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Questions to Ask Yourself Before Choosing A VoIP Phone System
Choosing a VoIP phone system blindly can end up costing you more than what you bargained for. Before choosing a VoIP phone system there are things to consider; you need to ask yourself some questions, so you only pay for what you need while making the most out of it.
Before diving into the specific questions, you need to assess your business size. Many business VoIP phone systems offer subscription plans tailored to the number of users that will use the phone system. So when you know how many users you need, you pay exactly for that and nothing more.
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Choosing A VoIP Phone System
Let us now break down what you need to ask yourself before choosing a VoIP phone system.
- What are your needs?
You should assess your communication requirements. Ask yourself whether your business requires call recording or whether it needs video conferencing. And if it does need video or audio conferencing, how many participants do you expect to have? Other needs can include call recording, a collaborative workspace, third-party SaaS integrations...etc.
- What is your internet speed?
Your internet speed will play a huge role in how clear your audio and video calls are going to be. A good broadband internet speed should be at least 30Mbps. If yours is lower than that, we recommend you upgrade your broadband plans or invest in a fiber broadband connection that will definitely not let you down. You can check your internet speed here.
- What is your bandwidth?
This question follows up with your internet speed. You should know your bandwidth as it gives you an idea of how much call traffic your broadband connection can handle. The more your bandwidth is, the more call traffic your connection will handle. Therefore, your call quality will not be compromised by the number of calls you receive.
- Is your business growing?
If your business is growing and expanding, you should look for a VoIP phone system provider that can grow with it. The top VoIP phone system providers that we will recommend you, later on, can offer you just that. So you can easily add a new line or license or upgrade your plan when your business grows and its needs change.
- Do you have remote workers?
If you have remote workers, it's best to find a VoIP phone system that offers a mobile application with its virtual desktop version. So your staff can receive and make calls from anywhere and always be available.
- Will the VoIP work with the equipment you have?
It is good to determine beforehand if your existing equipment will be compatible with the VoIP phone system you are signing up for. Talking to your provider's representative should give you a clear idea of whether you will need to purchase any extra equipment or not.
- What is your budget?
Lastly, you should know your budget and how much you expect to spend on your VoIP phone system. You do not want to end up in a financial crisis or pay for more than your business can afford.
- What are your VoIP contract policies?
It's beneficial you know your VoIP contract policies and if there are any cancellation fees. Also, we recommend you know for how long you expect to stay with the VoIP provider you are choosing. Knowing all the facts will surely help you make an informed decision, so you get the most out of your VoIP phone system.
- Does your VoIP provider offer a free trial?
Suppose the VoIP phone system provider you are settling for provides a free trial. In that case, it will give you a good opportunity to test out its services before committing to a contract or subscription.
Now that you have asked yourself all these questions and found their answers, you are ready to choose from some of the best VoIP phone systems that we will recommend to you.
Best VoIP Phone Systems
1. Ooma
Ooma is our number one recommendation for the best VoIP phone system. It offers the best and most comprehensive solutions that you may need while scaling your business and growing with it. Ooma also promises a 99.99% uptime with SLA. It offers four subscription plans:
Ooma Office plan: $19.95/month/user
This is the most basic plan, and it is suited for small businesses or solo entrepreneurs. The Office plan comes with:
- Call forwarding
- Call waiting
- Virtual faxes
- Text messages
- Virtual receptionist
- Forward calls during device outages
- One virtual fax per user
- Intercom
- Multi-device ring
- SMS messaging
- Overhead paging
Ooma Office Pro: $24.95/month/user
The Office Pro plan is similar to the Office plan but with some extra features which include but are not limited to:
- Video conferencing
- Call recording
- Voicemail transcription
- Caller info match
- Call analytics
- LTE Primary and Failover connectivity
- Advanced business phone features
Ooma Enterprise plan: $27.99/month per user
The Enterprise plan comes with all previously mentioned features that come with the other plans, in addition to extra functionalities such as:
- International coverage
- SIP trunking
- SaaS integrations
- Call conferencing
- Analytics dashboard
- Call parking
- Hybrid deployments
Ooma Enterprise Call Center plan: $49.99/month per user
The Enterprise Call Center plan is a fully-featured package from Ooma. It packs everything from the previous plans, plus:
- Graphic interactive voice response
- Intelligent call routing
- Call builder
Try Ooma today!
2. Nextiva
Nextiva is our second recommendation for the best VoIP phone systems that you can opt for. It offers incredible features at great costs. Some of the features it offers are the following:
- Unlimited video and voice calling
- Toll-free numbers
- Business phone system
- Auto-attendant
- Mobile app
- Outlook and Google Contacts integrations
- Ticket Management
- Customer Analytics
- Service Productivity
- Unlimited calling within the U.S. and Canada
- Free local and toll-free number
- Voicemail-to-email
- Desktop and mobile app
Nextiva offers four subscription plans for its VoIP phone system, and they are:
Essential Plan: $18.95/month/ user
Professional Plan: $22.95/month/user
Enterprise Plan: $32.95/month/user
Ultimate Plan: $57.95/month/user
Take a Look at Nextiva Plans
3. RingCentral
As for our last pick for the best VoIP phone systems that you can choose, we present you with RingCentral. RingCentral is suitable for any business type and size provides the latest technology to support its services.
Besides its VoIP phone system, RingCentral also offers other products to provide you with further capabilities such as a contact center, collaboration tools, video meetings, and a mobile application.
As for its plans, it offers four:
Essentials: $19.99 per month, billed annually
The Essentials plan comes with team messaging, unlimited calls within the U.S and Canada, unlimited business SMS, document sharing, and toll-free business phone numbers.
Standard: $27.99 per month, billed annually
The Standard plan offers extra features along with the ones that come with the Standard plan, such as:
- Business phone numbers in more than 100 countries
- Unlimited internet fax
- Unlimited audio conferencing
- Up to 24-hour meetings
- Video meetings with up to 100 participants
- 24/7 service support
- Quality-of-service reports
- Collaborative software integrations such as Google Workspace, Slack, and Microsoft 365
- High-definition video quality
Premium: $34.99 per month, billed annually
With the Premium plan, you get all the previously mentioned features in addition to automatic call recording, CRM integrations, hot desking, multiple site management, and lots more.
Ultimate: $49.99 per month, billed annually
The Ultimate plan is best for large businesses or enterprises as it packs everything in the other plans.
4. Dialpad
Dialpad is our fourth recommendation for one of the best business VoIP phone system providers. It provides your business with a robust VoIP phone system packed with intelligent features and capabilities that will enhance your business communications. Dialpad packs built-in AI, Google, and Microsoft Office 365 app integrations to provide you with advanced capabilities and a unified platform for your data.
As for its features, Dialpad offers the following:
- Unlimited calling
- Call forwarding
- Call transcription
- Assistant pairing
- Custom routing
- Three-way calling
- Spam detection
And tons more!
Dialpad offers three subscription plans for its business VoIP phone system, each plan though comes with a set of features and the Enterpise plan being the fully-featured VoIP package.
Standard plan: $15/month/user with 1 license
Pro plan: $25/month/user with 3 licenses
Enterprise plan: Quote-based with 100 licenses
In addition, Dialpad offers three extra products to enhance your business communication, they are:
UberConference Business: $15
Contact Center: $75 with 3 licenses
Sales Dialer: $95 with 3 licenses