Business phone systems were invented to make communication easier for the business and the consumer.
But many people incorrectly assume that these systems are reserved for large corporations. When in fact, small business owners can leverage phone systems to help cut costs, speed up operations and build for future growth.
That’s why David from Simple Telecom has created a comprehensive guide that can help you wrap your head around phone systems and what they can do for your business, no matter the size.
A Business phone system is where multiple telephones are used by businesses in an interconnected way that allows for features like call handling and transferring, conference calling, call recording, Voice prompts, call metering and accounting, private and shared voice to email message boxes and in general provide a way for the business to connect all the staff even if they are not in the same office.
A business phone system can range from just a few telephones in a small business up to a complicated private branch exchange (PBX) system used by large businesses, or a distributed network of telephone systems running over VoIP (using the internet).
Getting the right phone system can setup your small business with flexibility and having the ability to have a robust configuration that will work for the future.
There are a few reasons why a small business owner would consider using a business phone system such as Scalability with the business, flexibility for call handling and business processes that integrate with telephones, distribution across a workforce that might have requirements to Work from Home or on the road and of course the ability to not be tied to a standard landlines and the numbers that go with them.
This gives your small business the advantage of cost savings through virtualisation and the flexibility to scale your phone system and how your phone calls are handled as you see fit.
There are a few different types of phone systems for small business on the market.
It is worth understanding what they are and how they compare so you can choose the best platform for your requirements.
The most basic of phone systems on the market. Really you should even call it a phone system. It’s just a basic handset, connected to one or more VoIP enabled lines either wirelessly or via a network cable. This type of phone system supports minimal features only and as such is really only suitable as a home phone.
Also known as a virtual or cloud-based Hosted PBX, there are the goto solution for almost all Small Business. With the advent of the internet, these types of systems have all but replaced traditional physical installation. Hosted PBX allows you to share resources to save cost, without sacrificing functionality or call quality. This phone system does depend on the internet for calls and as such demands low latency and a stable connection, not necessarily large amounts of bandwidth.
These is more of a hybrid solution, where a business wants to keep their legacy telephone system (such as a Commander) in the existing fit out. To modernise the system physical devices can be installed which provide the SIP connection, otherwise known as VoIP back into the analog technology the existing infrastructure talks to.
Software platforms have also moved into the phone system space, most well known would be Teams, Skype and Zoom. These platforms really do scale well and fill the requirement for telephony for users at a fairly hefty price. There are significant limitations as to what these systems can do for call flows, queues, menus and some of the commonly used functions that a business requires.
When customers ask me this question, I’m genuinely impressed.
It shows they are not just looking for the cheapest and quickest solution, they have taken the time to think about how the technology can improve their business first, and secondly how can it be done in a budget.
The best small business phone system is one that improves your day to day operations and provides the features that you need at a great price point. The Simple Telecom Hosted PBX offers everything that a normal small business would need at a highly competitive and affordable pricing point.
Your phone system should be able to scale up and down with your business, it should be relatively easy to add or remove phones or users, add or remove Indials and utilise hardware that is relatively easy to find and support.
The Features your business needs may be different to other users, so please execute your own judgement when weigh up these feature sets.
You will find some platforms have an endless list of features but do you really require all of those?
Let’s unpack the key features that we find our customers want from the Simple Telecom Hosted PBX.
Build yourself (or let us do it) an automated call answering system which will re-inforce your brand to the caller and connect them through to the right place. The labour such systems can save is impressive and it sets the tone for the caller by presenting an professional calling experience
All small business phone systems should have a general shared set of features which we will refer to as the core call features such as:
– Ability to hold a call
– Transfer
– Forward calls
– Hunt groups
– Simultaneous dials
– Hold music
– Voicemail
– Voice to Email
Generally we encourage small business phone system owners to use this feature so they can reflect back on calls and train staff on how to engage better. It can also be used for compliance in certain scenarios. Both parties need to be notified the call is being recorded (legally).
Simple Telecom provides a complete dashboard which will show you every call in and out of the system, the date/time and the phone numbers involved in the call.
Setting up your new small business phone system should be a fairly straightforward process. Simple Telecom has an online signup process which you can start here.
