Understanding
your business bill

We get it, we put a lot of information in your bill. Our online guide can help explain what it all means.

Not a business customer?
We can help you understand your personal bill.

First, we need to ask you a few questions about your bill.

 

How many digits long is your account number?

13 digits         10 digits

Is your bill number T311?

         

First page

Image an example Telstra bill

 

1. Account number

You can find your account number at the top of your bill. Your account number is usually a 10-digit number. You can use your account number to view your usage or update your service in Your Telstra Tools.

Bill number

Your bill number will always be T311. Quote your account number when talking to us about your bill.

 

2. Amount due

The total is the amount you need to pay. The due date is the day you need to pay your bill to avoid any late fees or service restrictions.

The total due may look different if:

  • your account is in credit
  • you’ve added or changed a service on your account
  • you have part month or pro rata charges, which appear on your first bill after changing your service and covers any days you used your service before your next billing month starts.

 

3. Account activity

A summary of your account activity, including:

  • Previous balance is your bill for last month
  • We received is how much you paid last month
  • Adjustments are credits or changes we make to your account since your last bill (e.g. to remove an accidental late fee we’ll give you a credit)
  • Balance is the amount remaining from your previous bill after a credit or payment was received, minus any adjustments
  • New charges is the bill amount for this month
  • Total is the amount due this month including any adjustments or balances.

 

4. Payment slip

 

The bottom of this page is a payment slip which I’ll need you present if you pay your bill at the Post Office or Telstra store. If you pay by mail, the payment slip must be in the envelope with your cheque.

You can also pay your bill online or set up a direct debit.

If you are having difficulty paying, you can request a payment extension.

 

Service summary

Image an example Telstra bill

5. Enquiries

Use any of these contact numbers when you need help. Options on how to contact Telstra are listed on our Contact Us page.

 

6. Summary of charges

A summary of all the services on your account, including:

  • Account plan charges
  • Call & usage charges are charges that are not included in your plan across all services on your account.
  • Service charges are charges for any plans on your account.
  • Other charges and credits are late payment fees from the previous month.

 

7. Important messages

We’ll add any important messages for you in this section here.

 

8. How to pay

A list of different ways you can pay your bill.

You can also pay your bill online or set up a direct debit.

If you are having difficulty paying, you can request a payment extension.

 

Service summary

Image an example Telstra bill

The next few pages show a detailed breakdown of each service on your account. If you have multiple mobile services on your account, you’ll receive a detailed breakdown for each service.

9. Mobile number

A summary of all charges made from this particular mobile service only, including:

  • Call & usage charges are charges charges are charges that are not included in your plan
  • Service charges are charges for the plan on this mobile service, international roaming charges and credits for your handset
  • Equipment are charges from any devices you’re paying off
  • Total is the amount charged for this mobile service only.
Usage charges

Image an example Telstra bill

10. Itemised call details

This page continues on from the previous showing a breakdown of usage for the mobile service, including:

  • National direct are calls made within Australia
  • Mobile originated SMS are SMS or text messages sent within Australia
  • International direct are SMS or text messages sent to an overseas number
  • Calls made O/S are calls you’ve made to numbers outside of Australia
  • Calls received O/S are calls you’ve received from numbers outside of Australia
  • Mobile Enhanced SMS are when you’ve added a feature to your basic SMS like a read receipt.
  • Mobile WAP/internet sessions is data usage.
Last page

Image an example Telstra bill

11. Payment details

Details about your previous payment.

 

12. Important messages from Telstra

We’ll add any important messages for you in this section here.

Still got questions?

Call us

Give us a call on 13 2000 and chat to one of our helpful bill experts.

Call 13 2000
Visit us in person

Find your nearest Telstra Business Centre to talk to someone in person.

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People with disability

If you require assistance, email or call us.

Call 1800 068 424
First page

Image an example Telstra bill

1. Account number

You can find your account number at the top of your bill. Your account number is usually 10-digits long. You can use your account number to view your usage or update your service in Your Telstra Tools.

Bill number
This is a number that references each bill you receive. This number changes monthly.

What number do I need when I contact you?
You'll need both your account number and bill number.

Tax invoice issued
This is the date we created your bill.

Billing period
This is the time we calculate your usage and your services. Your bill shows the final date we calculate.

 

2. Amount due

New charges show the bill amount for your services and usage.

