Cutting Staff Roaming Bills: How UK Businesses Use Travel eSIMs for Employees

Business roaming costs on UK tariffs mostly come from daily roaming charges for each phone, on each day it is used outside any included zone. On 27 October 2026, EE Business listed £9.32 a day for its Business Daily Passport, which covers the USA, and Three Business listed £5 a day for its Around the World destinations. A company mobile roaming policy that gives travelling staff a prepaid travel eSIM for data, while work calls stay on the company number, can cut those employee roaming charges, as long as phones are compatible and the policy covers buying, billing and security.

Last checked: 27 October 2026. Network prices change and depend on your plan, so check your own business tariff and the networks' official pages before you set a policy.

Where business roaming costs come from

Some UK business plans include roaming in Europe, and a few include destinations further afield. Plans that don't usually charge a daily fee for each line on each day it is used abroad. For a team on the road, those daily fees add up quickly and often appear on the bill weeks after the trip. These are the daily options the networks listed for business customers when we checked:

Some plans include roaming, for example EE's All Rounder and Full Works plans with Inclusive Extras, and Three plans with Go Roam in the name. If your tariff already covers a destination, a travel eSIM may not save money there. For consumer tariffs, see our UK roaming charges guide.

Worked example: 5 staff, 4 days in the USA

Five employees fly to a trade show in the USA and use their phones on each of 4 days. Using the daily rates above and SimplySIM prices on 27 October 2026:

This is not a like-for-like comparison, so read the small print before you decide:

• The network passes include calls and texts. Travel eSIMs are data only, so calls on the work number still follow your network's roaming terms. Many teams make most calls over Teams, Zoom or WhatsApp on data instead.
• Vodafone's rate is shown excluding VAT and the EE and Three pages don't say. SimplySIM prices include any VAT that applies.
• The SimplySIM unlimited plan gives 1GB of high-speed data a day, then slower speeds. If staff will share data with laptops, read our laptop hotspot guide and choose a bigger allowance.

For more on US coverage, see the USA eSIM page and our best eSIM for the USA guide.

A company mobile roaming policy template

Copy and adapt these rules for your own policy:

For a step-by-step checklist to give travellers before departure, see our business travel eSIM checklist. For the wider picture, read corporate eSIM solutions for business travel.

BYOD or company phones?

A travel eSIM works on either, but the phone must support eSIM and be unlocked to use another provider. Check each model, including the regional variant, on our device compatibility checker or our guide to eSIM compatibility.

• Company phones. If your phones are managed with mobile device management (MDM), the settings may stop users adding or changing eSIMs. Apple's deployment guide describes restrictions on modifying eSIM and cellular plan settings on managed iPhones. Ask IT to allow travel eSIMs, or to install them for staff, before anyone travels.
• Personal phones (BYOD). Ask the employee first, and explain that the company-paid plan is for the trip. A dual-SIM phone keeps their personal number active alongside it. HMRC treats phones provided for business use, with no significant private use, differently from perks, so our guide to travel eSIMs as an employee perk covers the tax side.
• eSIM-only phones. Some newer phones have no physical SIM slot at all. Our guide to eSIM-only phones and networks explains what that means for work lines, and UK network eSIM support shows which networks can move a work number onto eSIM.

VAT on eSIM purchases for UK businesses

SimplySIM's VAT charges page explains that any VAT that applies is already included in the price shown, and that every order comes with a receipt. Where UK VAT applies, the receipt shows the UK VAT and SimplySIM's VAT number. Business orders and their invoices are kept together in the business dashboard.

• UK businesses. If your business is VAT registered, you can usually reclaim VAT shown on the invoice, subject to HMRC rules. HMRC says VAT invoices must show the seller's VAT number and the VAT separately (see gov.uk VAT guidance), so check the invoice before you claim.
• EU businesses. If you enter a valid EU VAT number at checkout, the reverse charge applies and SimplySIM checks the number with the EU VIES service. The VAT page notes that the VAT number field is shown at guest checkout; signed-in customers can contact support with the order number and VAT number for a reverse charge invoice.

Your accountant can confirm how to treat travel eSIMs in your own VAT return.

How to sign up for SimplySIM Business

• Start on the business page. Go to SimplySIM Business and choose Create your free business account, or go straight to Set up your business account.
• Sign in. Use your SimplySIM login or create one. The business account uses your login email.
• Add your details. Enter your business name and your name. Company number and contact phone are optional. Confirm you are authorised to manage the account. You can add details such as a VAT number later in the dashboard settings.
• Issue eSIMs. In the dashboard, open Issue eSIMs, find plans by destination, add the name and email of each traveller (one eSIM per person, up to 30 in an order) and pay once on Stripe. At the time of writing, the 10% business discount is applied automatically, and higher agreed rates are kept.
• Track and report. SimplySIM emails the installation details to each traveller. The dashboard shows every eSIM with its status, data and expiry, and every order with its invoice, and you can export orders as a CSV file.

The dashboard also lists the people on the account and their roles, and the owner can hand the account over to a colleague by email invitation. Business accounts get priority customer service: to discuss your team's needs, contact our team.

FAQs

How can a business reduce employee roaming charges?

Check which destinations your business tariff already includes, then give staff travelling elsewhere a prepaid travel eSIM for data and keep the work SIM for calls and texts. Set a written policy so everyone buys the same way.

Is a business eSIM cheaper than roaming?

Often, for data. In our example, five staff for four days in the USA cost £186.40 on EE Business's daily passport and £100 on Three Business's daily rate, against £44.95 for five SimplySIM 5GB USA plans before the business discount. If roaming is included in your plan, an eSIM may not be cheaper.

Can employees keep their work number with a travel eSIM?

Yes, on a dual-SIM phone. The work line stays active for calls and texts while the eSIM provides data. Calls and texts on the work line still follow the network's roaming terms.

Can we reclaim VAT on travel eSIMs?

A VAT-registered UK business can usually reclaim UK VAT shown on a valid VAT invoice, subject to HMRC rules. SimplySIM's VAT page explains how VAT is shown on receipts. Check with your accountant.

Do travel eSIMs work on phones managed by MDM?

They can, but MDM settings may block users from adding an eSIM. Ask IT to allow it or install the plan before the trip.

What is a corporate eSIM?

It usually means mobile data plans a company buys and manages for its staff. With a SimplySIM Business account, you buy travel eSIMs centrally, send them to each traveller and keep the invoices in one dashboard.