Automated Billing (Autobill)

CDR Processing & Automated Billing Configuration

The Autobill system processes call detail records (CDRs) and generates automated billing for VoIP services. This automated process ensures accurate and timely billing for all VoIP usage.


Autobill Dashboard

Overview

Autobill is a critical component that processes CDRs from your PBX servers and generates billing records in WHMCS. The system runs as a scheduled CRON job and integrates seamlessly with WHMCS billing cycles.

Key Features:

  • Automated CDR processing

  • Real-time billing generation

  • Multi-server support

  • Flexible scheduling

  • Debug and testing capabilities

  • Special Number Billing support

In ictVoIP Billing v1.4.0, Autobill remains the engine that turns rated CDRs into billable usage. FusionPBX now offers three billing script options:

Autobill v2 (autobill_v2.php)

The enhanced browser-based UI with real-time statistics, progress indicators, and color-coded debug output. Creates separate invoices for each FusionPBX service per client. Recommended for clients who prefer itemized billing.

Autobill v3 (autobill_v3.php) - New in v1.4.0

Consolidated billing script that combines multiple FusionPBX services per client into a single invoice. Supports International, National, and Special Rate call types. Provides dynamic admin email notifications that scale to any number of services. Recommended for clients who want simplified billing with one invoice per billing period for all VoIP services.

Autobill v1 (autobill.php)

The original headless script for CRON execution. Still supported for legacy deployments.

Choosing Between v2 and v3:

  • Use v2 if clients need separate invoices for each service (e.g., different cost centers)

  • Use v3 if clients want consolidated billing (all VoIP services on one invoice)

  • Both support the same call types and billing features

  • Both use identical underlying billing logic

Other supported server modules (for example, Vodia or custom integrations) continue to ship with their own autobill.php-style scripts, which are typically used only for headless CRON execution.

CRON Configuration

Scheduling Requirements:

The Autobill script must run before your WHMCS daily CRON job to ensure proper billing processing.

Important

AlmaLinux 9 / systemd Timezone Configuration

On AlmaLinux 9 / systemd-based systems, cron jobs may default to UTC even when:

  • Server time is correct

  • PHP-FPM timezone is correct

  • WHMCS timezone is correctly configured

WHMCS automation relies on the execution time of cron.php, not just internal settings.

Solutions:

  1. Per-CRON Timezone (Recommended): Specify TZ= explicitly in each WHMCS cron job to avoid automation running early or late after server migrations.

  2. System-Wide PHP INI: Update the system PHP INI configuration to set date.timezone system-wide if this option is available on your hosting environment.

Recommended Schedule:

WHMCS Daily CRON: 1:00 AM
Autobill CRON: 12:55 AM (5 minutes before)

Alternative Schedule:
WHMCS Daily CRON: 2:00 AM
Autobill CRON: 12:45 AM (75 minutes before)

CRON Entry Format:

Replace MYMODULE with your installed server module and America/Toronto with your timezone:

# FusionPBX - Autobill v2 (separate invoices per service)
55 00 * * * TZ=America/Toronto GET https://www.mywhmcsserver.com/modules/servers/fusionpbx/autobill_v2.php?runfrom=cron

# FusionPBX - Autobill v3 (consolidated invoices - NEW in v1.4.0)
55 00 * * * TZ=America/Toronto GET https://www.mywhmcsserver.com/modules/servers/fusionpbx/autobill_v3.php?runfrom=cron

# Alternative format with more time
45 00 * * * TZ=America/Toronto GET https://www.mywhmcsserver.com/modules/servers/fusionpbx/autobill_v3.php?runfrom=cron

# PHP CLI format (alternative)
55 00 * * * TZ=America/Toronto /usr/bin/php -q /home/USERNAME/public_html/whmcs/modules/servers/fusionpbx/autobill_v3.php runfrom=cron

CRON Parameters:

  • TZ=America/Toronto - Explicit timezone (required for AlmaLinux 9 / systemd)

