid excessive markups on exceptionally long telephone calls Surcharge per Call is a user determined flat surcharge that will be added to each call regardless of its length If you plan to use both the Call Percentage Markup and the Surcharge per Call or Surcharge per Minute features together the system applies the percentage markup first followed by the surcharges F
43. d by the system unless there is a charge associated with them Keep Incoming Calls Activating this feature will force the system to store incoming calls for reporting purposes Incoming calls are normally not stored by the system unless there is a charge associated with them Keep Everything Activating this feature will force the system to store absolutely everything for reporting purposes In addition to storing incoming and local calls the system will store extension to extension calls when available from your switchboard and calls that were misdialed or too short for billing purposes Capture the Calls from ALL Extensions if this feature is activated the system will save the call types discussed above for ALL extensions Capture Selectively as Specified you must specify the extension number s and or trunk number s and or department numbers or names that you wish to capture these calls for Any combination of extensions trunks or departments can be selected Installing Updates Installing Updates We offer a Maintenance Subscription Service where system enhancements updates and new V H Call Rate Tables are sent to you regularly on diskette Rates are constantly changing and new area exchange codes are continuously being added This service ensures your system never becomes obsolete or outdated and reflects changes to the computer and telecommunications technologies When installing updates follow the instruction sheet incl
44. d them directly into other programs that accept ASCII files How do print reports for periods have previously archived If you wish to print reports for periods previously archived then read the Archiving and De archiving Call Data appendix first If restoring call record files from your archives the system always checks to ensure all indexes are intact before allowing any printing If large indexes are required the system may take several minutes to create them depending on the speed of your computer What else should know about printing reports To explain every possible printing option and feature would require a manual 4 times the size of this one and most definitely put you to sleep Therefore we recommend you generate some reports and experiment with some of the system s printing features because they are easy to follow When selecting any reports for printing you will have the following two choices a Print reports for ALL divisions departments extensions trunks account codes authorizations codes etc depending on what report you are generating b Print reports for a selected group of divisions departments extensions trunks account codes authorization codes etc depending on what report you are generating All summary and detail reports feature call selection parameters These selection parameters allow you to customize your reports to include or exclude calls containing certain characteristics as opposed t
45. e applied to each Extension This Equipment Charge is computed from the Equipment List assigned to each extension The Equipment Charge is automatically included on reports generated by the system The use of the Equipment Charge is optional If you plan to use it you should have completed Entering Equipment List first The screen allows you to sort the list by column headings and to search for a specific value To search for a specific value enter the value partial matches are applied and click search You can then use the column headings to sort your search results Clicking clear removes the search criteria and displays the entire list What terms do I need to understand General Extension terms that apply to the entire extension number Division Department Sub Department Cost Centre Codes optional but must be used if any hierarchy is assigned These codes are used internally by the system to sort and allocate the charges You must assign a unique code for each division department etc Up to 7 alpha numeric characters can be used for each code To avoid confusion do not reuse codes for different levels of hierarchy or use codes that conflict with extension numbers Use of any company hierarchy is optional if none is used all extensions are summarized under Unassigned Department and Division by default Division Department Sub Department Cost Centre Name optional but must be used if the div dept etc codes are used Use
46. e dialed number or the state province country abbreviation codes Then simply specify the table number in the Discount Table Number field Setting Access Codes Setting Access Codes Do really need to read this section Absolutely especially if your switchboard is a Nortel PABX series or any other make where the access codes are attached directly to the front of the dialed number Completion of this section is also important if you have any type of special access codes you dial to route your call IT 1S IMPORTANT THAT YOU ENTER ALL ACCESS CODES SO THE SYSTEM CAN RECOGNI ZE THEM WHEN THEY APPEAR IN THE RAW CALL RECORDS FAILURE TO DO SO WILL MOST DEFINITELY RESULT IN CALL BILLING ERRORS YOU MUST IGNORE THIS SECTION IF THE ACCESS CODES ARE NOT ATTACHED DIRECTLY TO THE FRONT OF THE DIALED NUMBER Although you can enable or disable the printing of access codes on your reports we highly recommend you do not change this setting unless you have discussed your requirements with technical support staff The default setting is to suppress the printing of access codes Changing this setting to Keep Access Codes is NOT retro active as the system normally discards them Setting Data Collection Parameters Setting Data Collection Parameters Do really need to read this section Yes if you are setting up the port s used by your system for collecting raw call information from your telephone system or if you are installing a Two Switchboard version
47. e number other than 1 for your hotel room phones then you must enter ALL the hotel room extension numbers and indicate the Surcharge and Tax Table you wish to use 2 If you wish to change the names of the levels of hierarchy you should do it when entering the first extension s information See above instructions for entering your hierarchy levels If you do not require any levels of hierarchy or you wish to remove any level s then YOU MUST DO IT WHEN THE FIRST EXTENSION NUMBER S INFORMATION IS ENTERED INTO THE SYSTEM See above instructions for entering your hierarchy levels If you wish to ADD additional levels of hierarchy IT SHOULD BE DONE WHEN YOU ENTER THE FIRST EXTENSION NUMBER S INFORMATION INTO THE SYSTEM TO AVOID A TIME CONSUMING JOB LATER See above for instructions on entering your hierarchy levels Remember this is the name of the level of hierarchy you will be adding like Cost Centre Branch etc NOT the actual names of your departments and divisions like Sales or Accounting They are added below Although it is strongly recommended to be done initially levels of hierarchy can be added later Simply follow the steps above All extensions currently assigned in the system will automatically fall under the new level you created You must then go back and assign each extension to the new level using the CHANGE command This can take considerable time to do so try to plan ahead when creating your hierarchy structure
48. e will proceed like this Call Accounting System PMS send a call information record gt lt PMS sends back an ACK send the next call information gt lt PMS sends back an ACK b Error in receiving record Suppose that the PMS detects an error in the call information record This can happen because of line noise temporary disconnection or error in the record s information Call Accounting System PMS send a call information record gt lt The PMS could not process the record properly and sends a NAK send the call information again gt lt The PMS receives it properly and this time sends back an ACK send the next call record gt Note that the Call Accounting System will re send the same record up to 3 times when receiving a NAK After that the record will be written to the REJECTED CALLS file for future reporting c No response from the PMS If the ACK or NAK response from the PMS is not received by the Call Accounting software due to PMS failure or line disconnection it displays the message PMS not responding The software waits a certain length of time to receive an ACK or NAK back from the PMS typically 60 seconds before attempting to re establish the PMS link by re transmitting the record d Buffering of Call Records The Call Accounting software buffers any call records that have not been sent out yet due to any interruption to either the PMS or the interface link This bu
49. ed and made ready for reporting Software Do s and Don t s Like most things in life there are rules Here are ours Rule 1 THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE OF THEM ALL Simply check to see the software is operating correctly every day by performing the following tests Bring up the system s main menu and check the following items a Raw Call Records and Costed Calls are being collected processed and displayed on your screen Current Computer date and time is displayed on the top of the screen Current Telephone System date and time is correct in the raw records Warning Messages note any warning messages displayed on the System status screen aos Refer to System Diagnostics for procedures to follow if you encounter problems with any of these items If you FAIL to do this the system or your telephone system s CDR port could be down for a long period of time before anyone would know If the system is down call record collection is suspended so data is lost If the dates are wrong system cycles and call billing could be dramatically effected Rule 2 NEVER turn the power OFF to the computer because call data collection will be terminated while the power is off and automatic cycles will not run Rule 3 If the computer hangs or freezes PRESS THE COMPUTER S RESET BUTTON IMMEDIATELY SO THE COMPUTER CAN RECOVER and call collection can resume Rule 4 ALWAYS remove any floppy diskettes from the disk drive so your syste
50. ed Digits changes take effect immediately Entering Account Code Information Entering Account Code Information Professional Version Only Do really need to read this section No unless you require special Surcharges amp Taxes be applied to certain Account Codes or you wish to substitute on your reports the actual account code with a user defined name Please do not confuse Account Codes with Authorization Codes because the system treats them separately What are Account Codes Some telephone systems are equipped with a feature that allows an Account Code to be entered at the time a call is dialed Typically this Account Code is the client or project number that the call is to be charged to This feature is used extensively by accountants and lawyers who perform client bill back Another similar feature found in telephone systems is the ability to enter a personal Authorization Code when placing a call The Authorization Code is used by the telephone system to allow you access to long distance calling These two features are treated separately even though most telephone systems do not differentiate between Authorization and Account Codes in their call detail information In most telephone systems they are reported exactly the same sharing exactly the same field in the raw call detail records The screen allows you to sort the list by column headings and to search for a specific value To search for a specific value enter the value
51. ed automatically from remote location s nightly back to a main site for centralized processing and reporting At the remote site a buffer box is connected to the switchboard This buffer collects the call information throughout the day Then during the midnight cycle or upon user request the polling program is invoked that accesses the buffer and down loads the calling information from the remote site s Many different types of buffers can be used that can be accessed by dial up and TCP IP Follow the instructions that accompany your buffer box The call records from each site are kept separately This allows each site to have its own unique Division Department Extension Trunk Surcharges and Markups switchboard makes Month End dates etc without affecting any other sites What terms do I need to understand COM port to use is the COM port number that your modem is connected to Currently the polling program supports only COM1 or COM2 Call your technical support centre before attempting to use COM3 or COM4 Dialed Digits is the phone number your modem must dial to connect to the remote modem and buffer box This number must include any access codes or 1 digits required reach the remote site as though you were actually dialing the number It is recommended that you insert commas after the access code to allow your telephone system to stabilize before any additional numbers are dialed e g 9 6045309173 Polling speed parity
52. ed into the system first before entering any extension information Typically this involves determining how many levels of hierarchy you require and what the chain of command is ie which departments report to which divisions and then entering this information into the system The system supports up to six levels of hierarchy if required So in addition to determining what departments the extensions belong to you will also need to determine which levels of hierarchy fall under each other Although the names Department and Division are set as defaults and used in this documentation for illustration purposes you can rename those hierarchy level names to whatever you like ie Site Cost Center etc The system is structured to generate reports on as many as six levels of hierarchy Most users will only use one or two levels and can ignore the other levels offered For sake of explanation we have labeled each level as shown below but you can pick your own names for each level The potential hierarchy levels are The screen allows you to sort the list by column headings and to search for a specific value To search for a specific value enter the value partial matches are applied and click search You can then use the column headings to sort your search results Clicking clear removes the search criteria and displays the entire list Level Report Contents Corporate Summation of all Division totals Division Summation of all Department
