How to Find the Best Virtual Office Phone System for Your Small Business

Virtual office phone systems are great for those with businesses working remotely. These systems use an extensive call forwarding solution to allow employees and clients to call a single main business phone number and be forwarded directly to you.

With 50% of the us population working remotely at least part-time, virtual office phone systems have become more critical than ever before.

 

What’s the Right Hardware for You?

In a traditional office setting, many companies consider the plain old landline. But there are an increasing number of businesses making the switch away from a landline to a VoIP system.

VoIP systems use your Internet connection and pair it with your telephone. So, you can access your communications system wherever you are. Typically, these systems are controlled from a central dashboard through accompanying software.

Virtual offices need to consider the needs of remote workers, therefore a system powered by VoIP may be the best option for your virtual office phone system without hassle of new hardware installation.

 

What Features Do You Need?

Virtual office phone systems come in all shapes and sizes. You need to figure out what you need as part of your business. And this is going to depend on the needs of your employees and your clients.

For example, if you have multiple employees all responsible for different things you might need call park and call forwarding  features that can forward calls to different people and departments.

Alternatively, you may be looking to create the impression of a fancy corporate office, thus you’ll need the IVR, and local and vanity phone numbers.

Don’t discount the extra PBX features such as call waiting, custom greetings, voicemail etc. within your phone system because you and your business have just seven seconds to make a good first impression.

How Easy is it to Train Your Team?

This is another point that often gets ignored. Different providers will have phone systems that are simpler than others.

If you’re not the sort of people who are ‘into’ tech then a complex system may be more hassle than it’s worth. You need a provider that offers a simple system and provides a good training program, such as thorough virtual step-by-step courses.

 

 Does The Provider Deliver on Their Promises?

Reliability and quality are the two things you should expect from your virtual office phone system. Therefore, you need to take the time to research different providers.

You may find two providers offering the same service for the same price only to find one of them lacks quality.

Make sure you look up what other customers have to say before you commit to any type of phone system.

 

Last Word – Be Willing to Change Your Virtual Office Phone System When Necessary

Your business is inevitably going to grow, and your needs will change. Entrepreneurs often make the mistake of not reviewing their virtual office phone system until something goes wrong.