With cash management more important than ever during COVID-19, a thorough review of your organization’s wireless expenses are in order.
Key insights
- Review your wireless bill to potentially reduce expenses and increase cash flow.
- Make sure your devices are on the most efficient, economic plans possible.
- Review your plan’s usage behavior to identify who consistently uses more data.
- Leverage a third-party consultant to help you along the way.
The long-term impact of COVID-19 is still unknown, which means your organization’s ability to weather the pandemic may be dependent on smart cash flow management. If you need a simple starting point for cutting costs, review your organization’s wireless bill.
Need help reducing wireless expenses?
Smartphones, tablets, and data devices can be expensive for your organization. As a now integral part of how we operate, these devices provide access to real-time communication and increase efficiencies in business processes. Consider these simple strategies to help reduce expenses and increase cash flow — and keep in mind that little needs to change with respect to usage or vendor.
Make sure your plan is the right fit
Put your devices on the most efficient, economic plans possible. This can be a daunting process that involves reviewing pricing models, potential contractual arrangements, and other considerations, but it can lead to serious cost savings.
Most organizations use a single plan for the devices on their account, regardless of their employees’ usage behavior. Whether all devices are placed on an unlimited plan structure or a shared data pool structure, there often can be room to generate savings by mixing and matching your users with the most appropriate plan available based on usage behavior. You can review the usage behavior of your users and identify those who consistently use more data. Place these higher data users on new plans that accommodate their higher usage, since it can dramatically reduce monthly data overages.
A quick example that shows the importance of matching usage behavior with the most appropriate plan involves an organization with more than 400 wireless devices that were placed on a shared data plan. Every month, the account was hit with thousands of dollars in overages as a result of a few devices consistently using over 80% of the data in the entire account — which pushed the account well over the data pool allocated.
The organization realigned these few superusers of data to an unlimited plan and got a better grip on their data usage. Ultimately, they eliminated thousands of dollars in monthly overages.
Review your bill on a monthly basis
Some organizations blindly pay their monthly wireless bills without actually reviewing the detailed invoices. However, keep a close eye on your invoices to look for the following:
- Anomalies
- Unused lines
- Double billing
- Other unusual surcharges
If you’re not thoroughly reviewing your monthly invoices on a routine basis, it’s likely your wireless bill may have inflated charges. Put a process in place to review invoices every month.
As an example, an organization with more than 200 wireless devices had not completed an in-depth review of their invoices in over a year. Once the organization performed a deep dive, they found that the majority of the devices had not been used in three consecutive months and could be suspended without billing. The organization cut their wireless bill in half just by taking the time to review their invoices and identify unused devices.
Leverage a third-party consultant
Many organizations are under duress due to the pandemic, and may find it difficult to perform these tasks consistently. If you lack the staff or time to commit to these cost oversight strategies, consider engaging a third-party consultant. They can review your plans, data usage, and bills to help you uncover potential cost savings. Additionally, third-party consultants can bring unpublished plans and promotional discounts that aren’t typically advertised by the providers themselves.
A prime example includes an organization with 100 wireless devices that was trying to reduce its wireless expenses but was not having any success working directly with the wireless provider. This organization decided to engage with a third-party consultant to assist. The third-party consultant was able to leverage an unpublished promotional discount they had discovered when working with another client. This promotional discount was applied within the first month of their engagement and reduced monthly wireless expenses by close to 35%.
How we can help
Please reach out if you’re interested in learning about additional strategies to help lower your wireless expenses. CLA consultants offer a complimentary preliminary assessment of wireless invoices that can help your organization forecast savings opportunities, provide you with a clean bill of health, or direct you to additional resources.