53. ed number will be left intact as is Apply on Full or Partial Match optional this option determines whether the special handling you specify here will be performed on all numbers containing an exact or just a partial match leftmost digits of the Original Dialed Digits specified above By specifying a partial match you can process calls that begin with certain digits e g 1900xxxxxxx Replace Leading Digits optional this option allows just the leading digits of the original dialed number to be replaced with the replacement digits and the rest of the number is left intact The number of replacement digits specified determines how many of the original digits are replaced Surcharges Table Number if you wish to use a special Surcharge Markup and Tax table then simply select the appropriate table that you wish to use Ensure you enter the Surcharges and Taxes you wish to use into the appropriate Surcharge Table First Interval Rate cents optional is the rate in cents you wish to bill calls based on the Original or Replacement digits discussed above for the first period of time normally 60 seconds This feature allows you to charge a different rate for the first time period minute if desired Some carriers may charge more for the first time period minute than each subsequent time period minute For your information the difference between the first and second interval rates is referred to as a Message Charge or Call Set up
54. elephone company receives this signal and uses it to determine whether the call should be billed Without Answer Supervision you would be charged for calls that were unanswered or busy Telephone companies seldom offer the Answer Supervision service to their customers without a charge and your telephone system may or may not be capable of detecting it anyway If you don t have answer supervision like most the call duration reported by your switchboard in the raw records is the duration that the telephone receiver was actually off the hook and needs adjusting before any costing occurs For this reason your system applies Minimum Call Seconds and Ring Time Seconds factors to help offset call billing inaccuracies caused by the lack of Answer Supervision Minimum Seconds is the number of seconds that a call s duration must exceed before the system will consider the call to have been answered and thus be eligible for costing This feature helps offset the lack of Answer Supervision discussed above because your switchboard will generate a call record regardless of whether the call was answered It prevents the costing of short duration calls that have obviously been unanswered If your telephone company provides you with Answer Supervision and your telephone system is capable of processing it you should set the Minimum Seconds value to zero as the durations reported in the calls received from your switchboard will be the actual durations of the calls
55. enesis Systems Corporation All Right Reserved Worldwide Contents Copyright notice sce aa do oe e Ol 1 OTTO UC Ni A A A A A E 3 Part 1 Installing amp Running the Software oooooonnoccnnnnccconcconoccconcncnonnncnnnnononcnconnnnnnnnnnnnncnnnn nc nan nn ran ncrnnnnrnnnn crac nn nnnnnnnnnnnss 7 Installing amp Running the SYStEM cccccesssccccssssecessssseeccsseseceeseseeeesseeeeeecesesaeceeeeseeeeseeeeeeceesaecceseseeeeeseeeseeeceeaaeeeeseae tees 8 ristallatiOnilMStFUCtiOnsss cc cccsevics sass ocabcacsacseisss cade aes sac iaa span 9 Common Problems amp Solutions conan a aai aS a Te a eE E epaia nir E iaia 10 Part 2 Using the Softwares aossen deste a tt TERE 11 Using the SoftWare osn n e A A A oh A Sead ee ave ea oe i 11 CallBilling PrOG QUES 0 ii A da 12 Entering Trunk IMPOrMatiOn ci A AA E ad thane Ai 14 Call Timer Table do A LA ADO da de 16 Entering Surcharges amp Taxes enaar aaa A ED EA aoaaa aE Ea a a aa Aaaa a AE Aran Ta oE TE aaea anaE 17 Entering the Equipment LiSt cccccessccccssseceessseeecceseseccesaeeeesseeseecseeeaaecesssaseeeeseeeeecseesuseceesaeeeeeseenseeseeee seeseaeeeeees 19 Entering Extension NfOrmation istem aoier aaa aida dali d ea a edil ii 20 Entering Dialed Digits Information iz 25 Entering Account Code Information ceseco iaeiei iii a ii i a ia ieaie ehis 27 CaptureAlliCallS Feat re mranani ad di ai 28 Installing Updates iii di iii a aaan aiar iad ln 29 Performing MOnthend
56. ent charge allocation etc Hence this documentation is designed to provide instructions to all those different user categories The system is so powerful and flexible it is impossible to explain all the different ways things could be set up Therefore general guidelines are provided but your imagination is the only limitation here You may wish to read this entire section once to familiarize yourself with the potential of the system Then go back and selectively extract the areas you intend to use This concept is especially important as many users will use the system for years without having any idea of the power it has If you have a specific question about the feasibility of some set up contact your system dealer for more information In many cases our users have come up with ideas that we have been able to share with others If you don t understand a concept that is being explained don t worry it just means that feature is probably not applicable to your situation If you have purchased our switch maintenance package for performing Moves Adds and Changes to Nortel PABX s then extension information can be exchanged between packages without the need for dual entry This section is split into two parts Part 1 deals with your company s hierarchy and how to set it up Part 2 deals with setting up each individual extension How do build my company s hierarchy tree Your company s hierarchy Division Department Cost Centre etc must be enter
57. enue Through a generous offering of Surcharges and Markups you can adjust the software to add any mixture of surcharges and markups to the basic cost of the call Even local and incoming calls can be billed if you desire Many hotels and motels route customer long distance calls over special services where discount rates apply but still bill the calls at the regular telephone company rates hence realizing substantial profits Back Software Benefits CONTROL your telephone bill by accurately allocating telephone calls and equipment costs right through your company s hierarchy back to its source REDUCE your telephone bill by tracking telephone misuse abuse and fraud right to its source Control those illegitimate calls and reduce the number of calls placed over expensive facilities You can also ensure those critical calls were made GENERATE REVENUE for your company by effectively billing back telephone costs to the appropriate client guest project or department with any desired surcharges or markups CONFI GURE your telephone system with the most economical combination of lines and services Back Software Features The software consists of programs that run on your PC to provide you with ON SITE REAL TIME telephone call costing allocation and reporting This system is connected to your switchboard from which it actively collects and processes raw Call Detail Records CDR and stores them in files These CDR records usua
58. er desktop tray bottom right corner Call technical support if it is not running after a system reset Problem H Other offending software running on the PC simultaneously You may be running other programs on this PC that interfere with the call collection program Find out what other programs are used on this PC If it was working fine before find out if any new programs have been added Solution Temporarily remove or disable those programs reboot the computer and see if the system collects calls If it does refrain from using those programs on the PC or contact your system support centre with the name of the offending programs Problem I Buffer Box system Pause light is on Solution Turn pause light OFF and calls should pass through to the computer Serial Port Test Utility A common problem encountered both during the initial installation as well as the after the system has been running for a while is that raw data from the telephone system is no longer being received by the system for some reason In order to quickly troubleshoot the cause we have created a special serial port test program that can perform all sorts of test to help determine the cause of the problem This is a special serial port test program that can be used to look for any data at various speed and parity settings Since this test utility displays any data that it sees at the serial port regardless of the data settings there should be something showing up on t
59. erent than the PC then adjust the software call collection speed SET Data Collection Parameters so they match Problems D amp E Computer s serial port configured incorrectly or conflicts with an existing internal fax modem IRQ amp Port Address Conflicts OR Computer s serial port is defective Sometimes when a new card is added to your PC it is not configured correctly or it can become defective due to static electricity or other stray voltages Solution On a new installation check the settings of the serial ports because they may not have been configured correctly or they need to be adjusted On an existing installation find out if the computer has recently been worked on because something new and conflicting may have been added OR something like a ribbon cable may have been disturbed You may want to perform the test below Step 1 to determine if the serial port is still operational Problem F Switchboard is not programmed to send call data Sometimes when the switchboard has been worked on the technician may forget to RE ENABLE CDR call detail records output If it is a large switchboard and with remote access the technician may have worked on the switchboard remotely Solution Check the operation of the SMDR CDR port on your switchboard Problem G Error message Cannot find GCOM calls will not be collected Solution Reset the computer and ensure the WGCOM EXE raw data collection program is running in your comput
60. esent in the system is no longer used by telephone companies in North America What terms do I need to understand Trunk Member Number This is the actual number used by your switchboard to distinguish one trunk from another Depending on your make of switchboard this number can be from 1 to 7 digits in length and may be prefixed by a T or X or it may be just numeric and contain no letters at all If your system doesn t use a T or some other alphabetic letter on the front of the trunk number the system will automatically add a T e g trunk 04 would be recorded in the system as T04 Trunk Type This is the category that each trunk member in your telephone system belongs to C W T F or M Also a user defined 4 letter and or number identifier that distinguishes similar trunks within the same general category can be used e g C2WAY COUT CIN etc Using sub category labels will separate similar trunk types on your reports You must supply a rate per minute for all non C type trunks Valid trunk categories are discussed below C Central Office CO Trunk most common type of telephone line available The system automatically bills calls placed over these C type trunks using your telephone company rates Up to four letters numbers can be used to differentiate trunks in this category e g C2WAY CIN COUT W WATS Trunk Wide Area Telephone Service were outgoing incoming trunks that provided users with lower teleph
61. ess that any emails you send that fail to be delivered are bounced back to Send report as HTML activating this feature makes your reports formatted into HTML format which is included in the body of the email as opposed to a file attachment Send report as an attachment activating this feature will allow the reports to be sent as a file attachment to your email File to append is any special file or document that you want to accompany your report email Typically these are text documents with instructions or announcements You can also send this file as an attachment or have it included in the text of your email Printing Hotel Motel Reports Printing Hotel Motel Reports Do really need to read this section Yes if this is a Hotel Motel installation This section discusses the additional reports that can be produced by the hotel motel version of the system All the General Business Reports can be produced as well as the Hotel Motel reports discussed below What s the difference from the General Business Reports Telephone calls received from hotel motel guest phones are actually stored in two separate files They are saved in the General Business file as well as a special Guest Calls file The Hotel Motel reports permit you to delete call information from the Guest Calls file only once the guest has checked out Deleting a guest s call information doesn t delete the matching call records in the General Business f
62. f the input LED on the buffer box flashes RED when the test calls are terminated The input LED will flash whenever call records are received from the switchboard Step 10 Set the modem to AUTO ANSWER following the procedures in the modem manual ALSO ENSURE THE MODEM S CARRIER DETECT FOLLOWS THE TRUE STATUS OF CARRIER DETECT RATHER THAN BEING FORCED ON AT ALL TIMES Additional Notes Ensure you are running the correct switchboard specification file for the remote sites Use a 25 pin modem cable straight through to connect the PC to the modem if you are using an external modem Ensure the modem has direct access to an outside line at night so the polling cycle can operate A polling log will be printed each night after the polling cycle has finished It is important you leave the printer ON and check the log each morning for any problems reported by the polling program The polling program will make 3 attempts to reach each remote site If a particular site could not be polled the previous night the problem should be corrected usually the remote site s modem or buffer box is the problem Any site can be immediately polled by selecting Poll This Site Now in the remote site s main menu Installing the Multi Switchboard Version Installing the Multi Switchboard Version The Multi Switchboard Version allows call detail records from several different switchboards or key telephone systems even different makes to be collected simultaneou
