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How Much Does VoIP Cost?
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a popular way for small and medium businesses to scale while saving money because they don’t need to purchase analog equipment.
Many small and medium businesses with nonexistent or limited IT resources will choose to hire a Managed IT Provider to help them set up and install and maintain the VoIP system instead of doing it themselves. Because VoIP provides cost benefits and is just an operating expense to keep a company running instead of a significant long-term capital expense, owners feel comfortable making the cost-benefit ratio to outsource.
You might be wondering what the cost will look like. Most Managed IT providers will typically charge an upfront fee for the equipment and installation and then a per-month fee depending on the chosen VoIP provider and your ISP. The starting installation and configuration fee will have a more prominent impact on total costs than the monthly maintenance fee.
Other cost factors include:
- Softphone vs. hardphone
- Number of phone lines
- Quantity of toll-free numbers
- Other desired features
- Configuration and training
In this article, we’ll break down what is a VoIP system, its benefits for your business, and the cost factors for implementing one so that you have a better understanding of the price spectrum your system might be on.
Want to install a robust VoIP system?
Contact 46Solutions! We have over 300 years of combined IT experience and have installed and monitored VoIP phone systems (including eFax!) for various small to medium-sized Kentucky businesses. Call us at (859) 788-4600, email us at info@46Solutions.com, or fill out our simple 5-question form to book a free consultation.
Schedule free consultationBenefits of Installing a VoIP Phone System
VoIP is a proven technology that lets anybody place phone calls over an internet connection instead of a regular phone line using traditional copper wires (also known as “POTS lines”). VoIP has more capabilities than analog phones at a lower cost. Many companies have realized substantial cost savings by switching to a VoIP system from POTS lines, reducing their phone bills and monthly operating expenses. Not to mention that a VoIP phone system offers operational benefits for your business, creating a competitive advantage.
What Are The Cost-Saving Benefits?
Businesses no longer need to pay for physical phone hardware and instead simply pay a monthly fee to their ISP and Managed IT Providers instead of paying per call time minutes. This is especially useful for companies that make frequent long-distance calls or have a customer support team.
What Are The Operational Benefits?
VoIP systems create scaleability and meet customers’ increasing demands—and even lets you meet customer needs that they don’t know they want yet. They also come with advanced features that increase professionalism and productivity.
The top five ways that VoIP systems can improve your operations include:
- Your business can look more professional with a VoIP rather than using your team’s personal cell phone numbers. For one, the system can generate virtual numbers to protect employee privacy, or you can use toll-free numbers.
- You can also expect less downtime with a VoIP system as they can come with intelligent call forwarding features. This feature lets you forward a call to another number if the network goes down. You can also receive fully-transcribed voicemails when you do have to pause business. Maintaining business continuity reduces costly damages and reputational hits.
- VoIP phone systems have high call quality. The difference between a POTS line and a VoIP’s sound is noticeable—no fuzzy or muffled noises.
- Many VoIP systems come with advanced features that you can leverage to help you run your business. Examples include auto attendants, text messaging, call recording, custom on-hold messaging, real-time call queues, and more.
- You can improve scalability by being remote-ready. With over 55% of employees saying they want to be remote at least three days a week, your team might expect a hybrid or fully remote work structure. With a VoIP system, you can use your phone service wherever you work because it’s plug-and-go. From remote access anywhere in the world to keeping the same numbers when moving offices, VoIP makes it easy to add new users and grow your company.
Softphone vs. Hardphone
VoIP systems can come in two types, softphones or hardphones. The primary difference is that softphones are software-based (hence the name), and hardphones are traditional desk phones.
What Are The Pros & Cons of Hardphones?
While VoIP hardphones may look like a traditional analog phone with buttons and a receiver, they still place all calls over the Internet. If your company has a larger budget, works primarily in the office, and has customers that don’t require constant access to your staff, a hardphone system is a good choice for you.
Hardphones have an easy learning curve and can still support video calls and other features.
