Most organizations struggle with manual labor-intensive invoice processing. Telecom Expense Management (TEM) starts with automating this process. It is critical to get the information into a database that automates bill processing, expense allocation, audits, reconciliation with Move Add, Change, Disconnect (MACD) activity, and reporting. Errors in processing paper bills and delays in processing bills that arrive by mail can lead to late fees and uncontrolled service disconnects.
Not All Billing is Equal
The quality and detail in billing that telecom carriers provide varies widely. Within a single telecom carrier, the billing detail and quality can even vary among its different services. The same carrier often provides different bills depending on the customer size or types of services. Small customers may download bills from the carrier’s website. Medium size customers may use the telecom carrier’s billing application, and large customers may receive EDI bills.
AT&T and Verizon each have more than 15 types of billing platforms that produce different bills. Electronic billing can include CD-ROMs, CSV files, EDI, HTML web bills, MS Excel spreadsheets, PDF and other electronic media from carrier’s billing systems. It is important to understand that most carriers only allow audit claims and bill payment to be made from bills that are received in paper and or EDI format.
There is one thing to remember, processing electronic telecom billing is complex. It becomes more complex when you have thousands of bills and need to operate on a reduced budget. You need help to validate charges and make sure bills are paid on time with a TEM solution.
