What is wireless expense management?

What does wireless expense management mean, in plain words?

It means someone owns the company phone bill. They know what every line costs, who uses it and why. When something is wrong, they get it fixed and check that the fix shows up on the bill.

It covers company phones, tablets and hotspots. It’s different from telecom expense management, which often takes in office phone lines and internet service too.

The hard part is the follow-up after you find a problem.

Who should own the company phone bill?

One named person, usually in IT, who knows the lines. Finance pays the bill, but only after that person signs off.

Without that, nobody owns it. IT orders the phones. Finance pays. Each thinks the other is checking.

A shared sheet is enough to start, if that person checks it every month. With many lines or more than one carrier, you may want help. Expense management can be software, a service, or both. See managed mobility, expense management or MDM: which do you need?.

Whatever you choose, ask two questions. Who calls the carrier when something is wrong? And who checks the next bill?

Why does nobody check the company phone bill?

Because the total looks about the same each month, so no one opens the detail. The bill can run many pages, across more than one account and carrier. And the line list in your sheet often no longer matches it.

The proof is often already on the bill. In one state audit, the carrier’s own invoices showed which phones were not used. The agency kept paying.

How do you check the company phone bill each month?

Use this checklist. Copy it into your own sheet.

Keep a short open list next to the checklist: each problem, the date you raised it, who at the carrier answered and the bill where the fix should appear. Close an item only when the bill proves it. See what happens after you submit a company phone request.

What goes wrong on a company phone bill?

The common problems:

1. Lines nobody uses. People leave or change roles. The line keeps billing. See how to find unused company phone lines.
2. Credits that never post. A rep promised a credit on a call. It never shows up.
3. Changes that only half happened. A canceled line still bills, or a new number went live but the old one stayed.
4. Add-ons nobody asked for. A travel plan left on after the trip. An extra feature added to a whole group of lines.
5. Phones still being paid off. Cancel a line with a financed phone and the full balance comes due.
6. Costs that land on the wrong team. No cost center on the line, so one budget pays for everyone.

What do you do when the bill is wrong?

1. Write it down. The line, the charge, the bill date and what it should be.
2. Find the proof. The order, the email or the call where the change or credit was agreed.
3. Ask the carrier in writing. Send the line, the charge and your proof. Ask for the fix and a credit.
4. Set a follow-up date. Chase it on that date if nothing has moved.
5. Check the next bill. If the fix isn’t there, the item stays open.

Carriers don’t send business customers a written confirmation for line changes. Keep your own record of who said what, and when.