Why Some Telecom Expense Management Companies Are Better Than Others
Telecom Expense Management is a system in which all aspects of a company’s telecom expenditure is scrutinized. Doing so allows the TEM professional to identify, eliminate and/or recover wasted expenditure. Today’s technologically advanced wireless and wireline systems have grown in complexity. With it, the ability to easily control the funds used to support it has all but disappeared. No longer can you rely on an employee with a little “extra time” to keep track of your telecom assets, validate all the invoices, ensure that every dollar is spent wisely or other related aspects of telecom usage.
The Normal TEM Team
Proper TEM requires that all facets of the process be interrelated. If one is neglected, then the rest of them cannot be considered accurate. When that is the case, the entire practice falls apart. For instance, you cannot check invoices against your inventory if you have no idea what your inventory is. It is impossible to control your inventory if you have no way to control purchases/leases. Hence, you cannot ensure that you are getting the best deal on service contracts if you have no sense about what kinds of contracts are needed by different people.
A good TEM team will wrestle those sections into submission, and a few others as well. Normally they include:
- Asset Management
- E-Procurement
- Expense Optimization
- Help Desk Support
- Invoice Validation
That’s all fine and good, but there is one more step that almost all TEM companies ignore. That is Tax and Surcharge Management. Some of them may claim that they reduce your taxes and surcharges by the simple fact that they reduce your overall telecom expenditure, and that makes sense to a degree. What they may not tell you is that there are additional ways to decrease your tax and surcharge liability even further.
How?
Vendors are monitored by the government to make sure that each customer is paying enough taxes. Again, that makes sense on the surface. The government wants its share, and is happy when it receives it. It is even happier when it receives MORE than its share. They have no provisions to notify you if you have paid more than you are required. You are called upon only when you haven’t paid enough.
Complete And Comprehensive
A TEM company with a complete and comprehensive approach will also dig deep into the taxes and surcharges you are paying to make sure you aren′t dishing out anything not needed. Taxes are inevitable, but there is no reason to pay more than required.
When you consider that anywhere from 10-20% of a telecom invoice is taxes and surcharges, even a small percentage decrease can mean big bucks for your bottom line. When you are considered using professional TEM services, make sure that the company you choose will scour your tax and surcharge expenditures. Otherwise you aren′t getting your money′s worth.
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Robert is currently working for Integrity Communications, a business specializing in Telecom Expense Management. He lives in eastern Kansas. A retired police dispatcher, he now resides in the country with his wife and 2 of his 3 sons. Toss in a couple of dogs and a few cats and you have the rest of the crew. He is a freelance writer who has created articles on subjects such as police work, scanners and 2-way radios, motorcycles and motorcycle painting, promotional advertising products and marketing. Click here to see some of the offerings from Integrity Communications. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_A._Barber |
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