When workers return to the office following many months of a COVID-19 shutdown, it’s good to get a fresh start. Putting the office itself in order can encourage a positive, hopeful mood for the future. As workers return and the workplace model changes, it’s also an optimal time to perform a telecom audit.

Reviewing resource usage and making certain charges for telecom services were billed correctly are best practiced on an ongoing basis. But whether or not you’ve previously utilized telecom audits, arranging for one when workers return to the office is definitely in your company’s best interests. You may be surprised by the unexpected inefficiencies and overpayments skilled telecom auditors can discover.

Telecom Costs and Remote Work 

One result of remote work that’s seldom mentioned is the increased telecom costs many businesses have faced due to increased remote work models and the resulting need for telecom upgrades. 

Prior to the pandemic, wireless, wired and other telecommunication services accounted for approximately 14 percent of a company’s technology budget, per a recent report by Forrester Research Inc. However, as many organizations adjust to the long-term effects of COVID-19, consumption of telecom services has increased…

– Excerpted from a Business Wire article titled: “Managing Rising Telecom Costs in the Remote Work Era”

The Business Wire article quoted above goes on to mention the need for optimizing and modernizing technology systems. That’s a good strategy. But another way to address increasing telecom costs is to conduct a telecom audit.

When workers return to the office and telecommunication needs once more change, assessing past expenses and noting the need for reimbursement for overpayments or implementation of cost-reducing alterations to the infrastructure of the telecom system can help to shore up your business’s bottom line. 

What Is a Telecom Audit?

A telecom audit examines the telecommunication expenses of a business. It points out areas where the company might be spending more than necessary. Telephone, internet, wireless service bills will be examined for inaccuracies. Every year, many companies reap thousands of dollars in savings by resolving inaccurate charges detected during a telecom audit. 

Large companies can easily lose track of usage details due to the multiple telecom providers with which they may be contracting. Telephone audits are a valuable service that can pay off in reimbursements by telecom companies when the audit detects mistakes. The intricate analysis can also spot duplicate services and services a company is paying for but never uses. When a company cancels a duplicate or unnecessary service, significant savings occur. 

How Is a Telecom Audit Conducted?

Those conducting the audit will get to know your business by conducting a meeting before the audit begins. Then the auditors will thoroughly analyze every invoice and service contract.

Once the process is complete, the auditors submit reports and recommendations for correcting errors and other actions relating to your telecommunication system that could result in savings. 

Defining the Benefits of a Telecom Audit

No one wants to:

• Deal with invoices for disconnected services
• Receive charges for inaccurate rates
• Pay for unauthorized phone or internet services

Telecom audits can help you gain reimbursement for errors of those types. For more details about how other audits can also help your business, check out these five major benefits of utility audits.

Telecom audits don’t just expose overcharges and secure refunds. They also recommend changes to contractual arrangements that result in better rates. Many business owners don’t realize that even errors on invoices from months and years earlier can be addressed. 

Overlooked features of telecom infrastructure that could be better utilized, as well as potential benefits and discounts that could be applied to services and bills, may be unearthed in a telecom audit. The process helps identify over-expenditures within the wireless network. Monitoring and reporting become easier and more effective. A telecom audit can be a wonderfully refreshing feature for a business. 

How Often Should You Conduct a Telecom Audit?

An ongoing utility audit program is preferable to a one-time audit. But one audit is better than none.

As workers return to the office, a utility audit is important. Experienced auditors can assess and positively adjust your telecom system to compensate for the changing workspace arrangement.

If the utility audit service you select provides good results, consider signing up for an ongoing utility audit program. Then you can detect routing billing errors. You can also continue to optimize your telecom arrangement as your workplace structure changes. 

Why Conduct a Telecom Audit When Workers Return to the Office? 

Your telecommunication system has likely been humming while employees were working remotely. Companies scrambled to give employees working at home access to necessary technology.

Many new devices had to connect to Wi-Fi to access company data and cloud services. That makes it more likely there may have been billing discrepancies. Conducting a telecom audit when workers return to the office is a proactive move.

If your business is like many others, you were forced to switch to a hybrid or remote work model without warning. So alterations were made to your telecom system without sufficient consideration. An audit will help you assess the need for actions you need to take now to support a returning in-house or hybrid workforce and make your telecom system more efficient.  

Util Auditors, LLC has a successful track record of reducing costs and obtaining refunds from providers for telecommunication inefficiencies and errors.

Contact us to request an audit. Our system offers the potential to discover significant discrepancies and opportunities for reimbursement for billing errors or changes to your telecom system that may result in further savings.