ABSTRACT
The project is to create an application that should provide service to
the user, collect user usage records, and generate invoices of each credit
expire, each billing cycle depends on the billing type, collect payments and
adjust customers' balances.
The e-Billing system has the
capacity to illustrate and analyze the basic billing system and the main
functionalities that surround the billing system from a business prospective
and explains how each interacts to complete the billing cycle.
Also, development
of a billing system emulator that is capable of can billing more quickly,
accurately and update customer record and enables customer to view bill
information.
This Billing system
can be deployed in a real world situation. For example, it could be implemented
for a telecommunication company to have effective billing of the customer and
it could also be deployed as contractor to already existing networks.
Hopefully, at the end of the day
the program will be able to satisfied the under listed objectives that would
bridge the gap on short coming in the billing system
1. Services:
Service is the entity offered by the company and targeted to the customers.
2. Accounts:
The customer account includes customer contact profile information, account
type, login information, and payment method
3. Ratings:
Rating is the process of converting usage records from one form to another,
like converting usage units to its cost.
4. Payments: Each customer in the system has an
account balance, which affects any invoices requested by the customer and any
payments done by the customer.
5. Invoices:
It is the entity generated by the billing system to inform the customer that he
must pay for his service usage or ordering
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE:INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background Information
1.2
Statements of Problem
1.3 Aims and Objectives
1.4
Methodology
1.4.1 Deployment
1.5
Significance
of Study
1.6
Limitations
1.7 Organization of Report
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Brief
History
2.3 Past
Project On The Billing System
2.4 Problem
Of Existing System
2.5
Characterstic Of The Proposed System
2.6 The
Billing System
2.7 Billing
Types
2.8
Structures For Tariff And Charging
2.9 Database
2.9.1
Database Server
2.9.2
Relational Database Management System
2.10
Programming
2.10.1 Object-Oriented
Programming
CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS
AND DESIGN
3.1 Introduction
3.2 System Analysis
3.3 The E-Billing And Invoice System Emulator
Overview
3.4 Requirements
Specification
3.4.1 Functional Requirements
3.4.2 Non-Functional
Requirements
3.4.3 User
Requirements
3.4.4 System
Requirements
3.5 System
Design
3.5.1 System
Modeling
3.5.1.1 Use Case
3.5.1.2 Sequence
Diagram
3.5.1.3 Activity
Flow Diagram
3.5.1.4
Class Diagram
3.5.2 Database Design
3.5.2.1 The
User Info Table
3.5.2.2 Data
Plans Table
3.5.2.3 Logs
Table
3.5 Summary
CHAPTER FOUR: SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING
4.1 Introduction
4.2 The
System Requirements
4.2.1 Software Requirement
4.2.2 Hardware Requirements
4.3 Software Implementation
4.4 Software Testing
4.5
Database
Implementation
4.6
Summary
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Summary
5.2 Achievements
5.3 Challenges
And Constraints
5.4 Conclusion
5.5 Recommendation
List of Figures
List
of Tables
Reference
Appendix: Source Code
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
E-billing is the
delivery of electronic bills to end consumers (B2C) and providing a payment
option for them [1] and it can simply be explained as a technology which
enables the replacement of paper with electronic documents delivered through
email or a website [8].
Telecommunication
Billing is a process of collecting credit usage, aggregating it, applying
required charges and finally generating invoices for the customers. Telecom
Billing process also includes receiving and recording payments from the
customers.[2] The billing process involves receiving billing records
from various networks, determining the billing rates associated with the
billing records, calculating the cost for each billing record, aggregating
these records periodically to generate invoices, sending invoices to the
customer, and collecting payments received from the customer [2].
1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION
What is the
billing system?
The billing
systems process the usage of network equipment that is used during the service
usage into a single Call Detail Record (CDR) [1]. In GSM 1900, traditionally in
North America, the mobile user pays for both incoming and outgoing calls. The
reason being that one subscriber cannot tell if the other subscriber is a
mobile subscriber because of the American integrated numbering plan [2]. GSM specifications do not govern tariffs or
packages because each operator decides this. This project will be focusing on
billing system and the main difference between common and basic billing system
usually used in telecommunication. It will involve analyzing the basic billing
system from a management and business point of view and describing the basic
functionalities.
We can divide the system into five parts
as follows [1]:
1. Services:
Service is the entity offered by the company and targeted to the customers.
2. Accounts:
The customer account includes customer contact profile information, account
type, login information, and payment method
3. Ratings:
Rating is the process of converting usage records from one form to another,
like converting usage units to its cost.
