BUSINESS TELEPHONE SYSTEMS
How To Find The One Just Right For You and Your Business
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Types of Business Phone Systems
There are three basic types of phone systems for the small to large business. Your choice of which system to use will largely depend on the number of employees and how much expansion you plan to do.
- KSU-Less Systems
These are the least expensive type of phone system, and are generally only recommended for business with 10 or fewer employees. They offer standard business phone features and do not have a central control unit. The low price may be a draw, but be aware that these systems are not generally expandable, and technical support may not be very good. Works for small businesses just starting out, who don't expect much growth or who don't mind undergoing a major telephone system overhaul if they do outgrow the KSU-less phone system. - KSU Systems
This system works well for businesses with 5 to 30 employees. These systems have a central key system unit (KSU)that unifies all the phones on the system and provides more functionality than the KSU-less system does. Some expandibility is built in, and if you go for one of the newer hybrid KSU systems, you'll find these to be even more expandable, share some characteristics of the PBX system, and can support newer technologies - PBX Systems
If your business employs 40 or more people, this is the recommended phone system for you. There's plenty of room for growth without having to do an overhaul of your phone system, and offers the latest features like CTI, ACD, hunt groups and conditional forwarding. You shouldn't be disappointed with this telephone system.
Pricing
The online vendors we checked, such as Business Telecom Buyer and B2B-Exchange.com have online forms to complete which will allow them to give you a more accurate quote for the phone system you need. Questions you might be asked include
• Describing phone system needs
• How many phones will be connected
• Is this a new system to be installed, or are you expanding?
• How many calls to be handled at the same time
• Estimated budget for your system
They'll also request your location so that they can contact vendors in your area, who will in turn contact you with quotes and other information.
Questions To Ask Before Signing On The Dotted Line
Here is a list of suggested questions for you to ask your telephone system installer.
• Will your employees install our phone system, or will it be a subcontractor?
• What service agreements do you offer? Will you respond quickly if we have a problem?
• Do you provide training on your phone systems?
• Will we be able to do basic moves, additions or changes without calling you?
• How easy is it to expand this phone system? What's the maximum number of usesrs?
• Can we use other brands of phones with this system?
• Will we be able to add other features later on?
• Do you have a list of customers we can contact?