How to Set Up a Small Business Phone System: A Step-by-Step Guide
VoIP, also known as “Voice over Internet Protocol,” enables a business to make and receive phone calls over the internet rather than a traditional phone line. Increasingly, we are also seeing more small and medium businesses switching over to small business phone systems that tap on VoIP technology. According to a study done by Global Market Insights in 2019, small to mid-size businesses (SMBs) in particular, are expected to contribute to more than 15% in the VoIP market by 2025. With remote work trends and tightened budgets here to stay, small business owners should consider switching over to small business phone systems that are more suited for their needs.
In this article, we will guide you through the reasons to use a small business phone system, some points to consider when you are getting one, and most importantly, how to set up a small business phone system that is reliable and cost-effective for your small business.
5 Reasons to Use a Small Business Phone System
So, what are the reasons for learning how to set up a small business phone system? We outline the top reasons for setting up VoIP for small business.
Reason 1: Protect Your Privacy
One of the main benefits of setting up a small business phone system is the protection it offers to a small business owner's privacy and personal phone number.
With a dedicated business phone number, you can keep your personal phone number private and avoid the risk of receiving unwanted calls or messages on your personal phone. This can be especially important for small business owners who need to maintain a professional image and separate their personal and business lives.
Additionally, a VoIP setup for small business can provide features such as call screening and voicemail to help filter out unwanted calls and ensure that important calls are answered promptly.
Reason 2: Separate Your Business from Personal Life
A small business phone system can be a game-changer for small business owners who want to separate their business from their personal life. With a dedicated phone system, you can ensure that business calls are kept separate from personal calls, making it easier to manage your time and maintain a work-life balance.
Reason 3: Maintain a Professional Image for Your Small Business
A small business phone system can help small business owners maintain a professional image by providing features such as call forwarding and voicemail. With these features, customers can easily reach the appropriate person or department, even if the business owner is unavailable.
This creates a more efficient and streamlined experience for customers, which can improve customer satisfaction and help build a positive reputation for the business. Additionally, by using a VoIP phone system, small business owners can have a professional phone greeting that is separate from their personal phone number, further enhancing their professional image. Keeping up with professional appearances is thus a good reason for small business owners to consider setting up VoIP for small business.
Reason 4: Help Your Employees Stay Connected
A small business phone system can also help small business owners and their employees increase productivity. By using a small business phone system, employees can make and receive calls from anywhere, which can be especially useful for remote workers or employees who need to work from home. This flexibility allows employees to stay connected with customers and colleagues even when they are not in the office, which can improve communication and collaboration. Overall, setting up a small business phone system can help small businesses operate more efficiently and effectively.
Reason 5: Achieve Cost-Savings from Your Small Business Phone System
Last but not least, a small business phone system can also help small business owners achieve cost savings. Traditional phone systems can be expensive, with high costs for installation, hardware, and maintenance. However, by using a small business phone system that works using VoIP, small business owners can eliminate many of these costs.
VoIP systems are typically more affordable than traditional phone systems, with lower costs for hardware and installation. Additionally, because VoIP systems use the internet to transmit voice calls, long-distance calls can be much cheaper. This can result in significant cost savings for small businesses, allowing them to reinvest the money into other areas of the business, such as marketing or product development.
What to Consider in a Small Business Phone System
Next, what should you consider when are figuring out how to set up a small business phone system? Well, there are many VoIP service providers available, so it's important to do your research to find the best one for your small business phone system. When choosing a VoIP service provider to set up for your small business phone system, consider these four tips:
Tip 1: Is the Small Business Phone System Easy to Use?
When you're trying out the different VoIP phone systems, you should get a quick sense if the app or platform offers a user-friendly interface and easy-to-use features. These is crucial, as it can make it easier for employees to manage their calls and use the system effectively.
Look for providers that offer features such as call forwarding, voicemail, call recording, export chat and call log functions, as these can help employees stay connected and productive.
