Although sometimes touted as the “holy grail” of audit savings, in reality, credits and refunds are not as plentiful as many auditing firms would like you to believe.

A thorough telecom audit, however, can uncover them so the time and effort spent searching for and/or creating them can pay off.

The following are the most common areas that one-time credits and refunds will be found, or can be created, during the course of an audit.

Overcharges (Billing Errors)

Overcharges occur when a telecom carrier erroneously charges a customer more for a service, or feature, than prescribed by a contract or a previous bill.

These types of billing errors will often take the form of “crams” and/or “slams”, and will appear on bills month after month until the charges are removed.

Customers incurring overcharges are entitled to the appropriate credits or refunds.  Always be sure that any taxes paid on the charges are reimbursed as well.    If the overcharge is large enough, a carrier may consider adding interest along with the refund or credit due.

TIP: It is a good idea to check the subsequent month’s bill to be sure charges were in fact removed as requested.

Equipment Installation Credits

Carriers will often credit customers after installation of equipment.  For example, a purchase of frame relay service, or DSL, will necessitate the expense of purchasing routers.  After installation, the carrier may agree to credit the customer’s account to cover the cost of these necessary items.

When signing on with new telecom services, always be aware of the additional equipment that will be required, then inquire into the possibility of credits for those purchases.  Your audit should include verifying that the proper credit was applied for equipment installation.

Tax Credits

Tax credits can be uncovered in the case of an organization that is tax exempt.  For example, government agencies, non-profit groups, schools, etc. may qualify for exemptions on certain services because of their usage characteristics.   If you find that you have paid taxes on bills that should be exempt from them, you will need file a tax exemption claim with the carrier for the tax in question.

FACT:  When fixed services are taxed incorrectly, associated usage charges are many times taxed incorrectly as well.

Promotions and Bonuses

Carriers are constantly coming up with new promotions to entice customers to sign on with them.  Bonuses are often used to entice customers to sign lengthy contracts.

For example, a 24 month long distance contract may include a bonus credit during the 13th month of the contract.   Be aware of these types of bonus credits when signing contracts and check to make sure they are credited when due.

One client of TelCon Associates received a $50,000 one time credit  on a long distance contract.  If not offered at the outset, always ask vendors for the possibility of such a credit during the contract term.

TIP:   Contract negotiations are the optimum time to ask for promotions and bonuses.  When given, be sure to make note of the date(s) these bonuses come due and check bills to verify that they are correctly applied.

Courtesy Credits

When carriers or customer service representatives are in error, they will often credit bills as a “courtesy” to instill good will with the customer.   These credits are usually small and appear on the following month’s bill at the time of the good faith gesture.   As with promotions and bonuses, make note of when these courtesy gestures occur and check bills to determine if they were properly applied.

TIP: If a problem arises with your carrier, ask for courtesy credits to rectify the situation.  More and more customer service reps have the authority to apply these types of credits to customer bills, so it never hurts to ask.

Although one-time credits and refunds are not always found during an audit, the time spent finding them is worth the effort.   When not readily found, always try to “create” them through shrewd negotiations with your telecommunications carriers and vendors.

Submitted by:  Karen Thatcher, CEO, TelCon Associates, Inc.

The trick to finding telecom savings is to sift through and interpret information extracted from three prime sources: 1) Customer Service Records, 2) user phone bills, and 3) the traffic patterns of the end users (i.e. the information that results from conducting personal surveys of employees who are using telecom services on a daily basis).

Over-provisioning

Let’s examine just one of the seven areas that is ripe for telecom savings - over-provisioning. Over-provisioning means there are more telecommunications services being paid for than are absolutely necessary in order for business operations to run smoothly.

How does over-provisioning happen in the first place? There are many reasons, but some of the main causes are related to Grade of Service or GoS.

Grade of Service (GoS)

Telecommunications services are the lifeblood of any business. Incoming calls and sales inquiries must not be met with a busy signal, or the result could be the loss of a customer.