63. ffer is in the form of a file called PMSQUEUE 001 that contains the buffered call records When the PMS interface link is re established the contents of the PMSQUEUE 001 file are automatically sent What are the record formats The most common PMS record formats are available as well as a user defined output format Up to 4 starting prefix and 4 ending suffix characters can be specified to be transmitted as part of each record The three most common record formats are discussed below FORMAT 1 Format 1 is the most popular PMS Interface format A Format 1 call record looks like this 001 CKC 12 10 00212 19 46 0012 006 55 604 498 5000 L Format 1 The length varies with the length of the phone number dialed Notice the corresponding field positions listed below the call record in the sample above Any beginning of line or end of line character s you program increases the length of the call record however they are not part of the call record itself The table below explains each item in the sample Format 1 call record Sequence Number Example Restarts EE 0014 each time you erase ae ooo data be OR MESAS HENDIAAA Pane PCSCSC C SCSCS Station to which call is charged max 5 char right just space filled AS E A PCa O A AA es On following last digit __ Call Identifier Long distance International Local FORMAT 2 Format 2 is designed specifically for the Micros family of property management systems A F
64. fferent call categories e g DDD Operator Assisted etc Also up to 9 different tables can be used simultaneously Different tables can be applied based on the extension number trunk number dialed number or account code found in each call record Where a conflict exists the surcharge table with the highest number is given priority and used Hotel amp motel users should use Surcharge and Tax Table 1 for guest phones and Table 2 for administration phones because that is the default setting General business sites will probably only use Table 1 unless different amounts are to be applied based on extension number trunk number account code or dialed number What terms do I need to understand Basic Call Cost is the primary cost of the call computed from the system s internal rate tables excluding any surcharges or taxes Typically Local within your free calling area Incoming Operator Assisted 800 and 900 Service calls would have a basic call cost of zero If you decided to charge for these calls you must enter your surcharge and markup amounts next to the appropriate call category IF YOU DECIDE NOT TO USE ANY SURCHARGES OR MARKUPS BUT YOU WANT TO APPLY TAXES YOU WOULD ONLY FILL IN THE TAX ROW S OPPOSITE THE BASIC CALL COST ENTRY IN THE TABLE Local Calls if free have a basic call cost of zero and are dropped by the system unless any surcharges and markups are specified If you decide to cost Local Calls you should consider
65. from your switchboard between 2 specified dates Typically this information could include any switchboard alarms wake up calls maid calls or invalid calls Viewing Rate Table Information Viewing Rate Table Information Do really need to read this section No unless you want to determine the V amp H Rate Table rates and discounts for a particular area code and exchange How do view these rates Simply choose the Rate Table Information option in the View menu Then enter the desired area code and exchange code information and optionally the day of week and hour of day information Then click the lt search gt button and the appropriate rate information will be displayed in the window on the screen Remember this shows the V amp H Rate Table information not the information you may have entered into the Dialed Digits Information screen Recosting Calls Recosting Existing Call Records Do really need to read this section No unless you need to recost the system call record files This feature is typically used when recosting call files is required because of changes made to rates company hierarchy etc How are calls re costed Simply choose the Recost option in the File menu Then select the appropriate periods you wish to recost The re costing of call files begins immediately During the re costing of calls traffic information is ignored Divisions departments extensions surcharges markups etc are re assigned and
66. he COPS screen contains very useful call statistical information Daily totals for Incoming Outgoing Tandem and Local to Local calls are tabulated and displayed as the calls are processed REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE CALLS ARE FRAUDULENT OR RETAINED BY THE SYSTEM FOR REPORTING PURPOSES These totals are reset to zero at midnight These totals are very useful for determining current calling patterns and volumes Suspect Call Totals These are the totals just for the COPS calls that were retained by the system These totals can be cleared by running a Toll Fraud report and selecting Yes to the question Do you wish to clear the calls just listed The COPS Toll Fraud report can be found in the Print Reports and Listings section of your system where the other system reports are located Suspect Call Details The actual call detail information for the last few COPS calls is displayed on the screen The Date Time Extension Number Duration Dialed Digits and Cost are displayed for these calls Although the screen only has room to display the a few calls ALL COPS CALLS ARE RETAINED BY THE SYSTEM UNTIL YOU RUN A REPORT AND CLEAR THEM How do set my COPS Toll Fraud Parameters 1 From the Main menu choose the Toll Fraud and then Settings 2 Select a table number 1 to 9 that you wish to enter your parameters into You can also name these tables for easier reference Currently the system permits up to 9 different COPS parameter tables You m
67. he Serial Port Test Utility IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THIS PROGRAM CAN NOT BE RUN SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE DATA COLLECTION PROGRAM SUPPLIED WITH YOUR SYSTEM OTHERWI SE THE TWO PROGRAMS WILL FIGHT OVER WHO HAS CONTROL OF THE SERIAL PORT Therefore you must click on the Data Collection icon in your desktop tray and close this program before running these tests Step 1 To determine if the PC port is operational and you are connected to the correct port do the following a Disconnect the switchboard to PC cable from the PC b Select Test Serial Port in the Diagnostics menu of your system Enter the serial port number speed parity and data bits that you wish to use Enable the Send test pattern once a second option Short pins 2 3 on the serial port you have chosen using a paper clip or some other metal device See if any data is displayed on the screen If absolutely nothing is seen try running DUMPCOM again with a different port number This port may be defective c If absolutely nothing is seen then the problem is with the computer Either the serial cards have been configured incorrectly so that they conflict with other ports or the serial card is defective If test data is seen then proceed to Step 2 Step 2 To determine if the switchboard is sending call data do the following a Run the Serial Port Test program in the Diagnostics menu Enter the serial port number speed parity and data bits that you wish to use Do NOT enable
68. he screen if the cabling is correct If the baud rate is incorrect then the data in the ASCII display box on the screen may be partially or completely unrecognizable ie lots of graphic characters There can be only one correct data setting for the collection program This program also allows you to test a serial port by performing a loop back test Simply enable the Send test pattern once a second check box and click the lt Start test gt button Then jumper pin 2 to pin 3 on the serial port as shown on the diagrams displayed on the screen This test is very helpful when determining whether you have the correct serial port and whether the port is actually operational Click the lt End test gt button to terminate the test You may also send a pre typed string of characters by entering them into the Send data box and clicking the lt Send gt button An explanation of the terms follows Serial Port Number You must enter the PC COM port number 1 2 3 etc to be used by the system to collect this data The system defaults to COM1 Speed is the data transmission speed used when receiving call records from your phone system Valid settings are 300 1200 2400 4800 9600 19200 and 38400 bps Parity is the parity used when receiving the call information The valid settings are N for None E for Even O for Odd M for Mark and S for Space Data Bits valid settings are 7 and 8 data bits Diagnosis procedure using t
69. hese calls are costed at zero and dropped by the system subject to the conditions outlined in point 1 They do not appear in any of the reports 8 All calls longer than the Minimum Seconds threshold are considered to be complete and eligible for costing The Ring Time Seconds are then subtracted from the reported call duration to allow time for the called party s telephone to be answered due to the lack of answer supervision The call is then costed according to the type of trunk A separate minimum seconds value is permitted for different call type categories e g fax 411 incoming etc to help offset their different set up times If your telephone system detects Answer Supervision and reflects the true duration of completed calls then your should set both of these timer values to zero as discussed later in this manual 9 Tandem calls trunk to trunk calls are costed according to trunk type and rates defined by the user in the trunk table If the originating or terminating trunk is a Central Office trunk an attempt will be made to bill the call according to your telephone company s rates If the originating or terminating trunk is a WATS Tie FX or Miscellaneous trunk the call will be billed at the user supplied rate or the rates in an optional auxiliary rate table IF A COST APPLIES TO BOTH THE ORIGINATING AND TERMINATING TRUNKS THEN THE SYSTEM WILL COST BOTH LEGS OF THE CALL If the call is billed at zero it will be dropped and will not appe
70. iles Therefore this acts as a backup for you in the event you have to examine old guest call detail information at a later date You can enter the General Business report section and print any reports regardless of whether the guest has checked out It is important to note the hotel motel call files are not affected by any month end cutoffs done on the General Business side The only way calls can be deleted from the Hotel Motel files is by running a report and clearing the guest totals or by setting a maximum predetermined file size if your system is transmitting call information to a PMS Property Management System Refer to Call Processing Settings Maximum Data File Sizes for more information What are the reports and how do they work 1 Room Checkout Report is a report similar to the Extension Detail report showing the date time number dialed cost etc for calls placed from hotel or motel rooms occupied by guests This report only shows outstanding charges against the current guest Once the report has been printed you may choose to delete those calls in preparation for the next guest If an error is made you have until midnight to retrieve calls that were accidentally deleted by simply selecting Recover Deleted Calls and following the instructions on the screen The Guest Checkout Report breaks out the basic call cost call tax surcharges and total cost into separate columns This breakdown is optional and can be selected a
71. irst Per Minute Surcharge is a user determined flat surcharge that will be added to each minute of the call s duration up to the number of minutes specified in the Minutes to Apply Surcharge 1 If you plan to use both the Call Percentage Markup and the Surcharge per Call or Surcharge per Minute features together the system applies the percentage markup first followed by the surcharges Minutes to Apply Surcharge 1 is the user specified number of minutes that the First Per Minute Surcharge will be applied Leaving this field blank forces the system to apply the First Per Minute Surcharge to every minute of the call s duration Second Per Minute Surcharge is a user determined flat surcharge that will be added to each minute of the call s duration after the first surcharge threshold has been exceeded up and to the number of minutes specified in the Minutes to Apply Surcharge 2 If you plan to use both the Call Percentage Markup and the Surcharge per Call or Surcharge per Minute features together the system applies the percentage markup first followed by the surcharges Minutes to Apply Surcharge 2 is the user specified number of minutes that the Second Per Minute Surcharge will be applied Leaving this field blank forces the system to apply the First Per Minute Surcharge to every remaining minute of the call s duration Percentage Markup is a user determined percentage markup added to the basic call cost of each call If you select a
