One of the biggest expenses your business can have is the cost of telecom services. There are many reasons your telecom bill may be high and many ways to prevent it. There may be charges on your bill for services your business doesn't need, you may have services from different companies that overlap, or maybe you haven't shopped around. It is important that you know what you are being charged for, and ask if certain fees can be waived or discounted. Consider consolidating your services, and check with several companies to see if you can get services at lower rates.
It is important that you audit your telecom services, so you know what you are paying for, and avoid paying for things you don't need. There are two ways of auditing them. They can be audited manually or through the use of Telecom Expense Management software. The best procedure for auditing is a combination of both. The reason being, that while audits show where you can save in the future, TEM will highlight mistakes in billing. Doing a manual audit prior to using TEM software is an effective auditing method that can help you cut your telecom expenses.
Optimizing your telecom service will help your company save money. To efficiently optimize, you must first do your homework. Know what you are being billed for, so you can get rid of unnecessary services. Consolidating your services will help you save as well. Keep an eye on data usage, and limit it where necessary. Keep your telecom services, hardware and software up to date. Out dated hardware, software and services can cost you money. Installing metrics that will collect information for you will save time on monitoring services. In some cases, it may even be necessary to change providers.
Your telecom service bill should be checked regularly to avoid being overcharged due to billing errors. Whether the error shows up on your bill every now and then or every month, it can cost you millions of dollars a year. Your telecom company could be charging you for taxes that you don't owe because of over looked exemptions. You may be paying for incomplete calls that should have been credited back to you. For that matter, they could be double charging you, or billing you for someone else's charges. Also, make sure you're not missing credits due to agent error.
When updating your phone system, or opening a new office, you will need to know what telecom services are available to you. You will also need to have a good understanding of what services your business requires. Don't rely on a telecom company to tell you, they're trying to make a sale. Knowing how you plan on using telecom services, as well as your current needs, is critical to avoid paying too much. A Request for Proposal makes comparing your options easier because it will help you understand what services you need, what areas should be improved and your usage.
There are many types of telecom services. The Public Switched Telephone Network is traditional phone service. Carrier Pre-Selection allows you to choose your carrier; and national, international or all calls, in advance. However, you are billed separately for services and line rental. Single Billing-Wholesale Line Rental is the same as Carrier Pre-Selection, except that you receive one bill for services and line rental, from the carrier. Using access codes to access a carrier is called Carrier Selection or Carrier Access. You can use this method to limit, or eliminate, long distance or international calling by unauthorized parties. These telecom services limit use to voice calls only.
Telecom services offer a couple ways to send data, and make voice calls via the Internet. This can be done using a Broadband Connection or a Dial-up Connection. Dial-up is slower than broadband, has to be dialed every time you connect to the internet, and does not allow you to make calls while online. The download speeds with dial-up are also slow. Broadband is much faster than dial-up, automatically connects to the network, and allows you to make calls while online. Pages open and download much faster with broadband than with dial-up service.
Most people would be surprised to know how often billing errors occur with telecom services. There have been several studies on the matter. Some of them found that almost 75 percent of customers, over a five year period, were overcharged. Others found that up to 20 percent of charges, to corporations,
It is important that you audit your telecom services, so you know what you are paying for, and avoid paying for things you don't need. There are two ways of auditing them. They can be audited manually or through the use of Telecom Expense Management software. The best procedure for auditing is a combination of both. The reason being, that while audits show where you can save in the future, TEM will highlight mistakes in billing. Doing a manual audit prior to using TEM software is an effective auditing method that can help you cut your telecom expenses.
Optimizing your telecom service will help your company save money. To efficiently optimize, you must first do your homework. Know what you are being billed for, so you can get rid of unnecessary services. Consolidating your services will help you save as well. Keep an eye on data usage, and limit it where necessary. Keep your telecom services, hardware and software up to date. Out dated hardware, software and services can cost you money. Installing metrics that will collect information for you will save time on monitoring services. In some cases, it may even be necessary to change providers.
Your telecom service bill should be checked regularly to avoid being overcharged due to billing errors. Whether the error shows up on your bill every now and then or every month, it can cost you millions of dollars a year. Your telecom company could be charging you for taxes that you don't owe because of over looked exemptions. You may be paying for incomplete calls that should have been credited back to you. For that matter, they could be double charging you, or billing you for someone else's charges. Also, make sure you're not missing credits due to agent error.
When updating your phone system, or opening a new office, you will need to know what telecom services are available to you. You will also need to have a good understanding of what services your business requires. Don't rely on a telecom company to tell you, they're trying to make a sale. Knowing how you plan on using telecom services, as well as your current needs, is critical to avoid paying too much. A Request for Proposal makes comparing your options easier because it will help you understand what services you need, what areas should be improved and your usage.
There are many types of telecom services. The Public Switched Telephone Network is traditional phone service. Carrier Pre-Selection allows you to choose your carrier; and national, international or all calls, in advance. However, you are billed separately for services and line rental. Single Billing-Wholesale Line Rental is the same as Carrier Pre-Selection, except that you receive one bill for services and line rental, from the carrier. Using access codes to access a carrier is called Carrier Selection or Carrier Access. You can use this method to limit, or eliminate, long distance or international calling by unauthorized parties. These telecom services limit use to voice calls only.
Telecom services offer a couple ways to send data, and make voice calls via the Internet. This can be done using a Broadband Connection or a Dial-up Connection. Dial-up is slower than broadband, has to be dialed every time you connect to the internet, and does not allow you to make calls while online. The download speeds with dial-up are also slow. Broadband is much faster than dial-up, automatically connects to the network, and allows you to make calls while online. Pages open and download much faster with broadband than with dial-up service.
Most people would be surprised to know how often billing errors occur with telecom services. There have been several studies on the matter. Some of them found that almost 75 percent of customers, over a five year period, were overcharged. Others found that up to 20 percent of charges, to corporations,