Is VoIP Phone worth it for a small business?Certainly,voip phone systems can be very beneficial for small businesses.It seems that voip phone systems make good sense for small businesses."With VoIP, voice data is sent [via an Internet connection] in digital form rather than plugging into a traditional phone jack like you would over the public switched telephone network (PSTN)," Tina Liu, senior product marketing manager for 8x8 phone system, told Business News Daily.In fact, recent research finds that more than one-third of all businesses are now using a VoIP phone system, with the vast majority of those being businesses with fewer than 50 employees.So, Even for a small business, VoIP is the perfect, modern solution for your organization.

Advantages and disadvantages of using a VoIP phone system

Before committing to a particular system for business communications, there’s a lot to consider, especially for small businesses.

You need to know if the investment is worth its payoff. From functionality to accessibility, think about VoIP advantages and disadvantages.

Explore the following to see if VoIP is a business phone service that’ll work for you.

Advantages of VoIP

Cost-effective

One of the primary VoIP advantages is that, especially with cloud PBX, it requires no equipment and no maintenance on your part. This means that investment costs are low.

With traditional phone lines, adding new lines or putting in a new system may necessitate changes to the building's electrical wiring. Copper wiring is pricey and can add significant expenses to installing a new phone system.

With VoIP, you can also use a softphone that works through your desktop or laptop. The ability to make calls over a softphone is a key feature of modern VoIP telephony, and this will be included in your cloud PBX plan. With a virtual phone system, the lack of required hardware means you get high-quality software for a lower cost.

If you have an existing phone system, you can use a VoIP adapter that bridges the gap between your analog phones and your new network.

Also, because calls take place over the internet, long-distance and international calls are available at no extra cost. A small business VoIP can help you keep up with your industry’s competitive market without breaking the bank.

Advanced features

With VoIP, you aren’t limited to a typical voice call. Services include:

Internet fax

Conference calling

An auto-attendant

Call forwarding

Call routing

Call transfer

Toll-free numbers

Call recording and easy-to-access call logs

All these features are unified in a straightforward solution. As a small business, you need to communicate with your team and customers on multiple platforms. Cloud systems often offer a mobile app that enables you to make business calls with your mobile phone. This means you can reach customers and team members anywhere on any platform over one system.

In addition to all the advanced features VoIP brings to the table, it also allows for smooth integrations with your other essential business applications—such as your Customer Relationship Management software (CRM). You can even build your own custom integrations through an API.

Disadvantages of VoIP

Must have a reliable internet connection

VoIP makes direct calls through the internet, and cloud PBX relies on internet connectivity to access all your advanced features. Depending on your building, your internet service provider, and where you live, you may not have a steady internet connection. This can make using VoIP challenging.

Using the internet or the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), occasional outages are inevitable. These outages can come in the form of lost power or internet connection. Traditional landlines can work during power outages, but your VoIP cannot.

However, no matter the outage you experience, VoIP’s voicemail feature will take any messages you miss during your downtime. You’ll also be able to use your mobile device and its data to answer calls.

Talk to your internet and VoIP providers before you commit to a VoIP phone solution. You must make sure that your internet bandwidth is good enough to support your new phone system.

May experience latency and jitter

While call quality with VoIP is typically excellent, there are circumstances where you might experience latency and jitter. For calls to reach their destination, they are first broken down into data packets to be reassembled. During this process, transmission can be delayed or data improperly assembled.

This can be prevented with good broadband service. As long as you have sufficient bandwidth, an updated router, and a backup Ethernet cable, you should experience voice quality that trumps a traditional landline.

VoIP vs Landline

So, what exactly are the differences between traditional telephone systems (PSTN) and VoIP. Below we will break down the differences by:

Hardware

Process

Efficiency

Scalability

Maintenance

Redundancy

Stability

Cost.

How to implement VoIP in your small business

By now, you may realize that VoIP is the best solution for your company, but you still might not know how to go about setting it up for your small business. Don’t worry! Once you know the steps, it’s a straightforward process to implement VoIP. You should:

Pick a service provider that best suits your needs.

Choose or import your existing phone number or phone numbers.

Add users to your service.

Create routing, call waiting, and call forwarding rules.

Integrate your VoIP with your other applications.