Your small office phone system is a crucial part of your small business.
It’s important that you don’t just go out and by any phone system that seems like a good deal.
Like the rest of your company, you need to do a lot of planning ahead of time before making a decision on your small office phone system.
Some of the things you’ll need to think about include:
Company Growth – this includes things like number of employees, number of departments, call volume, etc.
Will you need a toll free 800 number for customers and clients to use?
Will you need a variety of extensions for different employees and/or different departments?
Will you want a general voice mail or will each employee and/or department have it’s own voice mail system?
How many calls will you want the small office phone system to handle at one time so that customers don’t get constant busy signals?
If you’re a small office and are planning on staying that way, you may only require a very simple set up through your current phone company.
For example, if you’re a sales person who’s on the road a lot and just have a small support stay of 1 to 3 people, or it’s just you as an accountant, etc. you’ll probably be just fine with the following small office phone system:
This works just fine for many small businesses of only a few employees that don’t get hundreds of calls per day.
Another system for small companies with ten or few employees that needs ten or fewer extensions would be a KSU-less System.
The KSU-less system requires a much smaller initial investment than other phone systems for small businesses, yet can have many of the same features as a more expensive phone system.
This type of system can also easily be relocated since all you need to do is unplug it because it’s not wired into the office.
Compatibility wit the wiring in your office as well as other business machines may be an issue and is something you should look into.
A big downside with this type of phone system is that it’s not usually installed or maintained by the vendor. Which means you have to do everything yourself.
That turns a lot of small business owners off as they have enough on their plates.
Private Branch Exchange (PBX) phone systems
This type of small office phone system used to be just for really large corporations that had hundreds of phone extensions but with technological breakthroughs a fully functional PBX phone system can fit on the top of one desk.
Nowadays, this system is mainly used by bigger small businesses that require at least 40 extensions and most come with all the features you’ll probably want or need.
A system in-between the KSU-less system and the PBX system is the Key System. This is usually right for businesses needing five to forty phone extensions. It utilizes a central control unit (the KSU).
You also get features not available with ordinary phones such as calling in-house extensions and prevention of others picking up a line that is currently in use.
Some features of both PBX and KSU that used to be strictly for their own system are now sometimes available for the other system as well and you can get a combination called a Hybrid phone system.
Keeping Your System
Unlike the KSU-less phone system, the PBX and KSU need professionals to install and maintain. All the lines, inside and outside, have to connect to a PBX or KSU cabinet.
A big drawback for many small businesses is that these phone systems can cost just as much to maintain as the phone system itself.
As you can see, there are many options for a small office phone system, all with their own positives and negatives, not to mention a wide range of prices.
This is why it’s so important that you plan ahead and really know what you need now and in the future when it comes to your phone system.
It’s really is important that you do take the future growth of your company into consideration.
Completely changing a phone system can be a real hassle and a big expense so if you plan on growing it may be best to get more than you need right now with your small office phone system.
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