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Does your small business need to set up a phone number with the ability to recieve phone messages through email? Or do you have a rapidly growing business and need the ability to route incoming calls to multiple extensions?
There are a number of web-based phone and fax services that can help you implement the phone system that is right for you. TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked the best business phone systems available today.
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Perhaps you have a startup business and want an inexpensive business phone service with a toll-free number and voice messages accessed through email. Or maybe your business is expanding, and now it is time to consider how to route and manage your incoming phone calls and faxes. Whatever the case, there are a number of online services that can help you implement a phone system to meet your growing
business needs.
Not only can these services provide you with local and toll-free phone numbers, but they can also route calls to multiple phone numbers at once or route them in a predetermined order.
Additionally, by using a web-based phone and fax service, you can perform many necessary business tasks on the go. No matter your location, you can block calls, retrieve messages/faxes, and monitor call activity.
Premiere phone service providers also offer many online tools that can enhance your business operations. Some of these tools include Internet faxing, detailed call logs, fax and message archives, call recording, voicemail to e-mail services, fax to e-mail services, and one-touch dialing. Even if members
of your sales team are located in different cities, states, or even countries, many online phone/fax services enable you to connect your entire workforce.
If you are looking for a phone system that is on a smaller scale, there are a number of services that can help you acquire and maintain a toll-free number. Using call-forwarding technology, these services route calls to your existing phone numbers in order to reached you at any number of your choosing, anywhere in the world. With a built-in caller ID function,
you will easily be able to distinguish between calls being forwarded to you and those coming in on your regular phone line. In this way, you will always know whether a call is of a business or personal nature.
When looking at different business phone systems, there are certain factors you need to consider. Some of these include:
• Features. Does the phone system provide features that meet your needs? Does the phone system have the flexibility to expand as your business grows?
• Ease of Use. Is the website easy
to navigate? Can you easily select the right phone system features for your business?
• Pricing. Is the company's pricing competitive? Does the phone system provide the most bang for your buck?
TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked the best business phone systems available today. We hope you find these reviews helpful in finding the business phone system that is right for you.
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Cost:
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Professional: $9.99 per month
Business Plus: $24.99 per month
BusinessPower: $49.99 per month
Business Premium: $99.99 per month
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RingCentral is an exceptional web-based telephone and fax service. Right out of the gate, RingCentral's website is incredibly user friendly, and you can contact their 24-hour support line whenever needed. You do not have to purchase any hardware, and RingCentral offers free rollover minutes from month to month.
When you sign up at RingCentral, your account is immediately activated, and you have a variety of services available to you:
• You can choose either a local number or a toll-free number for your business.
• Have phonemail messages automatically sent to your email account. Never have to dial in to check messages again; just click on the attachment in your email and listen to the entire message.
• Create multiple extensions that route to different phones. The caller answers a voice prompt with the extension of a department or name of a person and the correct phone automatically rings. Your team can be in one office or spread around the country, and the caller will never know.
• Call forwarding. Callers into your business number can be automatically routed to any of your phones - cell, home, or office.
• Call screening. Before connecting a call, an auto-attendant calls you first, announces the caller's name, and gives you the option to answer or send the caller to voicemail.
• Have a professionally-recorded greeting welcome your callers.
• Send and receive faxes quickly and easily.
• Perhaps best of all, there is no hardware to buy or software to maintain. Ring Central takes care of all of that for you.
RingCentral also offers online tools (provided through a secure web account) that you can use to enhance your business operations. Some of these tools include detailed call logs, fax and message archives, call recording, fax to email services, one-touch dialing, Microsoft Outlook integration, user-friendly system
maintenance tools, and the RingCentral call controller. RingCentral also allows you to connect your entire team (regardless of their location) with a virtual private branch exchange (PBX), and you can add extensions as needed.
Every business needs to project a professional image to their customers. Ring Central makes it easy and affordable for you to maintain that image whether your business employs one person or 100. All of these features work to make RingCentral the best business phone system in our review.
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Cost:
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$14.99 per month with one-time activation
Unlimited Extension: As low as $39.99 with $39.99 one-time activation
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8x8 is a hosted iPBX system solution for small business and call centers. By combining voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) solutions with minimal hardware, 8x8 is a low-cost phone system that can expand with the growing needs of your company.
8x8 uses advanced private branch exchange (PBX) functionality to route and manage multiple incoming calls for one number, and there are no expensive on-site hardware requirements. Additionally, you can use 8x8 for unlimited nationwide or global calling with minimal start-up costs and a reduced cost of ownership.
The 8x8 Virtual Office can meet all of your basic business needs such as voicemail, conference bridging, caller ID, and hold options. Additionally, the 8x8 Virtual Office integrates with Microsoft Outlook, and their online billing system makes checking your records easy.
Virtual Office also has several components that can be selected to enhance your basic incoming line service such as Virtual Attendant, Unlimited Extensions, Metered Extensions, Unlimited Fax, Global Extension, and Softalk Office (a PC-based software phone, which allows for scalability as your business grows).
