More and more of ATI's clients are adopting the "Fixed Fee" Telecommunication services provided by many carriers.  These services include fixed fees for Local, IntraLata and Interstate calls including all lines/circuits.  These programs save money if they are designed properly.

Is is essential that a full inventory of services be completed.  All unneeded services must be eliminated.  This takes time, patience and experience.

If too many lines are purchased with enhanced features and the volume of calls does not support the new service changes, additional charges can be substantial, making the entire project a waste of time and money.

Voice over IP has now become a service for almost everyone.  We are installing VOIP in small operations and on paper we are finding tremendous savings.

As this experiment unfolds stay tuned for more info as to the good, bad and the ugly.

Beware of the Newest "OLD" Sales Gimmick:

In sales puffing is acceptable such as: "this product is great".  When a salesman commits fraud "intent to deceive" he has crossed the line.

ATI is finding that various large companies are either committing fraud or are so close to the edge that what they are doing is certainly dishonest.  The latest gimmick is that a salesman promises the potential victim a promotion and makes it appear that it is the permanent price and will be the price throughout the contract.  He/She neglects to tell the victim that this promotion is temporary and can be canceled at any time. When the victim questions that the contract lacks any mention of the promotional pricing, the sales person states that the purchaser should not worry about price increases since the price will hold through the promotion period and almost always, throughout the entire contract. This process is misleading and in many instances dishonest and with inflation about to take off the likelihood of the promotional pricing holding is very low.

In one instance alone, the additional cost from this type of dishonest behavior could cost our client, over two years, $50,000.

When negotiating new contracts read every line and understand all clauses.

My trick to reading these contracts is that I print the draft, read no more than two pages at a time, take a break then come back and concentrate on all paragraphs, highlighting the areas of concern.  I then make comments and get a clear written explanation from the salesperson before I okay any contract.  Don't except verbal promises since they are not binding and difficult to prove.

Beware of Other Common Contract Issues:

In order to be sure contact terms and conditions are being honored it is essential that invoices, when received, are compared with promised terms and conditions with existing contracts.

Setting up a spread sheet with high volume and/or high costs items posted either each month and/or quarterly to make sure the contract price per unit is being honored is necessary to be assured of contract compliance.  You would be amazed at how often contract pricing is not being honored.  Especially, when new contracts are executed ATI finds that the error rate is the greatest.

Over many years ATI has had many successes in cost savings and cost reductions.  ATI has developed tools and methods that when applied to your business, will help you to reduce costs without interfering with productivity.

ATI has developed a risk free process of saving money with no chance of paying for services without savings to support the project. ATI has systems, templates, databases, and trained personnel to implement cost effective price controls.  ATI's cross industry experiences have enabled ATI to save its client's over $50,000,000 and to become a leader in the cost reduction and profit recovery services industry.  Our programs are based on contingent fees that enable our clients to save money without having to budget for ATI’s services. All ATI fees come from savings.  Our unconditional promise to you is "no savings - no fees due ATI." 

Please email comments to dc@auditbills.com