Question 1

1. What are the actual startup costs?

Accepted Answer

Many providers will waive or include setup, activation and porting fees as part of their complete solution, but not all of them. Different providers will also offer varying levels of support for things like installation and in-person or video training, all of which will come at a corresponding variety of price points.

You will need to know how many people are using how many phones over how many lines and extensions to get accurate costings here – you’ll then be able to determine whether to lease or buy the necessary handsets, and whether to do so directly from your provider or a third-party retailer (and if you buy your handsets and other equipment from a retailer, make sure you’ll have someone in your business who can get them set up correctly with the system).

Question 2

2. What are the cancellation costs?

Accepted Answer

If you decide some way down the road that the provider you opted for isn’t the right fit, for whatever reason, it can really help to have gathered the necessary information beforehand about the cancellation or transferal procedures of the provider in question.

Try to find out things like how much it would cost to return equipment after the typical 30-day free trial or money back guarantee (note, they are not necessarily the same thing), and whether or not you get to keep the ported numbers the provider set up for you.

Question 3

3. What are the minimum ongoing costs?

Accepted Answer

Every phone system, even the least expensive and free services such as Skype have certain unavoidable costs associated – you still have to own a computer or other device to run a free service on, for example, and you still have to pay for the electricity to power this device. The least expensive VoIP service still have taxes applied and fees for emergency E911 functionality.

Many of these ‘invisible’ costs will not be immediately apparent before you have been using the service for a while, even though they are not ‘hidden’ either. Reading reviews from existing customers of your prospective providers can give you some useful insight into the real-world costs others have experienced and prepare you for a realistic minimum cost appraisal.

Question 4

4. Can I integrate my old phones or do I have to replace them?

Accepted Answer

You may have the option to connect old phones to your new system with ATAs (Analogue Telephone Adapters). It could be better to invest upfront in some new IP phones that can be used to make the most of the VoIP features you’ll have access to as part of your service. Alternatively, your service provider might lease you the appropriate handsets until you’re ready to buy your own at a later point.

Question 5

5. Is the mobile app compatible with my smartphone?

Accepted Answer

Do check that your providers mobile VoIP app supports your mobile platform: in majority of cases, at least one of the two most popular platforms – Apple’s iPhone OS and Google’s Android OS – will be supported. There is also the Blackberry OS, and newer platforms such as Windows Mobile 8. In some scenarios, it might be better to change your company phone(s) to match your favoured provider rather than the other way around.

Question 6

6. Is the service ‘Bring Your Own Device’ compatible?

Accepted Answer

The concept of Bring Your Own Device or BYOD is one of flexibility for employees, allowing them to use their personal mobile devices – laptops, tablets, phones – to easily connect to the office phone system regardless of where they are. This is another good reason to know what devices and platforms your provider’s mobile app will run on. Find out if the phone system will be operable over Wi-Fi and 4G mobile networks, and check how you might connect to the office in particular scenarios like from a hotel room or your local coffee shop.

Question 7

7. Do I keep my existing numbers or get new ones?

Accepted Answer

Depending on your provider, much of the number allocation will be up to you. This kind of flexibility is one of the great strengths of VoIP systems.

As long as you are staying in the same geographical location or area, your VoIP provider is obliged to let you keep your local phone number – assuming you want it. It’s possible with VoIP to set up numbers from outside your geographic area code for your business to use. In the future, you can usually take these ‘virtual number’s with you should you switch providers later. You can also use toll-free or 800 numbers with VoIP, but whether you can take these with you when switching will be specific to your particular providers policies and fee system.

Question 8

8. What kind of tech support is provided?

Accepted Answer

Each provider will offer different levels and types of tech support, each with corresponding price levels. Find out whether you will be getting 24/7 access to remote support, or whether it’s more of an emails and forum posting kind of level – and if you have specific support requirements that aren’t included as standard, how much will these additions cost?

Question 9

9. What are the costs of porting old numbers, and how quickly will these numbers be ported?

Accepted Answer

Porting your old numbers to the new system can potentially be done in a single business day, but that doesn’t mean this is always the case. Plan for it taking longer, during which time two phones have the same number: find out if you can arrange to use the old number while you wait.

Question 10

10. How reliable is the service, and what are the redundancies?

Accepted Answer

Again, this is where existing VoIP user reviews can giver you some valuable insight into the realities of a particular provider’s service. You can also look back at the providers Twitter feed to get an idea of how often technical difficulties have been reported and resolved.

Redundancy capability is when a computer server or related system is backed up by a standby or ‘redundant’ system, which the system can switch to without service interruption should the primary server suffer a failure or abnormal termination. Redundancy is one reason why VoIP services stay active even when the legacy analogue phone network is down.

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