Mike, I did the same thing back in the dialup days - Excel, Access database, QuickBooks memorized transactions, etc etc. QuickBooks kept getting slower and we started to have problems with inconsistencies between all of the systems (people not getting billed, delinquent accounts that were still online, random jumble of email addresses, not knowing who they went to, etc etc) so we made a change when we were at about 600 customers in early 1998. By the end of 2001, we were billing over 4000. Having a robust and extensible backend system is critical if you are going to scale the business to an appreciable size.
If you are only billing a couple of hundred customers, you can get away with QuickBooks and/or Excel and the like. Grow beyond that, and you better start looking for a good backend system. Matt Larsen vistabeam.com On 8/22/2010 12:01 PM, Mike wrote: > Matt that seems a little harsh. I guess I would fall into the same > category. I use Excel to track my billing. I send an email out on the 15th > of every month to every customer. Most of my customers are billed the same > amount. It takes me less than an hour each month to do my initial billing, > and probably a couple hours more to chase deadbeats. I do no paper billing, > it is all via email. I've been doing it for a few years now and don't feel > like I'm destined for failure. > > Mike Gilchrist > Disruptive Technologist > Advanced Wireless Express > P.O. Box 255 > Toledo, IA 52342 > 239.770.6203 > m...@aweiowa.com > > > -----Original Message----- > From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On > Behalf Of Matt Larsen - Lists > Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 12:12 PM > To: wireless@wispa.org > Subject: Re: [WISPA] Backend systems > > Just a quick point here, because this is a key element for WISP > operators.... > > Mike, if you are too poor to pay the $2000 or devote the time to setup a > billing system then you should seriously question whether you should be > in this business at all. > > Once the initial network deployment is completed, backend and billing is > the most important element of a WISP business. Ignore it at your own > peril. Spending too much on equipment and not enough on handling the > a/r is the leading cause of bankruptcy and irrelevance among WISP operators. > > Matt Larsen > vistabeam.com > > On 8/22/2010 7:52 AM, Mike Hammett wrote: >> I've been setting up FreeSide... forever. 1) I'm too poor to hire >> it out properly. 2) I haven't had the time to dedicate to it to >> finishing it up. >> >> I remember seeing someone on here made a new backend system. I'm >> thinking it was WISPMon, but I'm not sure if there's another out there >> that a WISP made. >> >> It looks as though WISPMon certain does things that FreeSide doesn't and >> looks a hell of a lot better. However, does it do everything that >> FreeSide does? >> >> > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ---- > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > http://signup.wispa.org/ > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ---- > > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > http://signup.wispa.org/ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
