Expense management can mean a lot of different things to different companies. However, when it comes to telecom expense management most organizations can expect a standard of service to meet their needs. These services include basic auditing, inventory management and some variation of ongoing professional management. But are too many organizations settling for the bare minimum when it telecom expense management? Companies can and should get more out of their current providers. 

Auditing

Auditing is one of the core functions of telecom expense management (TEM). It is time consuming and resource draining for an organization to line-item audit every single charge on a telecom invoice. This is especially true if the bill has hundreds, or even thousands, of sub-accounts, BTN’s, etc. Yet, like your organization, most TEM providers are not dedicating resources to this level of detailed auditing either. Instead, providers will audit to thresholds. This means that if a bills monthly charges changed by a certain threshold (3-5%) then, and only then, will the TEM enact an audit. This type of threshold auditing is very common among TEM providers. However, this leaves lots of room for savings not otherwise caught. For example, if your organization spend $500,000 on telecom expense, that means that a TEM provider will not even begin an audit till that bills is off by $25,000. 

A good TEM is going to dispute every single discrepancy no matter how large or small. When you have that level of detailed auditing then you have the chance to collect even more savings. Do not settle for threshold auditing. Demand that each item on the bill is thoroughly audited. Otherwise your organization is leaving savings on the table that could really add up. 

Inventory

Part of the auditing process requires up-to-date data to audit against. This is typically the “inventory” your TEM provides for to the organization. Inventory includes information in an online portal that shows each location and every charge, carrier, contract and service tied to those locations. This is the necessary and crucial information the TEM needs to audit the bills against. TEM providers typically require customers to update any changes in the inventory or can charge extra to manage all moves adds changes and disconnects. The problem with this method is zero centralization of changing data. An audit is only as good as an accurate inventory. If your TEM provider is not meticulously maintaining your organizations inventory, then most likely there are large amounts of savings being missed. Especially for more dynamic enterprises where locations have frequent changes to an inventory. It is important to allow your TEM to centralize all changes in inventory. That means letting them take over the process of ordering, moving or disconnecting services. This allows a TEM to capture all changes and accurately reflect those changes in the inventory which leads to more accurate audits and higher savings. 

Management

Utilizing a fully managed provider is the best way to get the most out of your TEM. This type of professional management will provide detailed audits of each charge on a bill while maintaining accurate data that will allow your organization to make smarter and more strategic decisions. 

Looking for get more out of TEM? Contact Teligistics today to discuss how our team has been helping bring visibility, professional management and hard savings to our clients for nearly 30 years.