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Category: Telecom Expense Management Software
Telecom management software and reporting
We are concluding our series discussing how telecom management software streamlines telecom management tasks.
Last but not least, any telecom expense management software worth its weight in kilobytes should offer lots of reporting. As they say, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure”. And the beauty of all your telecom and wireless data being integrated in one system is that it allows you to look at it from many different angles. Look at inventory cross-referenced by user, cost center or account. See trending data by cost center, location, or inventory type. Request information about various timeframes. Most softwares come standard with a wide variety reports and the firm can usually design very specific custom reports, based on parameters you provide.
And note that different users can have access to different reports. There is also a Dashboard feature that allows each user to select the information most useful to them, and have it accessible in a variety of visual formats. By clicking the image, it allows a deep dive into the report behind the graph. Often clients that have outsourced most of the actual day-to-day telecom management tasks to a vendor partner like Valicom still utilize reports and dashboards to keep tabs on operations.
Want to learn more about telecom expense management software-as-a-solution? Check out Clearview…
Tracking telecom inventory changes
We are continuing our series discussing how telecom management software streamlines telecom management tasks.
Now some of you may have thought, while we discussed telecom invoice auditing, processing and payment in our last post, “Hey – What about changes?“ Good question.
Telecom management software has to have a robust tracking mechanism for changes as buildings open and close, personnel get hired or fired, and devices get retired and replaced. Otherwise, any telecom inventory management program you may have in place will get derailed pretty fast. Telecom inventory is not something static, but rather a fluid environment that is ever changing as the image below well illustrates.
The Evolution of Wireless - Something Worth Tracking
A good telecom inventory and expense management software has various places that changes can be recorded, from ordering new handsets, to canceling lines or data plans. This ensures you have an accurate historical record for everything you own, allowing proper record-keeping and reporting. This is critical whether you want an accurate telecom inventory right now, or a way to track changes over time. The data should be simple to enter, update, and query. Software doesn’t do you any good if it isn’t designed to make things easier….
Want to learn more about telecom expense management software-as-a-solution? Check out Clearview – because, “When you see, you save.”
Using Software to Streamline Telecom Invoice Processing & Payment
We are continuing our series discussing how telecom management software streamlines telecom management tasks.
To further our discussion of document management beyond contracts, which our last post was on, one of the biggest pain points of telecom has got to be invoices. Little missiles of irritation that arrive in the mail to ruin your day. Sometimes by the boxful. And you know you should really look at all of those – line by line, every single month – to make sure they are accurate. But really, who has the time?
So you’re left with two challenges. Can I minimize this mountain of paper? And is there a faster way to review these to see if we have problems? You’ll be happy to know the answer to both is YES.
Invoice data can get in a telecom management software platform two ways – electronically via import, or manually. And this is where you might want to outsource some work to a partner like Valicom. Invoices can be shipped directly to us, and we will scan and enter all the information into the system. The invoices will be available for viewing as a PDF at any time, and all the payment data will be attributed to the proper inventory items and cost centers. Then comes the fun part of audit and approval.
Which brings us to our second trick – automating the telecom invoice review process. The software has a built-in variance tool. Most invoices should be the same, month in and month out, so when they aren’t, you know something has changed. Perhaps you were anticipating that, but perhaps not. Either way, if it is flagged for you, then you know to look. The system can also help you look for certain types of charges that are often tacked on by mistake, like installation fees and taxes. This can save you a lot of time, as you can choose to only review the items that need attention.
And once the invoice review is done, and they are tagged for approval, the software can generate a feed to your Accounting system with all the details. Then they can cut the checks there, or your vendor partner can cut the checks, pay the bills, and just send the feed to Accounting so they know it’s done!
Next post, we will cover how software helps with procurement and things like change & order management…..
Want to learn more about telecom expense management software-as-a-solution? Check out Clearview – because, “When you see, you save.”
Telecom Management Software and Contracts
We are continuing our series discussing how telecom management software streamlines telecom management tasks.
In our last post, we discussed Telecom Management Software and Cost Allocation. Now we’re on to bigger and badder topics – telecom contracts.
