Phone Business Solutions for Small Business

The phone system is a critical piece of equipment when operating a small business. Your phone system needs to meet the needs of your particular business, and needs to be customizable and expandable if you anticipate changes or growth in your business.

When you select a phone system, you need to evaluate the needs of your business and compare them to the features that are available.

Phone System Size:
The first thing to consider when you choose a phone system is size. When you look at phone systems, it is important to factor in the current and anticipated size of your business. If your business has more than 40 employees, or is growing quickly, you may need a large phone installation such as a PBX phone system. PBX systems can be programmed and customized to accommodate nearly any feature you might want. Smaller businesses may find that a PBX system is the best option for their needs, and is still cost effective, or they may opt for one of the readily available Key or KSU-less phone systems intended for smaller installations.

First, figure out how many extensions your business will need. You will probably need an extension for each employee or work area; in addition, you will need a phone line for each fax machine or other equipment that uses a phone connection. The next factor in phone system size is the number of outside phone lines. The outside phone lines control the number of calls that can take place simultaneously, either coming into or out of your business. If you expect your business to grow, make sure your system can be expanded to the maximum number of lines and extensions you expect your business to need.

Caller ID/ Call Waiting ID:
If it is important to you to know who is calling, you will need a phone system that offers caller ID. If you use plan to use call waiting to alert you to another call that is coming in, you may want caller ID on your call waiting as well. Consider the way the phone displays the caller numbers and how many can be stored in memory for a call history. Remember that use of these services may incur additional charges from the phone company.