Historically, telephone companies have recommended and provided quantities of access lines sufficient to provide a P.01 grade of service. This means that no more than 1% of all callers will receive a busy signal, even during the busiest hour of the day. (A P.05 grade of service would mean that no more than 5% of callers will receive a busy signal during the busiest hour.)

P.01 is appropriate for some situations, but it can mean that many corporations are inadvertently paying for more phone lines than are necessary.

Service Features and Enhancements

Not only does strict adherence to P.01 grade of service cause inefficiencies, but so can the proliferation of service enhancements offered by today’s telecom carriers.

The commercial thrust of enhanced services, such as voice mail, caller ID, call waiting, call transfer, 3-way calling, call forwarding, etc. is obvious: to increase the amount of revenue per customer and to enhance the carrier’s profits. The problem is that many of these feature enhancements are either not cost effective or, the features are never utilized.

Finally, users often neglect to remove services – lines, trunks, features, listings, etc. – when the need for them disappears.

Below you will find 10 specific areas of over-provisioning where savings are often uncovered. Every audit should include an effort to examine these areas thoroughly.

1. Measured or message rate lines that show no usage.
Lines with no usage should be eliminated. The motto here should be “use or or lose it!”

2. Unrecognized service address for an account or off-premises circuit.
If an address is unrecognizeable by employees and staff, chances are none of the lines located at the address are needed. Eliminate them immediately.

3. Lines that ring with no answer.
Lines that ring with no answer could be old lines that were never removed, or they are lines that should have either call forward or voice mail attached. A line that never answers is just as annoying for a customer as a busy signal. Identify lines that should include call forwarding or voice mail, and eliminate the others.

4. More lines than staff at a location and/or more lines than buttons available on the phone.
Six lines in use with just one employee? Unless the employee is super human and can juggle six conversations at once, cancel at least 2-3 lines, or forward calls to other locations that can sufficiently handle the traffic. More lines than buttons on the phone system is a definite indicator either that lines need to be removed, or a new phone system is needed.

5. Phone numbers that cannot be identified.
A true no brainer. If no one can recognize the phone number in question, get rid of it. The phone company will never tell you to cancel, so be proactive and eliminate this waste immediately.

6. Features or voice mail on lines that aren’t being used.
This is where personal surveys of users comes in handy. Find out exactly what features the end users need and use on a regular basis, then cancel features that are unnecessary, or are not being used.

7. Wire-maintenance packages on lines.
Wire maintenance is a default charge that will appear on every phone line unless you have it removed. The cost-savings for eliminating this charge far outweighs the risk of having to call a technician to fix a line. The charge will generally only cover repairs beyond the jack, so any repairs will be your responsibility.

8. LEC calling plans that were once needed still on billing records.
CSRs will reveal calling plans that may have been in use in the past, but are no longer being used. Compare your current needs with what you are being billed for and adjust accordingly.

9. Touchtone capability on inbound only lines.
For incoming lines only, eliminate features that are associated with outgoing calling.

10. Features provided by the LEC for a fee when the feature is available on the phone system.
Many phones systems are sophisticated and have built-in features that are quite useful. Examples are speed dialing and conferencing. Be sure that you are not paying the LEC for these features if your phone can handle them on its own.

Over-provisioning is one area that can yield terrific savings results. Although tedious in nature, the efforts spent tracking down the most common areas of overspending will be well worth it.

Submitted by:  Karen Thatcher, TelCon Associates, Inc.

It makes sense that telecom auditing success and eventual cost savings is directly related to the initial data that is collected. This data is then thoroughly reviewed/analyzed during the entire audit process. Telecom data that is NOT collected obviously cannot be analyzed, and that could result in limited savings over the course of the entire audit. As they say, “garbage in, garbage out.”

It is easy to forget or to simply leave out important data. The following checklist will help keep you on track as you begin the telecom audit process. Prepare a manila folder for the following items and label each with its appropriate title. Once you have collected and organized each item, simply check that item off the list. Be sure to have a pad of Post-it notes handy too!

