Telecom invoice management has never been more intricate or time-consuming. Managing bills for a global enterprise in the hybrid, mobile-first workplace presents unique challenges. And you must know what they are to overcome them.
What is Telecom Invoice Management?
Telecom invoice management is the process of managing vendor and supplier bills across your fixed-line, mobile, and IT services. It involves reading, processing, and validating invoices, as well as resolving payment conflicts.
5 Telecom Invoice Challenges and How to Overcome Them
1. Overlooking Hidden Costs
When you're responsible for processing thousands of invoices, it can be difficult to identify every individual expense – let alone accurately estimate the impact they have on your bottom line. But if you don't catch them early, these hidden costs can quickly add up.
Your job becomes even harder if you process invoices manually. A single invoice can pass through multiple people multiple times. And in telecom invoice management, the more times and the more people that handle an invoice, the greater the chance of its being lost or misfiled.
The Solution
Combine manual invoice processing with automation. Start with a telecom expense audit to interrogate every line of every invoice. This will help you quickly identify any hidden costs. You can then use automated invoice management tools to make your processes more efficient and reduce fees.
2. Ignoring Time Constraints
There are several activities and processes you must complete to identify, sort, and route an invoice payment to the appropriate vendor or supplier. This covers the entire billing journey:
- Capturing, extracting, and recording invoice data
- Verification, allocation, and acceptance of invoice payment
- Payment processing
- External approval from the vendor or supplier
This process takes time which, in turn, increases the risk of late or missed payments and inconsistent cost allocations.
Late fees can add up to over 1% of enterprise telecom spend, while missed payments often lead to service disruptions that impact your business.
The Solution
Automate workflow processes, like document preparation. This can reduce the risk of late and missed payments, and help you streamline your operations.
3. Neglecting the Paper Trail
The telecom invoice landscape is vast. Global enterprises manage invoices for an array of services spanning multiple vendors and countries.
Automating manual processes, integrating data capture, and improving invoice controls can only go so far in overcoming common telecom invoice challenges. To achieve the greatest cost savings, you need a fully-managed, end-to-end telecom expense management (TEM) service.
The Solution
Work with an experienced telecom expense management provider. They offer comprehensive invoice management services that can consolidate complex billing information and track invoice paper trails from start to finish.
This decreases the time it takes to process invoice payments and minimizes the risk of lost invoices and missed payments.
4. Lack of Management Controls
Many enterprises lack the visibility and controls they need to determine the status of incoming invoices. This makes it difficult to identify where the biggest delays occur and impairs your ability to make accurate, data-driven decisions.
The Solution
Create a comprehensive set of billing records. This ensures you always have access to documentation and data you need to make decisions that have a positive impact on cash flow and your bottom line.
5. Overlooking Manual Payment Processes
The simple act of paying a telecom bill can be a
Even today, some enterprises prefer to pay their telecom bills by check. Someone on the provider's end must collect the check from a lockbox and manually enter the data into their systems. And this increases the risk of human error.
The Solution
Embrace electronic payment methods, like ACH, SEPA, or BACS.
Electronic payment methods are typically safer and more efficient. Sending payments directly to the provider's bank avoids the financial complexities of lockboxes, checks, and wire transfers. More importantly, it minimizes the potential for human error and ensures the right accounts get credited the right amount every time.
Telecom Invoice Management Has Evolved
To overcome the biggest telecom invoice challenges, enterprises must restructure their processes. This means moving away from manual, paper-based invoice management and investing in a digital telecom expense management solution.
The best telecom expense management providers combine powerful automated software and expert support to deliver a fully-managed, end-to-end service. They can help you streamline your telecom payment processes, resolve recurring invoice errors, and eliminate the burden on your team.
Topics: TEM
