So often in the high tech world, especially when it comes to telecommunications, the tendency is to write about sexy things like new services or promised game-changing technologies that are in the works.  However, this means that in many instances the hard part of running an effective and efficient business gets over-looked.  The realities are that back-office processes may not be the subject of industry sizzle, but they are essential.

 In fact, as I have pointed out in various postings over the years, the formula for success in virtually any industry is:  People + Products and Services + Processes = Performance. Each element is vital to creating a compelling outcome after the equal sign of this equation, and the processing side of things cannot be under-estimated or valued.

One area where this is especially true, if you are a telecommunications services provider of any type is tax compliance.  Not only do companies need to render accurate bills to customers, but they also have to assure for a host of reasons that they are in compliance with numerous regulatory and corporate governance mandates.

 Think of all the services now in the market that have to be properly billed and accounted for. Just to name a few they include:  Long distance, Local/ILEC/CLEC, Cellular/Wireless/Prepaid, Wireless/Mobile, Wireless Enhanced Services (Ringtones, Media, Text Messages, etc.), Teleconferencing, Satellite Services, Private Lines/Data Lines/Wireless Data Services, Voice Over IP (VoIP), etc.  This is not to mention things like the emerging M2M space, cloud services where “E”verything will be XaaS, and services that will pop up in the next few years as a result of the accelerating pace of innovation that the cloud, virtualization, mobility and ultra-broadband universal access will enable.

As mentioned, as the services offerings explode, there a few bigger challenges for providers than tax compliance.  It is also an area ripe with complexity. From regulatory requirements to billing, tax calculation, filing and remittance, the process can be overwhelming. It’s often difficult to even know where to start.

If you are a telecommunications service provider seeking guidance on best practices for taming the tax compliance beast, knowledge is power. And, a good place to get the knowledge you need is the forthcoming webinar, “Telecom Tax: Making Complex Telecom Tax Simple through Billing, Calculation and Compliance Solutions,” to be held Tuesday, March 4, 2014 2:00 PM EST / 11:00 AM PST.  

You are invited to join me and subject matter experts Mike Sanders, Chief Product Strategist, SureTax (tax calculations); Robert Dumas, Founding Partner, TaxConnex ( outsourced sales tax solutions); and, Emiliano Conde, President & Founder, jBilling (open source enterprise billing solutions for subscriptions, converged billing, discounts, and bundles) as we discuss in detail solutions that simplify the telecom tax compliance burden.  In fact, not only will you find out how to do it right, but if you are currently not in compliance you will learn how to get back on track.

Subjects to be addressed include:

• Easy to implement solutions for telecom billing that cover a wide range of billing scenarios
• How to calculate telecom taxes easily and accurately, sitused to the proper jurisdictions
• Options for reporting and filing taxes and fees including in-house solutions and outsourcing solutions

In addition, participation will enable you to receive a 10 Step Telecom Tax Implementation Guide.

Tax compliance may not be flashy, but it is mission critical for telecom services success. It is how to assure one of your most important processes are optimized to enable the performance you desire.