72. itch to launch the menus To observe the collection and billing programs that run 24 7 click on the GenStart icon s running in the tray Installation Instructions Installation Instructions Step 1 Ensure the computer s DATE and TIME are correct Step 2 Mount the Installation CD Step 3 If the install program doesn t automatically launch then Click Start Run then enter d setup exe assuming your CD drive letter is designated as d The system s installation program will automatically copy and create the necessary programs and files on your hard disk into the newly created folder genroot cdr Step 4 Follow the instructions displayed on the screen Enter the serial port settings to be used for collecting call data Enter the PC s serial port number and the speed and parity that matches your telephone system Ensure you select a PC serial port not used by other programs Step 5 Polling Multi switchboard amp Multi tenant versions only follow the additional instructions displayed on the screen by the installation program Step 6 Construct a cable that links your PC to the phone system s CDR data port The system requires only 2 wires from your switchboard receive and ground You can start by using a standard serial cable but depending on your phone system you may need to use a null modem adapter or strap some pins join together at the phone system end of the cable to make it happy so it will send C
73. k discount plans in addition to the regular DDD call discounts The Discount Plans usually offer additional percentages off based on your monthly call volume Instructions to activate these plans are sent separately Hotel motel users do not usually want these special discount plans activated Apply City Names City names are normally applied to each call based on the telephone number dialed However this feature can be turned off if for any reason you do not wish city names to be added to calls placed over certain trunks Trunks can be complicated and time consuming to configure depending on your company s requirements Any changes to the Trunk file take effect immediately You may bulk add ranges of trunk numbers by specifying the starting and ending trunk numbers and the increment Call Timers Table Call Timers Table Professional Version Only Do really need to read this section No unless you wish to change the values in the Call Timers Table otherwise the system will use the default settings already in the Call Timers Table The default settings are recommended for normal use of the system If your telephone company provides Answer Supervision and your telephone system is capable of utilizing it you should change all the values in the Call Timers Table to zero What terms do I need to understand Answer supervision is the signal that is sent back from the telephone that you are calling when your call is answered The t
74. lation of an E COMMS CAB series buffer box at the remote site Step 5 Locate the DIP switches on the back of the E COMMS and set the output speed to match the transmission speed of the modem and the input speed to match the output speed of the switchboard Refer to the table on the bottom of the buffer box for DIP switch settings ALWAYS set switches 7 8 9 and 10 in the UP position Step 6 Construct a buffer box to PABX cable and purchase or construct a cable to run from the buffer box to the modem using the following specifications Switch CDR Buffer Box port Modem port pin output input output to phone jack NOTE Only run 2 wires pins 3 amp 7 between the switchboard and the buffer box Two way communication is not necessary between the switchboard and the buffer box but it is necessary between the modem and the buffer box Step 7 If you have not already done so connect the cables between the switchboard CDR port and the INPUT port on the buffer box Also connect the buffer box to modem cable Then connect the modem to phone jack cable Step 8 Hold down the PAUSE button on the CAB buffer box and plug it in The buffer will reset perform a self test and beep four times It is now ready to receive data NOTE If you wish to send a test pattern from the buffer box refer to the E E COMMS CAB buffer box manual for instructions Step 9 If the switchboard is not busy make a couple of test calls Watch to see i
75. led Agent Queue and Trunk Route statistical and performance reports based on the call activity in your Contact Center Back Topics Discussed Part 1 Outlines the steps to follow when installing the software Part 2 Discusses system configuration and the Do s and Don t s to observe when operating the software Part 3 Discusses call billing characteristics system files and operating cycles Part 4 Discusses System Diagnostics and trouble shooting procedures Various Appendices are referred to throughout the manual when more information about a specific topic is available to the reader Back Part 1 Installing amp Running the Software Part 1 Installing amp Running the Software e Installing amp Running the Software e What Hardware do need How does the Windows Version work How does the DOS Version work Why should leave the computer ON at all times When does the system bill my telephone calls e How do bring the system up e Installation Instructions e Common Problems amp Solutions Installing amp Running the System Installing amp Running the Software Any phone system programming instructions are supplied with your phone system What hardware do need Our programs can run on your PC without interfering with most of the programs you would normally run If you already have a PC in your office or you plan to purchase one ensure it meets the specifications outlined below The system req
76. lly contain the date and time that the call was placed the duration of the call the extension number placing the call the trunk facility used the telephone number dialed and the account code number if used The system uses configuration files that you will prepare to allocate these charges within your company or charge back to guests or clients Some of the features of are discussed below Features only available with the Professional series are marked with an 1 Real Time Call Costing telephone calls can be billed allocated and reported on as they ACTUALLY OCCUR 2 COPS Toll Fraud Reporting the Professional series comes with the COPS Toll Fraud Reporting System which tracks fraudulent calls and notifies you by alarm or fax 3 Multi tasking you can run your other PC programs such as word processing on your computer while collecting and billing telephone calls 4 Hotel and Motel a special hotel motel version complete with special Profit and Guest Reporting is available Optional Property Management System PMS Internet Usage and HOBIC Autoquote integration interfaces are available 5 Batch Processing Calls can bill calls in real time or store and process your telephone calls automatically at a later time 6 Monitor All Calls This package permits the user to record ALL call data incoming local misdialed local to local in addition to regular DDD calls for ALL extensions or selectively 7 Traffic Studie
77. lly permit you to suppress the printing of Authorization Codes on all reports except the Authorization Code Detail and Summary reports This feature is primarily used to ensure that these codes remain confidential Printing of these codes is normally ENABLED Print Account Codes the system will optionally permit you to suppress the printing of Account Codes on all reports except the Account Code Detail and Summary reports This feature is primarily used to ensure that these codes remain confidential Printing of these codes is normally ENABLED Take SL 1 Extensions from E record rather than charge the originating extension for the call when a Call is transferred you can configure your system to bill the terminating extension the extension the call was transferred to This feature only works on Northern Meridian SL 1 switchboards Turn off discount tables for time of day discounts allows the normal time of day discounts to be disabled for maximum call billing Some system users wish to disable time of day discounts especially when billing clients Do not print traffic totals on bottom of reports disables the traffic totals from appearing on the bottom of summary and detail reports Midnight Processing time the system allows you to set the time for the daily processing cycle to start Never change this without seeking help first All processing cycle times used by the system are to be entered using the 24 hour clock System entry passwo
78. lowed by Unk Wi 72 Account mala 12345 Fourteen digits right justified Inclusion of leading zeros depends on format received Single right justified zero if no account code Installation Instructions Step 1 Construct a cable with the correct connectors and pin configurations to connect the PMS port of your computer to the Property Management Computer as shown below PMS Call Accounting System DB 25 connector 2 3 3 2 7 7 DB 9 connector 3 2 Dr 3 Step 2 Ensure that the serial card for the PMS port is configured correctly You may need to refer to the card manufacturer s documentation if problems arise Step 3 Connect the cable Step 4 Bring up the Call Accounting software menus and select ADJ UST Control Settings then select SET PMS Parameters Enter the information as required for this installation Refer back to the terms portion of this section for answers to specific configuration information Step 5 Exit the system and re boot the computer Place some test calls of at least 1 minute duration from a hotel room Have the front desk clerk check the PMS for posting Step 6 PMS Interfaces can be very complicated and time consuming to install Please do not get frustrated just call our technical support office if you require any help Exporting Calls to Other Programs Exporting Calls to Other Progr
79. lti switchboard Multi tenant version or a Hotel Motel system with a PMS option then refer to the appropriate Appendix or additional instruction sheets Common Problems amp Solutions Common Problems amp Solutions don t see any call records check the phone system s programming instructions try using a null modem connector to swap pins 2 and 3 check the cable for assembly errors or loose connections ensure the cable is connected to the correct port on your PC and telephone system test the operation of the PC s serial port using the serial port test program under the diagnostics menu check the PC s serial port for conflicts with other software or hardware panow Th see call records but they are garbled a speed and parity settings in the system don t match your telephone system b PC serial port conflicts with other software or hardware I get this error message INVALID FORMAT RECORD IGNORED constant error message wrong switch specification file FILTER xxx occasional error check the records for uniformity garbage characters or non CDR related records Call technical support for more information Part 2 Using the Software Part 2 Using The System Using the Software Call Billing Procedures Entering Trunk Information Call Timers Table Entering Surcharges and Taxes Entering the Equipment List Entering Extension Information Entering Dialed Digits Information Entering Account Code I
80. m will restart correctly Rule 5 ALWAYS make backups of your system files and store them in a safe place Backup procedures are discussed in this manual Rule 6 NEVER confuse the letters O oh and I el with the numbers zero and one Call Billing Procedures Call Billing Procedures Do really need to read this section Yes this section will explain the methods used when costing and allocating the raw call records collected from your switchboard It will help you configure your system to meet your specific requirements Where When Why and How are calls costed 1 Generally all calls that are billed at zero will be dropped by the system and will not appear in any reports The exceptions to this rule are a Operator Assisted Calls 0 telephone number these calls are not billed by the system because it is impossible to determine whether these calls were collect person to person etc However these calls are retained by the system and will appear on the reports An optional surcharge can be added to these calls if desired b Capture All Calls feature any calls placed by this group will be saved for reporting purposes regardless of whether the call was incomplete misdialed costed or not costed This feature will only work if your switchboard model is capable of providing all call records 2 All calls placed on trunks that have not been identified to the system are treated as DDD and billed at the proper DDD r
81. m your telephone system The computer running the software must have a network card installed and an IP connection If this is an Avaya or other telephone system that uses a special protocol then you must select the appropriate protocol in this section of the screen as well Collect Call Records from a Nortel BCM This data collection option is used to collect call data from a Nortel BCM telephone system The BCM is a Windows based telephone system that transmits call data using a client server structure over a network The computer you are installing the software on must be connected to the same network that the BCM resides on You must specify BCM server name enter the server name used as specified by your telephone system vendor User name enter a user name that has enough privileges to access the server Password enter the password for this appropriate user BCM 3 0 or 3 5 and later enter the correct BCM version you are running Ensure all these settings are entered correctly Failure to enter the correct information will result in no call data collection Collect Call Data from a Remote Gcom Collect Data from a Remote Computer This data collection option is used by a computer located at a remote site to collect raw data The computer is normally just running the Data Collection Module Gcom In some applications this can be used instead of remote buffer boxes or modems to collect data and transmit it back to a host site
82. me Display in the Nortel PABX for this extension Export to MAC Package where Primary Extension Name information is exported to the switch maintenance package for updating the CPND in the Nortel PABX It also shows you the current CPND name for this extension in the Nortel switch for your convenience Extension terms that apply to only to the individual primary or secondary name Extension Name Primary and Secondary can consists of up to 20 alpha numeric characters that make up the person s name or job description Use of the name is optional but is recommended especially if you are using any of the other features discussed in this section If you have more than one person assigned to an extension and wish to print company directories showing everyone simply click the Extension information lt Add gt button and enter the additional extension name s and information pertaining to them that you are tracking Authorization Code optional is the Authorization Code if any that belongs to the person assigned to this extension This feature allows people to move around your company making calls from any extension knowing it will be charged back to their home extension However they must enter their personal Authorization Code into the telephone system each time they place a long distance call This feature ensures correct cost allocation to the appropriate extension department division etc regardless of which extension was used to place
