| Wireless billing overcharges are major cost | | | | either be assigned to a new user or given to |
| management headaches for corporate users but | | | | someone to monitor it or taken out of service, |
| a great way to save quickly on corporate | | | | depending on the situation. If you have a sales |
| telecom expense. What general areas do we | | | | team, if possible, make sure that you issue the |
| review during a professional cell phone audit and | | | | cell phone and the number from your company, |
| what kinds of problems are most troublesome | | | | think twice about reimbursing them for their |
| and cause the biggest cost overages for audit | | | | personal cell phone usage that they use on |
| clients? | | | | business, otherwise, the sales person takes that |
| 1. Check internet usage and text messaging | | | | cell phone and number (a valuable asset) to their |
| charges for each cell phone user. Make sure that | | | | next job if they leave, perhaps your competitor |
| your employees are authorized to have internet | | | | gets the future sale by your client simply calling |
| access and if they do, most should have unlimited | | | | your former sales rep on their cell phone with |
| texting if the exceed a certain amount-check with | | | | their next order through your competitor. This is |
| your wireless carrier. Each data user needs to use | | | | a very real issue that we come across and it is |
| those services responsibly and have the most | | | | something to consider. |
| appropriate pricing package for those services and | | | | 7. Take advantage of the latest cellular phone |
| know what the limitations are. Texting is a | | | | pricing plans. Prices are constantly going down in |
| valuable business tool and we've seen hundreds of | | | | the wireless telephone industry, not up. We take |
| dollars in cell phone texting charges that could | | | | advantage of the downtrend in pricing by checking |
| have been prevented by putting text happy | | | | on new cell phone plan promotions every month |
| employees on a $5 per month plan for unlimited | | | | or two. |
| texting. If you don't want your employees | | | | 8. Institute and have your employees adhere to a |
| texting, eliminate that capability on their cell | | | | strict company cell phone policy. Make employees |
| phones. | | | | aware of the kinds of telecom plan you are on |
| 2. Each month, look for cellphone usage minute | | | | and educate them how they should most |
| overage charges, roaming charges, and billed | | | | efficiently utilize the wireless plan and equipment |
| features of each user on the phone bill. Online | | | | that you provide. Demonstrate expectations of |
| wireless billing platforms from the carriers enable | | | | cellphone usage and have them sign a cellular |
| you to run reports on these items to help you | | | | telephone policy agreement. |
| filter vast amounts of data to get to the golden | | | | 9. Use the correct and most cost effective calling |
| savings. Use the online billing tools and reports, | | | | service available: Employee callers who call your |
| they're often free and easy to navigate. | | | | company on their wireless phones should consider |
| 3. Check pooling of minutes: Change calling habits | | | | using a landline phone to dial the toll-free number |
| of your cell phone users. If we see lot of calls to | | | | to save on cell minutes or use the cell phone |
| a person on a land line telephone from one of our | | | | mobile to mobile to save on toll-free costs as |
| telecom users that has free mobile to mobile | | | | applicable. If you are incurring billing to your |
| minutes (MTM), we would look to change their | | | | company, bill on one telecom service by using the |
| calling habits or perhaps make sure the person at | | | | land line or the cellular method, don't use two |
| the other end of the land line has a cell phone on | | | | telecom that will be billed to you. |
| our plan with free mobile to mobile minutes. When | | | | 10. Cramming: Look out for cell phone cramming |
| a call is made to a land line telephone from a | | | | or premium service charges. Cramming has been |
| cellular phone, it is charged against pooled minutes, | | | | around for years on land line telephone bills, |
| often causing overages which cost you a lot of | | | | however, this phenomenon and nuisance is |
| money. Mobile to mobile calls often do not eat up | | | | becoming a huge problem for corporate mobile |
| your peak minutes, so make sure your take | | | | phone users. These are 3rd party charges placed |
| advantage of free minutes, not using up your | | | | on your cellphone accounts by overzealous 3rd |
| precious costed, pooled or peak minutes that | | | | party billers. The cellular telephone auditor will pick |
| count against your normal usage minutes. | | | | these charges up immediately. They include but |
| Tip: You heard it here first: You can also ask your | | | | are not limited to, GPS services, holographs, |
| wireless carrier to exclude certain frequently dialed | | | | screen savers, games, music, ring tones and a |
| numbers that you call from your cell phone. This | | | | myriad of other services you and your users |
| will cut your peak minute allocations and very | | | | never ordered or remember ordering. Like local |
| often the cell phone company will accommodate | | | | and long distance phone bill cramming, They're |
| this. In fact, Verizon wireless has a recent | | | | often buried in the telephone bill and difficult to |
| promotion giving business users 10 of their top | | | | detect and decipher. |
| ten dialed numbers with unlimited cell phone | | | | 11. Default costed features on new phones: When |
| minutes. | | | | you order and receive a new cell phone, you are |
| 4. Check directory assistance charges. If | | | | often automatically granted internet access by |
| someone is making a lot of directory assistance | | | | the carrier by default. This is particularly true with |
| (411 information calls) on their wireless phone, we'll | | | | AT&T wireless. Your new cell phone user |
| suggest that they instead use a discount directory | | | | plays around with his phone (new toy) and |
| assistance vendor or restrict their calling to | | | | connects to the internet...a lot. They may be |
| specially dialed free 411 services from their | | | | thinking, "wow my AT&T phone would not |
| cellphones. Users can also use their office pcs or | | | | let me connect to the internet but the new one |
| blackberries to look up directory service | | | | does and I can google as much as I want!" Stop |
| information (if they have an unlimited data plan), it | | | | right there! No you cannot connect to the internet |
| is a lot cheaper than paying 411 service. So | | | | as much as you want without paying a huge cost! |
| beware, cell phones can incur directory assistance | | | | Be ready for sticker shock, next month's cellular |
| charges as high as $2.50 per directory assistance | | | | phone bill will show a huge per kilobyte charges |
| inquiry! For large companies, this can be a huge | | | | for internet access and this can go on for months |
| expense each month and very often, employees | | | | with huge charges unless you discover and stop it. |
| actually think its free to their company, but carrier | | | | You should call the carrier and they'll explain that |
| directory assistance service is not free. | | | | the new phones come with internet access as a |
| 5. New wireless equipment not discounted: We | | | | default. This is not right and you don't have to |
| often find that cellphones and blackberries do not | | | | take this because you did not specifically order |
| always get the correct discount as per corporate | | | | internet access! Time to demand a refund. With |
| cell phone contract, check those discounts and | | | | the reliable carriers, they know the problem and |
| get your refunds. | | | | they should refund you immediately with no |
| 6. Cancel unused cellular telephones and | | | | questions asked. |
| blackberries. Unused and underutilized phones | | | | If you need wireless expense management for |
| should be reviewed for removal. As soon as an | | | | your company, professional telecom audit |
| employee is terminated their cell phone should | | | | companies like BottaBoom can help immensely. |