What Are The Pros & Cons of Softphones?
Softphones can be any Internet-enabled electronic device that can download a software program without needing a dedicated phone line. That’s right, your PC or laptop or tablet can become a phone. Having softphones allows you to work in the field, while traveling, or at home.
Which One Should Your Company Get?
Most companies moving into a hybrid or remote work setup or with a tighter budget will prefer installing a VoIP softphone to allow for mobility.
The ease of taking calls is essential for companies with staff that are frequently in the field (e.g., sales, home services, etc.). If your customers need 24/7 access to your employees, a softphone system allows calls to route to another Internet-enabled device if one team member is unavailable. It also creates transcriptions for voicemails and calls so that your team knows who and what to reply to.
Number of Phone Lines
Companies with traditional POTS phone systems usually have one main phone number and a directory of extensions that connect to different employees. Meanwhile, with a VoIP system, your business can pay for several open phone lines that customers can call at one time instead of extensions. These are still more affordable than paying for multiple POTS extensions as phone lines in a VoIP system are virtual.
The more lines you need, the more you will pay (46Solutions offers volume discounts to decrease your overall cost per user). Since these phone lines connect to the Internet, you’ll want to ensure that your internet connection can support them. Strained bandwidth can cause an increase in downtime costs.
Quantity of Toll-Free Numbers
Toll-free numbers are an excellent way to appear more professional and prevent your customers from incurring long-distance charges. A toll-free number means your customer won’t be charged for a call you make to them. The most common prefixes for a toll-free number are 800 and 888.
Toll-free prefixes instill a higher level of trust, allowing your business to expand nationwide. If your business serves customers in many regions, a toll-free number seems less like spam since customers may not pick up a phone number from a zip code that’s not from their state.
You can also use toll-free numbers to track incoming calls from different marketing campaigns by using vanity phone numbers, like 1-800-VOIP-SYSTEMS, and to route calls to different teams within your organization. It’s more likely that a customer will remember a toll-free number than several phone numbers and extensions for each department.
Depending on how many toll-free numbers you may want or need, your costs for a VoIP phone system will change.
Other Desired Features
As we’ve mentioned above, many VoIP phone systems also come with advanced features that your company may want to add. Depending on the complexity and number of features you want, your VoIP setup and maintenance costs can change dramatically.
For instance, you can add:
- Text capabilities to many lines
- Conference call capabilities
- Fully transcribed voicemails
- Intelligent call forwarding
- Auto attendants that provide a menu of options to callers that route to the right team
- Call recording
- Custom on-hold messaging
- Interactive voice response (IVR) menus that uses voice recognition to route to the right team
- Real-time call queues
- And more
Configuration and Training
The last cost factor for VoIP phone systems is configuration and training, usually a one-time fee that Managed IT Providers will charge.
Managed IT providers will install and configure your new VoIP phone system. They will first “port over” (which means to move) any of your existing numbers to the system. Next, they will “provision” (which means to save and set aside) your desired call numbers to let you assign them out when needed later on.
After configuring the system and checking that it delivers crystal clear call clarity, the provider should make sure you have the tools and training needed for your team to properly transition over to a new system. Proper training is a massive part of making the migration process smooth and pleasant.
Want a Convenient & Affordable VoIP System for Your Kentucky Business?
46Solutions has the expertise and innovative strategies to provide enterprise-level IT services to your small or medium-sized Kentucky business. As a Top 3 IT Firm in Lexington and Best of South Lexington business, we’re known for our servant leadership and knowledge.
We provide:
- Customized softphone solutions
- Tailored IVR menus, holiday greetings, or mailboxes that can even include music
Our team can also set up eFax for your company. While fax machines need a landline phone line to work, eFax uses an internet protocol to send a fax which is helpful if your company wants faxes for any documentation but doesn’t want to use obsolete landlines anymore.
Contact us at (859) 788-4600 or info@46solutions.com for a free consultation. You can also fill out our easy 5-question online form below.
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