83. n 23 cents Some long distance carriers use minimum charge amounts when billing calls Discount Table Number optional is the table number containing the time of day discounts you wish to use These discount tables are created by the system user Refer to Setting Hourly Discounts for further information Leave this set to O or blank if hourly discounts are not required for your custom rate table Discount Message Charge optional the Message Charge or Call Set up Charge is simply the difference between the first minute and second minute rates Typically the Message Charge is added onto the cost of the first minute usually making the first minute of your call more expensive Some long distance carriers do not use Message Charges or Call Set up Charges However if they are used some carriers do not discount the Message Charges or Set up Charges when applying any time of day discounts This feature allows you to control the discounting of those charges Local Call Flag optional is used internally by the system to determine whether this call is in your local calling area You should use this feature to specify whether the number you have entered is to be treated as a local call Applicable Trunk Type optional is the specific Trunk Type category if any that you want this entry to apply to This entry defaults to All trunk types See Entering Trunk Information for further information on Trunk categories Any Dial
84. nd call data ACK NAK protocol required by some Internet usage reporting companies ENQ ACK NAK also required by some Internet usage reporting companies STX ETX required by some telephone systems Add Date Stamps to Incoming Records enables the data collection program to date stamp call records received from your telephone system Normally this setting is not activated no date stamping as most telephone systems provide the date the call was placed in the call records If your telephone system doesn t supply date stamped call records then this setting may need to be activated The system is shipped to you with the correct setting CONTACT YOUR SYSTEM DEALER BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES TO YOUR SETTING Beep if inactive enables the software to beep continuously if a specified number of minutes has passed without receiving any call data from your telephone system In addition to enabling this feature you can also specify the number of minutes that must pass without any call data before this alarm is activated Collecting Call Records from a TCP IP Port This option is used to collect call data directly from a telephone system that uses a static P address non changing and Port number to transmit call data rather than a serial port You must obtain from your telephone system vendor the IP address of the telephone system and the Port number that is used and enter them into this portion of the screen in order to enable call data collection fro
85. negative markup the call will be discounted by the amount specified i e 15 means 15 discount over the regular rates Different Percentage Markups can be used depending on call type e g local incoming long distance operator assisted overseas directory assisted 800 and 900 service calls If you plan to use both a Call Percentage Markup and the Surcharge per Call or Surcharge per Minute features together the system applies the percentage markup first followed by the surcharges Tax 1 Tax 2 and Tax 3 are the government determined tax rates you are charged for your telephone calls The rates used in your system s rate tables do NOT include any taxes Therefore you must determine and enter the appropriate tax rates for your area into the system The system features 3 levels of taxation If taxes only apply to the basic call cost and not any surcharges or markups simply enter the tax rates in the Basic Call Cost row on the Surcharge and Taxes screen If taxes apply to the surcharges and markups fill in the rest of the tax columns as required Apply Tax on Tax in some locations taxes are added on top of other taxes resulting in a compounding tax rate To accommodate these instances simply activate the apply Tax 2 to Tax 1 and or the apply Tax 3 to Tax 2 indicators as required Surcharges Markups and Taxes take effect immediately Entering the Equipment List Entering the Equipment List Do really need to read this section
86. next time the EXPORT program is run At that time the file is over written with the new one Note The system keeps track of the last record that was exported and re formatted into SELECT 001 so that it knows where to start the next time the program is run This last record is kept in the file LASTEXP 001 If this file is deleted or doesn t exist then the program will copy and re format all records currently in the system If the program can t find the matching record in your call record files then all records occurring since the approximate date and time of the control record are extracted Archiving amp De archiving Call Records Archiving and De archiving Call Records Archiving To archive your call records you must save the files 2yymmdd at least once a month Where 2 refers to the different file types such as call record traffic etc used by the system yymmdd refers to the year month and day of the last day s calls to be found in this file refers to the variable last name of the files which depends on how many sites information is being stored by the system If this is a single switchboard single site version most common then the last name will be 001 for all the data files Otherwise if it is a multi tenant polling or two switchboard version then the last name could be 002 003 004 etc depending on which site you are working with These files contain previous month s call records and traffic information
87. nformation Capture All Calls Installing Updates Performing Monthends and Deleting Previous Call Data Create Restore Backup Copies Setting Hourly Discounts Setting Access Codes Setting Data Collection Parameters Setting Miscellaneous Call Processing Characteristics Printing Reports and Listings General Business Printing Hotel Motel Reports Viewing Rate Table Information Recosting Calls Using the Software Using the Software This portion of the manual explains how to prepare and enter your configuration information It also explains the various functions features and operating principles of the system The system is packed full of features that you may or may not wish to use Read the first paragraph at the top of each Section to determine whether the topic discussed is applicable to your requirements Click the Call Accounting desktop icon to launch the main entry screen From here you can proceed deeper into the detailed menus and screens that are required to modify the system files and settings print reports or perform the other functions of the system From the main screen you will notice depending on the tab you have selected a screen displaying the raw call records in the format they are received from your switchboard or a screen displaying the costed formatted records retained by the software Any calls that have been received from your switchboard while you were out of the software will be quickly processed display
88. nges here you should contact your technical support centre This section deals with miscellaneous system features that can be turned ON or OFF to meet any specific requirements You should only change a setting here if you thoroughly understand the implications Included in this screen is a tab for Advanced settings This area is controlled by password s that you must obtain from technical support before access is permitted Typically this screen contains critical settings that must not be altered without the advice and support of our technicians What terms do I need to understand Maximum data file sizes in KB before rolling the files Some files used by the system are rolled over automatically to ensure they do not grow in size to the point where they fill up your hard drive These are typically insignificant files from a user s perspective You should check with technical support before making any changes to the default settings Raw Raw Call Records this file is used to keep the actual raw calls as received from your switchboard This option is typically used for maintenance purposes and is normally not changed by the user The system defaults to keeping 500k of the raw call data in a file called RAW This file rolls into a file called PREVRAW after 500k Leave this field empty or blank to never roll the file Rejected Rejected Calls this file is used to keep all information received from your switchboard that fails the call
89. number This is useful because normally the call set up times are longer for fax machines Using this feature will stop the billing of busy retry calls Trunks some users may wish to actually assign a trunk to a particular division department etc especially if they have branch offices whose long distance calls are routed through one central switchboard This provides a means for allocating long distance charges back to that branch Surcharge table optional is the Surcharge amp Taxes table number 1 through 9 that you wish calls placed by this extension to be charged Equipment Charge optional is a charge automatically determined from the Equipment List you have itemized for each extension You must have completed your master equipment inventory list and allocated the appropriate equipment to each extension for this feature to work The system will then automatically compute the correct equipment charge for each extension based on the equipment you have allocated to it Bill Calls to optional is the extension number if different you actually want the calls to be billed to This feature is especially useful in Hotels Motels where more than one extension exists in a single hotel room or the extension numbers are prefixed with a 7 that needs to be removed This feature ensures all calls from both extensions get charged to the single correct extension number so only one Checkout Report needs to be generated Although this feature
90. o always printing every call This feature makes your system extremely powerful when requesting any type of exception report What are Custom Reports After you have selected your report and entered any selection parameters the system will ask you if you wish to save and name this as a Custom Report for future use If you save it all the selection parameters except any date parameters used to generate this report are saved Your custom report s will then appear in the report selection menus under the Custom Reports category so you can request them at any time The date parameters are not saved as you will probably change them each time you run the report How do the Traffic Reports work Traffic Reports display peg counts of call traffic and durations These are accumulated by hour of day and day of week The Call Traffic reports show ALL call traffic not just long distance REGARDLESS of whether you are charging for local calls and incoming calls OR have the Capture All Calls feature turned ON Remember your telephone system must be programmed to send ALL call data for these reports to be accurate Most of the reports are self explanatory except perhaps the Traffic Analysis Summary contains some special terminology you may not be familiar with Traffic Analysis Summary is the most powerful report generated by your system This report can cut your telephone expenses by identifying unused trunks or trunks that are out of service It also gi
91. ogram updates and qualified technical support to help you get the most out of your system The first year is included with the purchase After that you will be automatically notified each year before the anniversary of your original purchase Back Available Options 1 Remote site polling Allows you to poll the call information from multiple branch offices back to your office for processing and reporting The system maintains separate configuration files for each branch office just as though it was running its own independent system Multi tenant package Allows the software to collect data for several different customers all sharing the same switchboard Each customer has its own separate configuration files just as though it were running its own independent system Buffer boxes normally not required For those customers who wish to use the entire PC to run other application programs you may purchase a buffer box to temporarily store calls while you run your other programs The software will then automatically process the calls later Both dial up modem and IP connected buffer boxes are supported Contact your dealer for more information A special DATA EXPORT utility Extracts calls from your call record files and re formats them into various different customized formats so other programs can read them This utility can be run as often as desired and only extracts the calls since the last time you ran it It is an additional op
