Voice and data communications are taking up an increasing amount of organisations’ budgets as more information is shared between and across more businesses. Person to person contact now includes richer media, more participants and is becoming increasingly mobile. Historically, telecoms expense management has focused on the mechanistic processing of bills, payment and costs of individual items. It is too simplistic to make blanket cuts or restrict use and opting for cheap alternatives may lead to a loss of business value. A better approach is needed for managing telecoms expense, so what best practices should companies adopt to meet their total communications needs and avoid unnecessary costs?