I fixed one of my outside sprinklers this past weekend. It wasn’t completely broken; in fact, it performed its main function okay. The timer went off, the water came out and the plants got wet. But apparently the PVC had become brittle and a significant leak began to occur draining resource in some areas and over watering where the leak was occurring– nothing major, we were probably losing 50 gallons of water 3 x per week.

The bad part was this must have gone on for many weeks,  because it wasn’t noticed until there was a hole blown through the earth.  So, once I noticed the issue, I had the sprinkler repaired by an expert so I was sure it would be done right. I asked him if there was a way he could have detected them sooner, and he defined a process and procedure on how they detect leaks and repair them before the customer like me received a giant bill. My expert also said why not all customers have them, it was good to check on e a year for a fee, or monthly fora smaller but more regular checking to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

After the repair, and my conversation with the repair company, I thought about what that leak meant to me. It was only about a little water, so it didn’t seem like much of an issue. Then I started to do the math: I was losing near 150 gallons of water per week. That was 600 gallons of water each month, or 7200 gallons a year!  Every day that I didn’t repair it, another 20 gallons of water lost. What a waste. And…It hadn’t dawned on me that the water I was losing meant money out of my pocket. (I get my water bill only once a quarter, so out of sight, out of mind). Then my water bill came: The utility devised a new rate based on the amount of water used. I was now paying for that leak in two separate places, and paying big over an $800 jump in my bill!!!

My sprinkler dilemma reminded me of how many organizations handle their telecom billing. For instance, most companies don’t notice their bills have changed and wonder why their bills are higher. The difference starts small and goes on in multiple areas of their business.

These charges are…Hidden in landline services, misunderstood on Internet rates, never noticed at the setup of the original billing, in 3rd party slamming and cramming charges,and many other areas.  And even when a “leak” on a bill is noticed, trying to work with the provider to get it removed is cumbersome and frustrating at best. (Not as nice as working with my professional irrigation company).

Yet…medium and large companies sometimes lose hundreds of dollars a day, thousands a week, $10’s of thousands a month and yes even $100’s of thousands of dollars per year with these billing errors!!!

Hopefully you won’t let your Company suffer these expensive and wasteful  “leaks” , and you will make sure you get an expert to help you ensure it won’t continue to cost you money that you’re not even aware of losing.

By Todd Larsen CEO Limitless Technology~CRS  April, 24th, 2013

Limitless Technology~CRS

Delivering expert results on: telecom auditing, telecom contract management, telecom expense management, and telecom billing optimization services.

www.limitlesstechnology.com

The problem is that the bills are usually not very transparent. They can be complex with lots of components that change from month to month. There are new downloads, new data plans, and new pricing plans coming out constantly. Unless you’re doing an analysis every month on your bill, you don’t realize where you’re overpaying.

One of the issues we often discover in our business when reviewing clients’ monthly bills, is that many of them have unused inventory (adding phone lines that aren’t being used) or features that aren’t being properly managed. Many businesses have old pricing plans that need to be re-evaluated. As a business grows and changes, an old plan may no longer be in the business’s best interest. Oftentimes, there are straight-out billing errors that cost the business a lot of money month after month.

How did your business choose the plan it is currently using? Was it the service provider who helped to make that decision? The sales people of the service provider are typically paid commissions based on the pricing plan they put you on and are not necessarily going to tell you about specials or how to downgrade your account. They probably won’t even tell you if you’re paying for more service than you need! The takeaway is that it’s not in the business owners’ best interest to let a service providers’ sales representative mange the account.

The best solution to cut the costs is to allow experts like Limitless Technology review your bills. Your business may be eligible for discounts or just need a new plan to better fit its needs. Are 40% of your calls to one or two numbers? Your carrier may offer free calling to selected numbers. Limitless Technology can check for extra charges that are incurred because of unrequested features added to your lines. Having a telecom audit may be the best thing your business can do this year to save money.

Limitless Technology provides billing optimization services to business owners who want to cut out-of-control expenses. On average, new clients are often paying 10-60% more per month than they should, thanks to billing errors and inappropriate pricing plans. Limitless Technology can provide businesses with cost reduction strategies that save money long term. Have questions? We’re here to help. www.limitlesstechnology.com