The total due is the amount you need to pay for your services and usage, including new charges, outstanding amounts, adjustments and credits from the previous month. The date listed is the day you need to pay your bill by to avoid any late fees or service restrictions.

The total due may look different if:

  • your account is in credit
  • your account is overdue or you have an outstanding amount due
  • you've added or changed a service on your account
  • you've changed your plan in the middle of your billing month. If this is the case, we'll charge you for what you use and one month in advance for taking up a new plan. This is known as pro rata charges.

 

3. Summary

A summary of your account activity:

  • Your last bill amount is the amount you were charged last month.
  • Payments received is how much you paid towards the previous bill amount.
  • Your current bill balance is any charges or credits outstanding from previous month.
  • Your current bill new charges is the bill amount for this month.
  • Total balance is the amount due this month including any adjustments or balances.

 

4. Bill history

A visual representation of your monthly bill history for the last three months. And a dollar amount outlining your average spend over the last 12 months.

You can view copies of bills from the last year by logging into Your Telstra Tools.

 

5. Contact us

Ways you can get in touch with us when you need help.

 

6. How to pay

A list of different ways you can pay your bill.

You can easily pay your bill online or set up a direct debit.

If you are having difficulty paying, you can request a payment extension.

Account overview

Image an example Telstra bill

7. Account overview

A brief overview of the services on your account, including:

  • New charges at a glance is a visual breakdown of all the service types on your account, including internet bundles, telephone, mobile and internet.
  • Highest spends is the view of the top five spending services on your account.

 

8. Payment slip

The bottom of the page is a payment slip. If you pay your bill at the Post Office or Telstra shop, you'll need to present your payment slip so the bar code can be scanned.

You can also pay your bill online or set up a direct debit.

If you are having difficulty paying, you can request a payment extension.

Service summary

Image an example Telstra bill

Image an example Telstra bill

A summary of all the services on your account.

 

9. Adjustment

If you were promised a credit as a result of a charging disputed or were incorrectly charged, this is where you'll see the credits we’ve added to your bill.

 

10. Blue boxes

The blue boxed areas indicate your internet bundle services. Although, some bundle bills don’t have blue boxed areas.

Depending on when you signed up, your internet bundle service may be named Business Bundle, DOT or Biz Essentials. In this example bill, we've used Business Bundle.

 

11. Core plan

This is your nbn bundle service:

  • Your Main Business Number is the number you use to make and receive calls. But we've created another number to bill your service and itemise your usage throughout your bill. This other number is your Core Number, listed under the Non-Bundle Services.
  • Your Voice Broadband Backup is your 4G wireless internet backup service. This service allows you to continue to use your phone and internet during a network outage.
  • Your Internet and Data is your fixed internet service. You can find a detailed list of your usage further in your bill (see 25).
  • Any charges displayed in this section only refer to non-usage charges, such as directory listings.

 

12. Office phone

Any additional phone lines linked to your bundle service.

This section will appear on your bill whether you have any additional phone lines or not.

 

13. Mobile Plan

Any mobile plans linked to your DOT plan.

This section will appear on your bill whether you have any DOT mobile plans or not. Even if you don’t have a DOT service today. These plans have been replaced by Business Bundles.

 

14. Mobile Broadband Plan

Any wireless internet linked to your DOT plan.

This section will appear on your bill whether you have any DOT wireless internet plans or not. Even if you don’t have a DOT service today. These plans have been replaced by Business Bundles.

 

15. Unified plan

A combined plan for business telephone and mobile services.

This section will appear on your bill whether you have any one or not. These plans have been replaced by Business Bundles.

 

16. Non-bundle services

Services that sit outside of your bundle plan:

  • The Core Number for your nbn bundle service. For more information about your Core Number, see 18.
  • Any other services on your account, such as telephone, mobile, device repayments and internet.
  • Other is a reference number created to outline items such as speed boost and nbn upgrade.

Some services in this section have a plan name and some don’t. The ones that don’t are either old plans or they’re a number we’ve created to bill your service.

 

17. Account Charges, Discounts and Credits

This is summary of the amount you’ll need to pay as a result of the charges, discounts and credits. See 27 for more detail.

Usage charges

Image an example Telstra bill

The following pages show a detailed breakdown of each service on your account. If you have multiple services on your account, you’ll find a breakdown for each of them.