The biggest considering you have when setting up a phone system like this is the quality of your internet. If you have NBN internet that is Fibre to the Premise than this product should work for you. If you have some other fibre connection or a high quality service you should be OK, but if you have NBN wireless, or operate on mobile technology (4G/5G) or satellite, or even congested Fibre to the Node then we strongly recommend looking for another product.
Depending on your requirements you may need to put aside some money to cover the upfront costs of your desired platform. If you want physical handsets, then you need to allow for the unit costs and shipping of these devices. You may also need some technical support from an IT contractor to configure and cable these devices to allow them to connect to the Simple Telecom servers.
Another option is to make use of software phones, such as Bria or Zopier which are both supported platforms for the Simple Telecom small business phone systems. These platforms may have an upfront cost or monthly cost that may need to considered.
The Simple Telecom Hosted PBX doesn’t have any setup fees, you will only be charged the monthly fees depending on the plan that you opt for. These prices are listed here: https://www.simpletelecom.com.au/hosted-voip-pabx-pricing/
The cheapest option is to use a soft phone and your built in microphone and speaker (if your computer has these) however this may not work in your office environment, you may want to consider a Bluetooth headset.
There are three pricing and contract options on offer from Simple Telecom.
They each have their advantages and cost considerations so please weigh up your requirements before proceeding.
The Home plan is a very cheap entry point for your business phone systems. It gives you a large amount of features for a very small monthly fee. You pay for your calls as there are no included calls, making this plan perfect for smaller operations that don’t need to make many calls.
The Business plan is our most common offering and has great value for Aussie businesses. With the majority of your calls included (mobile and fixed line calls) your monthly bill from us should be pretty consistent each month. There are a few caveats with this type of plan, it can’t be used for call centre purposes and limited to 1 user. This plan has the full suite of functionality including conference calls, call recording, auto attendant & menus, voice mail, voice to email and many more.
A true unified communications offering integrated with a full Hosted PBX platform including video conferencing, instant messaging and phone calls from a cloud based phone system. There is a minimum of 20 users for this platform and it has full and complete integration with Microsoft Office 365 and Teams.
For more information, check out our comprehensive pricing and contract guide for VoIP services.
You can start the process of getting your new phone system from the signup page.
If at any time you have questions you can contact the Simple Telecom team using the contact information from https://www.simple1300numbers.com.au/contact
Understanding what plan you need is the first biggest decision you need to make. If you need help, the specialists at Simple Telecom can help you understand your requirements, what features you need and help unpack how many calls you make and which plan might be the best value for your business.
There are three plans you have to choose from:
– Home ($5/month per user)
– Business ($29/month per user)
– Premium ($55/month per user, minimum 20)
You can bring into your new phone system any existing numbers you have, such as 1300 numbers or 1800 numbers. Can you keep your existing number and use it with the Simple Telecom Hosted PBX service? Yes you can!
These can be setup to connect straight into your Hosted PBX and join any call flow such as any regular number. To port your number from another carrier, we just need a copy of your bill which contains your account number and the service number.
Discuss how you want your new phone system to work with the Team at Simple Telecom for your small business. Normally we help do an initial configuration, adjust and setup the phone lines and assist you with testing the setup before we expect you to manage it yourself. There is a complete control panel which allows you to make full administrator changes to your phone system telephone network.
The best small business phone systems are flexible, cost effective and fully featured systems. It just so happens that Simple Telecom has the perfect product for this exact purpose for $29 per month.
Not necessarily. Australian businesses that are looking to get a virtual phone system and move away from just using a mobile device definitely need a phone system. Many small businesses take the leap into a phone system as they get their first couple of employees and suddenly they need a system so that the employees can work.
VoIP phone systems for small businesses are built on top of internet technology. The telephone signals that used to be on the public switched telephone network are digitised and the analog audio is sampled and converted into SIP so that it can transfer through the internet. VoIP phone systems are just like traditional systems in that they offer a bunch of features and routing to support many calls and users all at once.
The best business phone system is a fairly priced and well featured phone system that suits your business requirements. Keep an eye out for long contracts and exit fees and low monthly charges.
