Get The Best Business Phone Services
Small business reliable phone services. Unlimited calling and more.
Business phone services provide more features than a traditional phone plan. Even if you run a small business, there are many benefits to signing up for business phone services. Basic services include the ability to track call duration and overall usage, including hold and wait times. You also get call forwarding and waiting, caller ID, recording options and inbound call routing. Business lines also allow you to use the same number across multiple callers, with an auto attendant feature to reroute calls as needed. This is used for most customer service systems.
Business phone systems also allow you to make calls using voice over internet (VoIP) systems. These allow you to take local and toll-free numbers no matter where you are located, as long as you have an internet connection. There are multiple types of business phone services available, from a host of providers.
Phone
A business phone is the most basic package. With a business phone, you can purchase a toll-free number for your company, something you cannot do with traditional phone plans. If your business makes frequent calls, opening a business phone grants you access to tax deductions. The biggest benefit is you can connect multiple phone systems over one number. You can still set up individual accounts, while also creating a shared business account everyone has access to.
Wireless
A wireless business phone refers to the system and not the phone itself. Normal business phone systems use a PBX system, which essentially acts as a switchboard. The PBX system allows you to route and record calls and create multiple accounts. A wireless system performs the same tasks, but it uses less hardware. Instead of a PBX system, it runs on a digital, cloud-based system. Wireless systems have several other benefits that are unavailable on PBX systems without expensive modifications. This includes talk and text options and video chat. Because it is cloud-based, wireless systems require a high-speed internet connection.
VoIP
VoIP is the newest trend in business phone services. While it is new to businesses, VoIP has existed for years. Originally, the service was rare because it required a high-speed internet connection, which is now common among businesses. Another reason VoIP services saw a surge in popularity is the addition of new features, such as auto attending, recording and call queues. Setup is easy, only requiring a network cable to connect to your phone. VoIP services are typically less expensive than traditional business phonelines. In some cases, the services are also included for free if you sign up for business class internet.
Nextiva
Nextiva is one of the largest business phone services. It has options for both large and small businesses. You can access all of the account features online from an administration page, created after you sign up for an account. Some of the services included in a standard account include call routing, unlimited free domestic calling and text to speech options for email and texting. This is in addition to basic business phone features, like forwarding, caller ID, routing and an interactive voice response system.
Nextiva uses a unique pricing method. The standard plan costs $18.95 for each user every month. However, pricing decreases the more users you add. This means as your business grows, your phone plan decreases. Nextiva provides some of the best customer service, and is used by many major businesses, including Stanford, UCLA and Taco Bell.
When you set up a contract with Nextiva, you can cancel out at any time. If you cancel within the first 30 days and have not exceeded 50% of your allotted minutes, or 500 minutes for an unlimited plan, you get your money back.
Phone.com
Phone.com is popular among small businesses because of the low pricing VoIP plan. There are two types of plans available, unlimited and pay-per-minute. A pay-per-minute plan is useful for businesses that rarely use their phones, allowing you to only pay for the minutes you use. Unlimited plans start at only $12.99 a month while offering all the standard features of a business phone line. Higher priced plans include extra features, including the option to add hold music and call analytics.
Another pricing benefit with phone.com is the different contract options. If you do not want any kind of contract, you can pay monthly. If you sign up for an annual contract, you commit to using their services for a year, but receive a 20% discount.
Ooma
Ooma is another business phone provider aimed at smaller businesses. It has both phone and VoIP plans available. All of the plans include unlimited calling and access to a mobile app. There are no contracts, but you must purchase any hardware directly from Ooma. If you are using a VoIP, you can ignore the hardware costs using the Ooma app. The basic Ooma plan is $19.95 per month for each account. The hardware for basic VoIP services costs $130, while a traditional phone system costs $240.