 

18. Core Plan

  • A mobile number for your wireless internet backup service.
  • A telephone number for your fixed phone service. This is your Main Business Number which you use. You’ll find a more detailed summary further in your bill under your Core Number.
  • A reference number for your internet and data usage, which usually starts with N and ends in R.

What is a Core Number?
Your Core Number is a number we’ve created to bill your bundle usage. This is different to the number you use to make and receive calls. Your Core Number is listed under the Non-Bundle Services section on the service summary page (see 11). Often this number doesn’t have a description.

How do I find my Core Number?
To understand the usage charges for your bundle service, you’ll need to look for a telephone number outside of the blue section in Your Bill. The name of your bundle plan may appear in the list under this telephone number.

 

19. Pro rata charges

If you change your plan in the previous month, we’ll charge you for the days you used your old service and the days you used your new service. We’ll also charge you one month in advance for starting a new plan. These are pro rata charges and is why you may see items listed twice with dates covering two periods of time.

 

 

20. Mobile service

Itemised usage for a mobile plan, including:

  • A description of what’s included in your plan.
  • Charges ineligible for plan discount refers to any calls made or SMS sent to and from Australia. This usage is always listed as $0 as it’s included in your plan.
  • Your mobile internet allowance included in your plan is listed under packet data sessions. If you go over your data limit, you may incur excess data charges depending on your plan. These charges will be listed under Other charges and credits.
  • Other charges and credits include handset charges like mobile phones, accessories and wireless modems. It also includes excess data charges and international roaming charges.

 

21. Itemised usage for your internet bundle

This is your Core Plan Number that was created for billing your bundle plan. This section itemises all your usage charges for your bundle.

Any item at $0.00 is included in your plan. Any items that are charged, aren’t included in your plan.

If you have an older bundle plan, it may be called Biz Essentials or DOT (see 20d).

 

22. Mobile service with no plan name

Some older mobile services don’t display a plan name.

 

23. Device repayments

When you're paying off a device in monthly instalments, we create a mobile number to bill you. This mobile number is inactive and is only used for billing purposes.

 

24. Additional voice line

When you request an additional phone line as part of your bundle, the itemised charges for this service is displayed in this section. A Core Number isn’t required for these kinds of services.

If you have an older bundle plan, it’s called a DOT Office Plan and will be displayed in the same section.

 

25. Internet and data

This is an itemised view of your internet usage for your bundle plan including download and upload.

This usage is always listed as $0. The charges are incorporated in your bundle price, against your Core Number (see 20).

 

26. Other charges

This is a reference number created to outline items such as speed boost and nbn upgrade.

Depending on what item is listed and your plan, it isn’t always charged and can appear as $0.

 

27. Account Charges, Discounts and Credits

A summary of the amount you’ll need to pay as a result of the itemised charges, discounts and credits on a summary level.

 

28. Directory charges

If your business is listed in the White Pages, you’ll be charged. If you’d like to change your directory listing, call White Pages on 1800 810 211.

Last page

Image an example Telstra bill

29. Previous payment details

Details about your previous payment outlining the date, method of payment, amount and invoice number. The invoice number is also your bill number.

Still got questions?

Call us

Give us a call on 13 2000 and chat to one of our helpful bill experts.

Call 13 2000
Chat to us

Don’t want to talk on the phone? Chat instead.

Chat now
Visit us in person

Find your nearest Telstra Business Centre to talk to someone in person.

Search now
People with disability

If you require assistance, email or call us.

Call 1800 068 424
Your bill

The first page of your bill

Your bill’s first page shows your account balance, as well as how and when to pay it. It also gives you a brief history of your account and lets you know where to find help if you need it.

 
  1. Your account and billing info including the amount due, due date and any overdue amount.
  2. A summary of your current bill and past payments.
  3. The bill history lets you compare your spend over the last three months and shows the average of your last twelve bills.
  4. You’ll find contact options here if you need any help.
  5. You can choose from a range of payment options shown here. You’ll find your payment slip on the second page of your bill.

Summary of charges for all services

  1. This credit is applied if you’ve paid a part-month in advance on an old plan.
  2. This charge is for your new plan. It includes a part-month charge from when your new plan commenced to the billing date, plus the next month in advance. This also includes fees for any usage not included in the plan allowance.
  3. Green and blue arrows in the Previous Month column show if you have spent more (blue) or less (green) than your previous bill.

Changing plans and pro rata billing

Your plan is charged one month in advance, and you’ll receive your first bill within the first month of connection.

