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Valicom To Speak at Wisconsin Technology Association
Telecom Expense Management Presentation
Bills and Contracts and Assets – Oh My!
Thursday, April 18: 2 – 4 PM. Wisconsin Technology Association Meeting
Are you swimming in invoices from increased cellular services? Has BYOD or other telecom services forced you to review your telecom contracts? Are you wondering how many devices you have in your company? If you answered “Yes” to any of these, then you should attend this month’s educational session.
Please join Valicom, a twenty-two year veteran of telecom expense management, as they explain the different Telecom Expense Management (TEM) strategies to help you manage all your telecom bills, both wireline and wireless. They will review industry trends and how cellular services are forcing changes to contracts. Finally they will provide best practices to keep you on top of your cellular and wireline assets.
Meeting held at McCormick & Schmick’s Restaurant, Mayfair Mall – 2550 N. Mayfair Rd Wauwatosa, WI. If interested in attending, visit WTA-WI.org or contact us for details.
Software and telecom invoice issue management
We are continuing our series discussing how telecom management software streamlines telecom management tasks.
Now that we’ve discussed telecom invoice auditing, processing and payment, along with order and change management, we should probably discuss issue tracking.
At this point, all your invoice and inventory data is already in a telecom management software platform. If the system is designed to help you remember to check your next invoice to verify the change you recorded was actually implemented by your vendor. All this is handled via the software’s “Issues” area.
This is one of the few times in the workplace that is perfectly acceptable, and even encouraged, to talk to yourself. At least without triggering someone in HR to send you for a psych evaluation. Leave notes, record conversations with vendors, add details about why or how something was changed, and tag the issue with an Open and a Close date. This works even better when you have multiple users accessing the system. With a tidy breadcrumb trail to follow, any other user should be able to determine what happened, when it happened, and who did it.
The Issues area also gives you visibility into what you need to watch for on upcoming invoices, again streamlining the telecom invoice auditing process. It also illustrates what we always say about a good telecom management program – it’s all about visibility. “Because when you see, you save”
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.”
Living in the Past: Part One – Stone Age tools for Stone Age results
“You can’t do today’s job with yesterday’s methods and expect to be in business tomorrow”
– Unknown
Most of us have probably heard this sensible business advice, but are you taking it to heart in your current work processes? Maybe not…
We all know that it’s a lot easier to use tried and true tactics, going down the same path every day, rather than tackling anything different. Heaven forbid – you might have to learn something new! But the price you pay for stagnation can be huge. New techniques arise, best practices evolve over time, fresh technology comes out…. Your competitors are probably on board. The 25-year old guy in the corner cube who wants your office is probably on board. You better get on board too, or the boat is going to leave without you.
So what kind of neat shiny new things am I talking about? Well, I’ll give you an example. A HUGE example. Granted, this doesn’t have much to do with telecom expense management or telecom invoice auditing, but we get to that in Part Two. This one tool helps to illustrate how the software-as-a-service technology is changing the face of business. Something you can use to automate workflows, and reduce costs for your business. But, this example is at work in your sales department…
Ever heard of SalesForce.com? If you’re in IT or a CFO, I forgive you if you haven’t. But, if you work in sales or customer service, you’re in trouble if you don’t know. It’s only the fastest growing, most heavily adopted, and slickest customer relationship management tool out there. Best part? It’s web-based. Delivered online, real-time with a password, it means you can access your data from anywhere, anytime – even at 3 am when your flight out of O’Hare is cancelled for the third time. At a convention in Singapore? No problem. One click, and all your customer data is at your fingertips. On vacation in Costa Rica? Just log in and there are all the campaign stats for that email you sent out last Tuesday.
Sure beats that crummy old rolodex sitting on your desk, doesn’t it?
And with this new technology comes an avalanche of new best practices, tactics, ideas, collaborative plug-ins allowing access to third-party data and services, and so much more. Probably something you’d want to know about, and be using to save your business money, before Jimmy-in-the-Cube figures it out and you end up working for him.
So, now that you get a taste of the type of tools available, stay tuned for Part Two to see how it can be applied to your telecom expense reduction tasks. Whether you’re an IT staff managing wireless expenses, a CFO looking for business cost reduction options, or a telecom consultant wanting a way to increase your capabilities while saving time and money, we’ve got a new toy for you…
Want a sneak peek? Get a demo of Clearview today.
Nov 13 Webinar: Telecom Expense Management – The 5 Questions You Should be Asking
Join Valicom November 13 for a webinar titled “Telecommunications Expense Management – Five Questions You Should be Asking.” Managers who need to control costs for managing mobile and fixed expenses should register for this free webinar on Tuesday, November 13 at 10 am CST.
Jeff Poirior, president and chief operating officer of Valicom points out “We really want to shake up the industry by forcing people to look at telecommunications management with fresh eyes. While some firms have yet to implement a strong TEM program, others have one in place but may not know what they THINK they know about its effectiveness. These questions are designed to dig deep into your processes, your environment, your management style and really make you think about whether you are doing it right or not.”
Lacinda Athen, marketing manager at Valicom and co-presenter of the webinar, continues “TEM is a mature industry, but that doesn’t mean everyone knows all the best practices and can see all the angles. Being in the business for 21 years, we designed the questions to illustrate the various facets of a well oiled, cost-effective telecom management program. The hope is that they will allow executives to check in, and make sure they are covering all their bases.”
Managers who work for SMBs, enterprises, government, and other organizations that are interested in best practices and strategies to limit risk, gain visibility and make smarter business decisions should register for Telecom Expense Management: The 5 Questions You Should be Asking.
New White Paper! Show Me Where it Hurts: Top Telecom Management Pain Points
Companies seek telecommunications management solutions because something hurts. They are losing money, time or control and are seeking a cure. Valicom’s new white paper “Show Me Where it Hurts: Top Telecom Management Pain Points” offers a review of common maladies in today’s market.
“The telecommunications management industry is always in flux,” says Nancy Peckham, CEO and founder of Valicom, “and we wanted to offer a current overview of what problems are top of mind right now. There is a lot of overlap where companies see common issues in need of solving. ”
Recommended for managers and C-level executives wondering if what they are facing is shared by their peers, or wishing to explore other areas of concern they should be addressing, the paper offers a succinct peek into what is ailing modern telecom environments. The need for software tools, the desire to do more with less, the challenge of invoice and contract management among other items are discussed.
Valicom brings expertise in this area, having offered telecom expense management services for over twenty years, including their web-based telecom expense management software Clearview. This new paper adds to a popular industry resource, joining many other white papers covering a variety of telecom management topics, on our white paper library.
“Show Me Where it Hurts: Top Telecom Management Pain Points”