Design invoices with a user-friendly external service
Now, with Add-on Mart, you can integrate user-friendly external services for invoice PDF branding and customization into your PortaSwitch. The modern template services offer versatile tools such as visual editors, a variety of fonts, the ability to add barcodes and QR codes, and much more. You can now make the most of these features. Once an invoice is calculated in PortaBilling, its data is sent via Add-on Mart to an external system, where the values of variables, such as invoice number, are populated into the layout you have designed.
Each of these services uses its own proprietary API, so Add-on Mart acts as a mediator, enabling PortaBilling to connect with them by translating API calls. With this release, integration with the CraftMyPDF service is available. If you need an integration with a different template service in the near future, please reach out to our sales team.
To use the integration with an external template service, you need to sign up for an account with the external service (such as CraftMyPDF) and subscribe to the corresponding module in Add-on Mart.
Example
Say you design an invoice template in CraftMyPDF by uploading your logo, adjusting the layout, and adding the variables that will be populated with PortaBilling data. The layout editor provides a quick preview of the invoice with test data. Once you’re satisfied with the invoice’s appearance, you can start using this template.
All templates created through the external service will be automatically displayed alongside other templates within the PortaBilling system. You can assign the template to a specific customer class or individual customer.
What’s improved?
Save time and effort when designing invoice PDF files
Use a flexible tool to quickly design invoice PDF files according to your business branding and requirements.
Find more details here.
Call center supervisor role
A new role, “Hunt Group Supervisor,” has been introduced in PortaBilling. This role is specifically designed to grant supervisors access to the call center management portals. This includes access to the PortaOne Cloud PBX Self-Care Portal and any other custom portals, built in-house or by a third party.
While call center admins have access to all hunt groups, the new role restricts supervisors to manage solely the hunt groups and agents under their supervision. This ensures that both call center admins and supervisors who oversee specific hunt groups only can use the same portal, securely and efficiently.
Example
In a call center with two help desks serving clients from different locations, there are distinct agent teams: “English,” supervised by John, and “Spanish,” supervised by Paula.
When logging into the portal, John will only have access to the “English” hunt group’s information, such as the list of agents and their active calls, while Paula will only be able to manage the “Spanish” hunt group. Consequently, both supervisors only see the information relevant to their respective teams.
What’s improved?
Better experience for call center supervisors
Supervisors can focus exclusively on the hunt groups they oversee, experience fewer distractions, and save time when accessing essential information on the portal.
Improved cloud call center offering
You can improve your cloud call center solution to better suit call center needs.
Find more details here.
Call parking and retrieval with a single key on an IP phone
Your PBX customers can now program softkeys on their IP phones for quick and convenient call parking and retrieval with a single button. With this feature, users of your customers’ PBX systems don’t need to remember a special service code to dial in combination with the extension to park or retrieve a call.
In order to view the current status of a parking slot (occupied or available), the IP phones must also support the Busy Lamp Field (BLF) feature.
Example
Imagine that line key 1 and line key 2 are set up as two parking slots on ten IP phones (specifically, the Yealink T46G model) installed throughout a hospital. When the LED indicators for line keys 1 and 2 are green, it means both slots are available for call parking.
Now, suppose a receptionist needs to park an incoming call for a doctor. She presses line key 1, and the LED indicator for line key 1 turns solid red on her phone, as well as on the other nine IP phones, indicating that there is a parked call in slot 1. Dr. Johnson, who is in the intensive care unit, hears the announcement about the call waiting for him on line 1. He sees the solid red LED indicator for line key 1 on the IP phone in the intensive care unit and presses it to connect with the patient.
What’s improved?
Better customer service
PBX customers can manage calls faster without the need to remember and dial specific codes and extensions for parking or retrieving calls.
Find more details here.
Branding web interfaces
You can customize the PortaBilling web interface for your admins, as well as the web interfaces of the reseller and distributor portals. This customization allows you to add your company’s logo and name, and adjust the color theme to match your company’s branding guidelines.
For instance, if you have resellers (or “managed services” operators using individual virtual environments) under multiple brands, you can create distinct brand identities for each reseller so their staff sees familiar brand items. Additionally, using different logos and color themes, you can help your admins visually differentiate between multiple systems, such as the staging and production systems.
What’s improved?
Brand recognition and trust among users
Ensure branding consistency across your digital platforms and meet the specific needs of each reseller when selling across multiple brands.
Easier administration
Minimize the risk of human error when working with multiple systems by using visual cues.
Find more details here.
Independent configuration of Add-on Mart services for both service providers and resellers
Now you and your resellers can configure Add-on Mart services independently. This means that even if you, as a service provider, do not use a specific Add-on Mart module, your resellers can still activate it on their own.
This flexibility is achieved by providing each party with unique Add-on Mart credentials, which are required for connecting PortaSwitch to the Add-on Mart Cloud Infrastructure.
Upon subscribing to an Add-on Mart module, admins receive the corresponding Add-on Mart credentials, which they can now enter directly via the PortaBilling web interface. Similarly, resellers who independently subscribe to an Add-on Mart module will receive their own credentials and can enter them on the reseller portal.
Note that this capability is available only for modules that appear in the Add-on Mart starting from MR113, such as CraftMyPDF.
What’s improved?
More flexibility for resellers
Your resellers have the freedom to choose whichever Add-on Mart modules they need for their business.
Easier administration
Your admins can save time on Add-on Mart services configuration and coordination with resellers.
Find more details here.
Instant access to the built-in API documentation
The built-in API documentation is now conveniently accessible directly from the PortaBilling main menu. For instance, when a developer logs into the PortaBilling web interface, they can easily navigate to “Toolbox” on the main menu and click on “API documentation” to test a PortaBilling API method. Since the developer is already logged in, authentication is handled automatically, allowing for immediate testing.
Streamlined access to API testing
Developers can quickly access and test the built-in API methods.
Find more details here.
Additional clarity for vendor xDRs
The vendor xDR page has been updated to include additional details that simplify the process of investigating unsuccessful call attempts:
- Unsuccessful call attempts are now highlighted in orange in the “Charged time” and “Charged duration” columns, making them easy to spot.
- A new dedicated “Connection” column shows which vendor connection was used for each routing attempt, allowing admins to easily differentiate between seemingly identical xDRs that represent call attempts made through different vendor connections. Additionally, the connection names also serve as hyperlinks, enabling quick navigation to the connection details page for further analysis.
Easier administration
Save time while investigating unsuccessful call attempts.
Find more details here.
