Are you looking at ways to save money for your company? Stop overpaying your IT/telecom invoices.
You may not be aware that over 85% of mid-sized companies are not fully auditing their IT/telecom invoices. So, they get paid in full, month after month. While that may be easy, it comes with a potentially expensive problem: errors and hidden charges. And, many of them you may not even be aware you signed off on! By paying them all in full without vetting them, your business may be overpaying bills by thousands of dollars every month. Who wins? The vendors. Because, unfortunately, they are the last folks who are going to raise their hands and tell you, "Hey, you overpaid that last invoice."
That said, there are things you can do to avoid getting hammered with charges for things you never purchased or errors that are not your fault. Here are some tips:
- Scrutinize your SOW (statement of work)
- Before you sign anything, carefully review each charge. Some may not be as clear as others. Some may relate to additional services that lead to automatic charges or recurring charges for things you may not need. Even if you have already signed an SOW, you may be able to challenge items you deem confusing or unfair and re-negotiate it.
- Make sure that you are getting what you purchased originally
- In a world where merger and acquisition activity is the norm, you may end up with a product with hidden charges or bolt-on modules that make it more costly in the long run.
- Do not pay for for software updates or expensive upgrades that you never ordered
- You may also find yourself paying a charge if you upgrade or change your switch. Be prudent and review each charge.
- Check invoices for errors and make sure you are not paying twice
- This happens more frequently than you might think. And you may have a time restriction to dispute your invoices and make adjustments. Stay on top of this.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, invest in a good
Technology Expense Management (TEM) system. These systems can help you keep track of invoices and inventory. A solid TEM system will identify billing errors before they fall outside the allotted invoice period (typically 30-90 days).
The good news is that we can help. We have tools to automate your invoice tracking, reporting and management. We have worked with hundreds of organizations to help them save thousands (often hundreds of thousands) of dollars in over-charges from carriers and equipment vendors as well. We're ready when you are to help.