Choosing an Office Phone System: The Features you Should Seek

Office phone system

When it comes to running a small business, a VoIP office phone system can improve efficiency, boost productivity, and enhance customer service. However, with a lack of funds and resources, many small businesses are limited to minimal systems that can’t quite provide the service they need. Sound familiar? VoIP has become a popular and highly effective system for small businesses since it provides advanced features and capabilities at relatively low-cost. If you’re a small business owner on the hunt for the perfect VoIP system, here are a few of the features you may want to consider!

Auto-Attendant – An extension of voicemail, the auto-attendant feature allows you to route calls from a central number to a specific person or department based on the caller’s needs. In addition, it will play music or a prerecorded message to callers on hold.

Conferencing – Most VoIP systems offer a conferencing function which allows multiple people to join in on a call at different locations (apt for businesses with branches or remote offices).

Convergence – Consider an office phone system that can integrate and support all your communications including phone calls, voice mail, emails, faxes and audio and video conferences.

Find Me, Follow Me – Often referred to as FMFM, this feature is essentially call-forwarding, apt for employees telecommuting or business owners on the road. With FMFM, you can configure the system so that when a call comes in for a specific employee, it will follow a sequence until the employee is reached; first the desk phone will ring, then transfer to their cell phone, and then perhaps another number such as a home phone.

Portability – When you’re traveling or working from home, a VoIP system that offers portability will allow you to take calls no matter where you are. For example, you can take your phone and adapter or IP Phone and make and receive calls anywhere you have an internet connection.

Transcription – Many systems can turn emails into voicemails and voicemails into emails, ideal if you are continually on the run or quickly need to turn a voicemail with critical information into text.

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