Home » Issues, Jennifer Springston, Telecommunications, Volume 2 Issue 1

MANAGED SERVICE PROVIDERS: AUDIT YOUR BILLS OR PAY THE PRICE

18 December 2009 448 views 4 Comments

money-saving-tipsIf you were told that Phil from accounting is wasting around ten dollars a day in coffee creamer, you would probably think of something to do to slow this down. After all, ten dollars a day equals $2600 a year on a wasted resource. While this may seem like a small amount of money to be concerned about, it sets a dangerous precedent. What if there were other aspects of your business that were costing you money- money that could be better spent investing in the company and keeping it strong? What if these expenses were on a much larger scale and were the result of your own negligence? What if you knew that just by monitoring your telecom expenses that you could save a far larger sum? 

What if you were told that instead of $2600 a year being wasted on coffee creamer, the amount was nearly four million dollars and was all stemming from your telecom expenses- either in charges that could be avoided altogether or in charges that are wrongly being billed to you. For every one of the bills that you are just paying without thoroughly investigating, you could be paying thousands of dollars in charges that should not be attributed to your company at all. Your data, voice and other services are growing harder and harder to manage, that is an accepted fact. These costs have also grown to represent nearly five percent of your total revenue, a huge figure to not watch with complete vigilance. For those companies and businesses that have more complicated telecom needs, the cost is even higher and the monitoring that much more important.

 Consider this: if you are spending around $15 million per year on telecom services, then $3.9 million dollars, or roughly 26% of these charges are in error or could be avoided with the right attention to detail. If you can cut out these mistakes, double bills and unneeded costs and save that money you can funnel it back to the business, working to strengthen its foundation so that you can face the coming years without worry. While other companies will have to make cut backs, downsize or make other sacrifices, your

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Author: Jennifer Springston (17 Articles)

  • http://www.stonegate-consulting.com/ Pat Pittmon

    I agree completely. There are always savings in an audit and optimization of your telecommunication services. It could be as easy as renegotiation your contract to lower your rates. Or identifying overcharges or removing unused services. Many companies have downsized already, but have they done the same to their telecom services? Having 10 lines servicing 6 people doesn't make sense.

    Another good place to look for savings is the wiireless phones and access cards. At last count, there were over 7000 different plans offered by the wireless carriers. Are you sure youron the right corporate plan? It's not easy to determine but there are auditors that specalize in that field. They know the cell phone plan in and out and can determine which carrier and which plans e a good fit for your company.

    One thing to keep in mind, is the auditor should be independent with no ties to any service provider or equipment vendor. Remember that any savings or refunds you realize takes money out of the providers pocket and the agents pocket as well. There are many independent auditors around the counrty that are members of the Society of Telecommunications Consultants, and independent consultant organization with a strict code of ethics stcconsultants.org,

    Needless to say, there are many areas in telecom that can be a source of savings. Most telecom auditors work on a contingency basis so it is a win-win for everyone.

  • Jennifer Springston

    Thank you for the wonderful feedback. You bring up many great points especially about also reviewing cell phones and access cards. Thanks again.

  • http://www.telconassociates.com/ Telecom Consultants

    There is so much telecom inefficiency and waste going on now in almost every business. I also agree with Pat that any consultant you choose should be totally non biased and not be aligned with a vendor or vendors. And be wary of any telecom carrier posing as an “auditor”. That is like having a fox watch the chicken coop.

    Personal interviews with end users is also a great way to determine what telecom services are in fact being used. We work with many clients that have multi-locations where most of the time turnover is high at the field offices. New employees are often unaware of services that are available but simple are never used.

  • http://www.telconassociates.com/ Telecom Consultants

    There is so much telecom inefficiency and waste going on now in almost every business. I also agree with Pat that any consultant you choose should be totally non biased and not be aligned with a vendor or vendors. And be wary of any telecom carrier posing as an “auditor”. That is like having a fox watch the chicken coop.

    Personal interviews with end users is also a great way to determine what telecom services are in fact being used. We work with many clients that have multi-locations where most of the time turnover is high at the field offices. New employees are often unaware of services that are available but simple are never used.