residential versus business BT line

physio_2

My partner is just setting up a physio clinic and we need to get a landline connected. We currently have to have a new line, as the previous line has ceased. I called up BT this morning and I was told I had the choice of residential or business lines. The practice is not at our home address, and ideally we would require separate lines for phone and fax. I have been presented with a myriad of options including 1, 3 and 5 year contract options where a 1 year contract has a set up cost of £106.37 a 3 year contract set up cost £49.99 and 5 year contract is free however there are redemptions for coming out of the contract early. In addition there are different quarterly rental costs to these constracts.

was told that if I went for the business broadband option 1 phone calls would be markedly lower and we would get a free 0560 line to use for a fax however this package is £24.78 per month on top of the £15/16 appx line rental charges for the business line.

I was also told we couldn't use a residential line for offsetting tax, though I spoke to a business owner this morning who said we could! I also understand that BT business lines are priority for getting the line back up if the lines go down which is obviously important for a business. I don't want to be bamboozled by BT into paying more than we have to, but I want to be sensible and opt for reliable service without having to pay a high premium
Can anyone suggest the best way for us to play this, the business is just my partner (so not a heavy use). We don't need broadband right at this moment, but having a phone line with an extra fax line would be really helpful.
many thanks

Quentin

If having a phone line is important to the business (and I guess for the type of business you describe it would be), then having the "BT Assurance" benefit seems worth it (you get this included when you have a business line). If there is ever a fault on your line they guarantee someone will come out by the next day, and they will redirect all your incoming calls to another number (eg mobile) at their expense until the fault is fixed.

On the subject of tax, you were misinformed - a residential phone bill can be used for VAT recovery as well as an overhead invoice to be set against profit.