Additionally, consider providers that offer mobile apps and web-based interfaces, as these can make it easier to manage calls and access features on the go. By choosing a VoIP provider that is easy to use when you're figuring out how to set up a small business VoIP phone system, you can ensure that your small business phone system is efficient and effective.
Tip 2: Is the Small Business Phone System Flexible For Your Needs?
As your business grows and expands, you may need to add or remove phone lines to accommodate changes in your staff or customer base. Look for small business phone system providers that offer flexible pricing plans and can easily scale up or down as your business needs change.
Additionally, consider providers that offer features such as call forwarding to ensure that calls are routed to the appropriate person or department. By choosing a scalable VoIP provider when setting up VoIP for small business, you can ensure that your small business phone system can grow and adapt along with your business.
Another key consideration when you're wondering how to set up phone system for small business: does the small business phone system offer international numbers that allow you to communicate globally, whether via voice or SMS capabilities? You might want to check with your business partners if having global reach is important in the future. If so, then having a small business phone system that offers international numbers would be worth considering.
Tip 3: Is the Small Business Phone System Safe and Reliable?
Your business relies on your phone system to communicate with customers, colleagues, and partners, so it's important to choose a provider that offers a reliable and secure service. Look for providers that offer features such as encryption and firewalls to protect your calls from eavesdropping and other security threats.
Additionally, when you're learning how to setup VoIP for small business, choose providers that have a good reputation for uptime and reliability, as this can ensure that your phone system is available when you need it. You should also check if they have a satisfactory customer support service to answer your questions and resolve issues quickly and efficiently. Lastly, you should also see if the developers of the app are pushing new releases or fixes on the App Store / Google Play Store, as this will indicate if the app is constantly being improved.
By choosing a safe and reliable VoIP provider, you can ensure that your small business phone system is secure and always available for your small business.
Tip 4: Does the the Small Business Phone System Within Budget?
Considering the price is an important factor when choosing a VoIP provider for a small business phone system. While VoIP is generally more cost-effective than traditional phone systems, pricing plans can vary widely among providers. When comparing pricing plans, consider the features and services included, as well as any additional fees or charges.
As mentioned earlier, look for providers that offer scalable pricing plans that can grow or shrink with your business needs. Additionally, consider providers that offer free trials or money-back guarantees, as this can allow you to test the service before committing to a long-term contract. By choosing an affordable VoIP provider, you can ensure that your small business phone system is cost-effective and fits within your budget.
Check out this small business phone system
Phoner app is a great option for small businesses looking for a reliable and cost-effective phone system. With features such as call forwarding, voicemail, and recording, Phoner can ensure that your business needs are met. The app is easy to use and allows you to add multiple phone lines, making it ideal for businesses that are growing or downsizing. Additionally, Phoner is safe and reliable, protecting your calls from security threats. Hence, Phoner app is a popular VoIP provider trusted by many small businesses for their small business phone system needs.
Setting up VOIP for small business is an excellent choice for small businesses looking to take their phone system to the next level. In the next sections, we'll use Phoner as an example, and go through key points on how to set up a small business phone system.
How to Set up a Small Business Phone System using Phoner
With over 10 Million+ downloads, Phoner app enables you and your small business to communicate with customers, employees, and stakeholders securely and privately. Now let's dive into using Phoner' innovative software for your small business needs and learn how to set up a small business phone system.
- Create a New Account
Creating a new account is the first step when setting up a small business phone system. This involves providing your contact and payment information to your VoIP service provider. It's important to choose a provider that offers a user-friendly interface and easy-to-use features to ensure that the setup process is efficient and effective. Thankfully, Phoner offers a user-friendly app that allows you to create a new account quickly and easily.
2. Buy a Phone Number
Next, you’re going to choose a business phone number and make it your own. You can select the country, state and area code depending on your business needs. Ensure that the chosen phone number is easy to remember and professional. This can help customers easily reach your business and maintain a professional image. You can choose to setup one business line first, before going ahead to setup multiple phone lines for your employees.
Tip: You can also choose to start a 3-Day Free Trial with us to see if you like our service. This is a great option if you’re still looking around for the best VOIP provider for your small business phone system!
