Frequently Asked Questions of Insight Technology Solutions

What types of businesses do you serve?

Why Insight Technology Solutions?

Can you provide references?

What types of errors does Insight Technology Solutions look for?

Why should we outsource?

Can a company perform this audit for itself?

How do I know if my company could benefit?

How do clients pay for Insight Technology Solutions services?

What is the difference between a recovery and savings?

What is the expected amount of cost reduction?

Does Insight Technology Solutions ever work on a flat fee basis?

Can a Client exclude select vendors from the audit?

Why does Insight Technology Solutions charge for savings?

How long does an audit take?

What is the required resource allocation from the client side?

Are you auditing the client or the telecom vendors?

Who has responsibility for changing services?

Who has responsibility for requesting and tracking refunds?

What are the deliverables Insight Technology Solutions provides?

What types of businesses do you serve?
All kinds. Hospitals, schools, law firms, manufacturing companies, call centers, governments, and more have the same problems - their telecommunications services and billing are a jumbled mess and need to be audited to weed out the extra costs that cut into profits.

Why Insight Technology Solutions?
Our company is headed by some of the best and brightest in the telecom industry. We have extensive expertise in both telecom and finance, which means that we understand both the technology and the business equation. Our processes and systems are designed for maximum efficiency and accuracy. We perform our services without disrupting your daily business operations.

Can you provide references?
We make our references available to all potential clients who are seriously considering an audit and encourage you to contact our clients.

What types of errors does Insight Technology Solutions look for?
We audit telecom charges in two primary categories, which are 1) fixed monthly charges, and 2) usage sensitive charges. While the complete list of items being reviewed is lengthy, an overview includes the following: Services not requested but being billed, discontinued phone and data services still being billed, duplicate billing for services, misdirected billing, inappropriate taxes and surcharges, variations from contractual terms, services billed under incorrect tariff, circuits assigned to the wrong LD provider, and invalid circuits.

Why should we outsource?
There are many valid reasons for bringing outside talent into the picture. Often the existing staff is simply not trained to handle the task of deciphering complex telecom invoices. It may be that current workloads have your team committed to other projects. Finally, using a contingent fee outsourcer means that you will incur no risk. And since we are paid based upon the savings we generate you can bet we won't quit until we've done the job right.

Can a company perform this audit for itself?
Yes, but we are certain we can do it better and faster. There are so many nooks and crannies where overpayments can be found, that it is beyond the capability of most businesses to find them all. It's no secret that slogging through stacks of invoices and rate codes is not enviable work and it's hard to motivate companies to tackle this onerous task, especially if they have tightened the belt on personnel. Our proprietary automated processes and tools make this detective work more efficient.

How do I know if my company could benefit?
Telecom billing is a mess, and statistics show that invoices and services are inaccurate in over 80% of larger companies. We best serve companies that have $5,000 or more in monthly fixed charges. Companies with multiple offices, recent acquisitions and mergers or staff turnover in IT/telecom are very likely to receive substantial savings.

How do clients pay for Insight Technology Solutions services?
The audit of your services are performed at no charge to you. We perform the work first, and are paid only after we implement the recommendations we make. We operate much like an Independent Insurance agent does in that we are not paid by you the client. We are paid directly from the carriers we represent. If our audit is unable to reduce your telecom costs, it costs you nothing and you come away knowing your costs are as low as they can be.

What is the difference between a recovery and savings?
A recovery is a credit or refund for vendor errors that we are able to secure for previous overcharges. Savings are reductions in ongoing expenses that occur as a result of identifying unwarranted expenses that are not the result of telco billing overcharges.

What is the expected amount of cost reduction?
The amount can vary greatly, depending on the complexity of your services, the number of locations, your usage patterns and more. While we cannot make guarantees, as a rule of thumb we estimate recovery or savings equal to 5-15% of audited charges.

Does Insight Technology Solutions ever work on a flat fee basis?
Yes. Based upon the size of the business and other factors, we can arrange for a fixed cost or hourly rate basis if you prefer.

Can a Client exclude select vendors from the audit?
Yes, so long as the minimum $5,000 per month in connectivity applies to the remaining vendors.

Why does Insight Technology Solutions charge for savings?
Not all audit findings that save the client money are recoverable from vendors, yet they can still significantly impact costs. These findings cost us the same to identify as recoveries, and they provide the same cost reduction benefit to our clients.

How long does an audit take?
Typically we allocate 5-10 days to assemble all of the client invoices, contracts and related materials. Following that, expect 15-45 days for auditing and an additional 30 days (one billing cycle) for recoveries.

What is the required resource allocation from the client side?
The reason you brought us in was to get the job done right and as quickly as possible without tying up internal resources. We'll need someone to provide us with copies of the relevant paperwork such as billing statements and service agreements. Once we have those, we do it all, including working with the carriers to recover your funds.

Are you auditing the client or the telecom vendors?
Our effort is focused on the charges and services provided by telecom vendors to our clients. We are not auditing network infrastructure or internal usage of those services, except to identify circuits or services that are not being utilized.

Who has responsibility for changing services?
Our agreement with you is "information only". While we can have your bills altered and request refunds we are not authorized to make service changes on your behalf. Instead, we provide you with the information you need to request any service changes that the audit demonstrates will lower your costs.

Who has responsibility for requesting and tracking refunds?
Insight Technology Solutions will take full responsibility for identifying overpayments and requesting related refunds or credits on behalf of the client.

What are the deliverables Insight Technology Solutions provides?
We believe an audit should do more than just put money in your pocket. At the conclusion of our audit we will provide the client with a comprehensive Service Inventory Report that details all of the vendors, circuits and services that we have audited. This report becomes an excellent baseline for ongoing telecom expense management. In addition we provide you with copies of all Billing Correction Requests as a guard against future errors.