Cheap VoIP service in Yuba City

VoIP opens up all kinds of opportunities for businesses, especially SMBs, but its headline draw is still low-cost calls. It takes a bit of strategy to balance getting the best possible prices with getting a suitable level of service. With that in mind, here is a quick guide to choosing a cheap VoIP service in Yuba City.

Work out what you are using now 

Your existing service is your baseline for your VoIP implementation. As a rule of thumb, you should aim to replicate what you have now. You can eliminate any services which are clearly unused but think carefully before you commit to adding extra services.

Remember that anything you add to the initial implementation will increase its complexity and therefore its costs. This generally means it will take longer for it to be absorbed into business as usual. It will certainly take longer for you to recoup the implementation costs and start enjoying the cost savings.

Given that VoIP is extremely flexible and scalable, the most pragmatic approach is generally to start by implementing a VoIP system which is a close copy of your existing telephone system. Then see if you want to develop it further.

Consider what value-add services might save you money 

Having just said that some value-add services might be worth considering either at the first pass or as soon as possible thereafter. These are conference-calling, video-calling, and call-recording. Conference-calling is generally very straightforward to implement and has so many potential uses it can almost always be justified. Video-calling is fairly straightforward but also very resource-intensive. It can, however, often be justified if it allows for a reduction in business travel.

Request VoIP

Call-recording is straightforward technically but is surrounded by legal sensitivities. This means that if you are going to implement it, you need to be sure that your VoIP service vendor can keep you within the law. Even if you are not planning on implementing call-recording, you may still want to look for a VoIP service vendor who can support it. That way you have a straightforward implementation if you change your mind or if you become legally-obliged to implement it.

Decide if you need Fax over IP

If you still need a fax service, then Fax over IP (efax) is now the only way for most companies to go. It allows you to eliminate all of your traditional phone lines, improves your security, reduces your costs (calling and printing), and opens up space for other purposes. Most VoIP service vendors also support Fax over IP. If you want to work with one that does, some vendors specialize in Fax over IP.

Define your minimum service standards 

There are three areas of service standards you need to address. These are technical quality, security and compliance, and customer service and support. All of these are important, and it’s down to you to define minimum thresholds and stick to them. Once you’ve agreed on this then you need to be firm about rejecting any potential VoIP service vendor who falls below them, even if it’s only slightly. Don’t even look at their prices and offers, just move on.

Assess expected call/fax volumes 

It’s essentially to know your peak volume because you need to make sure that you have enough bandwidth for it. What’s more, this needs to be high-quality bandwidth with minimal latency, jitter, and packet loss. For most SMBs, this will involve organizing extra network infrastructure. Generally, this will mean either taking out/upgrading a managed hosting contract plus organizing a separate VoIP service contract or getting a VoIP service vendor who can also take care of the hosting.

The former may work out slightly more economical, but sometimes convenience is worth the price. In either case, it’s advisable to be prepared for bandwidth-usage to be higher than your current calling volumes would suggest. Implementing VoIP may encourage people to use the phones more and while this may be good for your business, you will need to be prepared for the volume.

Think about what equipment you will need and how you will pay for it 

You’re going to need either softphones or VoIP handsets (or a combination of both). Softphones generally come from your VoIP service vendor and are usually free (or very low-cost). Remember, however, that you will usually need headsets to go with them. VoIP handsets can be bought independently or bundled with a VoIP service contract. The former may get you a better deal, but the latter will allow you to spread the cost.

If you’d like to speak to one of the best cheap VoIP service partners in Yuba City, please click here now to contact Salient IT.