The use of traditional landlines has become obsolete due to mobile phones and VoIP. Due to the BT shut down, there is no other option to find a new alternative. You may have decided that VoIP is the best option for your small business but there are many VoIP providers.

Now it is time to choose a VoIP provider for your small business and things to keep into consideration when making this decision is the cost, reviews, customer service, and many other things that are important when making this decision.

Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing a VoIP provider:

Costs

VoIP is well known for being affordable but there are different packages at different prices. It all depends on what your business needs. Your business might need unlimited international calls or you might just need basic national calling and each is different in price. Apart from the hardware and software in your package, you have to take into consideration if there are any extra charges for maintenance or support if any of this is ever needed. Also, ask about the cancellation fees, return policies, and usage limits if that applies to your package.

Reviews

The best way to see which VoIP provider will be best for you is to look at reviews from previous or current customers. If customers speak about how the VoIP didn’t work as promised or they had a bad experience with customer service then you probably don’t want to work with that provider.

Customer Service

If your customer encounters great customer service they will likely return or talk about that great experience with friends and family. During the initial setup and CRM integration, your VoIP might have some issues that you might not understand so your provider needs to have dedicated customer support to take care of the issues.

After you get started, you will still need help with maintenance, any upgrades, or during equipment trouble. It is important to pick a VoIP provider that has trustworthy customer support.

Onboarding and support

Most VoIP is easy to set up as there is no need for an engineer although your small business might still benefit from specialist onboarding. This service can help in setting up your dashboard, hardware phones and also specialist features your business needs. This is important specifically for first-time VoIP users as it'll allow you to operate this new system in confidence.

Like-minded businesses 

Going for a VoIP provider that is also similar in size as your small is also an important buying decision. Does the provider understand how small businesses work? A bigger company might not be able to supply 1-user contracts. This also applies to resonable prices and not enterprise inflation. It's important to pick a provider that aligns with your business values and also financial budgets you may have in place.

Contracts 

It is always important to look at contracts closely. For example, the length of the contract and if there are any price-hikes that might be challenging to your small business in the long-run. There are various suppliers that charge by the user and not service so this is also key to keep an eye on.

Market specialization

Make sure that the VoIP provider is specialized in your business. There are VoIP providers for personal use only and others for business use. The system for personal use probably won’t have features for a small business. Make sure they have features for your small business such as a call management tool called Call Queues and this minimizes customer wait time and helps prevent missed calls. 

If bOnline seems like the best provider of VoIP for your small business check out our packages or call our team on 0203 697 4166.