New drive to support small businesses

BT has announced an unprecedented package of support to help the 939,000 small businesses. In the launch of BT’s Small Business Support Scheme the company introduces a range of new measures to help small business boost their connectivity, cash fl ow and confi dence – key concerns which have been identifi ed by Small Business Britain’s recent surveys of its membership.

BT’s action plan includes a commitment to pay its 4,500 small business suppliers promptly and within 30 days of being invoiced, to helping fi rms fund the cost of ultrafast business connections, as well as access to free resources such as business mentoring, digital skills, marketing tools and mental health support.

BT’s Small Business Support Scheme comprises the following measures: • Funding ultrafast business connections:

BT is helping small businesses fund the cost of an ultrafast business connection (known as an

Ethernet line), by subsidising the total cost by up to £2,500 per customer. • Launching bursaries for UK tech start-ups: BT is introducing a new bursary scheme to give 1,000 UK tech start-ups and entrepreneurs a fi nancial head start. From

October, eligible companies can apply for a bursary to benefi t from free fi bre broadband and mobile bundles. • Introducing BT Halo for Business: BT has launched the UK’s only converged fi bre broadband, mobile and digital phone line bundle for micro-businesses, which represent 91% of all businesses in the UK. By combining three powerful connections in one package. • Helping small businesses to go cashless:

BT is preparing to launch a new digital payments solution, to help small businesses move to cashless transactions. • Prompt payment for BT’s small business suppliers: With 58% of small businesses citing cashfl ow as their number one concern, BT is committing to pay its 4,500 small business suppliers within 30 days of being invoiced. • Financial fl exibility for the hardest hit:

BT has been assisting small businesses in fi nancial distress during the peak of the pandemic by helping them fi nd a fl exible option for paying their bill.

Case study: Technology Consult Ltd

Ron Tredget, technical director for Technology Consult Ltd, which is based in East Sussex and provides technology solutions for social care providers and vulnerable people across the South East region, said BT helped the fi rm stay digitally connected to customers during the Covid-19 crisis.

He said: “During the Covid-19 lockdown period we had to partly shut-down and were unable to see our customers in person. However, thanks to BT’s One Phone service we were able to keep in touch with them remotely via video calls and conferencing.

“We are based in a rural location and prior to moving to One Phone we had multiple network providers for our fi xed, mobile and cloud services. Since we’ve moved to this combined solution we have cut our costs in half and have much better coverage and resilience.”

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