Telephone Bills

Local/Long Distance
The most obvious source for data collection is telephone bills. Before you hastily gather them up however, first determine the manner in which your basic telecom services are billed. Start with local telephone bills and branch out from there. Long-distance services may be billed on the same statement as local bills or they may be included on a separate bill altogether. If they do come separately, be sure to include them in separate folders.

Wireless Phones
After you have collected and organized local and long-distance bills, next concentrate on wireless services. First determine if your wireless services are billed as a group or as individual accounts. If a separate bill is received for each wireless phone, be sure to collect each and every one of them. There may be wireless phones that are not in use but are still being billed on a monthly basis. Include all wireless phone bills into one folder.

Paging
Paging bills are next on the list for data collection. Use the same process for collecting paging bills as you did for wireless phones. Be sure to create a separate folder for paging bills.

Internet
Next concentrate on collecting all Internet service related bills. More often than not your Internet provider will provide a separate bill for Internet services and related monthly charges. However, many local telephone companies now offer customers broadband services along with local telephone service. If this is the case, your Internet service charges could be included on your local telephone bills. If that is the case, simply make a note of it in the internet folder and then move on.

Contracts

Voice and Data Service Contracts
Contracts on voice and data services are an important element in the audit process. It may be best to gather all contracts that are current and in place and include them in one manila folder. Some contracts may overlap, such as a contract for both local and long-distance services. Be sure to identify and include wireless phone contracts as well as telecom equipment and maintenance service agreement contracts.

Directory Advertising Agreements
Directory advertising and/or Yellow Pages agreements include important data that should be included in your audit. Keep in mind that white page listings are usually included on the local phone bill while Yellow Page ads are more often than not billed by a Yellow Page service provider. These contracts/agreements are an important data source because they specify the type of directory advertising ordered, when it was ordered, and by whom it was ordered. More importantly, these agreements include the rates that are to apply to all advertising along with the terms and conditions of the agreement.

Services and/or Equipment Inventory
If you have conducted an inventory of lines and/or telecom equipment that is in use, include all of this information in a separate labeled folder.

Supplier/Vendor Data

Many telecom auditors make the mistake of only collecting data that is readily available on the user end, such as the items listed above. They fall into the trap of simply “analyzing phone bills”. Collecting supplier information as well as information and data from third parties is extremely important if your goal is to achieve the most thorough telecom audit possible.

Customer Service Records (CSRs)
Customer service records contain the unique data about customers that are generated by suppliers during the normal course of day-to-day business. Written in what are usually called Universal Service Order Codes (USOC) these records serve as an itemized listing or “snapshot” of all of the lines, services, features, etc. of a specific customer account.

Customer service records can and should be obtained from suppliers. The information contained on these records provides a wealth of data that will ultimately be the backbone of your telecom audit. Allow a few weeks for carriers to respond to your request and do not hesitate to continually hound them if they fail to respond immediately to your requests. Click here for a more in-depth explanation of customer service records.

Tariffs
Tariffs are the official documents that spell out rules, service offerings, rates, etc. While they have become less important for long-distance contracts, Local Exchange Carriers still maintain tariff rates. Tariffs are available for inspection at telephone company offices as well as many Internet web sites.

Tariff bureaus provide tariffs in printed or electronic format. An excellent source for tariff information is CCMI. CCMI provides access to the most comprehensive online repository of rate and tariff documents available in the industry. This is information that is useful to both users and suppliers.

Tax Information
Charities, churches, schools, nonprofit educational and hospital operations, certain other entities that receive government funding, foreign counselor operations, and others, may be exempt from state and/or federal taxes. For example, common carriers, newspapers and broadcast companies may be exempt from federal tax on some services.

It is wise to organize and collect tax information at the beginning of your telecom audit. Also, it is important to keep in mind that telephone service representatives generally do not have a good grasp or understanding of applicable taxes and how they are applied in many different situations. Service representatives are useful for information verification relating to your bills. In most cases they can refer you to those who have the tax answers you are seeking. The most reliable source for tax information is from a tax professional or the Internal Revenue Service.

Proper collection and organizing of telecom date at the start of any telecom audit will set the tone for the duration of the project. In the end, this attention to detail will pay off not only in additional cost-savings but also in the time and effort needed to thoroughly complete the task.

