Saving Money with a Business VoIP System – 5 ways your Business can Profit

There are many reasons for a company to switch over to VoIP. Maybe your current system is reaching its end of life and simply cannot be patched up any more. It may be hard finding experienced people who can repair the ailing system. Some businesses are preparing for the future – some day the PSTN is going to be cut off after all. Or maybe you’re just tired of the inefficiency of the old school PBX systems. These and many more reasons have prompted quite a few companies to make a change.

Still, we have ignored one important factor in the decision making process. Cost savings is – by far – the primary reason most enterprises start looking at a business VoIP system in the first place. Your decision to switch may be for a myriad of other reasons but the reduced expenditure is what gets you to stop and think about it.

In a competitive and struggling economy, it’s not easy finding ways to cut costs without affecting customers or employees. Business VoIP lets you achieve your goals without much expense. No wonder growth in business VoIP systems is exploding. So how can a business VoIP system help you save money? Here are 5 ways but there are plenty more!

VoIP Makes Internal Calls Free

How many calls do your employees make to each other in a given day? Hundreds or even thousands right? Now imagine if all those calls were free. That’s right, all calls between employees are free even if your offices are scattered across the country or the world! It sounds unbelievable but a business VoIP system makes it happen.

Before you dismiss that claim to be impossible, let’s take a moment to understand how VoIP works. With the PSTN, calls traveled over copper wires and you had to pay the carrier for using their network. A business VoIP system routes your calls over the internet and your own network. You only have to pay for the portion of the call which touches the PSTN. Since internal calls never leave your organization’s network they are essentially free!

VoIP Makes International Calls Cheaper

International calling has always been expensive for both business users and consumers. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you have a business VoIP system for your office, international calling is almost as cheap as a local call. The majority of the call travels through data networks and the public Internet.  You pay only a small amount where it uses the PSTN.

If your employees frequently make calls to a particular country, your vendor may have a plan for unlimited calling or a bundle that costs you even less than normal. If your calls are less frequent or to different countries, you should just use the general international calling plans. So now you have free internal calls and cheap long distance calls. Isn’t that a great beginning for a new system? But wait! There’s even more savings to be had with VoIP.

Consolidate Your Networks with VoIP

With analog phone systems, you needed a distinct network to carry voice signals. This was the PSTN – connecting every phone in the world through copper wiring. Today most businesses also have a data network for sending email, document sharing and other processes. So now you have to setup and maintain 2 networks, neither of which you can afford to lose.

A business VoIP system gives you the ability to eliminate the phone system entirely. Use the same network for email, documents, music, video, applications and voice calling. If a problem arises, you only have to look at one network. It saves you both time and money, precious resources for any organization.

Get Rid of Fax Machines with VoIP

Fax may be on its way out but quite a few businesses still rely on it for important paperwork. You can actually send and receive faxes digitally with a business VoIP system. In fact, you can get rid of your fax machines entirely because VoIP lets you send them from your computer itself.

Users can send faxes right from their email inbox. Inbound faxes go to your inbox as an attachment so you can print them out at your convenience. There is no need to go to another floor just to send or get a fax. Now faxes take no more time to send than an email!

Integrate Business Systems with VoIP

A business VoIP system offers your business a range of new and advanced features at a fraction of the price you pay now. Do you have a separate video conferencing solution for your teams? VoIP can do that quite easily, so you can eliminate those costs. Do you pay extra for IVR or auto attendant features? Most business VoIP systems include it in their plans, even the most basic ones.

Does your operator charge extra for voicemail access and storage? Business VoIP does it for free and you can even access them from your inbox, just like faxing. Some vendors also offer automatic transcription services, so your voicemails can be turned into usable data. Such features can improve employee productivity or allow you to replace redundant systems at a lower cost.

This is just a glimpse into the number of ways business VoIP can help you save money. Don’t waste any more time and get started right away!