  • 55 00 - Time (12:55 AM in specified timezone)

  • * * * - Daily execution

  • GET - HTTP method (or /usr/bin/php -q for CLI)

  • runfrom=cron - Execution parameter

FusionPBX Script Selection:

  • autobill_v2.php - Separate invoices for each service (itemized billing)

  • autobill_v3.php - Consolidated invoices (all services combined per client)

Other Server Module Examples:

  • Vodia: vodia/autobill.php

  • Custom: custom/autobill.php

Note

For FusionPBX deployments, choose between v2 (separate invoices) or v3 (consolidated invoices) based on your billing requirements. Both scripts use the same underlying billing logic and support all call types (International, National, Special Rates). See the CRON reference documentation at https://ictvoip.ca/docs/cron-reference.html for detailed setup instructions.

Manual Testing

Browser Testing:

Test your Autobill installation by accessing the script directly in your browser:

# FusionPBX (Autobill v2 - separate invoices)
URL: https://www.mywhmcsserver.com/modules/servers/fusionpbx/autobill_v2.php?runfrom=cron
Method: GET
Authentication: Required

# FusionPBX (Autobill v3 - consolidated invoices)
URL: https://www.mywhmcsserver.com/modules/servers/fusionpbx/autobill_v3.php?runfrom=cron
Method: GET
Authentication: Required

# Other modules (generic example)
URL: https://www.mywhmcsserver.com/modules/servers/MYMODULE/autobill.php?runfrom=cron
Method: GET
Authentication: Required

Test Configuration:

Before testing, ensure proper configuration:

  1. Set Test Date - Configure client’s next due date to current date

  2. Enable Debug - Activate debug mode for detailed output

  3. Check Permissions - Verify script access permissions

  4. Review Logs - Monitor execution logs

Test Process:

  1. Access Script - Open autobill URL in browser

  2. Monitor Output - Watch for processing results

  3. Review Results - Check billing calculations

  4. Verify Billing - Confirm invoice generation

Debug Configuration

Enable Debug Mode:

Activate debug mode to view detailed processing information:

  1. Navigate to ictVoIP Billing → Billing Management

  2. Enable CDR Autobill Debug

  3. Run manual autobill execution

  4. Review debug output

Debug Information:

Debug mode provides detailed information including: * CDR processing status * Rate calculations * Billing summaries * Error messages * Processing timestamps

Debug Output Example:

[DEBUG] Starting Autobill Process
[DEBUG] Processing Server: FusionPBX-01
[DEBUG] Found 150 CDR records
[DEBUG] Applied rates to 145 records
[DEBUG] Generated billing for 5 clients
[DEBUG] Process completed successfully

Billing Integration

WHMCS Integration:

Autobill integrates with WHMCS billing cycles:

  • Invoice Generation - Creates invoices for processed CDRs

  • Billing Date Management - Updates next due dates

  • Product Billing - Processes monthly/annual billing

  • Invoice Delivery - Sends invoices to clients

Billing Cycle Process:

  1. Autobill Execution - Process CDRs and calculate charges

  2. WHMCS Daily CRON - Generate invoices and update billing dates

  3. Invoice Delivery - Send invoices to clients

  4. Payment Processing - Handle payment collection

Important Notes:

  • Autobill does not increment product next billing dates

  • WHMCS daily CRON handles billing date updates

  • Monthly invoices are generated after Autobill processing

  • Billing dates are updated during WHMCS daily CRON execution

Performance Optimization

New in version 1.4.0-Beta.11: Tariff lookup performance optimization (159x faster)

Processing Time Considerations:

  • Small Installations - 5 minutes before WHMCS CRON

  • Medium Installations - 15 minutes before WHMCS CRON

  • Large Installations - 30+ minutes before WHMCS CRON

Factors Affecting Processing Time:

  • Number of Servers - More servers = longer processing

  • CDR Volume - Higher call volume = longer processing

  • Server Performance - CPU and memory limitations

  • Network Latency - API response times

  • Tariff Table Size - Larger tariff tables require more lookups

Tariff Lookup Optimization (v1.4.0-Beta.11+):

