Tips on Purchasing Business Phone Systems
You have an idea for a new business. You start up your laptop, open the Google search bar, and start typing in keywords that you think will help to sell your product or service. For every 100 website results, there are nine that talk about what a nightmare it is to set up a phone system for business. To no surprise these posts are from small businesses who don't have the budget of their larger competitors. But even if you're running with very little money or resources, you can still find ways to get your phone system without breaking the bank.
Tips for Purchasing Cheap Business Phone Systems
1.) Never purchase your phone system from your phone service provider. The retail price is always higher than what you can get online. In other words, if you're talking to an actual salesperson, odds are you're being charged a higher price than what's available online. Take a few minutes and search prices online before buying anything.
2.) Never let them convince you to use their long distance service on the cheap phone system they just sold you. This is the quickest way to kill any hope of saving money on a business phone system. The calls will ring through but they will not be clear enough to actually make out any conversation. Even with HD voice enabled, the call quality will be worse than a 1.5kbps dial up connection.
3.) Do some research on your phone system provider if you are not sure what to buy. There are many online forums from people who have already purchased the phone system you are looking at and have a list of their pros and cons to help guide your purchase decision.
4.) Buy your phone system outright and don't lease it for any length of time. All too often a small business will agree to lease their equipment because it appears cheaper in the short term and allows you to spend more money for better equipment upfront. Leasing is a trap. In the long term, you'll pay more money than if you had bought the equipment outright in the first place.
5.) Consider purchasing prepaid cell phones for employees and visitors. These are not only easy to use with a dial tone and PIN numbers, they also allow you to get your phone system installed quickly without having to pay any installation or activation fees from your phone service provider. You can have one person work from home and another work at the office who has their own number to call out too.
6.) Consider purchasing inexpensive handset for employees who need it for emergencies only and not for any long duration of time. You still have a short term phone system, but have the capability of using a prepaid cell phone.
7.) The key to saving money on a business phone system is to carefully organize how you do business. The goal is to be as efficient as possible and not only save money but also use technology as more resources become available at your disposal.
8.) Purchasing your business phone system in advance instead of right when you start up the new business is a good idea if you want to lock in some low prices. As I mentioned earlier, it won't always be possible but if your budget allows it there are several discounts available if you sign up early with your provider.
9.) Some businesses who struggle with the lowest possible price for a phone system can actually benefit from looking at all the available options for their budget. For example, a small business may be better off going with a DECT handset rather than using a VoIP system that requires internet and additional training. The company would be better off buying one or two more handsets at less than $100 each rather than spend over $1000 on equipment that doesn't work as well or is not as good quality.
10.) Consider going with an old fashioned analog phone line instead of a digital phone line which is much more expensive. It may not seem like a big deal but having to replace cables and phones every 5 years or so is a costly problem. You also want to make sure you have enough lines to meet future demand because it's always easy to forget that most businesses need far more lines than they initially think they will. All too often, a member of the business will ask for an additional phone line and then not be able to figure out how to do it until after the phone is installed.
11. Consider installing a business phone system at home and bring it to your office with you. This will allow you to have a telephone system that connects to your office without having a computer or internet connection. This can be good for small businesses that may not be able to afford the extra expense for their equipment or those who do not have an idea of the size of business they want but want a phone system to help make their business more efficient over time.
12. Consider using an answering machine instead of having an operator assigned to take incoming calls. If you let people know that an answering machine is available then they will most likely call your main line in hope of getting through to someone. This has the potential to save you a lot of money over time.
13. Consider using VoIP instead of a conventional phone system even if you can't afford the more expensive options such as most business phone systems. While many business owners are hesitant to commit to VoIP because they fear it won't work like a standard phone system, this is rarely the case when properly installed and managed by an experienced and knowledgeable company.
14. Consider purchasing your own router and placing it in a central location at your office or home for all internet access for the company. This will allow you to have all devices that require an internet connection connected at one location rather than two separate locations with two different routers that need to be managed separately. If you have a router, there are many free software tools available to help you manage the connection and provide security for all the devices connecting to it.
15. Consider purchasing a router that can support up to 16 users instead of one with a smaller number of users. The business phone system can be connected to the router allowing more than 16 people and/or devices to connect at one time.
16. Consider getting an Ethernet cable modem and attaching it to your business phone system if it will be providing internet access for the company. With this modem, you can expand your internet access without having to purchase additional equipment or sign up for another expensive internet service provider such as DSL or cable modems with a higher speed of service.
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Conclusion
Business phone systems can be expensive and they can often be tremendously effective at the same time. You never want to buy a business phone system without first seeing what kind of features are available and how much they will cost. If you think business phone systems are too expensive, start small with just a few phones in your office and work your way up to having as many phones as needed over time.
Most telephone companies will offer some form of discounted service for businesses if you order your equipment upfront instead of waiting for it to become available after you have already signed up and installed it.