Telecom Service Inventory and Billing
Auditing your telecommunication services and
invoices
Performing
a telecom
service inventory and billing audit may appear to be a daunting
task. Following the steps below will help you perform your own
audit. If you have never performed an audit, you may want to seek
the services of a telecommunications
consultant.
If you are a small business, or
already have staff in place to perform
a telecom service inventory and billing audit, these are the steps you
should follow:
1.
Get copies of
all your service contracts
(local, long distance, DSL, internet, etc.). If you don't have
these, your service provider should be able to get copies for you.
2.
Get at least 3 months worth of bills
for each
service being audited. (If you have telecom expertise, also
obtain copies of Customer Service Records (CSRs) from your service
providers).
3.
Create a spreadsheet
to track all
your findings, using separate tabs for each service.
4.
Review your service
contracts,
noting term agreement dates, usage pricing, commitments, fixed pricing,
etc.
5.
Review your bills
to ensure the
pricing you receive reflects the proper pricing from the bills.
(NOTE: Service providers change pricing from time to time and you
may see increases. For each increase, you should have received
notification).
6.
Check rates for
taxes, surcharges,
etc. on your bills. If you are a tax-exempt entity, make sure
you're not being charged for sales tax (NOTE: Certain entities
are exempt from both state sales, and Federal excise taxes - check with
your state tax agency and/or FCC for details).
7.
Check all usage
charges. Are
long distance charges accurate? Check cell phone usage - do you
see any unusual activity or charges?
8.
Audit your usage
- how many minutes
of long distance and cell phone minutes do you use monthly? This
will show you whether you need to increase or decrease your monthly
service amounts. You may be paying for more minutes than you'll
ever use, or perhaps you're paying exhorbitant overcharges every month.
8.
To get the
most from your telecom service inventory and billing audit, check the tariffed rates in your
state for regulated services for your service providers. All
tariffs are public record, and some states provide online access to
tariff documents. You will need to check with your state's
Public Utility Commission or Regulatory Authority for details.
Review tariffed rates against Uniform Service Ordering Codes found on
the CSR.
9.
If your
company uses private line, frame relay or advanced services, physically check any DS1 or DS3 lines
that your company pays for. Make sure they are still in
operation, and tagged.
10.
Compare your
current rates with
promotional rates from your existing providers, and also from
competitors. If your service agreement will expire within the
next 12 months, it is definitely worth pursuing alternate pricing for
your services.
Whatever
your reason
for performing a telecom service inventory and billing audit, doing so
will help you identify areas where you can reduce your costs.
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