CASE STUDY
Mtech scales up with aBILLity™ billing
Based in Christchurch,
Dorset, Mtech
Communications is
a national supplier
of communications and
connectivity services to businesses
in the UK. Since establishment
in February 2018 the company’s
growth has been remarkable,
exceeding £2 million in revenues,
building a customer base of over
200, and growing from two to 25
personnel in just twelve months.
Managing Director, Martin
Dunne, ascribes Mtech’s
success to hard graft coupled
with a simple yet cost-eective
proposition for customers.
He explains, “e majority of
companies we visit, typically
use multiple providers to supply
their various communication
services. We can oer all these
services and more under one
roof, boosting eciency and
saving money for customers.
Clear communication is also key,
we avoid using jargon that could
confuse customers or leave them
unsure about what they actually
need. In short, we’re oering one
supplier, one phone number, no
hidden costs and no surprises.
Simple!”
Clearly this approach has
resonated with the market,
though success is not without
trials. “e challenges you face
in your rst year are intense,”
states Dunne. “You’re trying
to do so many things, bringing
on so many new customers, but
what’s essential is to build a longterm
revenue stream in a way
that’s sustainable. With today’s
tight margins, you have to know
early on what’s working and
what’s not.”
Managing billing in-house
was critical to achieving this.
Dunne continues, “We initially
used a supplier to manage
billing on our behalf. is made
it quick to get started but the
system was overly complex and
billing through a third party
oered us very limited reporting
and revenue analysis.”
Dunne chose Union Street’s
aBILLity™ platform to take
control of this vital area of
service delivery. “I wanted to
make sure we had the right
billing system from the outset
to avoid upheaval further down
the line,” he explains. “aBILLity
is widely used throughout
the comms industry, it’s very
much the industry standard.
Based on its reputation and
my own previous experience of
the platform, I knew it could
provide the revenue assurance
and analytics we needed. It
would also enable us to scale up
without dislocation and provide
clear bills that our customers
could rely on.”
Union Street’s engineers
congured and optimised
aBILLity to provide a tight t
for Mtech’s billing operations.
Dunne also opted to use Union
Street’s bureau service. “Building
a business doesn’t leave much
time for billing,” he explains.
“Union Street’s bureau service
meant we could cost-eectively
outsource management of
aBILLity to Union Street’s team
whilst retaining all the benets
of using our own platform.
“e bureau team are
excellent and really helped us
to get started quickly. ey
eectively act as an extension of
our business and the expertise
and guidance they provide has
been invaluable to increasing
protability. Because Union
Street’s bureau team work in
accordance with Ofcom’s Total
Metering and Billing Scheme,
we’re also assured of accuracy
and compliance with industry
best practice.”
Following implementation,
Dunne has been pleased with the
results. He continues, “aBILLity
has given us the tools to forecast
and drill into revenues, easily
identifying areas where we’re
making or losing money. With
this information we can adjust
our strategy and ensure we stay
on the right track. e reporting
functionality is comprehensive
and provides valuable business
intelligence on everything from
Managing Director, Martin Dunne
debtors, to customer summaries,
to business growth and more.”
Union Street’s support has
also proved useful for Mtech.
Dunne explains, “e training
and technical support we receive
from Union Street is always
excellent. Our Account Manager
regularly visits the oce to assist
our team in getting the most out
of the system.”
Dunne concludes, “Many
customers that we take on have
got into a mess with their billing,
nding them dicult to read
and decipher. ey’re delighted
that our bills are presented
in a way that’s clear and easy
to understand. aBILLity also
provides the options to format
the bills so that they’re in
keeping with our branding.
is gives a professional look
and feel that lends instant
credibility to our brand. Being
able to combine all services into
one bill for each customer is a
great benet and really plays to
our strength as a single source
supplier for all communications
and connectivity services.”
www.commsbusiness.co.uk October 2019 | Comms Business Magazine | 35
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