New year, new invoices, but one thing remains the same: according to Gartner, 80% of telecom bills contain errors. Statistically speaking, you’ve probably been overspending on your technology services in one capacity or another simply because these errors have slipped through the cracks.
One piece of advice from the experts at PAG: always make sure you know what you’re paying for. There are a few things that are always included in your telecom bills. Checking their accuracy before you blindly pay your invoice could help create real technology savings for you.
- Non-recurring charges (NRCs). As the name implies, an NRC is a one-time expense. This could be an installation or upgrade fee, for example. What’s important to remember about NRCs is that they are non-recurring, so you should never see the same NRC more than once.
- Monthly recurring charges (MRCs). MRCs, as the name implies, are recurring from invoice to invoice. These are the charges you should expect to see every month such as your fee for long-distance calling service.
- Usage fees. These are your “by the minute” fees for certain types of inbound or outbound calls, for example. What gets tricky to the untrained eye is that you might, for instance, see an MRC for long-distance service (which you expect), but then there will be an additional usage fee charged when you actually use the service (which you may not expect).
- Overage fees. Overages are generally charged if you exceed your maximum contractual allowances. Always contact your provider when one of these appears not only to ensure it’s not an error but because businesses are often unaware of usage limits that could lead to recurring, expensive overage charges.
- “Other charges.” Here’s a scary one. While “other charges” typically include taxes and regulatory fees, it can be unclear what each item listed in this category actually refers to. Even more alarming is that the number of “other charges” seems to have increased over the years. If something in this category doesn’t look right to you, contact your provider.
Managing your technology expenses is challenging enough, and it often feels like a full-time job. Finding real technology savings can be almost impossible to do on your own.
If you don’t know where to start, the experts at PAG have you covered. We’ve saved businesses like yours over $600 million over the years. Want to start down the path toward greater technology savings? We’re offering, free, zero-risk, no-obligation consultations to help you kick off your technology budget. Get on the schedule today for knowledgeable planning advice from PAG.