The FusionPBX module includes an optimized tariff lookup system that dramatically improves processing speed for large CDR volumes:

  • In-Memory Cache - Tariff tables under 500,000 entries are loaded into memory once

  • Zero DB Queries Per CDR - After initial cache load, lookups are pure in-memory operations

  • Automatic Strategy Selection - System chooses optimal approach based on table size

  • Verified Results - Billing amounts remain identical to previous versions

Performance Benchmarks:

Metric

Before (v1.4.0-Beta.10)

After (v1.4.0-Beta.11)

Processing Time (2,400 CDRs)

636 seconds (~10.6 min)

4 seconds

DB Queries per CDR

Up to 10 (recursive)

0 (cached lookup)

Memory Usage

Low

~50MB for 322K tariff entries

PHP Memory Requirements:

For optimal tariff cache performance, ensure your PHP configuration meets these requirements:

; Recommended PHP settings for large tariff tables
memory_limit = 8096M
max_execution_time = 300

Optimization Tips:

  • Monitor Processing Time - Track execution duration

  • Adjust Scheduling - Increase time buffer if needed

  • Server Optimization - Improve server performance

  • CDR Cleanup - Regular CDR database maintenance

  • Memory Allocation - Ensure sufficient PHP memory for tariff caching

Special Number Billing

Autobill supports Special Number Billing for products configured with custom rate rules. When enabled, special rate patterns are processed before standard tariff billing.

How It Works:

  1. CDRs are checked against special rate patterns first

  2. Matching CDRs are billed using the configured special rate rules

  3. Non-matching CDRs are skipped (not billed) when special rates are enabled

  4. Special rate calls are grouped by pattern on invoices

Invoice Display:

Special Rate Calls (29/12/2025 to 29/01/2026)
[OUTBOUND] 1300* (flat_per_call): 4 calls, 11 min, $1.40
[OUTBOUND] 1800* (flat_per_call): 1 calls, 5.7 min, $0.35

For detailed configuration, see FusionPBX Configuration Guide under “Special Number Billing”.

Error Handling

Common Errors:

  • Connection Timeout - Server unavailable

  • Authentication Failed - Invalid credentials

  • Permission Denied - File access issues

  • Database Errors - CDR processing issues

Error Resolution:

  1. Check Server Status - Verify PBX server availability

  2. Review Credentials - Confirm API authentication

  3. Check Permissions - Verify file and database access

  4. Monitor Logs - Review error logs for details

Log Monitoring:

Monitor autobill logs for issues:

# Check autobill logs
tail -f /var/log/autobill.log

# Check WHMCS logs
tail -f /var/log/whmcs.log

# Check system logs
tail -f /var/log/syslog

Security Considerations

Access Control:

  • HTTPS Required - Always use secure connections

  • Authentication - Implement proper access controls

  • IP Restrictions - Limit access to trusted IPs

  • Log Monitoring - Monitor access attempts

Best Practices:

  • Secure Credentials - Use strong API passwords

  • Regular Updates - Keep scripts updated

  • Backup Configuration - Maintain backup copies

  • Audit Logs - Review access logs regularly

Troubleshooting

Common Issues:

  • Script Not Executing - Check CRON configuration

  • No CDRs Processed - Verify server connectivity

  • Billing Errors - Check rate configuration

  • Performance Issues - Monitor processing time

Debug Steps:

  1. Check CRON Status - Verify CRON job execution

  2. Test Manual Execution - Run script manually

  3. Review Error Logs - Check for error messages

  4. Verify Configuration - Confirm settings

Support Information:

For autobill issues, provide: * CRON configuration * Error messages and logs * Server module details * Processing time information

Next Steps

After configuring autobill:

  1. Test Execution - Run manual tests

  2. Monitor Performance - Track processing times

  3. Review Billing - Verify invoice generation

  4. Production Deployment - Enable automated execution