One of the big things to consider when getting mobile phones for your business is whether you should choose a sim only deal, or opt for a full mobile phone contract.

Both come with plus and minus points.

Neither is a “bad” choice, but depending on your employees’ current phones, one could benefit you more than the other.

Here we’ll look at whether you should choose an O2 business sim only deal from Communications Plus, or, if you’d be better suited to a full mobile contract.

What’s the difference between a sim only and mobile phone contract?

A sim only deal is just what it suggests.

You’re just paying for the sim card and your costs only cover the mobile phone service.

Sim only business deals are often popular with people who own their phone outright and don’t want to enter into a new contract.

With a phone deal, you pay a monthly sum for the duration of the contract, which covers the cost of the phone service, and the handset.

They’re typically used by businesses which want to provide mobile phones to their employees, without the large capital costs of buying the phones outright.

Why choose a sim only deal?

The main benefit of a sim only deal is the overall cost.

Because you’re only paying the cost of the phone service, your costs are generally lower than deals including a phone.

It could provide you with some extra budget to spend on a sim deal that includes more minutes, or more data, which could be useful if your employees are expecting to work more “on the go”, without access to a reliable or secure WiFi network.

Why choose a monthly phone contract?

If you have multiple employees who will be using mobile phones for business, and are expected to share work between devices, then signing up to a phone deal could be a better option.

For a start, you have more control over which phone they use.

If your employees have different phones with different operating systems (iOS and Android) it is possible you might see some compatibility issues between apps.

From a productivity perspective, this is not ideal and removes many of the benefits of having employees be able to work remotely.

Ideally you want everyone working from the same system to avoid disruption.

Also, with sim only deals, you can’t guarantee that your employees are using the most up to date phones.

Again, this can create compatibility problems as some systems stop being compatible after certain operating system updates.

By signing up to phone contracts, your employees can get access to the latest model phones (ensuring they can complete their work effectively) with the ability to upgrade their business mobile phones at the end of the contract.

You can also avoid any upfront costs of buying handsets outright (or limit any payments to employees towards their personal phones, if you’re expecting them to use their own devices for work).

Plus, if an employee has an issue with their device, you’ll be covered for maintenance and repairs under the terms of your agreement.

If you’ve only signed up to a sim only deal, then responsibility for the handset falls on either you or your employee.

If this involves purchasing a brand new handset, it could be a significant capital cost.

Understanding the overall costs of a business mobile phone deal

As we’ve said, there are benefits of either signing up to a sim only deal, or signing a full mobile contract.

Much of it depends on your business’ individual circumstances.

The reduced cost of a sim only deal is attractive to businesses which might not have many staff.

Or whose staff typically have access to the same mobile operating systems and the latest handsets.

For other businesses, having the reassurance that employees are using the same operating systems and software, and have access to the latest technology that allows them to work productively makes a mobile phone contract more attractive.

If you’re not sure which type of deal would work best for your business, get in touch with us today and we’ll be happy to run through your options and see what would work best for your business.

If you want to see how much money your business could save by taking out an O2 business sim only deal or mobile phone contract with Communications Plus, then use our cost saving calculator.