92. on this screen You can print the contents of this screen and more by clicking the lt Print gt button Check for Raw Data being produced by the phone system Click the Raw Data tab ensure recent call records from your phone system are being displayed on the screen If no calls are seen turn the computer OFF for 20 seconds this resets the computer and check all cable connections Turn the computer back ON and bring up the system s main menu Place a test call and watch the screen If call records are still not seen check your phone system or contact your phone system s vendor and inform them that the phone system is no longer sending CDR or SMDR information to your call accounting system FAILURE TO CORRECT THIS WILL RESULT IN PERMANENT LOSS OF CALL RECORDS THIS COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF REVENUE ESPECIALLY IF CALLS ARE CHARGED OUT TO GUESTS CUSTOMERS OR PROJECTS You can print the contents of this screen and more by clicking the lt Print gt button Current computer date and time ensure this is correct The computer date and time is displayed in the top right corner of the main menu screen Adjust computer date and time if required reset computer and verify the change FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN AUTOMATIC MONTH END CYCLES RUNNING AT THE WRONG TIME Current phone system s date and time ensure the date is the same as the computer and the time is fairly close Adjust the date and time on your phone system if required Watch new calls a
93. one toll charges into specific areas Outgoing WATS trunks are not used in North America anymore However incoming WATS service is 800 or 888 calling is very common You are normally charged a flat rate regardless of the origination of the call WATS calls are usually billed with a 30 second minimum and then every 6 second interval thereafter but can vary The trunk type code used by the system to identify these trunks is a W T Tie Trunk These trunks are used to tie two independent switchboards together This enables calls to be placed between the two switchboards directly You are charged a flat fee per month for each Tie trunk The trunk type code used by the system to identify these trunks is a T F Foreign Exchange These trunks are used to connect your switchboard to a different telephone exchange This enables companies to take advantage of better local calling areas by receiving the same service as if they were actually located within that exchange You are charged a flat fee per month for each FX trunk The trunk type code used by the system to identify these trunks is an F M Miscellaneous These trunks comprise any miscellaneous trunk types that do not fit in the categories discussed above Typically they would include Other Common Carrier Paging Voice mail etc trunks The trunk type code used by the system to identify these trunks is an M Trunk Description is an additional field used to supply further inform
94. ormat 2 call record looks like this ac013606012964154987212 Format 2 call records have a maximum length of 36 characters The length varies with the length of the phone number dialed Notice the corresponding field positions listed below the call record in the sample above Any beginnings of line or end of line characters you program increases the length of the call record 1 Start of Message Always a z Command Message c Alwaysc Command Code 3606 Station max 4 char leading Cost of Call 001296 In pennies with leading zeros Number Dialed 4154987212 Dialed digits left justified FORMAT 3 Format 3 is designed to be used with general business computers and user designed applications A Format 3 call record looks like this 09 29 412 21 37 0007 004 87 212 931 4828 9302 NY 123456 Format 3 call records are 72 characters long Notice the corresponding field positions listed below the call record in the sample above Also note a single space separates all items in a Format 3 call record Any beginning of line or end of line characters you program increases the length of the call records The table below explains each item in the sample Format 3 call record Col Item_ Example Notes Date of Call 09 29 MM DD leading zeros included Station 5 char Right justified leading zeros suppressed suppressed right justified aiil 58 O o a e State Six characters right o a e never blank if unknown three spaces fol
95. ou wish to delete However you can optionally specify the number of month s of call data you wish the system to retain using the feature Number of monthends to keep The oldest call record files are then deleted automatically during the month end cycle so as not to exceed the maximum number of months you wish to retain in your system Before deleting any call data files you may wish to archive those old call files using a tape drive or some other backup software so they can be put back into the system at a later time if additional reporting is required The Call accumulation file names are CURR contains today s calls only CROOOOOO contains current month s calls except today s Cryymmdd contains call data for a previous period CURRTRAF contains current days call traffic peg counts TROOOOOO contains current month s call traffic peg counts Tryymmdd contains traffic peg counts for a previous period Create Restore Backup Copies Create Restore Backup Copies Do really need to read this section Absolutely After entering your configuration information or making any changes to it YOU MUST TAKE A BACKUP COPY OF THE CRI TI CAL CONFIGURATION FILES AND STORE IT IN A SAFE PLACE If you have to reload your system s software these backups can save you an enormous amount of time money and frustration You can backup these files to a floppy disk CD or a network drive by simply specifying the drive letter Note
96. ppearing on the screen to verify change FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN BILLING ERRORS DUE TO INCORRECT TIME OF DAY AND DAY OF WEEK DISCOUNTING The system comes with a complete self diagnostic utility This diagnostic utility is designed to help both the user and technical support staff trouble shoot any problems occurring with your system If you suspect problems with your system do the following 1 Ensure you are in the system s main menu and your printer is turned ON 2 Select Diagnostics Run Trouble report option This report can be printed on the printer or emailed to the Technical Support Center 3 Fax the report and the screen printout to your system s support centre if required No Raw Call Data Typical Problems and Solutions This type of problem can be very complicated to resolve because you are working with three different devices the switchboard cable and the PC Read the following suggestions carefully You may require the assistance of your switchboard or computer vendor to resolve the problem Most Common problems 99 9 of the time it is one of these take your pick A Cabled incorrectly from switchboard so that switch will not send data only Pins 3 7 required otherwise you must strap any others at the switchboard end of the cable B Pins 2 and 3 need to be reversed C Speed parity and data bits don t match switchboard CDR output D Computer s serial port configured incorrectly or conflicts with an
97. rd optional this is the password required by the user to gain access to the system The correct password must be entered before the main menu will appear on the screen If no password has been specified then no password is required to enter the menus Hotel admin menu password Hotel systems only optional allows the system user further access to the administration menus e g Surcharges and Taxes Extension Trunks etc maintenance modules once the System Entry Password has been entered If no Hotel Admin Menu password is specified then no password is required to enter the administration menus For simplicity the this password can be the same as the System Entry password Hotel profit report password Hotel systems only optional allows the system user even further access to the Profit reports once the System Entry and Hotel Admin passwords have been entered If no Profit report password is specified then no password is required to print the Profit reports For simplicity this password can be the same as the Hotel Admin or System Entry passwords Trunk types for breakdown up to 7 trunk type categories can be selected to be used on the Corporate Division Department and Area Code Summary reports The trunk type categories are preset for the 5 general call types CO WATS Tie FX and Misc but can be changed at any time to specific categories used in your trunk file Any calls for categories not defined here will fall into the 8
98. rmation can be obtained from your phone system s technician and entered immediately into the system Or if you can not readily determine these codes you may watch the raw records being collected and make note of these codes Then you may come back and complete this step once you are sure you have them all To enter these access codes click on Settings in the main menu then select SET Access Codes If a special rate table has been ordered you will have received additional sheets outlining the instructions to follow Step 10 Professional version only Enter the Trunk information if this site has numerous different types of trunks or let the system accumulate calls and add them for you automatically If all trunks are the same type i e two way Central Office trunks then you may skip this step If special handling is required then refer to Entering Trunk Information elsewhere in this manual for further information If you miss assigning any trunks the system will automatically add them for you to the C2WAY category and bill any calls placed on those trunks using standard DDD rates Step 11 To completely finish the installation you should do the following Enter your Surcharge amp Tax amounts Enter your Extension information Enter your Monthend Date Refer to this manual or press the lt Help gt button on the appropriate screen for further information on each topic if required Step 13 If you are installing a Buffer Box Polling Mu
99. s Traffic studies are automatically performed and the produced comprehensive Traffic Reports show you how well your telephone network is performing From the traffic reports you can see the grade of service your current telephone network offers to its users 8 Call Markups Surcharges and Taxes The system features a comprehensive call markup feature that permits all calls to be costed at the regular telephone rates plus a user determined percentage markup or surcharge This feature can generate substantial revenue for many types of businesses such as lawyers accountants hotels motels and hospitals Several different markup tables can be used simultaneously and applied to calls based on extension trunk account or dialed numbers Three separate levels of taxation are permitted with the option of tax on tax if required 9 Accurate Call Costing By default calls are billed using the true V amp H tables for your location In addition up to 9 different custom rate tables may be used simultaneously by the software to accommodate OCC Other Common Carriers calls Through the system screens you can also enter your own customized billing rates for calls 10 Time of Day Discounts Correct time of day and day of week discounts are applied in the same manner as your telephone company Depending on your application these can be turned off for maximum billing 11 Telephone Company Discount Plans When applicable popular telephone company dis
100. seeecceseaeeeceeseeeecseceeeeceeeeaeeeaea 52 Exporting Calls to Other Programs cssssscccssssscesssssccccssssecescssesceesssssceesssaeessessasscessssseeesssaaeessseaesseeeesssaeesssseeeeseesees 57 Archiving amp De archiving Call R cords orure lueia e ae a e E aa a a ae a 58 Introduction Different Versions General Business Applications Hotel and Motel Applications System Benefits System Features Available Options Topics Discussed Introduction Introduction Different Versions This call accounting system is designed to be both user friendly and simple to use yet pack the power of systems costing thousands of dollars more A great deal of care has been taken to avoid complex menus unnecessary features redundant reports or complex operating procedures Naturally the more complex a system is the harder it is to learn and the more vulnerable it is to user error and system failure The system developers have many years of both computer and telephone experience which you will see reflected in the quality of this product We always welcome any comments or suggestions you may have The following versions of the software are available Professional series fully featured Extensive Reporting Traffic Fraud Equipment Inventory Directory modules Express series for smaller companies with fewer than 100 phones that require just basic reporting and no fraud equipment or directory modules Back General Business
101. sly Typically the main switchboard s CDR port is redundant connected directly to the PC s COM1 port while the additional switchboard s CDR ports are connected to COM2 COM3 etc The calling information from each site can be kept in different files or combined into a single file for reporting Keeping them separate allows each site to have its own unique Division Department Extension Trunk Surcharges and Markups Switchboard Makes Monthend dates etc without affecting the other sites Installation Instructions If you are installing a multi switch version there may be one extra disk for each additional site Follow the instructions below Step 1 Install the regular system software as discussed in the Installation section of this manual if you have not already done so Step 2 Click on the Site selection icon to bring up the site selection menu Step 3 Select the main site and then select ADJUST Control Settings and SET Data Collection Parameters and set the COM port number speed parity and data bits for the primary serial port Repeat the above for each site on the menu Step 4 Configure each site as though it is a completely different system You must enter the site specific information such as trunk division department and extension information for each site Additional Notes Ensure you are running the correct switchboard specification file for the other sites Configuring the PMS Interface Configuring the P