Although you can install many of 8x8's services and hardware options yourself, you can use 8x8's professional on-site and over-the-phone support for any difficulties that may arise. If you already have a current phone number or fax line, it can be integrated into the 8x8 system as well.
8x8 is an effective phone system that is feature rich, versatile, and easy to use.
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Cost:
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Silver: $9.95
Gold: $19.95
Platinum: $49.95
Executive: $99.95
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Grasshopper is an award-winning phone system that helps businesses stay connected and efficiently manage their offices. It is hosted by a private branch exchange (PBX) system and acts as a virtual attendant-allowing you to immediately access voicemail and faxes from your computer or another phone. Grasshopper can be used from any location and on up to six extensions. With options
such as
having a toll-free number, a local number, or multiple extensions, a small business can turn itself into a professional, functioning, office on the go. Grasshopper also offers live call forwarding, on-hold music, a dial-by-name directory, and a custom main line greeting option.
Each Grasshopper extension can be forwarded to up to six phone numbers, enabling you to be reached on your home, office, mobile, or voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) phone. With Grasshopper, you can assign extensions to individual employees or departments with the option to forward calls as needed. Grasshopper also allows callers to get product information, store hours, and driving
directions
through a general information extension. The studio quality greetings are customized for your business and will simplify the process of forwarding and transferring incoming calls.
The Grasshopper system handles an unlimited number of incoming calls, so no one will ever hear a busy signal. While on hold, callers can listen to music that you have chosen from a number of available music genres or music that you have uploaded yourself.
Finally, as a registered user of Grasshopper, you can receive voicemails and faxes as online audio or picture attachments. Voicemails and faxes can also be e-mailed as MP3 or PDF attachments. Grasshopper offers a good solution for business phone systems.
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Cost:
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Free 30 day trial, then $4.95 per month
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Pick a local or toll-free number. Create your account. Enter your billing information. Receive eVoice messages. That is all you have to do to get started with eVoice. eVoice enables small business owners, eBay auctioneers, and others to easily get a toll-free or local number for their business.
However, compared to other voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) services, eVoice does not provide the same level of functionality-it can only be used to take messages. This might be a hindrance for larger businesses. However, if you are only looking for a messaging service, you cannot beat eVoice's cost. And, if you are not sure if this product is right for you, you can make this decision
while taking advantage of their 30-day, free trial.
eVoice messages are played back on a proprietary system. The messages either come in by e-mail or you can log onto their website to access them. From there you can manage them the same way you would your normal e-mail.
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Cost:
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Vanity - $15+- 1-866-GOT-MILK
Premium - $25+ - 1-800-555-3333
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Kall 8 is a company that allows small businesses and self-employed individuals acquire and maintain toll-free numbers. Kall 8 uses call-forwarding technology to deliver quality service over your existing phone system. With Kall 8, you can be reached at any number of your choosing, anywhere in the world. A caller ID function is provided to help you distinguish between calls being forwarded
to
you with Kall 8 and those coming in from your regular phone line. In this way, you will always know whether a call is of a business or personal nature.
Kall 8 allows you to receive voicemail and/or fax messages. You can record personalized voicemail greetings and determine the number of rings before callers are connected to voicemail.
With Kall 8, you can conduct teleconferences with up to 25 people for a limitless amount of time. Additionally, you can customize the area in which you want to receive calls. For example, if you are vacationing in another state, you can block certain work-related calls based on the state in which the call was made, area code, area code + prefix, or on a number-by-number basis. Along
those same lines, if you only wanted to receive work-related calls until a certain time, Kall 8 will automatically forward incoming calls to a different number based on time, day, area code, the state in which the call was made, or on a number-by-number basis. All of these options can be customized to fit your personal needs.
Kall 8 tracks and sends an instant e-mail notification every time your toll-free number is called. This e-mail includes the caller ID information, time, and call length. Finally, online management tools are included with your service, which can greatly simplify things for you.
Overall, Kall 8 provides a number of useful features. However, the services provided are not as comprehensive as the higher-rated selections.
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Cost:
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FreedomLITE - Initial set-up cost is $44.90
FreedomPRO - 2-month rental of $19.95 to 29.95/month (depending on the options) plus a $25 prepayment for a total of $64.90 to $84.90
Various per minute usage fees and monthly charges for additional services
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Freedom Voice is an advanced phone system for businesses that is offered at a lower price than standard phone lines. It uses network technology and hardware to create a virtual private branch exchange (PBX) and voice messaging system.
The Freedom Lite system features include the following:
• Nationwide, toll-free number
• Auto attendant
• Multiple voicemail boxes
• Caller ID
• Name/address capture features
• Extension lists
• Call transferring
• Automated order taking
• Hold music* Unlimited message capacity
• Online administration
• Operator extension
Freedom Voice enables you to use basic call routing and voicemail for your business-with the option to expand services when needed. The downside of this is that there are a lot of choices that need to be made, and the website does not do a good job of making these choices clear. Additionally, every option you choose can tack on an additional $5.00 to $10.00 a month,which can cause
the price to rise dramatically.
Overall, the system is limited. The Lite service only allows for 5 mail boxes, and the Pro service only allows 10. Therefore, if your needs outweigh these restrictions, you should look to another provider.
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