Every small business owner wants to improve their existing business in any way they can. However, sometimes factors such as cost, and unfortunate happenings come their way. A small business phone system works wonders to any small company’s way of life, since it smoothens and opens the communications between clients and among peers. However, no matter what business we have, there are mistakes that happen. Here are three mistakes to avoid when getting a phone system for your business.

1. Make sure that you know the exact number and type of telephone lines you will be using for your company. It’s simple really, the more extra lines you have, the more you pay for rental lines you don’t need. On the other hand, if you have too little lines, you will find yourself having a communications bottleneck, with many of your staff sitting idly waiting for the next phone line to be available, not to mention having calls meant for one department getting sent to another because the first one is being used. It can be frustrating really. So make sure beforehand what kind and how many you need to avoid such mishaps.

2. The second mistake to avoid is agreeing to timed telephone calls in 20 second to 1 minute blocks. What this means is that a 5 second call will cost the same as a 20 second or 1 minute call, depends on what you have agreed on. This of course means a lot of wasted funds. So when agreeing with the telephone company, make sure that you sign up with the timed calls that are billed in 1 second increments. This ensures that you pay only for what you use, and that there are no extraneous billings you don’t need.

3. The third mistake that a small business phone system applicant may commit is getting a business phone plan that doesn’t match their call spending. What you want to do is make sure that you get the lowest per minute call rates for the common call types you use. What this means is getting the package for long distance calls if you call long distance often. Or forgo that plan if you don’t do it at all. Because if you do, then those “savings” you get for long distance calls are not applicable if you don’t call abroad, like if you call local yet your plan is for long distance calls, it will just go to waste. So choose wisely.

There are other things to consider of course when you are getting a small business phone system, from the right telco to the proper service support and other fine print details worth noticing, but it is the top three that should be first addressed since these can cause a lot of headaches if left unabated. However, in the end, it all depends on what you and your business phone needs are. Of course, it goes without saying that one must also practice good common sense. If you are smart enough to run a business, you are smart enough to choose the right business phone system.

Tags

Telephone Systems