Many individuals have already welcomed internet fax into their business life. There are a couple different formats of IP fax, either faxing through the VoIP service or through a separate internet fax company, but essentially, each works in the same manner.

Whether one opts for a separate line for faxing or chooses to use the same line that is used for voice communication, fax over IP has many advantages to standard fax machines. First of all, there is no more toner or paper wasted on spam faxes because one can make the decision as to which correspondences are printed. In fact, there is no need to print in order to fax because correspondences are sent to a fax number via email. Also, because the faxes are sent directly to one’s email, they can easily be forwarded to one or more individuals who have an interest in the information contained therein.

It also costs significantly less to have fax via VoIP. If one does not receive a great number of transmissions, then there may be no need to even add an additional line. This means phone and fax could cost as little as five or ten dollars per month. For an additional ten dollars a month, a separate number could be added to the account specifically for faxing purposes. Given the benefits, even if one does require the additional number, the investment will pay for itself in saved paper, toner, and monthly fees associated with traditional landline service.

Call Logging
Call logging is a feature common to most telephone services today. The names, numbers, and times associated with all incoming, outgoing, and missed calls are added to an ongoing list, so they can be referenced later for a variety of reasons. Among those reasons is for legal proof in case of lawsuits. No longer can one falsely deny having spoken with a person or business. Call logs will provide proof to the contrary.

Call Recording
For further protection, companies (and even homeowners) can choose to record phone calls. VoIP providers typically offer this as another free (or low cost) feature in addition to their services. By punching in a predetermined code, the individual or business can opt to record incoming calls for later reference. Although there are many reasons for doing this, such as training purposes, recorded phone calls can be extremely helpful in times of legal disputes (as long as the recorded individual was alerted to the recording prior to it occurring). A business can protect itself against faulty claims of misrepresentation, verbal abuse, and other similarly harmful allegations.

Voice –to-Text
In a similar sense, one of VoIP provider’s newest features, voice-to-text, can be extremely beneficial for documenting incoming messages in written form. In this way, hard copies or important messages can be printed and filed in case of later disputes.
There is no doubt that in today’s world one must be careful to avoid guilt or liability that could lead to severe legal implications, but when unfounded claims are made, it is nice to know that VoIP services are there as a defense.

Click here to see a list of all Phone.com features.

Helping Business Go Green Services like Call Forwarding offered by Phone.com make it possible for their clientele to cut down on unneeded travel, office space, and equipment. Because one number can be forwarded to several different numbers, employees are able to work from home, which reduces the number of commuters on the road, thereby eliminating excess greenhouse gases being released into our atmosphere. Furthermore, the options for extensions and HD audio conferencing ensure that even employees working hundreds of miles apart can remain on the same page. If that isn’t enough, fax machines will no longer be necessary for a company using hosted VoIP services- as faxes are stored to the user account- or can even be sent as a .pdf file directly to the designated email inboxes- where they are stored can be read from any computer.

Environmentally friendly stance on the inside and out. The founders and staff of Phone.com enjoy doing their part to preserve the world that we live in. This is part of the reason that the company has opted to remain a hosted provider, thereby requiring no new hardware or equipment to be purchased for a new customer to join. Furthermore, the staff enjoys the benefits of the company’s service, working from home and telecommuting as much as possible, thereby reducing the need for office space, additional equipment, and fuel to reach the office.

As more companies make the switch to hosted VoIP, the world may see a change in the way business takes place- less of a need for officially designated business space, fax machines that notoriously waste paper will fall by the wayside, and vehicles will spend a great deal more time planted in the driveway- and we will all be a little better for it.

Other than improving your skills, there’s a simple way to keep information from being forgotten. Many virtual phone service providers offer a feature that allows you to record and save your Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, conversations to your hard disk or any other data storage device. Archive them. Share them. Podcast them. It’s up to you.

There are many tools with which you can record phone conversations, but not all are equal. Try using a loudspeaker and the quality isn’t there. Buy a gadget that records through your phone set or sound card, but it doesn’t capture the conversation, only what you say.

Perhaps the most convenient and quality tool is a feature offered by your VoIP provider. Phone.com, for example, includes this handy tool with its virtual phone service for a low monthly price starting at $9.88.

Other than VoIP service, what else do you need to record phone calls? Don’t forget to buy handsets, headsets or other hearing and speaking devices and storage media for saving calls like optical or hard disks.

Phone.com customers can store their calls in their call logs. They can go to their control panels on Phone.com, locate the call and push the “Play” button. Currently, Phone.com customers can record incoming calls to their number and calls initiated from the address book and the “Place a Call” button on their control panels.

Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you are allowed to. There are laws that govern call-recording, also called wiretapping, depending on where you live. Make sure you know the rules and regulations. Phone.com customers are given an automated warning when the recording feature is initiated.

You can circumvent the laws by simply asking for permission to record from the person to whom you’re talking. Not only is it the law in many states, but it’s also the ethical thing to do and can make for unhappy clients.

We also made some referrals to what our customers say about us. See here, here and here.

Today we were mentioned and quoted in an INC. Magazine blog post about the importance of customer retention and can only repeat the value of keeping our customers happy!

So once again let us say that we want to hear from you. On Twitter, Facebook, our public forum or by contacting our support center.

We promise you a quick, professional, honest and friendly response to whatever your questions are.

Prove your Worth One of the greatest ways to ensure that your customer, client, investor or other contact never questions your commitment to him is to be sure he realizes that you made the call as promised-even if he wasn’t there to answer. This is possible, thanks to the caller ID function available with hosted VoIP-voice over internet protocol- service.