Our intent for presenting this case study is twofold: 1) to stress the importance of routine telecom auditing of your voice and data services as part of your overall cost-reduction strategy, and; 2) to give you specifics (i.e. savings uncovered, examples, methodology, etc.) of exactly how each portion of the telecom audit was completed and savings were uncovered so that you will better understand the variety of possibilities for telecom cost-savings.

For the purposes of this case study, four areas of telecommunications services will be examined: long distance service, local service, wireless, and paging. As you will soon see, each area contains specific problems - some of which are obvious and others that are quite unique.

Keep in mind that from our experience completing telecom audits for over 30 years, this organization is typical in the fact that prior to this telecom audit huge unnecessary spending was occurring on a monthly basis.

Long Distance Service Audit

Although it tends to get little press these days, long distance phone service usage is still alive and well. Many organizations however do not maximize their telecommunications dollar by implementing a well-designed long distance strategy.

In this case, the main health system campus telecom department provides long-distance access to all of the other locations through common dedicated facilities. Unfortunately, many of the outlying locations were incurring monthly switched long-distance charges, primarily from AT&T.  Worse yet, many of these locations were billing for the monthly minimum of $15.95 plus tax - with NO outbound usage at all!

After some careful detective work and weighing many options on how expenses could be reduced in this area, we discovered that the county in which this health system is located is under a multi-year contract with Paetec Communications. The contract covered IntraLata, InterLata as well as International long-distance services.

The county contract long-distance rates were excellent for all services just mentioned. Because this health system is a “county hospital”, we were able to place all 34 locations under the umbrella of the county long-distance contract. Although the county contract with Paetec is for eight years, the health system is only obligated for a total of two years.

These implemented changes resulted in total long-distance savings of $8,175.54 per month, or $98,106.48 per year.

Local Service Audit

Local service plans and contracts carry great potential for major cost-savings. Most companies are simply unaware of the many options for local service or how to go about negotiating the best deal they can get from either their current provider or a new one.

In this case, we decided the best route was to negotiate an entirely new contract with BellSouth.  Once approved by the board of directors, the new local service contract resulted in savings of $26,800.95 per month or $321,611.40 annually.

Wireless Phone Service Audit

Stroll through any large company or organization today and you’ll find almost everyone toting a cell phone. Since wireless service is considered a necessity to conduct business, the majority of companies cover the cost of phones and monthly service for their employees and staff.

The wireless industry is competitive and changes occur very quickly with new rates and plans emerging onto the marketplace all the time. The good news is that constant change always carries opportunity for big savings in the wireless arena.

Everyone knows that wireless services are billed on monthly basis for a set amount of usage. In other words, wireless companies do not care whether you actually USE the phone, they will bill you regardless. At the time of this telecom audit, our health system carried a total of 543 wireless phones - a whopping 108 of which had no usage for the previous 60 days!

It seems rather obvious that if a phone is not used for 60 days or more, it should be canceled and that is exactly what we recommended. Eliminating these unused wireless phones resulted in a savings of $5750 per month, or $62,364 per year.

Nextel carries the service for the remaining 435 phones - all of which were on different monthly plans. Non-uniformity in wireless plans across many departments will almost always result in “overage” for some and under usage for others - and this situation was no different.

To reduce wireless expenses we recommended a Nextel plan that would “share” minutes between ALL users. The plan selected was a $47 per month plan that included 500 anytime minutes, unlimited nights/weekends, unlimited “direct-connect” minutes with free long distance calls included. By combining departments of an organization into a “shared minute” structure, implemented savings totaled roughly $21,804 per month or $261,648 per year.

On a side note, we discovered that the health system was receiving only a 10% discount - NOT the 18% contract discount promised. The change was implemented going forward with a refund due from the time the contract was signed. This additional discount alone will add an $45,600 in future annual savings.

Paging Service Audit

Pagers are still widely used today, especially in hospitals and health organizations. Our case study health organization employs a total of 1294 pagers with Arch Wireless as the provider. Most are numeric pagers but some text pagers are active as well. Numeric monthly fees range from $2-$5 while text message pagers range from $5-$35.

