5 ways to reduce your business phone bill
24/06/2009 send to a friend
Jeremy Scally of Biglittlefish.co.uk offers advice on the ways in which to keep telecom costs to a bare minimum. It’s all about understanding your bill and reviewing options, he says.
Understand your bill
If you’ve ever looked at a phone bill you’ll know they’re pretty difficult to decipher. We suggest you ask for more billing information to make a fair comparison between your telecom provider’s rates and the competition. Ask your telecom provider to send you written correspondence verifying the following:
- What set up fees per call are charged?
- Is there a minimum charge per call?
- What is the full tariff for each call destination?
- What, if any, discounts are applied?
- Can you provide an electronic version of my itemised bill?
- Do you have any online billing analysis tools available for me to use?
- What is the minimum contract term?
- What service level is guaranteed?
Review your call spend
Review your phone billing arrangements regularly, at least on an annual basis – this way you can take advantage of rapidly changing promotions. Compare your current telecom provider’s tariffs against the competition. Switching provider might save you money but be wary of committing to long term contracts, no longer than twelve months should be your target.
Approach Your Telecom Provider
Forearmed with competitive quotes get in touch with your telecom provider and ask them for reduced call charge rates. It’s likely they’ll agree to reduce your call tariffs, particularly if the alternative is losing you as a customer.
Review your mobile spend
Do you have a separate mobile phone contract? Why not review your calls, lines and your mobile phone contracts at the same time. You could save money using the same telecom provider for both and certainly simplify your administration with a single bill.
Consider VoIP - Voice over IP
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a general term for a family of transmission technologies for delivery of voice communications over IP networks such as the Internet. Other terms frequently encountered and synonymous with VoIP are IP telephony, Internet telephony, voice over broadband (VoBB), broadband telephony, Skype and broadband phone.
These technologies can help you save money, add extra features and aid business efficiency. IP Telephony and VoIP is well worth considering if you’re planning on upgrading or replacing your current phone system.
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Comments
Author: Emily Coltman
Date: 24/06/2009
Comment: My gripe with Skype is that if you're calling someone who doesn't also have Skype, the quality of the call is poor.
The line keeps breaking up and there's a time lag on the call, so you find you're talking over each other.
So personally, for business, I've stuck to a conventional landline to keep the sound professional and clear.
What have other people found?
M
Website: www.homebusinessaccountant.co.uk
Author: Jeremy Scally
Date: 25/06/2009
Comment: My experience of using Sykpe has been mixed. Skype is typically considered a consumer-grade Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solution. It's here to stay though and the case for businesses to experiment with a service like Skype is growing.
The problem with VoIP technologies, of which Skype is one, is that it's only as good as the data network that it runs on. This is particularly true when that network happens to be the internet which is inherently unreliable.
I'd say Skype is definitely worth investigating as an additional telephony option for your business. But make sure you trial the technology extensively first and know what you're getting into.
Website: http://www.biglittlefish.co.uk
Author: Mark Cooper
Date: 27/01/2010
Comment: For an extra line or two or three, the Utility Warehouse 'Internet' phone is great for business. It still works over your internet connection but works like a standard phone with the same call quality.
It has the same call charges as our Office phone but the most interesting thing is, you can take it on the road, even abroad and plug into any broadband connection and make calls anywhere in the world for the same call charges as you pay in the office. Great for sales people on the road.
And the great thing is, it only cost £50 to set up and £2 per month which is far cheaper than other suppliers for another telephone line!
And for any home workers using residential supplies for their services we can even make the calls free!
Check it out on my website.
Website: www.telecomplus.org.uk/b47963