Choosing the right business mobile phone provider can have serious effects on your business.
With the right provider you’ll be able to run your business efficiently from anywhere.
Get it wrong though, and you can quickly find your business phones costing more money than you thought and seriously hindering your ability to run an agile and mobile business.
So, what do you need to think about to make sure you choose the best mobile phone provider?
Keep reading to find out.
What do you need?
The most important thing to think about is, what does your business need from a business phone and your provider?
Most providers will supply a range of iPhone and Android phones.
You just need to decide whether you want someone to provide the latest models, or do you want a provider which offers older models for a cheaper price.
Are you looking for phones that simply offer voice calls, texts and emails?
Or will you be needing more functionality and access to particular apps?
Before choosing your provider, you need to sit down and figure out exactly what you need from your new business phones.
What plans does the business mobile phone provider offer?
Does your business phone provider offer deals or plans with unlimited calls and texts?
If you and your employees are going to be making lots of calls during the day, you need to make sure you pick a plan that can accommodate those so you don’t end up with additional costs at the end of the month.
If you don’t do many calls and rely on text and emails, then can you find a cheaper deal with fewer minutes?
What are their data plans like?
In a remote or mobile business, the data plan you choose can really make or break your business mobile phone network.
If your employees are going to be out and about, dealing with emails or doing work away from a reliable and secure WiFi network they’ll be heavily reliant on having the data behind them.
If they run out of data, they’ll either not be able to work until they can connect to their WiFi again, or you could face a hefty additional bill for exceeding your data plan.
Multiply this across a large team and the cost can quickly add up.
Ideally you want to choose a business mobile phone provider who offers unlimited data plans.
Also, how flexible are the data plans?
Are you locked in once you’ve chosen a plan, or is it possible to be flexible with how much data you need?
You should also find out whether you can roll over any unused data at the end of the month.
What kind of support do you get from the provider?
As a business you need support to keep your phone network running properly all the time.
If something goes wrong and a phone stops working properly, you need to be able to replace it and getting things up and running again quickly.
The longer you have to wait, the more your business suffers.
So make sure you find out what level of support you’ll get from your business phone provider.
And also make sure the support is available whenever you need it.
If your provider only offers support from 9-5, is that going to be enough for you?
What kind of roaming charges are involved?
Roaming charges can easily catch you out if you’re going to use your business phone abroad.
So you need to understand how the charges work, and what you’ll be paying if you do need to use your business mobile phone outside of the UK.
SInce Brexit, some mobile phone networks have started to charge for roaming fees inside the EU – which historically has been exempt from roaming charges.
Does your existing business deal now include roaming charges inside the EU?
Also, what could be the additional charges if you use your phone abroad outside of your data plan?
This is very important to understand because roaming charges can quickly become expensive.
What extra charges might you get?
Depending on the type of contract you have and the usage you get out of your business phones, you should be aware of any additional charges you could end up facing.
Most phone contracts include additional charges if you exceed any part of your plan – so how much will it cost if you or an employee exceeds your data allowance, for example.
While additional charges might not be much for an individual, across a business they can easily get out of control if you’ve not got the right plan.
What type of contracts do they offer?
Most mobile phone contracts run on a standard 24 months when buying a phone as a consumer.
Some can be lower, but the costs tend to be higher.
Very few contracts offer additional financial benefits for committing to a longer time period, but it’s worth asking in case there’s some flexibility.
If you’re looking to sign up for a longer term contract, you should also consider that most smartphone manufacturers release an updated phone at least once a year.
Make sure you do your research about the length and conditions of your business phone contract, and find out if there’s any flexibility that you can take advantage of.
Are the contracts flexible or is there an early exit fee?
Another thing to consider for your business phone contract is whether there’s any flexibility to cancel your contract early, or if there’s an exit fee to get out of your contract before the end date.
There’s any number of reasons that you might need to cancel a contract early – like if an employee leaves or you downsize.
It’s definitely something to consider.
Can you upgrade early as part of the plan?
Just like you might want to cancel your business phone contract early, you should also find out if your provider will let you upgrade your phone early if a new model is released before your contract’s end date.
Most Android manufacturers have an annual new release and Apple is notorious for bringing out at least one new iPhone model a year.
If you want your employees to have the latest devices then you’ll need to make sure you have the option to upgrade early, or if you’ll face any extra charges when you do.
Can you add more phones to your plan easily?
One of the advantages of signing up for business mobile phones is that you can manage multiple phones on the same contracts and account.
So as your business grows, you should make sure your plan allows you to easily add new phones to your account.
Can you keep your own number?
If you have business phones and are looking to move to a new provider, you’ll want to carry your existing numbers over with you.
This is a simple process for a consumer because you only need a single code for one phone.
However, you need to make sure the process is simple for your business when you’re transferring multiple phone numbers over to a new provider.
If you can’t transfer your numbers over to a new provider, this could cause a lot of admin and hassle further down the line.
Get the best business mobile phone plan with help from Communications Plus
Every business can benefit from having dedicated business mobile phones, but not every business will use them in the same way or need the same kind of plan.
We’ve helped hundreds of businesses, from small teams to national companies, find the right business phones and deals that help them stay connected and working how they want, without breaking the bank.
If you want help getting a better business mobile phone deal, then get in touch with us today.
Our expert team can help you figure out how much you could save by moving to a new business mobile phone provider and come up with a phone plan that fits your business better.