If you have an existing Telstra account, your billing date won’t change. If you’re new to Telstra, your billing date is likely to be different to your connection date, as it will be in line with Telstra’s regular billing cycles.

In the example below, the new mobile plan was started on 28 July, and the billing month commenced on 14 August. The billing month is when your plan’s call and data allowance resets.

 
  1. A quick summary of your plan inclusions.
  2. On your first bill, or if you change your plan, you’ll see charges for a part month, plus a full billing month.
  3. Any handset repayments are shown here. The amount of the handset repayment depends on your chosen plan and device.
  4. Any discounts to offset the cost of a handset are shown here as credits. The amount of the credits depends on your chosen plan and device.
  5. This is the total cost for this service for the billing period.

Credits and adjustments

Any adjustments or credits may take up to two billing cycles to process, so they may only appear in your next bill. You’ll find your credit labelled as ‘Adjustment’ against the service it applies to, or under the ‘Account Charges & Credits’ section.

Fixed and broadband

Connection fees

When you connect to a new service with Telstra, you may be charged an installation or activation fee to cover the work associated with the connection. There’ll also be a temporary connection charge if you connect your service for 3 months or less, which is applied when the service is cancelled.

Here’s an example of connection charges as they appear on a bill.

If your installation required a visit from a technician, you may be charged a Fee For Service. Fee For Service is work that’s completed by a technician for things like extra sockets and wiring at your premises, or complex connections.

You may also be charged a connection fee for your Broadband or BizEssentials service. This will appear on your bill as pictured. Any associated hardware will also be charged, and any discounts applied will appear adjacent to these charges.

Telstra Business Systems repayments

The Telstra Business Systems (TBS) Repayment Option allows you to pay for your TBS phone system equipment through payments added to your Telstra bill. You’ll find these charges at the end of the Your Bill section.

Priority 1300 and 1800

Telstra’s Inbound Services provide you with a single number that customers can call to contact your business. You’ll be charged a fee on the Answering Number(s) that you select for calls answered.

Telstra Business Broadband early termination fee

A cancellation fee is charged if you cancel your plan before the end of the contract.

Late payment fee

If you don’t pay your bill by the due date, you may incur a Late Payment Fee. Late Payment Fees apply to overdue balances of $70 or more and are applied as a flat $15 fee.

Mobile

Want a printable bill explainer? Download the recontracting or new mobile version.

Shared Data SIM

If you find a mobile number on your bill that you don’t recognise and have recently changed plans, this could be your 100MB Data Share SIM which is included in the Go Business Mobile plan.The Data Share SIM can be used in a compatible tablet or mobile broadband device, and it shares its data allowance with other eligible services on your account.

Welcome Credits

If you’ve taken up a new eligible plan with Telstra, you may have been offered Welcome Credits. These will be applied to your account as a one-off credit no later than your third bill.

Changing your mobile plan and pro rata charges

When you recontract or change plans, your next bill will have charges for both the old and new plans.

  1. In the example above, the new mobile plan started on 20 July. Because you paid a month in advance for your old plan on the last bill, part of the month’s charges are rebated here.
  1. You’ll then see the charges for your new plan, for a part month and a month in advance.
  2. Any handset repayments will be displayed in this section.
  3. Any discounts to offset the cost of a handset will be displayed as credits.

Service cancellation and mobile repayment cancellation amount

A cancellation fee is charged if you cancel your plan and/or repayment before the end of the contract. You’ll also have to pay any remaining handset repayments if you took up a Mobile Repayment Option, and will no longer be eligible for any discounts associated with the device. You may be required to pay any cancellation amounts as a lump sum

Late payment fee

If we don’t receive payment by the due date, you may incur a Late Payment Fee. Late Payment Fees apply to overdue balances of $70 or more and are applied as a flat $15 fee.

Premium mobile content & third party charges

Premium Mobile Content and Third Party Charges are digital content accessed from your mobile phone, either via Premium SMS or through Telstra Carrier Billing. The content is provided by third parties and includes items such as ringtones, games, navigation services and music streaming. You’ll need to contact the third party provider for more information on the charges. Contact details are provided on your bill.

Still got questions?

Call us

Give us a call on 13 2000 and chat to one of our helpful bill experts.

Call 13 2000
Chat to us

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Chat now
Visit us in person

Find your nearest Telstra Business Centre to talk to someone in person.

Search now