Managing telecommunication expenses requires special skills and knowledge in order to appropriately trace expenses and wastages within a system. Service terms and charges are often esoteric and complex. Trying to decipher and clarify them is a task better left to a dedicated employee highly trained on the matter. Add to that the shocking fact that not all service providers provide accurate, consolidated billings, and it is easy to see how without the right Telecommunication Expense Management (TEM) system, over-payment and other billing difficulties can occur.

TEM services also include the validation of approved inventories, the reconciliation of orders to invoice charges, order provisioning, escalation, physical inventory validation services, and the sourcing and negotiation of contracts against databases of the telecommunications market for the best rates and solutions. Customer support services for TEM are also available.

Types of Telecom Expense Management

Telecom Expense Management can be conducted either by an internal TEM team or by an outsourced Telecom Expense Management provider.

In an Internal Telecom Expense Management setup, an individual employee or a group of employees are responsible for monitoring communication expenses. Favored mostly by small businesses, this may come in the form of dedicated roles, or maybe relegated to budgeting or accounting departments.

Outsourced Telecom Expense Management, on the other hand, contracts out TEM duties, and allows businesses to take advantage of zero risk services for guaranteed net savings.

Types of TEM Auditing

Telecom Expense Management usually involves cost auditing in order to assess and identify possible savings for clients. TEM audit methodology can be categorically divided into major types.

• Manual Auditing – The first type of TEM auditing. As the term connotes, a trained employee performs the auditing functions and personally gathers information, as well as draw comparisons. These personalized auditors secure the aid of less specialized programming tools and data applications, such as spreadsheets or databases.
• Software Auditing – The second type of TEM auditing methodology, where TEM service provider personnel employ the aid of highly specialized software for information gathering and in drawing up comparisons for rates and services.

Additional Resources

Please contact your Fastblue.com client manager to learn more about how TEM services can help your business!