While we’re on the topic of making your life easier and saving you time, document management comes to mind. In the modern era, no one wants a file cabinet stuffed full of papers hulking in the corner of their office. And they certainly don’t want to have to dig through it to find contract information.
A telecom contract should be electronic, easy to find, and cross-referenced with the telecom inventory details and assets it pertains to.
How else are you going to verify your telecom services are actually being billed at the rate you agreed to pay? And what if you need to check when a certain asset falls out of contract, or if it is still under warranty? Again, let the telecom management software make that simple. Scan, upload, attach. You’re done. Go back on break.
Next we will discuss telecom Invoice Processing & Payment….. Fun fun! Stay tuned.
Want to learn more about telecom expense management software-as-a-solution? Check out Clearview – because, “When you see, you save.”
Telecom Management Software and Cost Allocation
We are continuing our series discussing how telecom management software streamlines telecom management tasks.
In our last post, we discussed Telecom Management Software Vs Inventory Management.
Another telecom management task that will conjure up memories of your Mother, or maybe your Father, is the age old question – “Who is going to pay for this thing?” Now that you know what you have, your CFO probably wants to know who is responsible for each particular business expense. Those Accountants, always so picky. But that is what you pay bean counters to do - count beans. And sometimes they even want the beans split into pieces! It is not uncommon to have one inventory item being paid for by multiple departments.
A good telecom expense management platform can make that easy. Just add in your Cost Centers, to whatever level of granular detail you need, then start allocating items. Sales, Operations, Marketing, Warehousing, whatever. If it has stuff, and it is supposed to pay for that stuff, let the software keep track of it for you. Then when you go to pay bills, or run reports (we’ll get to both of those later), it will all come out neatly on the back end. And you can go on break.
Next we will discuss telecom contract management….. Stay tuned.
Want to learn more about telecom expense management software-as-a-solution? Check out Clearview – because, “When you see, you save.”
Telecom Management Software Vs Inventory Management
We are continuing our series discussing how telecom management software streamlines telecom management tasks.
In our series on how telecom expense management software can make your telecom management job easier, we’re starting with the Big Kahuna. Inventory. And it’s a doozy….
What’s the first thing your Mother taught you? “Always put away your toys when you’re done playing with them.” Good advice. The trouble is, you don’t HAVE the toys. If you are a typical telecom manager, your assets are scattered all over the company. POTS (plain old telephone service) lines running into buildings, smartphones in salespeople’s pockets, old pagers stuffed in drawers… We could go on, but you get the idea. This isn’t a bunch of blocks that you can stack in a pile and count.
So one of the key challenges of telecom expense management has always been “How do I know what to pay for if I don’t even know what I have?”
This is where telecom expense management software comes in. Imagine a neat drop-down menu that says “Inventory”. From there you have an intuitive interface allowing you to see all the data on your inventory items. What is it, where is it, who has it, what vendor is it from, what features does it have, and what does it cost. The magic of integration! In fact, the most powerful aspect of a good telecom expense management tool is its ability to deliver the Big Picture. Here is this bit of data, tied to this detail over here and those six things over there. Click, click, click and you can see the whole telecom landscape in one place.
Which sure makes keeping track of your stuff easier!
Next we’ll discuss the joys of cost allocation….
Want to learn more about telecom expense management software-as-a-solution? Check out Clearview – because, “When you see, you save.”
Taking the Tool to the Telecom Management Tasks
We are continuing our series discussing how telecom management software streamlines telecom management tasks.
Telecom expense management, or TEM, consists of a variety of tasks, each one handling a different aspect of the telecom environment. So a TEM software-as-a-service (SaaS) tool is designed to make it easier to enter data, track changes, cross-reference items, flag problems and push invoices from entry, to approval, to payment. It also stores everything in ONE place, wireless, voice and data, and offers loads of reports allowing you to fine tune the data for even the finickiest of managers.
And telecom expense management software is part of a larger picture. Whether you want to do everything yourself, or plan to outsource some or all of the telecom management tasks to a partner, the tool is what ties it all together. Data goes in, someone manages the information within the tool, and good reporting and clean invoice payments come out the other end.
