Wireless carriers are notorious for charging customers more than necessary, whether it’s through hidden fees, outdated contracts, or incorrect billing practices. For businesses managing a fleet of mobile devices, these overcharges can quickly add up, eating into your budget without you even realizing it.
Luckily, an IT or mobile lifecycle management (MLM) provider can help. With the right support, your company can avoid common pitfalls that lead to overpaying your wireless carriers. Here are the top five ways your wireless carriers are likely overcharging you—and how you can fight back with more streamlined MLM solutions.
1. Hidden Fees in Contracts
Wireless carriers often bury additional charges in their contracts, making it difficult to understand what you’re actually paying for. These fees might include extra charges for data overages, unnecessary insurance, or vague administrative costs. Not to mention, unnecessary and stale features such as old international plans, carrier cloud storage and backups, etc.
Solution: Being able to negotiate your mobile contracts is key to mitigating falling victim to hidden fees and costs. Doing this ensures that hidden fees are brought to light and eliminated, saving your company significant amounts over the contract term. The best way to do this is to work directly with mobile carriers to ensure you’re only paying for what you actually need. Make sure you have an open line of communication with them, not just when it’s renewal time, but throughout your lifecycle.
In this economy, doing what’s necessary to only pay for what you actually need is something any CEO and CFO can get behind.
2. Overpaying for Unused Devices
It’s easy to lose track of devices in a business, especially if employees come and go or devices sit unused in a drawer. But those devices can still incur charges if they’re not properly disconnected or accounted for in the billing process. A recent study by SimpleOne, revealed that inefficient management of IT assets could lead to a cost of $260 per workstation due to unused equipment alone. In an organization with 1,000 workstations, this inefficiency could result in a waste of $260,000.
Solution: Having an MLM service in place that is designed to keep track of device migrations and refresh projects can be a game-changer for helping mitigate this. Also, calling out zero-usage lines on a consistent basis will help any IT org stay on track with their overall expenses.
This type of system ensures that unused devices are promptly disconnected or reallocated, helping you avoid paying for services you don’t need. By providing project management support, you can streamline these processes and cut out unnecessary costs.
3. Lack of Visibility into Assets and Invoices
Many businesses struggle to track which mobile devices they’re paying for, especially when working with multiple vendors. This is more normal than you think so don’t feel bad if you can relate to this. The good news is that there are remedies for this lack of visibility. The bad news is that if this isn’t handled in a timely manner, it will lead to overcharges, as billing mistakes go unnoticed and unresolved.
Solution: Think about your current tech stack. Do you have anything in place that gives you a full view of your mobile assets and corresponding invoice charges?
Having this type of view into your assets and invoices ensures you never miss a billing discrepancy. And it shouldn’t matter what vendor you’re using. All vendors should be able to live within this database, so it makes it easier for your team to track everything. The great thing about the times we’re living in is that there are tools that can help with just about anything, including this.
4. Manual Invoice Management
Processing invoices across multiple wireless carriers is a time-consuming task, especially if it involves manual entry and cross-checking. Human error can lead to missed payments, late fees, and paying for the same service twice. No one wants that!
Ascend conducted a comprehensive study on Account Payable processes throughout the world. They found a survey conducted by The Institute of Finance and Management that found that 39% of invoices contain errors. According to them, these errors can range from simple mistakes, such as incorrect billing addresses, to more significant issues like overbilling or duplicate payments.
Solution: Having a centralized invoice and managed pay database that manages all your invoices across vendors on one platform is key for this. Think about how much easier life would be by having a tool that centralizes checks and automatically pays for your invoices. This automation can reduce the manual workload and ensures all your payments are handled promptly.
5. Paying for Services You Don’t Use
Similarly to unused devices, wireless carriers often bill for services that aren’t used or required by your business. These unnecessary charges can sit on your bill unnoticed for months, adding up to thousands of dollars in overpayments.
Solution: Taking control of the services you’re billed for is key for any service, especially IT since it’s such a large expense for any organization. Having better control of your MLM processes allows you to manage and customize your assets directly, ensuring that you only pay for what your business uses. This level of control helps you avoid overcharges by maintaining a clear, up-to-date view of your assets.
Bringing [IT] All Together
Your wireless carrier might be overcharging you in more ways than you think, but with a quality IT lifecycle management solution like vCom, you can take control of your costs. From contract negotiation to automated invoicing, vCom can save your business time and money by cutting out the inefficiencies and hidden fees wireless carriers rely on. Don’t let your wireless carrier profit from your lack of visibility.