Interestingly enough, this health system owns the frequency for a paging company called Metrocall.

Our recommendation? Use the paging frequency that is owned by the company and eliminate the current provider. This recommendation resulted in a monthly savings of $5197.46 or $62,369.52 per year.

This case study resulted a considerable reduction in telecommunications expenditures following the voice and data audit. Although it was very successful in savings rendered for this health system, it is by no means a unique case.  Virtually every company and organization, especially multi-location companies, are ripe for telecommunications savings.

The bottom line for this telecom audit? A total annual telecom expense reduction of $789,335.40.

Submitted by: TelCon Associates, Inc.

Our intent for presenting this telecom audit case study is twofold: 1) to stress the importance of thorough and routine telecom auditing of your voice and data services as part of your overall cost-reduction strategy, and; 2) to provide you with the specific cost-saving strategies were employed while conducting this audit so that you can use and apply some or all of them to help
reduce and manage your company’s telecom spending.

Although this REIT’s real estate portfolio consists of a total of 150 apartment communities located in a variety of states, TelCon was engaged and instructed to conduct a “test” audit of only eight locations. This “micro-audit” enabled TelCon to provide the REIT with a general overview of telecom services for communities chosen at random. The specific communities to be audited were decided on by the REIT executives.

For purposes of brevity as well as clarity, we have reduced the entire audit into important areas for savings and then categorized them into the following strategies:

Telecom Strategy # 1: Identify and Eliminate Unused Lines

Most companies (especially multi-location ones) are paying monthly fees for unused or unidentified telephone lines. This apartment community audit turned up numerous examples of this.  Not only were many lines going unused, there were some that could not even be identified.

The fail-safe method for identifying lines that are not being used is to take the time to call each one and determine the location of the line itself. Always allow a connection to ring at least 15-20 times to eliminate the possibility it being a security or alarm line.

In addition, user surveys can be extremely helpful in the process of identifying lines that are going unused. By simply asking questions of users at a specific location, you will gain much information about the usage patterns for all the lines at that location.

If employees have difficulty identifying or even recognizing a telephone number, it is
safe to say that line is probably going unused and can be eliminated.

Telecom Strategy #2: Use “Backup” Plans for Low Usage Lines

Every business has lines (i.e. alarm lines, elevator lines, metering lines, pool lines, security lines, gate and entry lines, etc.) that are functional but infrequently or sometimes even rarely used. In the case of our apartment community audit, we discovered many instances where security lines were subscribed to plans that were designed for high usage voice traffic.

For example, more than one community in this audit bundled two security lines onto a “complete choice” two-line plan for $134 per month. Although not widely advertised, many local carriers offer low usage plans with low monthly fees and per minute rates for calling. In this case, we recommended a “backup line” plan for the security lines at only $21.38 per month and 5 cent per minute calling fees.

Since these lines are rarely used, the per minute fees generally will not apply. The savings on this example alone totaled $1215.36 per year.

Telecom Strategy #3: Eliminate DSL Service on Fax Lines or Unused Lines

Many organizations and businesses now use high-speed dedicated internet service throughout their organization. Prior to this however, some subscribed to DSL services offered by local carriers. A problem arises when users fail to disconnect unused or fax lines from DSL services at the time they make the change to other dedicated internet service options.

This REIT audit turned up instances where fax lines were still being charged for DSL service even though the community was utilizing a 512kbps dedicated internet service.

If your organization has used DSL in the past, or continues to employ DSL services, be sure that you keep an inventory of the lines that are subscribed. Eliminate DSL service on fax lines and other lines where the service is simply not needed.

Telecom Strategy #4: Cancel Unused/Unneeded
Features on Low Usage Lines

Today’s local service providers offer a huge variety of local service calling features. These added features can be a huge profit center for local providers - especially for unsuspecting consumers and businesses who pay for them and subsequently never use them.