Prosperity Media have used Simple Telecom’s 1300 Number service for several years for our growing online marketing business. We have found the pricing to be great and the customer service to be top notch. Any questions we had were quickly answered via call or email. The reports provided are also great. If you are a small to medium business looking for a 1300 number or managed answering service chat to the team at Simple today.
When I first looked into getting a 1300 number, it seemed impossible – it looked like I would have to sign up to a plan and pay a huge monthly fee to one of the big Telcos. I was delighted when I found Simple Telcom, and discovered that I could set it all up so easily. Our auto top up account is super-convenient, and the website is easy to use. Technology is a powerful tool for small business, and tools like Simple Telecom help us display a professional brand to the world.
To have a 1300 Number Callers can call a 1300 number from any fixed landline in Australia for the cost of a local call. Simple telecom provides quality services & wide rage of call routing built in facilities which helps in handling big call volume very easily.
Upgrading from personal phone numbers to a professional 1300 number service has changed the way we do business at Creative Installations. Simple Telecom helped us set up our 1300 number to work just the way we want for maximum customer satisfaction, with on going support and an increase in customer enquires, getting a 1300 number with Simple Telecom comes highly recommended if you want to grow your business.
As Australia’s largest seller of Isagenix products, we handle a large number of phone calls from our customers. It was paramount for our business to be able to redirect our three most common customer queries to relevant members of our business. Simple Telecom allows us to do this easily with their keypress menu functionality. We have also made use of the ability to route a call to multiple phone numbers – if one of us can’t get to their phone it is automatically rerouted to someone that can.
Here at Digital Hitmen, we use Simple Telecom for a variety of services including our 1300 customer service number and recording of phone calls. We’re regularly on the road meeting clients, and their recording services allow us to refer back to calls we make during transit. If we ever have an issue with the setup of one of our numbers, the guys are extremely helpful and implement a solution in a very timely manner.
Being a business that generates most of our leads online, we rely on a fast, reliable phone service. We’ve been using Simple Telecom for 12 months now and we’ve never had any issues with connection, sound etc. Can’t recommend them highly enough!
We were recommended this company through a friend that already uses their services. Although we are a fairly new business, we have loved how easy (and cost effective) it was to set up a phone system. We love the features on offer too – if we miss a call we get notified via email.
We rely heavily on phone calls to get customers for various locksmith related jobs. It’s just something that we can’t afford to get wrong. Simple Telecom are a hidden gem! Prices are great, the setup is extremely easy and there’s never any problems with calls dropping out or anything like that. If you’re looking at setting up a phone call system for your business I suggest you look at these guys as they are top notch.
CATHY WILLIAMS
Perth
We have had our 1300 number through Simple Telecom for almost eight years now and it has been the best thing for our business. The set up was effortless on our behalf and we don’t have any issues ongoing issues, I never think about it. Unbelievably the cost is less than a cup of coffee for the whole month.
I thoroughly recommend Simple Telecom to be an asset to any business, in fact if you don’t have one “Why Not”? Advertising is easy, Website and your 1300 number – boom you’re done, keep it simple, people love it!
I have been using Simple Telecom in my business for several years. I have found their service to be consistently reliable, and extremely affordable. Using a 1300 number makes me look professional in the eyes of my client, and their reporting allows me to better keep track of my inbound calls. I highly recommend Simple Telecom.
Our clients from all across Australia are happy to have access to us via a 1300 number. It allows easy contact and none of our calls go unanswered. In our marketing, we are confident in providing the 1300 number across all our mediums as it provides a professional standing to our business. For us, it is not a huge cost for the business. We have been with Simple Telecom since early 2011 and we have only had to contact support once because everything actually is very “simple”. Once you are setup, viewing reports & managing the accounts is all done online and very easy to do!
By having a 1800 number it allows us to have “one” number that can be diverted as we need it. We are not always in the office and have the number diverted to the person on call. Being a service provider that needs to respond 24/7 the 1800 number suits our needs perfectly.
1300 numbers provides one single point of contact for our business. It enables current and prospective customers to call our business from a fixed line anywhere in the country, and are charged a local call rate from any landline in Australia. A 1300 Number is a cost effective way of showing callers we’re more than just a local business.
The phone answering service ensures our customers have the best call experience possible, customers calls are answered immediately and the quick delivery of the message ensures the right person in our team responds!
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