Billing audit is a review and analysis of voice, data and wireless invoices.The intent is to identify billing errors and opportunities for cost reductions in inventory and contract areas.

• Services are charged accurately and as per the contract rates.
• Overcharges are identified and eliminated.
• Past billing errors are corrected and reimbursed.
• Service inventory is verified.Services not in use are identified for elimination.

Billing audits are performed on a fixed-fee basis or on a contingency basis. Under a contingency arrangement, fees are based on the total historical credits and ongoing annual savings secured.

Frequently Asked Questions on Billing Audit

What is billing audit?
Billing audit is a review and analysis of voice, data and wireless invoices of an organization. The intent is to identify billing errors and opportunities for cost reductions in inventory and contract areas.

What information is reviewed in an audit?
A typical audit consists of a review and analysis of invoices, company site information, inventory and contracts.With these components, billing errors, inventory issues and contract optimization opportunities can be identified.

How often should billing audits be performed? 
Bill audits should be performed on an ongoing basis because of moves, adds, changes and disconnect activities constantly going on within a company. However, a complete review and analysis should be accomplished on a quarterly basis. There are legal restrictions on how long a company has to dispute a bill. So if a billing error is identified and disputed outside of those parameters, then cost recovery may be limited. 

How are fees structured for billing audit service?
Audits are performed on a fixed-fee basis or on a contingency basis. Under a contingency arrangement, fees are based on the total historical credits and ongoing annual savings secured.

Are audits always effective in finding savings or recovering telecom costs?
Audits generally result in savings.The level of savings is dependent on the type of services and carriers audited, when the last audit was performed, and the level of internal oversight of the billing services. Audit savings (as a percentage of spend) can be as low as 1 percent to over 20 percent. The first time audits generate higher savings compared to recurring audits. The average savings is usually in the 5 percent range.

How far back in time can an audit be performed?
This is determined by several factors such as contract terms (sometimes limited to restrict back billing for under billings); carrier service guides, FCC regulations on interstate services (two years), state tariffs (for intrastate services), and individual state statute of limitations. Any errors should be identified back to when it occurred and submitted to the carrier along with all applicable documentation. Carriers will honor the correction of some errors outside normal limitations.