I am a chartered accountant who specialises in telecom cost optimisation. After reviewing telecom expenses for 200+ UK businesses, I have developed a framework that any finance team can use to identify waste and reduce costs by 40-70%.
Step 1: Centralise Your Telecom Invoices
The first problem: most businesses do not know how many telecom vendors they have.
| What to Collect | Where to Find It |
|---|---|
| Landline/PBX invoices | Accounts payable, look for BT, TalkTalk, Virgin Business |
| Mobile contracts | Usually separate from landlines |
| Broadband bills | May be bundled with landlines or separate |
| Conference call services | Often forgotten — check for Zoom, Teams, GoTo |
| Fax services | Still being paid in 30% of businesses |
| Maintenance contracts | Annual renewals, often auto-renewed |
Average UK business with 50 employees: 4.2 telecom vendors generating 7.8 monthly invoices. Nobody reviews all of them.
Step 2: Calculate Your True Per-User Cost
True per-user cost = Total monthly telecom spend ÷ Number of employees who use phones
Include EVERYTHING:
- Line rental
- Call charges
- Maintenance contracts
- Feature licenses (recording, voicemail, etc.)
- Hardware lease payments
- IT contractor time for phone admin
| Per-User Cost | Assessment | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Under £20 | Excellent — you are already optimised | Review annually |
| £20-35 | Good — minor optimisation possible | Check for ghost lines |
| £35-55 | Overpaying — significant waste likely | Full audit recommended |
| Over £55 | Critical — legacy system tax | Migrate immediately |
UK average (from our 200-company dataset): £58 per user per month. Most companies are in the "critical" band without realising it.
Step 3: Identify the 5 Common Waste Categories
Category 1: Ghost Lines (avg £340/month)
62% of businesses have lines/extensions that carry zero calls.
How to find them: Request a Channel Utilisation Report from your provider. Any channel with zero calls in 90 days is a ghost.
Category 2: Feature Unbundling (avg £165/month)
71% of businesses pay separately for features included free with modern VoIP.
How to find them: List every line item on your invoice that is not "line rental" or "call charges." Each one is a potential saving.
Category 3: Overpriced Maintenance (avg £185/month)
48% of businesses pay above-market rates for maintenance.
How to find them: Get 2 competitive quotes for the same maintenance coverage. If your current contract is > 20% higher, renegotiate.
Category 4: Long Distance Charges (avg £95/month)
43% of businesses still pay per-minute for long distance.
How to find them: Any line item showing "national calls," "UK calls," or "long distance" at per-minute rates. Modern VoIP includes unlimited UK calling.
Category 5: Duplicate Services (avg £62/month)
18% of businesses pay for backup services nobody has tested.
How to find them: Ask IT: "Do we have any backup phone services?" Then ask: "When was it last tested?" If the answer is "never" or "I do not know," you are paying for insurance that might not work.
Step 4: Model the Cloud VoIP Alternative
| Current State | Cloud VoIP |
|---|---|
| £58/user/month (UK avg) | £24/user/month (all-inclusive) |
| + maintenance contract | Included |
| + feature licenses | Included |
| + long distance | Included |
| + IT admin time | 80% reduction |
For 50 users:
- Current: £2,900/month
- Cloud VoIP: £1,200/month
- Monthly saving: £1,700
- Annual saving: £20,400
- Hardware (if needed): £6,500 one-time
- Break-even: 3.8 months
Step 5: Present to the Board
One page. Three numbers.
CURRENT ANNUAL TELECOM COST: £34,800
PROPOSED ANNUAL COST (VoIP): £14,400
ANNUAL SAVING: £20,400 (58.6%)
Attach the per-user breakdown and the break-even calculation. No board rejects a 3.8-month payback on a 58% cost reduction.
DialPhone provides the data for this analysis. Send your invoices — their team produces the board-ready cost comparison within 48 hours. The analysis is free whether or not you become a customer.
