AdvancePay is a product offering whereby customers pay in advance for a service for a specified interval of time. There is no contract, no commitment and no credit check. Customers are created in the system, but there are no billing-specific items.
All the retail products that are available to postpaid customers are available to the AdvancePay customer.
Each AdvancePay product has one SKU in the Product Catalog, but can contain multiple Price Points and Discounts.
With AdvancePay all of these processes can be automated.
Renewal of purchase
Suspension of service
Disconnection of products and services
Notifications to a subscriber
How it Works
Customer enters store and purchases a phone or activates one that is already owned.
Service is activated through POS.
Customer purchases a bucket minute plan or unlimited usage in their calling region for a defined increment of time
Customer can also purchase enhanced services separately, such as roaming, SMS, LD
When the interval of service is about to expire, a notification (SMS) is sent to the customer.
Customer replenishes services as needed by:
returning to the store to purchase
calling customer service to purchase, or
establishing an E-Pay account which automatically renews for them
If expiration occurs, service or features can be hotlined or disconnected.
Note
Invoices are optional, but the billing system processes and rates all calls so that a profile of usage is created that can be used for trending.
See below for benefits and featurtes.
Managing AdvancePay:
About AdvancePay Products, About AdvancePay Products
Creating a New Customer AdvancePay Activation Sale through POS Front Office
Creating a New Advance Pay Customer Through Customer Management
Renewing an Advance Pay Service
Auto-Renewing an AdvancePay Service
Refunding an AdvancePay Service
Disconnecting an Advance Pay Service
Suspending an AdvancePay Service
Hotlining an AdvancePay Service
Redirecting an AdvancePay Service
Restoring an AdvancePay Service
Benefits
There are numerous benefits associated with AdvancePay -- both for your company and for the subscriber.
Features and Benefits for your Company
Feature | Benefit |
Customers are "revenue-positive" by the time they leave the store because customers pay in advance. | No need to bill customers. |
Store traffic is created as customers come to the retail outlet. | Provides an opportunity to upsell features and accessories - in person. |
AdvancePay rates each call which provides valuable metrics. | These metrics can be used to aid in marketing, such as adjusting pricing strategies and developing new products and services. |
Benefits for the Subscriber
No Commitment nor contract. With the "buy as you need" plan, there is no commitment nor contract involved, nor is there a credit check.
Customer owns the phone -- with no catch. Plus the same product line is available to AdvancePay customers as is to postpaid customers.
No penalty for "gap" in service. Generally phone companies choose not to penalize customers who let their service lapse. Instead they may opt to grant loyalty discounts if they sign up for a number of consecutive service intervals.
Simplicity. There are no complicated plans or minutes to track. AdvancePay offers the ease of a pre-paid plan combined with the robust features of the sophisticated features of a post-paid offering.
Convenience. There are no phone cards that need to be recharged. The customer can come into the retail store, or purchase by phone, or by E-Pay.