Control which call duration data is shown in customer CDRs

When calls are billed in increments (for example, rounding up to the next whole minute), the charged duration may differ from the actual call duration. This should be considered when customers reconcile their internal call records (e.g., from PBX) with the billed records received from the service provider.

PortaSwitch now lets you control which call duration fields customers see in call detail records (CDRs) – in the self-care web interface, in downloadable CSV files, etc.

You can decide whether customers see:

• Actual call duration (“Duration”)
• Charged duration (“Charged Duration”)
• Connect Time
• Disconnect Time

You can choose which of these fields are visible to your customers:

• Self-care web interface and on-demand CSV downloads – the fields are controlled by customer access roles.
• CSV files automatically generated at the end of the billing period – the fields do not depend on access roles; they are defined on the Configuration server web interface and enabled in the customer class.

If a field is restricted by the customer’s access role, it is entirely hidden from their CDR view (it doesn't appear as an empty column).

When admins open specific call details, they always see the full information. CSV files generated for admins always include the default set of fields (e.g., charged duration and connect time).

• Service providers can reduce billing disputes and save employee time.
• Customers can reconcile billed calls faster and with greater accuracy.

To control which call duration fields appear in the self-care web interface and on-demand CSV downloads:

1. Open My company > Roles and create or edit an existing role of the Customer type.
2. Go to Permissions and enable Advanced mode.
3. Expand Billing information > Transactions.
4. Set access for the following fields:
   • Charged quantity
   • Duration data
   • Connect time
   • Disconnect time

   Select:

   • Read/Modify to show the field
   • Restrict to hide the field

     

5. Assign the role:
   • Open Customer > General info > Self-care
   • Select the configured role in the Role field

If customers can open account pages (account-level self-care) from their self-care web interface, configure the same permissions in the customer role under:

Cloud PBX > Account self-care > Billing information > Transactions.

If end users log in directly to the account self-care web interface, field visibility is controlled by the account role under:

Self-care access > Billing information > Transactions.

To fully restrict a field in all scenarios, configure both roles accordingly.

To control which call duration fields appear in automatically generated CSV files:

1. Log in to the Configuration server web interface.
2. Locate the CustomXDRReport.EnabledPlugins option and click EnabledPlugins. In the dialog that opens:
   • Set PluginName to Customizable_Report_CSV.
   • In the PluginParameters field, specify the columns to include, using the format: "CSV file column name=xDR record field name". Separate multiple entries with a semicolon. For example: Account=account_id;Duration=used_quantity;Charged=charged_quantity. The full list of xDR record field names is available here.

     

3. Open the relevant customer class. In the Export xDRs to a .csv file field, select Custom reports only. Customers with this class assigned will receive only the defined fields in CSV reports (through email and by downloading from the self-care web interface).

   

Admins can see both actual duration and charged duration for a specific CDR in the PortaBilling web interface at any time.