Advantages of Telecom Invoice Management

The Advantages of Telecom Invoice Management by Peter Verhoeff

Telecom Invoice Management can exist as a stand-alone software package, or be part of a larger Telecom Expense Management (TEM) system. It is designed to make the processing and verification of telecom invoices faster and simpler. Other than saving your company money, telecom expense management can further assist you in negotiating more favorable contracts with telecom providers and facilitate planning and budgeting.

Your company needs a telecom invoice management system if:

*You don't know what your telecom annual expenses are

* You are manually processing your telecom invoices

* You do not have a central database for telecom expenses

* You are not sure what telecom equipment and resources you have

* You sometimes have to pay late payment charges

* Your telecom bills seem to rise more rapidly than expected

Controlling and managing telecom invoices is a difficult task. Telecom billings are complicated by involved agreements and many line items that are variously charged, depending on location, time of day, duration and other factors. Telecom carriers seem to do what they can to foil your best attempts at making sense of their invoices. Without the proper software, it is almost impossible to verify their correctness.

Many organizations use different providers for various telecom services. This results in different tariffs. Not only that, but there are various one-time charges, charges for equipment not based on usage, tiered or step-wise rates and many other factors that make analyzing telecom charges extremely difficult and time-consuming.

Your company is not the only one having difficulty figuring it all out. Your service providers have the same problem. According to Gartner, 19 - 20% of telecom charges are in error. It is not uncommon to be charged for disconnected lines and unused services.

The "price creeping" phenomenon is another problem that your telecom invoice management system will reveal. Telecom providers tend to raise their rates gradually, one at a time, so the increases won't be obvious. Your telecom invoice management system will catch these unauthorized changes and alert you. Telecom invoice management software resolves all the above difficulties.

With these tools your Accounts Payable department can finally make sense out of these invoices and save you money. . These three activities could save you as much as 25% or more on your telecom bills.

* Invoice administration (save up to 5% by avoiding late payment charges)

* Invoice verification (make sure you aren't overcharged, using phone bill tracking)

* Invoice reconciliation (fix billing errors)

For more information on Telecom Invoice Management, please visit Telsoft Solutions.

Author, Peter Verhoeff, writes articles on the business benefits of call accounting and call detail record technology. More information can be found at http://www.telsoft-solutions.com.