How you can cut the cost of your telephone systems

An effective telephone system is crucial for your business. But, what if you’re overpaying?

Most businesses handle large numbers of outgoing calls speaking to clients, for sales purposes and attending to their customers – racking up the bills every month. Figures suggest that there is an average overspend of 30 – 40% on telecom bills.

If you have the right package, you should be seeing improved customer service, better in-company communication, more advanced features and lower costs.

All businesses have unique requirements, large or small, yours is no different. Read our definitive guide on how to cut costs and not overpay for your business telephone system

Consider a cloud-based phone system

We’ll let you in on a secret. If you’re trying to reduce overall costs of your telephone system then consider cloud-based phone systems. They significantly reduce your overall phone costs.

They require no hardware or equipment as the service is cloud orientated. Along with being affordable, they can make a small business appear more professional and established.

Businesses see average savings of between 50% and 75% after switching to VoIP and an average of 43 minutes per day saved thanks to unified messaging.

If you have not yet considered switching, then now you will!

Switch telephone systems to save your pennies

Review your existing telephone system, how many lines and extensions your team needs, any extra features that you’re missing out on, and your budget. It’s really not hard to make the switch.

Traditional PBX business phone systems use permanent on-site hardware and are installed with a set number of lines and handsets. Usually used by companies that have a large number of extensions, the PBX system can be costly to support and maintain.

Many businesses are now making the switch to the Cloud. The phone systems use the internet (Voice Over IP, or VoIP) rather than traditional telephone lines.

Why are they more cost efficient?

• Because through VoIP systems calls takes place over the internet, the cost is lower – only a charge for the broadband connection.
• Call costs are 60% – 70% lower
• No need for cumbersome on-premise hardware – only the handsets
• After the initial set up, adding extension, managing users and features doesn’t require an engineer
• Software and security updates are rolled out to users as soon as they are released

Cloud phones’ popularity is growing as more and more companies are quickly realising that they can be very cost effective. The VoIP services market is expected to grow to over £106 billion by the year 2021. The benefits also stretch further than cost alone.

Cloud-based systems are also more flexible than other telephone systems; you can forward calls on to one phone when you’ve set up multiple localised numbers, disaster recovery is instantaneous as all systems are hosted on different servers, and the Cloud is future-proof as features and updates are being added all the time.

Is it suitable for my small business?

Cloud-based phone systems aren’t just restricted to large companies. In fact, because if their flexibility, you can scale up easily – the system grows along your business.

Small businesses who move to VoIP can lower the cost of their local calls by up to 40%. It could just be the solution to your financial worries.

It’s more than a good idea to have a browse to see what other phone lines are available and which are most suited to your business.

Is it expensive to replace my old system?

Sometimes, existing systems can be upgraded, for example a landline can be integrated with VoIP resulting in minimal disruption to your business and clients. This can potentially save the cost of replacing all handsets.

Remember, the cost of installation for the systems will also vary depending on the one that you choose.

The long-term benefits and savings of installing a new telephone system often out-weigh the installation costs.

Check out the reasons why you should invest in a new telephone system.

Think about what telephone system your business actually needs and how many lines you need (or will need in the future) and accommodate to the size and budget of your business.

As your company evolves and grows, so will your telephone system. Speak to one of our experts to see how you can save money.