Choosing the best small business telephone system can be difficult because there is a wide range of options out there. It’s an important decision to make because good communication is key to business success, so you need to consider your options carefully. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the most comprehensive and cost-effective solution for small businesses, but choosing the right provider is a challenge.

There are a lot of different VoIP companies out there and they all claim to offer a superior service, so how are you supposed to pick the best small business telephone system? If you are trying to find the right VoIP service for your business, here are some important things to consider.

Understanding VoIP

The first step to choosing the right provider is understanding what VoIP is in the first place. VoIP is a small business telephone system that allows you to make calls over the internet. This gives you increased flexibility because you can make a phone call from wherever you are, provided that you have an internet connection. This is ideal for businesses that implement flexible working practices and make use of remote workers. It is also far more cost-effective than a traditional landline system.

Understand Your Communication Needs

When you are comparing small business telephone systems, it is important that you understand your business communication needs. Start by asking yourself these simple questions:

• How many outbound calls does your business make?
• Do you require a rerouting system for inbound calls?
• What kind of business phone numbers (toll free, local, international etc.) do you need?
• How many locations do you have?
• Do you use remote workers or mobile workers?
• Do you use fax?
• How often do you use video calls and conference calls?
• Do you need other business tools to integrate with your small business telephone system?
• Do you encourage collaboration in the office?

If you answer all of these questions, you will get a clear idea of what your communication needs are, and this will help you to narrow down your options.

Understand The Different Types of VoIP Providers

There are a lot of different VoIP providers out there, and they fall into 3 main categories:

VoIP only providers - A VoIP only provider focuses solely on small business telephone systems and giving you the capability to make calls. Their package will include basic features like voicemail, call forwarding, and caller ID. If you are just looking for a simple calling service, this is a good option.

VoIP with cloud solutions - Some VoIP providers will combine their service with cloud PBX technology. They use VoIP as the base of the small business telephone system, but they also benefit from the advanced routing capabilities of a cloud system. With these services, you will get advanced features like virtual extensions, auto attendant, and answering rules. If you have more advanced communication needs, cloud based VoIP systems may be better suited to your business.

Unified Communications providers - If you need a comprehensive communications system for your business, rather than simple small business communications system, you should look for a company that offers a full communications package. This will include everything that you get from a VoIP cloud provider but you will also get other communications tools like team messaging systems and online meeting software.

As long as you consider all of these aspects, you can find the perfect small business telephone systems to achieve your business communication goals.

If you would like to find out more about Berry Telecom or if VoIP is right for your business, call us on 0330 222 0332.