Hey everyone, I've been doing utility bill auditing for commercial clients here in Sacramento for about two years now and it's going great. I keep hearing that telecom and broadband bills have even more errors than electric bills. Has anyone made the transition into telecom auditing? What should I know before diving in? I've got a client with a $8,000/month Verizon bill that looks suspicious.
Getting started with telecom auditing - any tips?
Jennifer, telecom auditing is where the real money is! I started adding it to my practice about 6 months ago here in Pittsburgh. The billing errors are incredible - I found $12,000 in annual savings on one client's AT&T bill alone. The key is understanding tariffs and service codes. Get familiar with terms like CLEC, ILEC, and access charges. Also watch out for phantom services and billing for disconnected lines.
Walt's right about the savings potential. Down here in Indianapolis, I've seen businesses paying for T1 lines they cancelled years ago. The carriers don't always process disconnection orders properly. Always request a complete service inventory and cross-reference it with what they're actually using. I use a spreadsheet to track every circuit ID and service code.
One thing to watch for in telecom bills is duplicate charges for the same service. I found a client in Atlanta being billed by both AT&T and a local carrier for the same PRI circuit - saved them $2,400/month! Also check for regulatory fees that don't apply to business accounts. The Universal Service Fund calculations are often wrong on commercial bills.
Great tips everyone. Jennifer, since you're in California, be extra careful with CPUC tariffs - they're more complex than most states. I'd recommend getting copies of the carriers' tariff sheets before you start. Also, long distance charges are a goldmine for errors. Check the rate schedules against what they're actually being charged per minute.
Up in Seattle, I've had good luck with CenturyLink audits. Their billing system seems to have more errors than most. Jennifer, for that $8K Verizon bill, definitely check if they're paying for features they don't need. Voice mail, call forwarding, conference calling - businesses often get sold packages with services they never use. I found one client paying $400/month for international calling they didn't even know they had.
Las Vegas here - don't forget about sales tax errors on telecom bills! Nevada has specific exemptions for certain business services that carriers often miss. I've recovered thousands just from incorrect tax calculations. Also, if your client has multiple locations, make sure they're not being charged business rates for residential services or vice versa.
This is incredibly helpful, thank you all! I'm definitely going to dive deeper into that Verizon bill. Walt, do you have any resources for learning the telecom terminology? And Amir, I'll definitely check those California tariffs. Sounds like there's a lot more complexity than electric bills but also more opportunity.