This REIT audit uncovered numerous low usage lines with features such as: “call forwarding busy line”, “call forwarding busy don’t answer”, and others that added no value to the lines on which they were placed. Eliminating a $3.00/mo feature on one line may seem trivial, but the cumulative affect of many lines over many months’ worth of billing can be substantial.

Telecom Strategy #5: Consider Longer Local Contract for Huge Discounts

Local service providers love contracts - the longer the better. Service contracts allow carriers to not only “lock in” a customer, but also help them project revenue for longer periods into the future. As beneficial as they are to the carriers themselves, local service contracts can benefit the customer as well.

For example, many multi-location companies (those that contain entities such as apartment communities, satellite offices, franchises, etc.) will typically have 5-10 lines per location in use. In the case of our audit, we identified one apartment community that was billed $323.00 per month for a 5-line local service plan. By signing a 36-month contract, we were able to reduce this bill by 40% - resulting in a savings of $1720.92 per year.

Be aware that most local service contracts will require long-distance service to stay with that local carrier. It is best to analyze ALL factors to determine the absolute best options. The recommendation in this case was to go for the longer contract and reap the savings since very little long distance was being used at this location.

Telecom Strategy #6: Cancel Directory Advertising
Unless Absolutely Necessary

It is hard to imagine the world today without the internet and search engines such Google and Yahoo. For most of us, the days of looking for information in the White Pages or Yellow Pages are a thing of the past.

Despite that, the majority of businesses today still feel the need for White Pages and Yellow Pages listings. Unfortunately, directory advertising continues to be extremely expensive. In the case of our audit, we identified one apartment complex that was paying $51.00 per month for a “bold” listing in the area White Pages directory.

Employees at the location had no idea that the listing even existed. The recommendation was to cancel the listing (in writing) and pocket the extra $600+ per year in savings.

Telecom Strategy #7: Cancel LD Service Where
Needed to Avoid Minimum Monthly Charges

Carriers typically charge customers a “minimum usage” fee each month for every line that is subscribed to long distance service. This monthly charge usually is in the $6.00 - $15 per month range.

This audit turned up numerous lines that NEVER used long distance service, but were being charged the monthly minimum usage charge. The recommendation was to cancel the long distance service on any line that was not used for long distance calling, saving an average of $159 per year for each line.

The economy in 2009-2010 will be stagnant at best. Companies are looking for ways to boost the bottom line without laying off and cutting their workforce. As you can see from the  case study outlined here, a thorough telecom audit can be a first line of defense for cutting expenses and weathering today’s tough economic times.

“Many businesses are simply unaware that wireless carriers often act as a “billing agents” for 3rd party content providers”, says Karen Thatcher, CEO of TelCon Associates, a 37 year old telecom auditing firm. “The scary thing is that these 3rd party providers generally do not even need a credit card to start billing for a monthly service. If they have your wireless number, that’s all they usually need to begin charging to an account,” says Thatcher.

As one would expect, the way in which carriers list these charges on a wireless bill are often vague and undefined as well. They often use terms such as “downloaded content”, or “premium messages” to describe everything from ringtones to game downloads.

“The terms carriers use to define these extra charges are vague for one reason only - to make it easier to allow them to slip by the accounts payable department. Monthly recurring charges can be initiated after one purchase or even a free download”, says Thatcher.

The following are a few of tips that will help keep those pesky 3rd party charges off your employee’s cell phone bills.

1) Establish a company-wide wireless policy that outlines the appropriate wireless usage for each employee or job title.

It is highly unlikely that games and ringtone downloads are part of every day business activities. In the event that employees expense wireless bills at the end of every month, be sure that all charges are itemized for easy identification as to the specific charges and purpose for the charges.

2) Contact your wireless carrier to determine the possibility of “blocking” 3rd party downloadable content.

Verizon allows for consumers to block premium SMS content providers from sending or subscribing them to content. AT&T has begun offering controls that will block a wireless phone from being able to purchase any premium content - including ringtones, games and graphics.

3) Audit wireless bills regularly.

“Routinely auditing wireless bills is the key to catching unauthorized charges”, says Thatcher. “It is much easier to remove these kinds of charges when they first appear rather than months down the road.”

