Telephone bills can be a significant cost for any business, and that is certainly true in travel.
With some simple guidance, you can check what you are paying, compare it to the going rate, scrutinise and uncover hidden costs, and take action with your supplier.
Check your bill
The vast majority of telephone companies are not in the habit of contacting their customers to offer them lower rates. Therefore, the onus is on you to ensure you are not paying too much.
Make sure your supplier includes a summary of your line rental and call charges by destination – local calls, national calls, UK mobiles, international calls and other calls. Make sure it includes the total duration of the call time and the cost.
If you don’t get this summary, ask your supplier to provide it. It may automatically offer you a rate review for fear of losing you. Make sure you deal with a company that offers a regular review.
Compare rates by pence and seconds
Hopefully, you get your calls itemised. Find a very short call – three seconds, for example – and see what the charge is. It may be zero, but if it is 1p, 2p, 3p or more, this means you are paying a minimum charge on each call, which is not the most competitive tariff.
Find an itemised call (or even better, use the summary mentioned previously) on your bill lasting more than two minutes. Divide the number of pence (not pounds) by the total minutes. You can then calculate the rate you are being charged for each destination.
At the time of going to press, you should not be paying more than 1.5p per minute for calling another UK number, or 10p for calling a UK mobile. Ensure your supplier operates on the basis of ‘per second billing’ with no ’rounding up’ (eg to the nearest penny).
If you dial an expensive number on a regular basis, such as those beginning with 0844, ask for a landline alternative.
Manage any moves
Should you decide to move from your current supplier, this should be easy and seamless. However, this does depend on who you use to manage the transfer. You should ask for references so you can satisfy yourself that your new company knows what it is doing.
If you move your phonelines to another supplier, ensure it explains the different service levels available. Any lines that are critical to your business (eg voice lines, broadband etc) should be rented with level three cover, also known as ‘total care’.
Transfers should take two to three weeks. Ensure you are not under contract before you move.
Find out the cost of capped calls or long contracts
If you are with BT or intend to stay with BT, check its small print very carefully, and do not be lured into long-term contracts or complicated tariffs offering capped calls, rewards and so on unless you have done your own calculations. The best strategy is to work out how much a two-minute call (the average duration of a business call) will cost you when comparing tariffs.
If you move away from BT, BT Openreach will still maintain the service on behalf of the telecoms company you are paying for the service, so you won’t escape BT completely unless you are in an area serviced by a cable company such as NTL, Telewest or Virgin Media. If you do decide to use a cable company, it is important you take advice.
Other considerations
Check what your obligation is to your supplier. Many telecoms companies try their best to sign you up for long-term contracts. You should not sign a contract for more than 12 months, unless you are doing so to obtain half-price or possibly free installation. Don’t ignore your mobile phones. There are often just as many opportunities to save money on your mobile packages. Take advice and references.
Multiple sites or homeworkers
If your travel agency has multiple sites, branches or home/remote workers, there are many opportunities to reduce costs using the latest technology. You can benefit from free calls between sites, sharing of resources, and many other factors may come into play.
Useful links
- Connectwork Communications provides advice, guidance, analysis and project management on all business lines and call packages.
- First Office Systems provides advice and guidance on telephone systems for small to medium-sized businesses including single and multiple site solutions.
Nick Brandon has more than 25 years’ experience in business, and telecommunications, and has worked with travel businesses to save money on their telecommunications costs.