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Invoice management is an important part of telecom expense management (TEM). It concerns the processing of telecom vendors' invoices and includes the gathering of the invoices and processing them for payment. In many companies that do not have an automated TEM system, this is in itself a major task.

According to the Aberdeen Group the average Fortune 500 corporation receives more than 15,000 telecom invoices per year, with many of those invoices containing over 100 pages. Moreover, telecom invoices are complex, with rates varying according to such variables as time of day, duration, and what number was called.

Manual verification and validation of invoices in such cases is a virtual impossibility and it is not surprising that companies that do not have a TEM system usually end up just paying their telecom invoices. However, doing so can cost a company a lot of money, as Aberdeen claims that 7 - 12% of telecom invoices contain errors, mostly in the vendor's favor.

Besides the huge resource requirements to manually audit and process telecom invoices, there is the urgency in completing these actions in a timely manner, so as to avoid late charges, or worse, having services interrupted. Without an automated system of controlling telecom costs, there is no control and companies end up spending too much, with no effective ways to curb those expenses. Indeed, in many cases, management does not have a clear picture of what their actual monthly telecom costs add up to. The first step in controlling telecom expenses is to get a firm grasp of the total monthly telecom costs and how they are incurred.

Companies that have multiple geographical locations have the additional problem of how to integrate the varied local conditions into an overall effective telecom expense management strategy. This can be especially challenging in corporations with an international presence.

The first step in preparing to implement a telecom expense management system is to perform an audit to establish the actual monthly costs of telecommunications and to analyze the vendors' invoices with regard to problem areas. Next, prepare to streamline and automate the processing of telecom invoices. It is good business practice to contact several TEM vendors and consult with them on how to implement a TEM system prior to making a final decision. The TEM system should be able to process wireless and data usage in addition to the traditional landline usage.

There are several ways in which TEM systems can be implemented:

1. An in-house system
2. A Web-based system
3. A completely outsourced system

Each of these systems has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, an in-house system provides the greatest degree of control, but requires trained personnel to maintain, as well as a capital outlay for hardware and software. A Web-based system permits access by authorized personnel from remote locations, which is useful for traveling executives, but the degree of control over how the software runs is less. The completely outsourced solution has the advantage of the TEM system provider's expertise in solving the company's TEM challenges, but makes for increased dependency.

Automated invoice processing as part of a telecom expense management system, when well implemented, can bring about a high return on investment and improve overall corporate effectiveness.

For further information on invoice management and telecom expense management, visit the Telsoft Solutions website at
www.telsoft-solutions.com.

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