Factors That Influence the Cost of Small Business Phone Systems

by Andrew Lope Business promotion

Different very easy, fast and simple methods of communication may have emerged in the scenario, but still the telephone calling method remains the most assuring and the most satisfying one. This is mainly in terms of business communications, but since businesses look for an easy, affordable and fast way, they might have to research a bit amount the same. The reason is again the same, i.e., the ample availability of different kinds of small business phone systems and then, the cost of all of them also differs a lot.

Coming to the factor of cost of these office communication solutions, the fact is that a number of issues and factors could come into play and influence the cost. Therefore, as a business owner, it is very important that proper research is carried out and mainly about these factors. Here in this article, we cover some top factors that will be very crucial as far as the cost of these solutions is concerned.

The Number of Users

According to the experts, not just the cost, but the overall expense would get influenced enormously by the number of users to use those communication solutions. This makes it very important for a business owner to determine how many phone lines are required by the company. This will help in coming to a conclusion as to which count is ideal for the total number of employees working in the office. Certain components of your business, such as reception, accounting or the mail room, may only need a single line for multiple employees.

What Features and Functionality Do You Need?

Another factor that will influence the cost of these small business phone systems is the features and functionalities that you want for your business. This is another very crucial point and this is where, research work would become way more important. As a business owner, your attempt should be to use this opportunity to choose as many functionalities as possible that could be immensely helpful for the business. Here, the trick is to choose not just the functions and features that could be required today, but also those that your business might require 2-3 years down the line.

This will ensure that there will be no need to scale the system in just a year because the business is now expanding and you need new features. The most common features that a business should never ignore are Conferencing - Mobility - Call centre - Interactive Voice Response (IVR) - Enhanced emergency services - Integration with CRM, ERP or other internal systems.

Phone features that may or may not be included, depending on your phone model, can include:

• 3-Way Calling

• Intercom

• Automatic Call-back

• Call Transfer

• Call Forwarding

• Call Hold

• Speed Dial

• Call Waiting

• Inside/Outside Ringing

Number of Physical Sites

Apart from this, one more factor that makes a difference here in terms of cost is the number of sites where you require these small business phone systems. You need to consider whether your company is concentrated at a single location or have multiple locations. In this regards, you need to understand one thing that a company with 20 users at a single site’s installation cost will ultimately be lower. Experts say that each location that requires installation can increase the final cost of your small business phone system.