In a Shared Office Space, Get Your Own Phone Bill

 
 

For most individuals and businesses, one thing you don’t usually worry about is getting the phone bill from your service provider. This is typically not an issue because they can furnish a bill for any phone number you own upon request, at any time.

In most cases, you are the account holder, which means that the provider has no problem giving you a bill or CSR (Customer Service Report) for your number whenever you need it; however, there is an exception that makes obtaining your phone bill an unexpected challenge.

 

The Shared Office Space

There is at least one case in which you will have a really hard time getting your phone bill, and that is when, though you are the one using your phone number, you are not the account holder for this number.

 

This happens when your business operates out of a shared office space that houses multiple businesses, where, along with the facility out of which your business operates, your phone number was provided for you. This means that even if you are paying for the phone number, you don’t receive a bill for it because that is taken care of for you by the host company.

 

A Pretty Good Arrangement

Many times in this scenario, new businesses simply pay a flat fee that encompasses all of their overhead, including the cost of their phone line. It’s an efficient arrangement that is especially attractive for struggling startups because it saves a growing business a lot of headache. It also saves money, as the co-working space, or “hive” can charge less for services, due to the multiple tenants, making it cheaper for all the occupants.

 

Get Your Own Phone Bill

So if you do sign on with one of these co-working spaces, it’s a good idea to make it clear to the owner of the space that you require your own phone bill, even if you have to pay a little more by putting the phone line in your name. You could also bypass the middle-man and just go out and get your own number, with your own service provider. It’s well worth it, for the following reasons:

 

1. You may deal directly with the service provider.

It’s great to be the primary account holder for your phone number because not only can you access your account information at any time, including things like usage and available features, but you will also have direct access to the service provider if there is an issue with your phone line.

For example, if your number were to stop working for any reason, you wouldn’t have to go through your hive’s management, causing further delays. You could just contact your provider directly because you are the account holder for the phone line.

 

2. You may need to take your number with you.

You’re not going to be running your business out of a shared space forever. Eventually you’ll need to move into your own space, and that means you will probably want to take your phone number with you, since it is the number that all of your clients and customers are familiar with.

That means you will have to port the phone number to your new service provider. It’s not a well-known fact, but when you port your existing number to a new provider, they will require you to produce a current phone bill that lists the number, to prove that you have authority to port the number.

To ensure a successful port to your new service provider, be sure that you are the account holder for your number. It may not seem like a big deal now, but if you make sure you have direct access to the service provider for your phone number, it will save you a lot of trouble in the future.