Spread Your Message This feature provides the user to be truly creative. Rather than listing just the business name, perhaps there is a better way of catching the attention of a wandering eye. A lot can be said with just a few letters- fifteen to be exact. This is proven time and time again on novelty license plates.

Recognize the Reward Although this feature does not extend to phone book listings, can stop short if the receiving party’s carrier does not query the national database of Caller ID listings, and can take up to thirty days to register, it is free with some VoIP services and has the potential to add another dimension to your way of doing business. There are a couple matters to address when registering your new Caller ID. First, be sure that your business is classified as such- otherwise Food, LLC may be seen as LLC Food because the system will believe that Food is the last name on a personal account. Secondly, this option is not yet available for toll free numbers, so be prepared to call out of the non-toll free line because you won’t want to miss an opportunity to spread the word- or the ID- of your top notch business.

For more information about Caller ID Name Display click here.

You wait and hope someone uses that information to get in touch. But why not make it easier? Turn your Web site into an interactive tool with cutting-edge technology. Businesses, particularly those using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service, are using widgets to maximize the potential of their Web site traffic. They offer immediate interaction between you and possible clients.
Many companies call these widgets Call Me Buttons, but Phone.com put instructions in the name it gave its widget. Click to Call. Simple right? All you have to do is click on the widget to place a call through the VoIP.

Even simpler is installing the widgets to your Web site. They are designed to be added in with little or no HTML knowledge and can be easily copied and pasted right into your Web site, blog, auction or any online document.

For Phone.com customers, simply copy and paste the HTML code provided in the online control panel onto your desired location on your Web site. When the button is clicked, the button will then give the Web site owner the customer’s phone number. And once you have been connected with your party, the button will show the caller the call status such as if the call had been successfully established, or the option to try the call again.

That’s immediate access to you, while capturing the contact information of potential clients. You can use that information to follow up with them later on, if need be.

Easy access makes for happy clientele and, perhaps, more business — at least that’s the goal. And it makes for happy business owners because they don’t have to pay extra for this invaluable service. It’s included in Phone.com’s phone service for a low monthly rate.

Why not give yourself an edge over your competitors with technology you get for free? With all these benefits, there’s no reason not to use it.

Is your receptionist up to the task? If not or you’re using voicemail to answer your phones, your company isn’t leaving with customers the lasting impression that’s going to make your business grow. And that’s a shame because technology has afforded businesses ways to have an efficient way of handling incoming calls while improving your image.

It’s called a virtual receptionist, and it’s a great way to cut costs and streamline your operation. These virtual “employees” answer your calls with a custom greeting and follows the preferences you have set, and forwards and transfers your calls to anywhere you select, whether it’s to your cell, phone or home phone. It will also transfer calls to your voicemail and take your messages.

And because you don’t have to pay for someone to sit at your front desk, you only have to pay for the time your phone calls are being handled without having to pay an employee’s salary and benefits. Virtual receptionists don’t call in sick, take vacations or ask for raises, and they’re there even when you’re not.

Some companies charge extra for its virtual receptionist (or auto attendant) features, but not Phone.com. It’s included in the company’s Virtual Office service, which starts at $9.88 per month.

Using Phone.com’s auto Attendant, business owners can set preferences to allow for customized greetings for business hours, after hours, weekend and holiday routing.

Phone.com’s convenient and easy-to-use Auto Attendant feature helps run your business run more smoothly for you and your customers. There are less complaints and a happier customer base, which can translate higher sales. In the end, isn’t that the ultimate goal of your company?

If you are one of the many people who share this similar mindset, then we have great news for you. When you purchase home phone service from Phone.com, you get a reliable and affordable service that doesn’t charge extra for the features you want most.

Depending on your usage needs, Phone.com offers three home phone service plans to choose from:

• Monthly 250 minutes
• Annual Unlimited
• Monthly Unlimited

Our home phone plans all leverage the power of the Internet through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), so you get great features without paying more on your monthly bill.

Phone.com can help you do that by identifying those customers’ phone numbers and creating special rules for handling them. First, if at all possible, you want these calls to be answered by a live person and you can set rules within Phone.com’s solutions to make that happen. However, there are times when even your best customer will get voicemail. To keep your relationship tight, you don’t want them to get just the standard voicemail; you want them to get high priority, personalized voicemail that is returned first. For example, here is the text for a standard voice-mail message:

“You have reached the sales department at Airwaves Limited. All of our representatives are currently attending to other customers. Please leave a message and your call will be returned as soon as possible.”

The greeting is professional and acceptable, but what if each of your most important customers got the following message, customized with their own name?

“Mr. Jones, as one of our best clients, returning your call is of primary importance to Airwaves Limited. Please leave a message and rest assured that your call will be returned before the close of business today.”

If the call is placed late in the afternoon, you can even set up Phone.com so that the message changes to, “Rest assured that your call will be returned by noon tomorrow,” or whatever time-frame you deem sufficient. Another approach might be to say, “…rest assured that your call will be returned first.”

Ask yourself: If you were Mr. Jones, which voicemail message would you rather receive? The next step is for you or your staff to check the priority customer voicemail and return those calls first, before checking the standard voicemail. It doesn’t matter if this is the right message for your business, you can make the greeting say whatever you wish. The point is to differentiate and prioritize based on the importance of the caller to your business. You can see that by personalizing, and treating your largest customers like the assets they are to your business, you build a better relationship and assure the long-term future for your business.