102. so have many different Distribution Lists if you are generating many different reports that go to different recipients Although the main function of the Distribution List is to provide destination email addresses for reports it can also contain any customized commands that you wish to run ie a batch file however you must contact technical support before implementing any customized programs Distribution List name is the user defined name that you created to identify the recipient s that you wish any selected reports to be sent to Distribution List names appear under the destination column like printer screen disk file in the Report Selection Screen List members is the number of members in that Distribution List Destination is the email address of the each individual s you are adding to the Distribution List Destination type is the type of destination either email or a custom command You should always choose email address unless you have discussed your particular requirements with technical support staff What are Email settings Email settings are settings that need to be configured first before any emails can be sent from the software You may need to contact your computer support person to obtain some of this information Mail server name is the name of your SMTP mail server for outgoing email From email address is the email address that will show as being the originator of the email This will also be the addr
103. stination and enter the email address of the recipient More than one recipient can be specified If you plan on using these email address es again you may wish to create a Distribution List group discussed below to save these email addresses for future use as this entry is typically used for one occasion report generation 5 Distribution List name s the name of the previously user defined Distribution List group If you have multiple email addresses that you want a report or group of reports to be sent to regularly then you need to create a Distribution List group entry that contains the list of recipients How Do Print Automatic Reports The Professional series includes an Automatic Report Printing feature There are two default groups of Automatic Reports Daily and Monthly Daily automatic reports are printed each day and monthly automatic reports are printed at the end of your month during the monthend cycle Naturally before this feature will work you must select which reports you want to be printed and to what destination printer email etc the reports are to go To select the reports first click on the appropriate group you wish your report selections to be saved into daily monthly etc and then click the lt change gt button and proceed with selecting your reports and the destination IMPORTANT You must FIRST create any Custom Reports first before you can select them for automatic printing Normally the two default gro
104. t or features associated with that extension If you are adding the Equipment Inventory later then you will have to go back and add the equipment codes to your existing extension file entries What terms do I need to understand Equipment code an abbreviation that will be used internally to identify the various equipment items or calling features This code is set by the user It may be up to 6 alpha numeric characters long Equipment description is the actual alpha numeric description for each equipment code that you have specified It can record equipment calling features or any other information that your desire Comments is a miscellaneous field that can be used for any comments serial numbers or other relevant information Equipment cost is the actual cost of the unit Monthly cost is a monthly amount to be charged to each extension that has this particular piece of equipment or calling feature The system will then automatically include in the extension s equipment charge any monthly charges for the item s that you have specified in the equipment file Common Equipment indicator The system will track whether the equipment is common to all extensions or not Total quantity is the total quantity of each equipment item including inventoried and distributed equipment This amount is determined by the user Quantity Distributed is the number of each inventoried item that you have actually allocated to different e
105. t the time of report printing breakdown is not available on screen output If more than one room is printed at a time you may request more than one room be printed on a page 2 Room Call Summary Report is a summary report that shows the current outstanding charges against the various guest rooms The Room Call Summary report allows you to optionally clear all the rooms calls after printing Keep in mind that clearing the Room Call Summary report also clears the Room Checkout report as both reports access the same calling information file IF YOU HAVE A PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND DO NOT RUN ANY OF THESE REPORTS TO CLEAR YOUR GUEST ROOMS THEN YOU MUST PERIODICALLY RUN THE ROOM CALL SUMMARY REPORT AND CLEAR ALL THE CALLS TO AVOID FILLING UP YOUR HARD DISK If you use these reports to check your guests out then you may ignore this warning 3 Profit Report this report requires a password to be entered before any access is given The Profit Report calculates your profit for a specified time period If no starting and ending dates are entered when printing this report then all profit information accumulated since the last time the report was run will be printed on the report If date ranges are selected then profit information between those dates will be printed on the report 4 Rejected Calls Report can be printed from the hotel menu as well as the Detail Report menu This report prints all non call type information that was received
106. th column Others Printing Reports and Listings Printing Reports and Listings General Business Do really need to read this section Maybe but the best way to learn about the reporting features of your system is simply to print some reports All printing instructions are displayed on the screen when you make your selections New reports are being continuously added to the system You can not delete any call data by running the general business reports but you can with the Hotel Motel reports Hotel Motel systems not only include the General Business reports but also a group of specialized Hotel Motel reports This dual functionality allows you to run off administration type reports in addition to the normal guest check out night audit and profit reports Further it acts as a backup to go back and examine calls made by a guest months after they have checked out Hotel Motel users should read the Hotel Motel Reports section for additional information The actual printing instructions and system prompts will be displayed on the screen when you request a report Depending on the volume of switchboard traffic and your selections these reports could take a few minutes to prepare prior to printing Please be patient the system is very busy preparing your reports What types of reports does the system print There are four basic types of reports generated by 1 Summary Reports where just total calls total duration and total cost type
107. the following important points 1 You may require a larger hard disk to accommodate the higher volume of calls that will be retained by the system 2 Your switchboard must be programmed to generate records for local calls so they can be processed by the system 3 If you live in an area where local calls are billed by the telephone company they will be automatically billed and retained by the system Long Distance Calls are typically DDD calls or 1 calls The basic call cost for these calls is automatically calculated using internal rate tables or user supplied rates If you wish to apply any surcharges or markups over the basic DDD cost specify them in the table beside the Long Distance DDD table entry Remember to specify any applicable taxes that apply to the surcharge and markup amounts there as well Operator assisted 0 telephone number These calls are not billed by the system because it is impossible to determine whether these calls were collect person to person third party billed etc Therefore these calls have a basic call cost of zero Normally these calls are retained by the system and appear on the reports with a cost of zero However the system permits surcharges and markups to be added to all operator assisted calls Overseas Calls all DDD overseas calls 011 North America are automatically billed by the system using internal rate tables Any operator assisted overseas calls 01 North America are bille
108. tion to the standard export option offered Auxiliary rate tables Permit billing of calls placed over OCC other common carriers Multi switchboard version collects calls from multiple independent switchboards simultaneously These calls are either kept in separate files and treated as an entirely different systems or combined for unified reporting Property Management System Interfaces enables Hotel Motel systems to automatically track calls and transmit all guest calling information directly to another computer for posting to customer folios Internet Usage Interfaces enables Hotel Motel internet usage to automatically be billed and the information transmitted with guest calling information directly to another computer for posting to customer folios 9 COPS Interrogator for Nortel series PABX s works with the existing COPS Toll Fraud module to actually disconnect fraudulent calls in progress The COPS Interrogator takes aggressive action against toll fraud calls 10 Switch Maintenance for Nortel series PABX s performs Moves Adds Changes to your Nortel PABX at specified times allows the exchange of configuration information between your system and your switchboard to avoid dual entry 11 Traffic Manager performs detailed comprehensive traffic reporting and studies on your PABX These reports cover more aspects and are far more detailed than the ones found in this package 12 Contact Center Manager produces detai
109. totals Department Summation of all Sub Department totals Sub Department Summation of all Cost Center totals Cost Center Summation of all Extension totals Extension Summation of each individual call In addition to defining the levels you will be required to assign a 7 digit alpha numeric code and an alphabetic name to each individual Division Department etc Although the system carries and reports the alphabetic names of each Division Department etc that you designate it relies on the codes for the internal sorting and allocating of calls throughout your company hierarchy We strongly recommend you do NOT use the same code for different levels of hierarchy You can also use your own names to identify each level e g Region Branch etc rather than Department Division If you have your own internal codes you may wish to use them providing they do not exceed 7 alpha numeric characters Otherwise you can incorporate them into the Division Department etc names as they can be up to 20 alpha numeric characters To configure your levels of hierarchy simply bring up the information for an extension and click the lt Change gt button next to the department name Terms for Entering Hierarchy Labels Level 0 1 2 3 4 5 enter your hierarchy level names such as branch cost center etc if you want to use names different than the Department Division default names If you wish to add a new level then enter the next unused hierarchy le
110. ud reports and the other system reports OR it may appear only on the toll fraud reports For example if you are not keeping local calls but you want all calls over 60 minutes to be retained by COPS then a local call that is 65 minutes will not appear on the general call accounting reports but it will appear on your Toll Fraud Reports CAREFULLY CONSI DER YOUR TOLL FRAUD PARAMETERS AND ENSURE YOU ASSIGN THEM IN THE CORRECT PRIORITY 0 lowest to 9 highest Part 4 Genesis Diagnostics Part 4 System Diagnostics e Diagnostics To ensure reliable system operation Check for Warning messages Check Raw Call Data being produced by the phone system Current computer date amp time Current phone system date and time No Raw Call Data Typical Problems and Solutions Serial Port Test Utility Diagnostic procedure using the Serial Port Test Utility Diagnostics System Diagnostics To Ensure reliable system operation The system operator MUST observe the main menu screen at least once each day to ensure correct system operation If you fail to perform these checks the system or your telephone system s CDR port could be down for a long period of time before anyone would know If the system is down call record collection is suspended and valuable call data is lost Check these items from the main menu screen Check for Warning messages Click the System Status tab and look for Warning messages Look for any current system warning messages
111. uded with your update disk s Performing Monthends Performing Monthends amp Deleting Previous Call Data Do really need to read this section Yes Monthends are required to close off call accumulation files for a specific period and open fresh files for the next period Basically you have two options You can have Monthends performed automatically the same day each month without any user involvement or you can initiate Monthend processing on demand by specifying the starting and ending dates How do Automatic Monthends work Automatic Monthends are performed automatically each month on the day you have specified No user involvement is required for these cycles to run Simply specify the date and ensure your computer is left running the night the Automatic Monthend cycle is to be performed Automatic Monthends work well for users who are not concerned with telephone bill reconciliation or for users whose telephone companies use a consistent cut off date each month when preparing a bill Enable Automatic Monthends if you wish to use the Automatic Monthend feature this must feature must be activated Automatic Monthend Date Simply select the day of the month you wish to be the last day of each reporting period A new file will be opened immediately to collect the data for the next reporting period Before you choose your Monthend date you should consider the following important points 1 You may wish to set the month end date so it
