Compare a business VoIP quote with your current phone service using the full cost over the proposed contract, not just the advertised monthly price. Request a breakdown of recurring charges and one-off work, then check what each option covers. Openreach says costs vary by provider and by the services a business needs.[1]
Start with recent phone bills and a description of how your team handles calls. Give every supplier the same information. A lower headline rate is only useful if the proposal covers the people, equipment and support you need. Treat any promised saving as something to check against the written quotation, not a reason to skip that comparison.
Count people, numbers and simultaneous calls separately
Write down who needs to make and receive calls, including reception and shared areas. Add the business numbers you want to keep and the busiest calling period. Ask the supplier how it translates those requirements into chargeable users, numbers and call capacity. Do not assume that your current number of telephone lines equals the number of subscriptions to buy.
Include occasional users and staff who work away from the office. Have the supplier explain what happens to the bill when someone joins or leaves, and whether there is a minimum quantity. Request a worked quotation for your actual team, with optional additions separated out so they do not become unexplained essentials.
Check the call allowance against your bills
Give suppliers an anonymised summary of your usual call destinations and minutes. Ask which calls the proposed allowance includes, what fair-use conditions apply and what happens outside it. Have them identify charges for international destinations, non-standard numbers and calls forwarded to mobiles. Keep sensitive customer numbers out of the information you circulate.
Ask for the applicable tariff and charging increments alongside the quote. If the supplier uses the word “unlimited”, request its definition in writing. Check a busy month as well as an ordinary one. A comparison based on your real calling pattern is more useful than a generic example built around a different kind of business.
Separate equipment from installation work
Request an equipment schedule showing what you will buy, rent or retain. Include headsets, desk phones and any proposed network changes. Ask who owns rented equipment at the end, how faulty units are replaced and whether delivery costs extra. Have the supplier confirm compatibility before assuming your existing handsets can stay.
Openreach advises checking connected equipment with its supplier before switching, including alarms, payment terminals and door-entry systems.[1] Put any resulting work on a separate line in the budget. Assign it to the relevant equipment provider rather than assuming that a new telephone handset resolves every service using the old connection.
Budget for connectivity and keeping calls available
Ask whether the quote includes broadband or relies on a connection you already pay for. Have the provider assess that connection and explain any recommended upgrade. Keep the existing broadband cost visible in both options, so it is neither counted twice nor omitted from the proposed arrangement.
Digital phone services depend on power and broadband; Openreach warns they may not work during a power cut without backup power.[1] Request a separately priced continuity option appropriate to your business. Our power-cut and broadband-outage guide explains the technical questions. For this comparison, record what protection is included, what remains your responsibility and what the proposed testing costs.
Include changeover, support and leaving costs
Request a transition plan with charges for number transfers, setup, staff training and any period of overlapping services. Keep the old supplier’s notice requirements beside it. Our number-transfer guide covers porting preparation. Do not cancel the current service simply because the new quotation has been accepted; agree the sequence with both providers first.
Have the new provider explain support hours, fault reporting and separately chargeable assistance. Ask about the minimum term, renewal, permitted price changes and early termination charges. Request confirmation of how you can move your numbers and retrieve required information when leaving. Keep the answers with the proposal rather than relying on what somebody remembers from a sales call.
Request one comparable total before deciding
Ask each supplier to show the total payable over the same comparison period, with VAT treatment stated consistently. Keep recurring service, usage assumptions and one-off charges distinguishable. Where something cannot yet be priced, label the uncertainty and name whoever will resolve it. Do not enter zero merely to make the spreadsheet balance.
Bring your recent bills, user count and unanswered questions to a phone-system discussion with BMT. Request a written scope and cost breakdown before deciding. That gives you something concrete to compare and approve, including the work outside the monthly subscription, without assuming that changing the technology automatically makes every part of the service cheaper.