Choosing the right small business phone plans for your business can be quite the daunting task. There is a lot that you need to think about before you make the decision. Listed below are some of the typical features that are included in plans for small businesses.
Wireless and wireline phone integration: Some companies also sell wireless service, and allow you to transfer calls from your business line to your cell phone. They also generally have the ability to ring multiple devices either sequentially or simultaneously, if you happen to not be in the office.
Trunking Services: Some companies can give you the ability to get your entire phone network on digital lines, right at your business. Your connections are faster, more reliable, and clearer.
Voice And Data: Many companies include this in their small business phone plans. You can get internet AND phone service from the same company. Doing this is generally a great idea, as your business phone system is usually going to be Voice Over IP, and reliant on your internet connection anyway. By tying the two together in the plan, you don't have to worry about potential problems not getting addressed properly because of the different providers blaming each other.
Fax Services: Standard Voice Over IP solutions don't allow you to receive faxes without a different kind of adapter and protocol being used. This service may cost extra, but if you need the ability to fax, then you definitely have to look into it.
Conference Calls: Some small business phone plans may give you the ability to do this yourself, but the hardware requirements may not make it very cost effective for your business. Consider having the business phone provider host your conference calls for you and you may find that the business can save a lot of money.
IVR: Many companies will give you the ability to automate part of your call receiving process by recording a message that gets played to incoming callers. This allows you to inform your callers about many different types of information before they reach a representative, and may even give them the information that they were calling about. Reducing the number of calls your representatives have to take will help save money and more than pay for the service.
Continuity Services: If your business runs 24 hours per day or you work in an emergency field, then you may want to consider some sort of continuity service. This will effectively guarantee that you always have the ability to send and receive calls in the event of power outages and other building failures. The main equipment is typically located offsite as well, in case something was to happen to the place that your business currently resides.