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Are you making this error every time you pay your telecom or utility bill?

It takes place every month.

You receive your phone and utility invoices. You review them for any obvious errors, discrepancies, unfamiliar charges and then what do you do? …

PAY IT right? You are not alone. Many businesses with so many tasks to perform in a day do what they can to check invoices for accuracy.  However, far too many companies simply receive a bill in the mail and, pay their carrier(s)/provider(s) without the expertise needed or the time to really audit those invoices to ensure they aren’t overpaying. Typically, because of the previously mentioned issues companies overspend by 15%-40% on wireless, data, telephone and utilities. This is a “pricey” mistake that could be costing your organization hundreds of thousands of dollars in overpayment a month.

Don't-Make-Mistake

Do you know how much your company is currently paying for carrier services and utilities? Do you know what services you are paying for? Is someone thoroughly reviewing your bills before it is paid?

Telecom services alone present costly expenses for most businesses. In fact, a recent study by a United States Senate Committee uncovered errors in excess of $2 billion annually on landline telephone bills in the United States. Is your company overpaying too?

Part of the problem … Corporate cell phone usage has exploded and carriers routinely modify pricing and plans adding to the billing confusion.

Telecom applications and services have become increasingly complex. Most invoices are difficult to understand and even more difficult to reconcile. This is further complicated by today’s mobile workforce. Companies find themselves attempting to manage multiple devices, contracts, services and service providers across a broad geographic area with multi-location organizations.

How can any business keep up with the changes? Telecommunication and utility expense represents a significant portion of a company’s operating expenses. Unfortunately, organizations both large and small have not been able to manage this costly resource.

An estimated 80% of carrier service invoices have billing errors, which can quickly add up.

Errors go unchecked for months, even years. Legitimate credits and refunds go uncollected and rates and contracts are not as competitive as they should be. Time does not permit to do a thorough audit that covers every line item, every agreement, every hardware charge, every tax, every location, every 3rd party charge and every other charge in those long lists of charges. RIGHT? In our experience, most carrier service invoices contain services that companies aren’t even using. By identifying those unused services and eliminating them from your monthly contract, you could potentially save a lot of money.

Monitoring these expenses is difficult, time consuming and costly. 

Here are some examples of things to look for among the many:

  • Fluctuating charges for base services on a month-to-month basis: Unless you’ve requested altered service, your basic charge for phone and/or data access shouldn’t change.
  • Charges for disconnected services: A reputable carrier won’t charge you for disconnecting services you’ve identified as unused or unnecessary on your service plan, but sometimes bill adjustments like this can be forgotten.
  • Missing special offers: If you signed up for service using a special offer, check that it has been applied. Sometimes these can be missed.
  • Early term charges: You should not receive bills or be charged for service dates prior to the agreed upon start date in the terms of service/contract.

 You’re probably thinking one or two of the following:

  1. a) I don’t have the time/resources to do this thorough review.
  2. b) Even if I did have the time, I don’t have the knowledge and expertise to understand what’s listed on this bill.

It can be difficult, especially for organizations outside the telecom, utility and technology industry, to figure out what you are paying for – not to mention what services you need and which you can live without.

You can stop making the same costly mistake by overpaying for telecom and utility invoices. A review of your invoices by audit experts helps to collect the information required to conduct a needs assessment and cost analysis of your current services, and determine how those services can be optimized in the future.  By employing a detailed telecom and utility auditor, companies can significantly reduce expenses while providing accountability, efficiency, and increased productivity. An audit will provide visibility into telecom and utility spend, identify billing errors, ensure contract compliance, optimize network architecture, discover unused services, and reduce a company’s telecom, utility and human resource expenditures.

Contact LT~CRS for more information on reducing operating expenses.

(866) 504-4050