Phone system expenses are a significant cost for any business, so any opportunity to be more cost-effective should be a top priority. One of the easiest ways to find where you might be over-spending is by conducting a telephone carrier audit.
A carrier refers to a company that provides voice or data services to your business, and either operate wirelessly or over traditional wired land lines.
A carrier audit of your telephone service and service billing is a process that ensures you are using the right type of telephone and internet services, and paying current market rates for them opposed to old pricing, which according to Troy McIsaac, sales manager at Total Communications Services Inc., happens way too much.
Audits offer significant savings opportunities
“Telephone carrier audits are rarely requested by a company, we usually bring them to the table and suggest them,” says McIsaac. “Sometimes, it’s on account of the company moving or installing a new phone system, but we provide these audits as part of our process because we know we can help most companies save a significant amount of money.”
Case in point: McIsaac says that for one of their existing clients, “we looked at a bill for their site — they were paying $3,500 a month for an office of about 20 people. We were able to bring that cost down to $400 a month.”
From finding billing errors, to detecting instances of over-service, to getting the best current market telecom rates, an audit can help you find saving opportunities for your business. A carrier audit essentially utilizes the best available services in telecom and data from the best carriers at the lowest market price available.
How to know you are using the right carrier
At Total Communication Services, the cost of a telephone carrier audit is free for clients. McIsaac says there are a few reasons why they offer it free of charge.
“One, It’s a cost-saving service that helps customers understand their charges better. And second, a lot of the carriers, we’re a dealer of. So, when we look at these services and cut costs, we’re also looking to make sure you’re using the best service for your business. “
In most cases, companies like Total Communication Services receive preferred rates or have more of an opportunity to negotiate preferred rates from certain carriers for their clients. For example, Total Communications Services is a channel partner with Shaw Communications, and offers Shaw telecommunication services in their solutions offering. This relationship benefits their clients because when it comes time to upgrade or switch carriers, the partnership can help to lower costs even further.
As McIsaac puts it, “knowing your business allows us to apply the right technology to help your business, as opposed to just ‘selling’ you technology.”
How much carrier audits cost and how often you should conduct them
Telephone carrier audits can range quite dramatically in cost. McIsaac says they can range anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands and the cost all depends on the size and complexity of a company.
“Every business should do an audit every two to three years,” says McIsaac. “Technology and pricing changes frequently with telecom and internet services, and you need to make sure that you have the best services by the best carriers at the lowest price available.”
“Almost every single audit we do results in better services and lower costs,” he says. “This week, we had two to three audits save customers between $1,800 to $2,500 per month in carrier billings. You may think these are larger businesses, but some are only the size of five to six users.”
Total Communications Services Inc. has more than 100 years of combined experience with carriers across Canada from telephone lines, internet connection, TV services for the hospitality industry and in long term care facilities as well as private data connections. This wealth of experience has provided the company insights on the availability of services and when a customer should apply them to their business and the rates one should be paying.
