In 2005, Ben Rife, President and CEO of Bullfrog, noticed a dramatic change in the communications industry. Rather than using private branch exchange (PBX) or key telephone systems, businesses were beginning to transition to IP and unified communications. Outdated phone system models were cumbersome and required more hassle and expense than was necessary. Ben saw an opportunity to turn a capital expense into an operating expense. He wanted to help customers scale by connecting their multi-location phone systems and outsourcing the management of these phones just like they would their CRM. From there, Bullfrog was born.
Established in 2008, Bullfrog provides unified communications for small and medium-sized businesses across the U.S. As a pioneer in hosted voice providers, Bullfrog takes the headache out of business phone system maintenance through reliable solutions that support their customers’ future growth.
“Business owners don’t go into business to manage their phone systems. They start businesses to focus on their core competency, whatever that may be. We realized that we could remove the hassle and take care of their phone systems at a reduced total cost to them,” explains Rife.
Overcoming Back Office Hurdles
In order to create a reliable phone solution that would grow with their customers, Bullfrog needed a back-office software system that could scale. This was difficult with the system they had in place prior to Rev.io. The company’s back office billing platform was a disaster; their previous vendor was costly, difficult to work with, and not able to scale with the company. If Bullfrog needed to have anything changed within the platform, they had to submit a request for a developer to handle it … even if it was just to change a customer’s email. Nothing could be completed in a timely manner, and because of the lack of control, there were a lot of billing mistakes. Customers were overbilled, underbilled, or not billed at all – and that wasn’t good for business. “We started to think that it was time for something different than our current platform. Our customers didn’t like it, our employees didn’t like it, and it was just a mess,” says Rife.
Achieving Business Goals Through Billing
The company started doing their homework, researching new options to replace their current back office infrastructure. Bullfrog read about Rev.io and recognized quickly that the company could provide them with the partner they needed as well as a problem-free system that worked. “We discovered that once you choose a billing platform, you’re married to it. And it’s painful to get a divorce,” says Rife. “But in spite of the termination fees [from our previous provider], we decided to go with Rev.io to support our need to scale.”
For Bullfrog, the cost-benefit justified their decision to go with Rev.io, but their ability to have complete control over everything within the platform was the icing on the cake. Ease of invoicing was another selling feature for Bullfrog. “Our accounting department’s favorite feature is the ability to reverse an invoice,” says Dan Ethier, Director of Operations. “If they forget to add a credit or an adjustment to a customer’s account, they can quickly reverse the invoice, make the edit, and then resend the invoice. With our prior platform, there would have been a service fee to reverse an invoice.”
One of the most valuable ways Rev.io has helped Bullfrog overcome challenges to achieve their business goals is through readily available webinars and training documents. “We have the peace of mind knowing that if we have any questions or concerns, or we don’t understand something, they’re going to address it with us either through pre-recorded webinars or directly on the phone,” says Ethier. Rev.io is consistently investing in their customers by providing them with the tools they need to successfully run their billing system. “They take care of us,” says Ethier. “That’s the big thing.”
Seeing Results Instantly
Rev.io has not only revived Bullfrog’s back office process; the company has also given them greater control of their time and finances. On invoicing alone, Rev.io has helped Bullfrog move from a half-day billing process to a mere fifteen-minutes, saving them time, hassle, and headaches. The savings are important to Rife, but the happiness of his employees and customers is his greatest satisfaction. “Knowing that we have good support and that Rev.io invests in training so that any of our guys can know how to use the platform … that is invaluable.”