The Advantages for Small Enterprises of Using a Phone System

Sole traders will often make do with a mobile phone to carry out all of their voice communication needs. So long as there is a voicemail facility, a single phone number as a point of contact for customers and suppliers is usually enough. However, as soon as a business has a few people working for it, this approach can often be insufficient. What are the commercial advantages that small enterprises can benefit from by investing in a business phone system?

1. Landlines. By purchasing a business telephone system, or private branch exchange (PBX), you are connecting your enterprise to a fixed-line number. Although mobiles often work well enough, some customers prefer the permanent feel of a dialling a land line. Smaller enterprises can feel a bit larger when this happens and less like a one-man-band, creating the desired professional image.

2. Hold and transfer. Although many mobile operators allow you to hold a call while you take a second or transfer a caller to a colleague on another mobile, the process is seldom slick. A keyphone telephone system makes either process easy. Toshiba phones systems, for example, allow you to see who else is on the phone and how many lines are currently busy before redirecting callers accurately.

3. Multiple lines. If you use a mobile and are on a call when another comes in, then the phone service operator will either return a busy signal or put the caller through to your voicemail. With a PBX, on the other hand, multiple lines in the same number can be connected, thereby allowing for many callers to be responded to simultaneously.

4. Free calling. With a PBX, internal calling is cost-free. Each of the phones on a business system is connected to an extension. Therefore, you can call members of staff without the need to connect to an outgoing line. A phone system can help to reduce your call expenditure especially if you generate a lot of internal communications already.

5. Connectivity. Remember that a phone system is not just about telephones these days. Many of the leading systems designed for smaller enterprises have additional functionality and can handle things like data communications, facsimile systems and internet protocols for voice calling, known in the industry as VOIP.

6. Modular expansion. The majority of smaller PBX systems are easy to upgrade. They are designed to grow as your business expands. Therefore, if you need to add more lines in the future, then an expansion module will be available to do so. Equally, a greater number of extensions can be added, if needed. This scalability is not offered by mobile phone connections alone.