How to reduce business telephony costs: from the itemised bill to the number of calls
Sado AI team · · 4 min read
In short
To reduce telephony costs, first get an itemised bill for three months and see where the money goes: numbers, lines, minutes by destination and the people who answer. Then drop unused numbers and lines, match the tariff to your real calls, and cut repeat calls and long conversations. The biggest part is usually people’s time: for example, a night shift with few calls can be replaced by an AI operator that is paid only for talked minutes.
Open the bill first
- Ask your provider for an itemised bill for the last three months.
- Split the costs into groups: number rental, lines or cloud PBX users, outgoing minutes by destination (city, mobile, regions, abroad) and internet.
- In the PBX report, find the hour with the most simultaneous calls: that tells you how many lines you need.
- Also note work calls staff make from personal phones: they aren’t on the bill, but they cost money and time.
Savings on the bill itself
- Switch off numbers you don’t use: old advertising numbers, numbers of staff who left. First check whether they got any calls last month.
- Drop extra lines: if your busiest hour has 4 calls at once, you don’t need 10 lines. Check advertising and promotion days separately.
- Match the tariff to your calls: if most outgoing minutes go to mobiles, ask for a package with cheaper mobile minutes.
- Ask how minutes are rounded: per second or per full minute. With many short calls, the difference shows.
- Once a year, get quotes from 2–3 providers for your volume and compare.
Fewer unnecessary calls
- Answer the first time. Every missed call comes back as an outgoing call and staff time.
- Call back at an agreed time: “Shall I call you at four?” Dialling again and again costs minutes and time.
- Prepare the answers: with prices, address, hours and delivery terms on one sheet, calls get shorter and “I’ll check and call you back” happens less.
- Clean outbound lists and limit attempts: for example, two tries for a number that doesn’t answer, then a text.
- Don’t keep callers on hold: while they wait, the operator can’t take another call.
In short: what to do and what it saves
| Step | Where to check | What it saves |
|---|---|---|
| Unused numbers and lines | Itemised bill, PBX report | Monthly fees |
| Matching the tariff | Minutes by destination | Outgoing minutes |
| Answering the first call | Number of missed calls | Repeat calls and lost customers |
| Ready answers | Average call length | Minutes and operator time |
| AI instead of a night shift | Number of night calls | The shift’s salary |
The biggest part is people’s time
A telephony bill shows only numbers and minutes, but someone answers every call. For example, 15 calls come in a day between 22:00 and 08:00, 2 minutes each. A night operator hired for them costs, for example, 5 million so‘m a month in salary. With an AI operator: 15 × 2 × 30 = 900 minutes × 800 = 720,000 so‘m. These numbers are only an example.
Sado connects to your current city or mobile number over your provider’s SIP / IP telephony, for example Sarkor or UTeL: the number stays the same and you need no new equipment. How it works: connecting your number. Your contract with the provider doesn’t change, so ask in advance how SIP calls are charged on your tariff.
An AI operator for incoming calls answers at once, day and night, and takes more than ten calls at the same time. You pay only for talked minutes: 800 so‘m a minute, with no monthly or connection fee. Try it live or call 78 778 01 23.
Questions
Isn’t it cheaper when staff call from personal phones?
It looks cheaper on the bill, but calls aren’t recorded, customers’ numbers stay with the employee, and when they leave, customers may follow. Calling from the company number keeps control with you.
How do we know how many lines we need?
In the PBX report, find the number of simultaneous calls in your busiest hour and add one or two spare lines. Check advertising and promotion days separately.
Does an AI operator lower the telephony bill?
It doesn’t change your provider’s tariff. It lowers people costs and repeat calls: calls don’t go unanswered, and you don’t need a night shift.