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Top 10 Ways to Reduce Your Telecom Spend
1. Know your inventory – keep an accurate list of all lines, circuits, and hunt groups per location and carrier.
• Many companies pay for multiple lines they don’t know about and some companies even have large
circuits billing that aren’t in use.
2. Review customer service records every other year – These secret maps to your local service bills tell you
precisely what lines and features you are paying for.
• Many companies have features that are unnecessary and they can add up to a monthly cost.
3. Review your local invoices – Often miscellaneous charges such as online advertising or odd long distance
carrier charges will show up on the back pages of these invoices. This is an expense to be avoided.
4. Review your long distance invoices – Match your long distance rates to your contract to verify that they are
correct on a quarterly basis. Your rates can be wrong because of changes in billing platforms, missing
discount codes, or adding new lines.
5. Consolidate bills – Not only is it hard to manage a multitude of bills, this is an area that often causes increased
charges. Some carriers charge per invoice (administration fees) and by subaccount (monthly recurring
charge). If you don’t need as many subaccounts or bills have them consolidated. It is also common for
bills to not be tied to the master contract. Your carrier rep may not catch this mistake unless you have
them review all of your invoices. (Better yet don’t wait – check your own rates and send them the
information for a credit)
6. Review your design – You don’t have to be a telecom engineer to figure out a few ratios. Each local line could
carry 5000 minutes per month and a T1 can carry 120,000 to 150,000 minutes per month. If you have 30
local lines and 2 T1’s but only 30,000 minutes per month – you are probably over trunked. (This applies
to most businesses with the exception of inbound call centers)
7. Compare the telecom services in all of your locations – If you have two locations with similar functionality and
the same number of employees you should expect similar telecom expenses. If you find this is not true –
look at the number of lines and features. Also make sure both locations are tied into the same master long
distance contract. (Intrastate rates vary but you can look for patterns)
8. GO GREEN – Most telecom companies today have online options for their invoicing. This is not only a great
way to save paper it can be a way to pull reports that can help you check your rates, usage by types, and
detail. If you choose online, have the paper canceled so you don’t incur additional costs.
9. Negotiate rates – Telecom rates per minute and costs of lines and circuits change annually. You should review
these costs every other year and get bids from several carriers. If your carrier knows you are shopping
around, you are going to get the most competitive rate.
10. Perform a site survey – match up your line inventory or a list from reviewing your customer service records to
the actual lines in your phone room or dmarc. Have a technician test your lines to see if they are live and
where they ring.
• Many companies are paying for lines that are dead in the phone room or not connected to any device.
(If you can’t stand the thought of doing these tasks – we will do them for you
– audit savings average 15 – 40% of monthly telecom spend.)