If you already have an existing business phone number, you can also port it over to Phoner to avoid the hassle of changing your business phone number.
3. Add Your Contacts to Phone
Now, you’ll probably be wondering how to adding your contacts to Phoner to help you stay organized and connected with your customers and colleagues. By importing your contacts into Phoner, you can easily access their information and quickly make calls or send messages. Simply go to the ‘Contacts’ tab, and tap on ‘Continue’ when prompted to allow Phoner access to your contacts.
4. Make a Phone Call, Send a Text
To make a phone call, go to the 'Phone' tab and enter the number that you wish to dial (including the country code). Tap on the green Dial button, and there you have it, you’ve made your first phone call!
Sending a text message on Phoner is also easy. Simply go to the ‘Message’ tab and tap on the ‘+’ icon to open a new message. Enter your contact’s number, type your message, and hit send.
5. Customise a Professional Voicemail Greeting
You can set up a voicemail for each number that you own. When your contacts call your Phoner number and are unable to reach you, they can record a voice message for you which you can then playback and hear when you are available to check.
On Your Number Settings page, tap on ‘Forwarding / Voicemail’ > ‘Set up Voicemail’ > tap on the ‘Record’ button to start recording your greeting. You should speak clearly and concisely, and be sure to include your name and business information.
6. Record Phone Conversations
Recording phone conversations can be useful in a small business for various reasons, such as staff training purposes. By reviewing recorded conversations, employees in your small business can learn how to handle customer inquiries and resolve issues more effectively.
Additionally, recorded calls can be used to verify information and ensure that customer interactions are handled appropriately. When recording phone conversations, it's important to inform all parties involved and comply with any legal requirements or regulations.
To record a call on Phoner, simply go to ‘Phone’ tab > tap on the ‘REC’ button to switch on call recording mode ‘On’ so that all incoming and outgoing phone calls will be recorded.
7. Setup Call Forwarding
You can set up call forwarding on Phoner to redirect incoming calls on your Phoner number to another number. For instance, if you want to access calls from another device, or if you want another party to pick up the incoming calls.
You can either choose to setup call forwarding on the whole Phoner account, or for each individual Phoner number. To set up call forwarding on Phoner, go to the Number Settings page, then tap on ‘Forwarding / Voicemail’ > ‘Set up Call Forwarding’ > enter the phone number that you would like to forward the calls to, and receive an SMS code to verify the number.
With call forwarding, you can ensure that you and your team will never miss a call.
- Personalize the Phone Number with a Name, Colour or Ringtone
Bored with the look of your Phoner numbers? Or need a quick way to differentiate multiple Phoner numbers? Here is how to change and customize them easily from your Phoner number settings.
You can add a name to your Phoner number to easily identify them. For instance, you could add “Main Business Line” to know that this is the main line to use for contacting your customers.
To spruce things up, or for quick visual identification, you can also choose a color for your Phoner number as well.
9. Test Out the Small Business Phone System
After you have set up your VoIP phones, it's important to test your small business phone system to ensure that everything is working correctly. Make test calls to ensure that you can make and receive calls without any issues. Test the different features offered on Phoner to ensure that they are working correctly, and ensure that you have a stable wifi connection, as all calls and texts are routed through the internet.
- Train Your Employees
The final step is to train your employees on how to use the small business phone system that you’ve setup on Phoner. This includes teaching them how to make and receive calls, how to use the different features offered by your VoIP service provider, and how to troubleshoot any issues that may arise. By training your employees, you can ensure that they are using your small business phone system effectively and efficiently.
Conclusion
Small businesses can benefit from using a small business phone system that taps on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. By switching to small business phone systems, businesses can enjoy security, privacy, and a professional image. It can also boost productivity and achieve cost savings.
When you want to set up small business phone system, it is essential to consider the provider's ease of use, flexibility, reliability, and pricing. Phoner is a reliable and cost-effective VoIP provider that small businesses can consider. You can follow the steps outlined in this guide to set up a small business phone system that is both reliable and efficient for your team. Good luck with setting up your small business phone system!