So let’s take a look at how that works. We’ll start with one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle…. Inventory management. Stay tuned.
Want to learn more now about telecom expense management software-as-a-solution? Check out Clearview – because, “When you see, you save.”
Telecom management – Getting Sassy with SaaS
To kick off our series on how telecom expense management software can make wrangling your telecom and wireless environment easier, we should start with terms. The best softwares out there today are web-based, or software-as-a-service (SaaS). We discussed this in a previous post about using stone age tools for stone age results.
So first things first, what the heck is SaaS… It’s just an acronym for “software as a service”, which is a fancy way to say “software that you log into via the internet, versus having to download and install it on a computer or server.” In other words, software when and where you need it. These days, its often thought of as “being in the cloud.”
Why do you care? Go ask your IT guy why. Quite simply, if it isn’t on your machine, it isn’t your problem. Security, updates, upgrades, patches, enhancements, anything and everything that software geeks like to do to software are all handled remotely, and it is transparent to you. No added expenses, no downtime, no worries.
Add to that the fact that you can just buy a subscription to the tool, versus buying it outright. That keep the price down, which keeps your CFO happy. A happy CFO and a happy IT guy. Workplace bliss! You’re welcome.
Next we’re going to talk about HOW SaaS can make your life easier…. stay tuned.
Want to learn more now about telecom expense management software-as-a-solution? Check out Clearview – because, “When you see, you save.”
Telecom Management Software: The Right Tool For the Job?
As we discussed in our previous two posts about “Living in the Past” Part 1 and Part 2, you need modern tools to address modern needs. This applies to everything from using your smartphone to find the closest Starbucks (something I will admit to doing on a regular basis) to managing your firm’s telecom and wireless environment.
To build on that idea, we are launching a series discussing how telecom management software streamlines telecom management tasks.
And it shouldn’t be a surprise. As with most things, work gets easier if you have the right tools. Hanging up a picture is a snap with a hammer and a nail, but if you have a paperclip and a banana, it’s gonna be a long night.
So why work with poorly designed or non-existent tools when managing your telecom? With the rollout of subscription-based, web-delivered telecom expense management software that allow you to enter, track, manage and report on your costs, there isn’t an excuse anymore.
In other words, put down the banana, and let’s get serious.
Stay tuned for our upcoming blog series on ways software can make managing telecom easier. Don’t want to wait? Get a sneak peek at Clearview telecom management software, because “When you see, you save.”
Living In the Past: Part Two – No more spreadsheets……
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Albert Einstein
As we discussed in Part One of “Living in the Past”, businesses should strive to keep an eye out for new tools and technology that can make their jobs easier. And I don’t mean easier as in “I get to leave for the golf course half an hour early”, I mean easier like “We saved 30% of our telecom spend over last year, because now we can actually SEE what we’re doing”. Most likely that Excel spreadsheet you’ve been using to manage your telecom expenses and wireless inventory isn’t doing anything more for you now than it was five years ago. Albert would tell you that it’s time to move on…
So you ask me, “If I ditch my spreadsheet, how am I supposed to keep track of all this stuff?”. Remember hearing about SalesForce.com, this great tool that is delivered via the web, and accessible from anywhere? Well, guess what. That technology is available for telecom expense management too. Via TEM software-as-a-service platforms, you can upgrade from spreadsheets to a fully functional, easy-to-learn TEM solution that allows you to view telecom inventory, track telecom invoices, manage telecom vendor relationships, get a handle on order change management and optimize your wireless spend… The options are as deep as you want to go.
Imagine having a customizable dashboard that can display widgets showing exactly the data YOU want to see. You can even pull them out to use when you have to present to your managers or company board, or if you’re a consultant, to your client. Gain efficiency by keeping all your data in one place, and gain flexibility through users with various levels of access, so they only see what they need to see.
Streamlining like this can save a ton of time, and as we all know (Without Einstein even having to tell us!) Time = Money. And that’s really the only equation you need to know.
Want to learn more about telecom expense management software-as-a-solution? Check out Clearview – because, “When you see, you save.”