The agent also puts an icon on the handset's screen to give the user a warning when their data limit is approaching.

Telicost also generates detailed daily reports Wong can use that track everything from the long distance numbers staffers call to where calls are made from.

Telecom expenses are so complex they either have to be controlled through sophisticated software or outsourced, say industry analysts. "It always pays to do it," says Roberta Fox, president of Fox Group, a Mount Albert, Ont.-based telecom consultancy. She figures Canadian carriers offer some 2,000 wireless business plans.

"Wireless costs are a discussion I have with clients frequently," said Mark Tauschek a research director at Info-Tech Research in London, Ont. "The biggest problem is the cost of roaming when you're travelling abroad."

Some solutions can be low-tech, such as having restricting travelling staff to using dedicated handsets or making them use a company-supplied SIM card for certain countries in their cellphones. Local SIM cards help keep costs down by eliminating long distance charges.