Cheap Business Phone Systems – Compare the Cost
Hosted phone systems cost as little as $22 per extension, while on-site solutions range from $1,510 – $15,000. Find the best business phone system for the lowest price. On-premise systems will typically be significantly more expensive, costing upwards of $1,504 – $20,200 or more – depending on your communication needs.
Hardware investment also makes up a part of the total cost of business phone system pricing. If you only need to install one or two lines without additional features, this can be in the hundreds of dollars. However, when installing a phone system capable of supporting a large team of callers, the costs can easily range into the high five figures.
Features that will add more expense to the cost of your office phone system include:
- Larger internal RAM capabilities and internal hard drives
- Support for internal voicemail and call routing
- Support for interactive menus for callers
- Higher-quality handsets
- Conferencing capabilities
- Computer technology integration (CTI)
So, there are a wide number of variables that play into the ultimate cost of business phone systems. Typically speaking, the more advanced features you need your system to have, the less of a bargain you’re going to be able to find. Total cost is also determined mostly by the number of callers that you need to have access to a phone line. However, there are some providers that may be able to offer you tiered bulk rates, where the price “per-unit” or “per-line” will decrease if you are installing beyond a certain number of units.
What are Business Phone Systems?
Business phone systems are, of necessity, much more advanced than the single phone line that most people have coming into their home office. Even in today’s high-tech world, having efficient phone communication systems in place at a business is essential for both internal and external communications. Today, this is typically done in one of two ways: via a more traditional, private branch exchange system (PBX) or through a cloud-based system.
In a PBX setup, all of the phone hardware and networking is handled at your facility. You will need to either own or lease handsets and then have all the requisite servers and other equipment as well, in addition to being responsible for the maintenance of that equipment. These systems may be wired together using traditional phone lines, or via Internet connections.
Cloud-based phone systems often called hosted systems, are a solution more suitable for most small to mid-sized businesses, because they don’t require any large data infrastructure on site. Instead, everything is hosted in the cloud by your provider, and the equipment requirements are minimal, typically consisting of devices that are extremely easy to install.
Hosted programs have the benefit of not getting bogged down when call volumes are high. The other advantage of hosted systems is that the maintenance is out of your hands. Hosted programs are maintained and repaired on the server side, which is something that adds up to significant cost savings for you.
What to Look for in Low-Cost Business Phone Systems?
When shopping for an affordable business phone system, the first thing you want to concentrate on is the reliability of the system. Having a phone system go down can be a disaster even in a small business, but in a larger firm, it can be downright catastrophic.
This is one of the areas where hosted systems shine. Because they are maintained by the provider, any maintenance or repairs typically happen behind the scenes without your knowledge. Most systems have redundancies in place so that your phones keep working, even when an issue is taking place.
It is also important to consider the features that you need for the phone system in your company. The list of potential features is almost endless, but there are a few key areas to focus on. First, conference and transfer capabilities are often essential in larger offices, but not necessarily in a small business. Similarly, smartphone applications and integration might be critical for a company with mobile sales reps, but less important for someone running a singular retail location. Feature shopping is all about finding the right feature set that matches your business model. By avoiding purchasing features you don’t need, you can find a great bargain on your new business phone system.
Another key feature is computer technology integration. This is when your telephone system is integrated with your workstations, allowing to you manage outbound calls and to automatically synchronize your telephone system with whatever client management or CRM software you prefer to use. Systems with advanced CTI options may be slightly less affordable, but the features can greatly improve the productivity of your team, improving overall profitability in the long run.
Great Bargain Business Phone Systems Companies with Discounted Prices
Vonage for Business: Vonage was one of the first big-name providers in phone systems that relied on the Internet, and their business offering is suitable for a wide number of applications. They have options suitable for small businesses all the way up to enterprise operations. Within their small business options, there are pricing plans that start at under $40 per line.
8 X 8 Communications: 8X8 offers plans that are designed to suit whatever type of calling your agents do. They offer pricing tiers which include a metered payment plan that can offer low-cost pricing for teams that are making only very limited calls, less inexpensive options that offer unlimited calling within a limited number of countries, followed by their Global program that offers unlimited global calling in the price of the package.
When looking for a low-priced business phone system, always engage in a consultation with a sales rep from the companies you are considering. Help them to understand your business model so they can tell you how their services can fit within it. The companies above represent just a very small cross-section of the firms that offer these kinds of services, so when looking for the most economical option, take your time and call more than two providers to find the best deal available.
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