How to read a business bill, in plain English
What each section of a business phone or broadband bill means: account summary, recurring charges, usage, one-off charges, credits and VAT.
Prices exclude VAT unless stated.Checked on each provider's own page, 5 November 2026.SimSift is independent. Most links in SimSift for Business are plain links we don't earn from. Links marked Ad are affiliate links: we may earn commission, and it never changes the order or the picks. How we make money.
The usual sections
- Account summary
- Total due, the bill period and your account number. A first bill often covers part of a month plus the month ahead.
- Recurring charges
- The monthly price for each line or connection, plus add-ons, usually one row per line or SIM. This is where unused lines hide.
- Usage
- Calls, texts and data outside your allowance, roaming and premium numbers, often broken down by line.
- One-off charges and credits
- Set-up, engineer visits, equipment, early-exit charges, and any credits or discounts. Check a discount hasn't ended.
- VAT
- Business bills show charges ex VAT, then add VAT at 20%. If you're VAT-registered, you may be able to reclaim it for business use (HMRC).
Next: what to check and the bill checker.