4. Payments: Each customer in the system has an
account balance, which affects any invoices requested by the customer and any
payments done by the customer.
5. Invoices:
It is the entity generated by the billing system to inform the customer that he
must pay for his service usage or ordering.
1.3 STATEMENTS OF PROBLEM
·
Overcharging: In telecommunication, the billing system is a
very sensitive part and it is faced with a lot of challenges like the
overcharging which makes customers/ users complain. This problem may arise from
the rating , that is rate given to each call lines and the time by the inaccuracy of the billing system
·
Poor
customer service: Most of the
billing systems have poor customer service thereby not given room for customer
complaint and attention to their complaints therefore, a Report Generation
system will be developed for the user and management of eBilling and Invoicing
System. This system will have both details and summary type reports for
analysis of the data calculated.
·
Security
and Simplicity: Customer,
Products, and Billing Generation i.e. it will Automate the current manual bill
generation system and maintain the searchable customer, charge database and
charge invoice, maintain the data security, user rights.
1.3 AIMS
AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this project is to create an application that should provide
service to the user, collect user usage records, and generate invoices of each
credit expire, each billing cycle depends on the billing type, collect payments
and adjust customers' balances.
The main objectives of the project are:
·
To illustrate and analyze the basic billing system
and the main functionalities that surround the billing system from a business
prospective and explains how each interacts to complete the billing cycle.
·
To develop a billing system emulator that can
bill more quickly and accurately.
·
To update customer record
·
To develop a billing system that enables
customer to view bill information.
1.7
METHODOLOGY
Visual basic.Net was used for the
implementation of this e-billing system and invoice emulator, which is one of
the latest programming software used now with modern features and it helps
users to view the Graphic user interface (GUI). Microsoft access was used for
the backend to store customer database which include their respective details:
Front end: Visual basic.NET
Back end: Microsoft access
VISUAL BASIC USED FOR THE PROJECT
Visual basic is a programming language that
translates an abstract idea into a program design we can see on screens. Visual
basic presents a three step approach for creating programs which are:
a)
To design
the appearance of the application
b) Assign property settings to the objects of your
program.
c) Write the code to direct specific tasks at
runtime.
The advantages of Visual Basic [18]:
1) It is a very simple language and it is easy
to understand. Things that may be difficult to program with other languages can
be done in Visual Basic very easily.
2) Since Visual Basic is so popular, there are
many good resources (Books, Web sites, News groups and more) that can help us
learn the language.
3) You can find many tools (Sharewares and
Freeware’s) on the internet that will save you some programming time. For
example, if you want to ping a user over the internet in your program, Instead
of writing the ping function yourself, you can download a control that does it,
and use it in your program.
The disadvantages of Visual Basic [18]:
1) Visual Basic is powerful language, but it's
not suit for programming really sophisticated games.
2) Its much slower than other languages.
1.7.1
DEPLOYMENT
This project can
be deployed in a real world situation. For example, it could be implemented for
a telecommunication company to have effective billing of the customer and it
could also be deployed as contractor to already existing networks. The server
will be connected to their intranet, thereby automatically providing access to
the website from anywhere within the network’s range. Also depending on the
number of clients expected, the condition requirement for the server computer
might have to be improved to accommodate more traffic.
1.8 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
This software will make billing effective and
accurate in order for telecom companies to be able to ensure their revenue and
maximize customer satisfaction. Also, it will produce software which integrates
separate modules to track call usage, track and audit telecom bill and analyze
each expenses. Again, it will generate complex reports and analyze according to
user defined parameters meaning that every aspect of the telecom billing system
can be examined analyzed and reported. And in the user side it ensures
transparency of the billing transactions carried out.
1.6 LIMITATIONS
a)
It can only be used by telecommunication companies for
their billing process and will cover only prepaid and postpaid.
b)
There is a very
few study about this subject and the ones found are considered to the billing
system companies.
c)
The short
duration of the study and implementation.
1.7 ORGANIZATION
OF REPORT
This project has a layout of 6 chapters which is subdivided into the
following:
1.
Introduction: Giving
a brief summary, this segment gives an introduction of the billing
system, then the connection with the telecommunication perspective giving its
aims objective, limitations, methodologies and the significance of study.
2.
Literature Review: This chapter explores
the concept of the e-Billing system, the types and important telecommunication
mechanism in which billing follow.
3.
Design and
Implementation of the E-billing system emulator: The design of the phone
emulator and the emulator billing system.
4.
Testing and
evaluation: Testing functionality and usability of the prototype billing
and invoice system.
5.
Conclusions: The
conclusion of what was gained from this project. Future developments in e-billing
technology and recommendations for future work.
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