Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for internet service providers.
A checklist built from how internet service providers work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Subscriber accounts and plans
- Coverage check and survey
- Installation jobs
- Router and equipment register
- Fault tickets and outage notices
- Recurring billing and collections
- Reseller and agent accounts
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For the owner
- For sales and the front desk
- For installers
- For support and the network desk
- For accounts and resellers
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Active, suspended and cancelled lines by node and plan
- Installations completed against jobs booked, by installer
- Router and radio stock by model, with units out at subscribers
- Tickets by node, cause and time open
- Outage credits issued by event
- Receivables by age and by reseller
- Contracts due for renewal in the next month
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- SMS
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- Card and payment gateway
- Authentication server link
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does it control internet sessions?
- Can we sell prepaid plans and monthly plans together?
- How does coverage checking work?
- What happens when a whole cabinet fails?
- Can installers scan serial numbers?
- Can resellers log in?
- How are outage credits worked out?
- Can our existing subscriber list be loaded?
- How is the system priced for our subscriber base, and is there a trial?
- Who owns the subscriber data?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Billing and the access server disagree
- Routers leave the store untracked
- Outage tickets arrive one at a time
- Installation visits slip between teams
- Credits for downtime are guessed
Prefer to talk it through? See the internet service providers page.