Most mid-market businesses are overpaying for telecom by 20 to 40 percent. This is the exact checklist we use when we audit a new client's bills. Work through every section and check items off as you find them. If you save the page as a PDF at the end, you will have a real document showing what is wrong and what to do about it. Bring it to your renewal negotiation. Or bring it to me.
Section 1: Gather Your Bills
Collect the last 3 months of invoices from every telecom vendor
Include internet, phone, mobile, data circuits, cloud, and any managed services
List every vendor name, account number, and monthly cost in a spreadsheet
Note each contract's expiration date and auto-renewal terms
Auto-renewals often lock you in for 1–3 years at above-market rates
Identify who internally manages each vendor relationship
Section 2: Validate Every Line Item
Match every invoice line to an active, in-use service
Flag anything you can't identify or confirm is still in use
Check for phone lines assigned to employees who have left the company
Verify you are not paying for equipment rental on devices you own or returned
Look for duplicate charges — the same service billed under two different line items
Check for services tied to closed office locations
Review all regulatory fees and surcharges — some are carrier-imposed, not government-mandated
Section 3: Benchmark Against Market Rates
Note the per-Mbps cost for your internet circuits
Current market rate for business fiber is typically $1–$5/Mbps depending on location
Compare your per-seat VoIP/phone cost against current hosted VoIP market pricing ($20–$35/seat)
Check if you are still paying for legacy PRI or POTS lines that could be replaced with SIP trunks
Verify your MPLS circuit costs against SD-WAN alternatives (typically 50–70% cheaper)
Review mobile device plan costs per line vs. current carrier promotions
Section 4: Contract Review
List all contracts expiring within the next 12 months — these are your negotiation windows
Identify any contracts that have already auto-renewed without competitive bidding
Note early termination fees (ETFs) for each contract
Check SLA terms — are uptime guarantees and credit provisions clearly defined?
Confirm you have copies of all signed agreements on file
Section 5: Quick Wins to Action Immediately
Cancel any unidentified or unused services identified above
Request billing credits for any confirmed billing errors (carriers must refund legitimate errors)
Set calendar reminders 90 days before each contract renewal date
Request current pricing from your carrier — simply asking often yields a 10–15% reduction
Engage a carrier-neutral advisor to run a competitive bid on any contract expiring within 6 months
What to expect
Clients who complete this checklist typically identify 15–40% in potential monthly savings before any carrier negotiations begin. Billing errors alone often account for 5–10% of total spend. The full savings are realized once contracts are renegotiated or replaced with better-fit solutions.
Want us to do this for you — for free?
Buckeye Telecom provides complimentary telecom bill audits for qualifying businesses. We handle the entire process and present findings with no obligation.
Request Your Free Audit →