4) Inform your carrier about unauthorized charges - then follow up until they are removed.

Wireless carriers have no way of determining whether a charge is legitimate or not - until you tell them. This is where the legwork comes in. Contact your wireless representative and let know of the charges incurred. You may get the run around at first to find a person that can help solve the problem. The key is to be persistent. Be sure to analyze the next bill to be certain that the charge has been removed.

When it comes to increasing efficiency and reducing expenses for telecommunications products and services within your business, certain tasks that could lead to success can often be delayed unnecessarily or even ignored altogether.

The following “to-do” list will help you stay focused on the goal of reducing and managing your corporate telecom expenses for 2008. It outlines the tasks to be completed, as well as a number of action steps to take immediately to help you get started. These action steps are intended to begin the process of completing the task. You will want to add your own action steps to the list as they arise. When you have completed the task, simply check it off.

Task #1:

Analyze Local Phone Service Plans and Regrade if Necessary

Getting a handle on local phones service charges is an important first step in helping to reduce and gain more control of your corporate telecom expenses. Many business owners make the mistake that telecom costs savings can be found in big ticket items such as long-distance services. Choosing the local service package that fits the usage patterns of your business is crucial for keeping costs down.
Action Steps:

Call local carrier representative for information on all available plans;

Gather and organize all local bills;

Determine current plan, analyze usage patterns, and upgrade/downgrade if cost-savings warrants it;

Download free booklet
“27 Ways to Slash Your Telecom Costs;
Learn more about local service plans here

Task #2:

Renegotiate Telecom Contracts

A telecom service contract is an easy way for a service provider to lock you into a predetermined rate structure and set of conditions for a specified period of time. The telecom industry changes constantly, however, and the conditions of a contract you agreed to 24 months ago may be totally outdated and costing you a bundle today. It is best to keep all telecom contracts handy and always know when they come due. You can often negotiate a new contract with an existing carrier before the old one expires.

Action Steps:

Gather existing telecom contracts and make note of expiration dates;

Contact vendors to determine if renegotiating or cancelling contracts without penalty is possible;

Assign individual, committee or outsource negotiations when contracts become due;Read 7 Areas For Successful Telecom Contract Negotiation

Task #3:

Inventory All Wireless Devices Company-wide

Wireless usage is quickly becoming a larger part of corporate telecom expenses each and every year. No longer do employees simply carry cell phones - wireless PDAs and laptops have become indispensable tools for conducting business as well. Since virtually all wireless devices today have data transfer capabilities, keeping an eye on costs is crucial. The subject of wireless cost management is too broad a topic to cover here. (This topic will be the subject of a future newsletter) One task you can begin immediately however is the inventory all wireless devices.

Action Steps:

Collect all wireless bills that are sent to the company;

Collect all wireless bills submitted as expense reports;

Create spreadsheet that lists employees’ names along with all wireless devices in use;

Determine all wireless devices not in use and eliminate wherever possible;

More information on how to establish a wireless company policy

Task #4:

Action Steps:

Learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of VoIP for voice traffic;

Determine if current corporate network is capable of handling VoIP;

Contact telecom consultant to determine if cost savings warrant the migration to VoIP;

Estimate ROI and amount of time needed to recoup investment; Learn about VoIP readiness assessment here

Task #5:

Action Steps:

Gather and organize bills from March 2003 to July 2006;

If not possible to gather all bills, collect April and September 2006 bills;

Determine refund through either calculation method;

Contact accounting with figures;

Task #6:

Action Steps:

Determine what telecom duties could be easily outsourced;

Contact 3 telecom consultants to determine what areas are most cost-effective for outsourcing;

Compare current costs with costs incurred by outsourcing;

Read “How to Choose a Telecom Consultant“; Learn more about telecom outsourcing here

“To-do” lists are only effective if you take the action steps necessary to complete the tasks. Try to block out a few minutes each week to focus and help you stay on track with your telecom cost-reduction efforts. The time spent is well worth it in the long run. If you are someone who is a “to-do” list maniac, try using this free online version.

Submitted by: TelCon Associates