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Monday, January 28, 2013

A Virtual Phone System for New Businesses

Starting a new business carries many expenses, some of which might not show significant return over the years. A phone system is one of those investments. Traditionally, a phone system has been an unavoidable cost for companies but with the advent of virtual phone system new businesses have discovered a new and cheaper way of using a great phone system. A virtual phone system does not have any physical existence. It does not need a dedicated telephone connection or any other expensive hardware, software or installation.  It can be used with any phone connection – your cell phone, residence phone or office phone.

A Virtual Phone
A virtual phone system is actually hosted by your service provider, which is much like your website.  You enjoy all the benefits of a traditional phone system and many more with this phone system. You can also use a toll free number with your virtual phone. A toll free number increases the credibility of your business and at the same time makes you look and sound more professional. A virtual phone has all the features of a traditional phone system like: call transfer, call forward, voicemail box and a few more like: auto attendant, online fax and others.

Flexible Service Level
Unlike any other phone service, you do not need to sign any agreement with your virtual phone system service provider.  So you can cancel it anytime if you are not happy with the service. A virtual phone provider usually has multiple plans to meet the demand of all types of business. Most plans are based on the number of minutes you are using.

No matter which plans you are opting for, you enjoy all the features of a virtual phone with all the plans. Each plan includes a certain number of free minutes and you pay only for the overage minutes.  You can pay your provider on month-to-month basis.  Also the provider does not charge you anything extra for using any feature. Yes, it is that easy and affordable! The number of extensions you use with your phone system depends on the type of plan you are opting for.

Few Special Features
Though all the features of a virtual phone system are important for your business yet we will concentrate on some of the special features that make a virtual phone indispensable for any business:

Call forwarding: The call forwarding feature of a virtual phone can forward call at up to three numbers of your choice. You can set days of the week and even hours when you are available on each number and can customize exactly where and how you want your customers to reach you. You can also program the system in such a way that it prevents calls on one particular number during a fixed time of a day or any particular day of a week.  If you are busy you can use its “Do Not Disturb” feature.

Online fax:  With a virtual phone system faxing is no longer a complicated affair. You do not have to depend on a fax machine or bunch of paper for sending fax. With online fax you can send fax anywhere and at anytime. The recipient will receive it on his fax machine or anywhere if he is also using fax online. It is a paperless electronic communication.  It significantly reduces your time and also saves money.

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