OFFICE LAYOUT, FITTINGS AND EQUIPMENT

Completely open-plan, half-partitioned or private offices are the available options with rented or purchased premises. If customers visit, a reception counter with easy chairs will be needed in addition to comfortable and practical office furniture. Sun-blinds may be necessary later on if you move premises in the winter to a normally sunny area, where the previous tenant has removed the blinds that they fitted.

Trade cash-and-carry office equipment suppliers such as Metro have inexpensive quality goods. Obtain a customer card once you have received the registration certificate (k bis extrait) for the business from the centre des formalités des entreprises. Stationery supplies can be easily ordered at keen prices from the catalogues of mail-order suppliers, such as Viking, with a fast turn-around service.

Review the possibilities of your existing computer. Do you have a basic word-processing program for correspondence and creation of customer files? Is a simple accounts program (logiciel compt-abilité) compatible? What other programs will you need and will they be compatible? Have you made the most of possible telephone and computer link-ups? Can an incoming customer call automatically open up their file on your computer screen?

Don’t forget to check the alarm system or have one installed, whether you rent or buy premises, and check any property regulations limiting what can be installed. Modern télésurveillance alarm systems use pre-selected, confidential radio wave frequencies linked to a central monitoring office assuring around-the-clock surveillance. The service and costs of hiring and installing intrusion detectors are included in the rental contract. It is best to install a package which includes heat-sensitive or movement-scanning detectors and alarm sirens and strobe lights (avertisseurs), as there is always an initial delay, while you or someone who has agreed, in your absence, to accept calls are phoned to see if the signal received is not a false alarm.

BROADBAND CONNECTION

There are about 11 million broadband subscribers in France, just about the same number as in the UK. Most urban areas are equipped with telephone exchange systems which can cope with broadband (known as ADSL or haut débit) speeds and the government and local authorities have a firm intention to complete broadband connection possibility throughout France by the end of 2007. However, some isolated, rural areas will no doubt still be unable to connect to broadband after this date. This is an essential point to consider if the plan is to establish an Internet-based business in a remote area.

The overall business and private Internet market in France is shared principally amongst the following providers (fournisseurs d’access Internet (FAI))\ Alice/Tiscali (part of Télécom Italia), Cégétel, Club-Internet, Free, Neuf Télécom, AOL, Tele 2, and Wanadoo with France Télécom. Broadband contracts usually propose rental of the special modem required for approximately 3 or 4 euros a month, and generally run for a minimum of one year, with an obligatory renewal reminder at least one month before the renewal date. If there is no minimum contract period there will be a contract cancellation charge.

Prices and special introductory offers for an initial period are continuously changing and follow increasing demand in an increasingly competitive market. The www.comparatifadsl.netwebsite provides regularly updated comparison tables of prices and features offered by Internet providers. Just click on the Internet provider shown in the table to access their website for fuller details of their various broadband packages. The Consumers’Association magazine Que Choisir also provides periodic reports on the comparative reliability of FAIs through their website: www.quechoisir.fr.

Read rental contracts carefully before making a choice. Some particular points to note and questions to have in mind are:

• Will it be more advantageous or not to use a provider offering unlimited free phone calls (usually to numbers within France only) through a dégroupage telephone network? While France Télécom offer preferential call rates for businesses and also for pre-selected phone numbers, déroupage connection bypasses France Télécom exchanges meaning that renting a telephone line with France Télécom is no longer necessary.
• Initial offers at greatly reduced monthly rental amounts are usually followed by a substantial monthly increase with the new rental amount.
• What do calls cost to the special assistance lines if there is a problem with the Internet connection? These calls will not be part of any unlimited free calls package. What is the average waiting time before you are actually put through to someone? There is increasing governmental pressure on providers to make this ‘waiting time’ free of charge, but at the moment it’s still charged. Some providers that do have a no-charge assistance line are notoriously difficult to get through to.
• Can a rental agreement be signed up by post using a direct debit bank form rather than by completing credit/debit card details online?
• All providers should indicate in which areas they offer ADSL and if a dégroupée network can be used.