Sonar Q1 Product Updates: Branded Billing, FCC Labels, and Service Automation for ISPs

Sonar's Q1 release gives ISPs branded invoice customization, a bulk FCC nutrition label generator, and a new Change of Service feature that records future-dated account-to-address relationships to cut manual work. Here is a recap of the highlights, plus a look at what is coming in Q2.

Recently, I sat down with Sonar's Sr. Director of Client Services, Georgette Lopez-Aguado for our first-ever Sonar Office Hours. We took a deep dive into the exciting features and enhancements we rolled out in Q1. Plus, we got a chance to discuss some of the powerful solutions you can expect in Q2 and beyond. Let's recap some of the highlights!

Invoice Customization for ISPs - Level Up Your Branding 🤑 💪

Empowering Your Brand: We understand that your invoices aren't just a piece of paper; they're an extension of your brand. That's why we overhauled our invoice customization, giving you the tools to make them look exactly the way you want.

We've introduced a new invoice template system with a drag-and-drop, full-screen interface that makes design incredibly intuitive. Adjust layouts, incorporate images, add data blocks like your bill date - you have complete control.

Mergers & Acquisitions Powerhouse: For companies going through mergers or acquisitions, easily integrate new billing identities via company-specific templates. Create unique invoices for newly acquired customers or sub-brands, or align them perfectly with your existing branding.

See how to Level Up in this video 👇

FCC Nutrition Label Generator - Staying Ahead of Broadband Compliance 🤩 ☑️

Simplifying Regulations: The FCC's new labeling requirements can be a headache. Our bulk label generator guides you through the process. We provide most of the data, you fill in the rest, and voila - compliant labels for your point of sale and customer portal. Read our latest blog 👉 Decoding the FCC Nutrition Labels: What Every ISP Should Know

Tool for Everyone: We believe in helping the wider ISP community navigate regulations, so we've made our FCC label tool available even if you're not a Sonar customer. Check out the free Sonar FCC label generator here: https://sonar.software/free-broadband-label-maker

Discover how Sonar's FCC Label Generator works in this video 👇

Change of Service - Simplifying Move-In and Move-Out Complexity 🏘️ 📦

Goodbye, Manual Hassles: Documenting the timing of your current customers moving out and the new homeowners moving in is often a tedious exercise in note-taking, and making a series of careful manual changes to your records. The timing of service changes, or simply being able to schedule field visits before the account takeover has happened, can be a complex process.

The Vision: Clearly record future-dated relationships between your accounts and service addresses. Once this data is recorded in Sonar, we will surface it wherever it's valuable, reducing the time and effort required to manage service changes. This new feature paves the way for end-to-end automation to follow, further pursuing our goal to streamline this commonly complicated process.

Learn more about the Change of Service feature in this video 👇

Additional Q1 Enhancements (Quick Highlight) ⚡🚀

Outbound SMS & Quiet Hours: Send SMS messages to your customers while respecting their time with customizable quiet hours preventing messages from being sent at inconvenient hours.

Billing Quiet Hours: Comply with consumer protection laws restricting late-night billing communications - Sonar ensures emails queue up and send during the allowed window.

Hear more about the Quiet Hours and SMS features in this video 👇

Q2 Sneak Peek - What's on the Horizon 👀

Unit-Based Inventory: Ideal for spools of cable, fiber, and similar materials! Track lengths, batch numbers, metadata, and effortlessly adjust quantities as you use materials.

sonarPay Enhancements: Expect new features for automatic NSF fee application, native payment dispute management, and overall payment process refinement.

Calix & Adtran Integrations: Even deeper data sync for our joint customers, enabling powerful workflow automations and efficiency gains.

I'm excited for our Sonar customers to dive into these awesome new features, join the beta programs, and share their feedback! Your valuable input is what helps us build an even better product.

Not a Sonar Customer? Explore how these advancements and our comprehensive platform could revolutionize how your ISP operates and grows. Request a Demo to see the full capabilities of Sonar!

Frequently asked questions

Who can use Sonar's FCC nutrition label generator?
Any ISP can use it. Sonar made its bulk FCC label generator available to the wider ISP community even if you are not a Sonar customer, and it is free to access at the link above.

What does the Change of Service feature do?
It lets ISPs record future-dated relationships between accounts and service addresses, so move-outs and move-ins are no longer a tedious exercise in manual note-taking. Sonar surfaces that data wherever it is valuable and lays the groundwork for end-to-end automation.

How does Sonar help ISPs with billing compliance?
Quiet Hours for outbound SMS and billing emails ensure messages queue and send only within allowed windows, helping ISPs comply with consumer protection laws restricting late-night communications.