112. uires the following minimum PC specifications to operate correctly Windows 2000 XP or later Minimum of 24 Meg memory 1 serial communications port USB Serial Ports are unreliable printer for reports hard disk with at least 20 megabytes free CD drive Why should I leave the computer ON at all times 1 The data collection and billing programs must remain running 24 hours 7 days per week in order to collect call data from your phone system The data collection and billing programs are automatically started each time the computer is started 2 The system performs automatic nightly processing cycles When does the system bill my telephone calls For the main site call data is billed as it is received For any remote sites data billing and allocation is may be done each time you enter the system by bringing up the main menu or each night automatically depending on your requirements and how your system is configured Call technical support for more information When the main menu is up you can observe call records from your phone system being costed on the screen It quickly catches up by processing any outstanding calls records already received from your phone system If you leave this menu up your calls will be processed in real time as they occur and be ready for report printing immediately How do bring up the software Click on the desktop icon for single site version or the Suite icon for Polling amp multi tenant sw
113. ups daily and monthly are all that is required by most users However you can also create and name your own group of automatic reports that you can schedule for later printing or initiate immediate printing To create a new group of Automatic Reports you must click the lt add gt button on the screen that displays the groups of reports Follow the instructions on the screen Daily any reports selected to be printed daily will be printed each night automatically during the midnight processing cycle These are special non cumulative reports meaning that only call data from the previous day will be eligible for printing on the daily reports If a printer problem arises the printing will pause until you correct the problem Monthly any reports selected to be printed monthly will be printed automatically during the month end cycle Only calls in the current ending month will be eligible for printing If a printer problem arises the printing will pause until you correct the problem Now any group of reports daily monthly or any custom group you created can at any time be selected to be printed immediately after you have selected the appropriate reporting period Simply check the periods you wish to be included in the reports If disk file output is specified for the Automatic Report Selection you can specify the names of the disk files Because these are ASCII files you can copy them onto CD s or network drives for future reference or rea
114. ust enter the call parameters that you want to be treated as fraudulent For simplicity these tables were designed to match the ones you use when printing reports 3 Indicate for each table whether you want the computer to flip to the COPS Toll Fraud screen and or beep continuously when a suspect call is received How do print COPS Toll Fraud Reports Print COPS Toll Fraud reports from the PRINT Reports and Listings menus When the report has finished printing you will be asked if you wish to clear the calls just printed Answer Yes if you want the system to delete ALL the COPS Toll Fraud calls Helpful hints When the software receives a call it checks the call s characteristics against the parameters you have entered in your table If the call qualifies then the system takes whatever action you have specified in the table Depending on how you set your tables it is possible for a call to have characteristics that are found in more than one table If you have chosen different notification action to be taken for these two tables then a conflict could arise THEREFORE TO AVOID A CONFLICT THE HIGHER THE TABLE NUMBER THE HIGHER THE PRIORITY OF THE TABLE SO WHEN A CONFLICT ARISES THE ACTION SELECTED IN THE HIGHER TABLE NUMBER IS TAKEN COPS calls are stored in a different call detail file from regular call records It is important to note that depending on the call record s actual characteristics it may appear on the toll fra
115. validity filter to ensure it is properly aligned This data is written to a separate rejected calls file This information may also include wake up and maid calls or switchboard initialization messages You can then use the Rejected Calls Report in the Detail Reports menu to print this information This Rejected Calls file is also automatically turned over with your month end cycles so you never have to worry about deleting it Leave this field empty or blank to never roll the file Rooms Hotel Room Calls if your system is connected to a Hotel Motel PMS system where call data is automatically transmitted to the PMS for posting to your guests folios and you are not running guest checkout reports and clearing room totals then you may wish to use this feature Enabling this feature will ensure your room call data files never exceed a certain size hence eliminating the worry of filling your hard disk However call data is still retained in the monthly administration files retained by the system for historical reporting Leave this field empty or blank to never roll the file CDR LOG System Activity Log File this file is used for keeping track of the system activity All our programs write execution error and diagnostic information to this file that can later be used for troubleshooting purposes This file can grow in size and must be controlled by rolling it over at specified file sizes Print Authorization Codes the system will optiona
116. ved A protocol must be activated for this feature to work Output records to PMS DAT activating this setting will output PMS records to a disk file If it is routed to a disk file a PMS package running on the same computer as this software can access the call record file for posting directly into their system Output sites to separate files PMSDAT 00O1 this feature when activated allows call data from separate sites to be written to separate files ending with the suffixes 001 002 003 etc This option is not used very often so you should contact technical support before changing it Roll PMS DAT every ____ KB enables the feature to delete a PMS DAT file once it has reached a user specified size to avoid the file becoming too large This feature is normally only used when the Output records to PMS DAT option has been enabled for diagnostic reasons as opposed to supplying call records to an PMS package running on the same PC PMS prefix and suffix strings some PMS systems require special starting and ending characters when receiving records If those characters are not present the record is ignored The software allows you to enter up to 4 prefix and suffix characters wrappers to be put on the front and back of each record sent to your property management system The default setting if none are specified is lt LF gt lt record gt lt CR gt record format 1 only lt record gt lt CR gt lt LF gt all other record formats
117. vel name If you wish to delete a level then simply delete the hierarchy level name Terms for Adding your Divisions and Departments Under the Add new level you must enter your Department and Division names prior to entering any Extension names Select the hierarchy level Type of the entry you are entering for example Level 1 which is for your Sales Department Then enter the 7 character code and the alpha name that describes this entry Complete this until all departments and divisions and any additional levels of hierarchy are entered Then you can proceed to enter your individual extension names and information How do configure my Extensions Each Extension connected to your company s switchboard can be identified to the system so correct cost allocation can occur Typically this involves defining each Extension name number and other relevant information and identifying which Cost Center Department Division etc that Extension is assigned to You can set up anywhere from one to four levels of hierarchy reporting as discussed above e g Cost Center Sub Department Department Division and you can assign numerous names to a single extension for company directory purposes Hotel Motel versions need only define their administration phones as the software treats all extensions as hotel guest phones using Surcharge and Tax Table 1 by default In addition to the Extension name and number the system allows an optional Equipment Charge to b
118. ves you enough information to streamline your telephone network so that you can achieve maximum performance at minimum cost We could write an entire book about analyzing telephone traffic with the information produced by these reports but our discussion here will be brief Basically this report does the following identifies each trunk member in your system and displays the total calls total duration and percentage of total use for each individual trunk identifies the hour that is normally your busiest for telephone traffic Calculates the Average Hour in CCS 100 call seconds and the grade of service during that time The Average Hour is simply the total number of minutes divided by the total number of hours The grade of service is measured using the P scale where PO1 means 1 call out of every 100 will be unsuccessful in getting through due to all lines busy This measurement lets you see how well your system performs on average throughout the day identifies the Average BUSY Hour in CCS 100 call seconds and the grade of service during that time The Average BUSY Hour is simply the total number of minutes in the single busiest hour of each day divided by the total number of days The grade of service is measured in the same manner as the Average Hour This measurement lets you see how well your system performs during the busiest hour of each day identifies the Peak Hour in CCS 100 call seconds and the grade of ser
119. vice during that time The Peak Hour is simply the hour during the reporting period that has the highest volume of telephone traffic The grade of service is measured using the P scale where PO1 means 1 call out of every 100 will be unsuccessful in getting through due to all lines busy This measurement lets you see how well your system performs during the single busiest hour the worst one of the reporting period identifies how many trunks are required to maintain different grades of service during the average busy hour The average busy hour is the one usually used for any type of traffic analysis In addition this report allows you to select the hours you wish the system to use when performing the traffic studies By default the system comes with a table defining the study period to be Monday to Friday 8 00 to 12 00 and 13 00 to 17 00 but this table can be modified through the menus Settings Set Traffic Study Period It would be deceiving to include the early morning or late evening hours for some businesses in the traffic averaging calculations because they would distort the averaging calculation You can change this table under menu control to suit your particular requirements What are Distribution Lists Distribution Lists are groups of report recipients that you would regularly send the same reports to Sometimes there may be only one recipient in your distribution list however you may also have many recipients You may al
120. xtensions This amount is automatically calculated by the system from the equipment list you build for each extension Entering Extension Information Entering Extension Information Do really need to read this section Probably not because entering extension information is relatively simple if you follow the instructions on the screen However you may want to refer back here for answers to any questions If you choose not to enter any extension information all your extensions will be Unassigned Calls are still allocated to each extension and will appear on your reports but are allocated to the unassigned division and department Also hourly extension traffic will not be reported for unassigned extensions unless at least one call has been retained by the system for that extension If you wish this information can be added at a later time The screen allows you to sort the list by column headings and to search for a specific value To search for a specific value enter the value partial matches are applied and click search You can then use the column headings to sort your search results Clicking clear removes the search criteria and displays the entire list A note from the author This section discusses some very powerful features The system was designed to work in hotel motels as well as companies ranging from a few to thousands of extensions using multiple names authorization codes email addresses fax machines telephone equipm
121. y by allowing different timers to be used for incoming local long distance overseas fax machines 900 and 800 service calls as the call set up times for these categories can be significantly different depending on your calling patterns Any changes to the Timers Table take effect immediately Entering Surcharges amp Taxes Entering Surcharges and Taxes Do really need to read this section Absolutely Completion of this section is CRITICAL This section discusses how to enter the applicable taxes as well as any surcharges and markups you wish to use Entering and maintaining tax and surcharge information is the sole responsibility of the system user FAILURE TO COMPLETE THIS SECTION CORRECTLY CAN RESULT IN LOSS OF REVENUE IF THE SYSTEM IS USED FOR CHARGE BACK PURPOSES How do Surcharges Markups and Taxes work Many companies such as lawyers accountants and definitely motels and hotels add surcharges and markups to their calls to generate revenue by reselling long distance services Taxes must also be added sometimes to just the basic cost of the call and sometimes to the surcharges and markups as well In some areas taxes are added on top of other taxes yielding a compounding tax effect Check your local laws This system features extremely powerful Surcharge Markup and Tax tables that allow virtually any combination of surcharges markups and taxes to be applied Different Surcharges Markups and Taxes can be applied to di

CDR Manual - Genesis Systems

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