Are you starting your own small office or perhaps you are doing some remodeling and upgrading of your office systems? One of the most important tools and equipment for any business is its phone systems. After all communication is key in any business, whether you are talking to your staff or to your customers.

So how do you go about choosing among the many small business phone systems? Do you just walk into a telecommunication store and pick among the phones in the glass cases? Of course not because you only do that kind of shopping if you are just buying small personal items or products that are all similar to one another. But a set of phones for your own office is a completely different matter.

Simply put, you should not hastily make your decisions especially if you do not know anything about a small office phone system. For example, do you know the difference between a traditional, regular phone and a VOIP phone? Do you even know what VOIP stands for or the benefits that you can get from such a system? There are many factors and technicalities that you might not understand which can prove to be essential to the smooth functioning of a phone system within your office.

That is why you should consult with a telecommunication expert and ask for his advice and suggestions on which type of small business phone systems you should consider. It would be better if he can go over your office, see how big or small it is, including the number of staff that you have. He could also take a look at the infrastructure of the building to understand what kind of phone systems it can support properly. There are many things that such an expert can consider before he can confidently recommend any system for your office.

What if you cannot find such a telecommunication expert? While this is unlikely but just in case, what you can do next is to talk to an office manager or a business owner who personally handled the procurement for their own phone system. Ask them what system they bought, if they are satisfied with it, and for how long they have been using it. This is to find out if the system is really reliable and functioned perfectly as the office owner expected it to do. You can also ask them what criteria or specifications did they consider when they were shopping around for small business phone systems. At very least, you should imitate what they did so you can have better chances of buying the right phones for your own office.

Now the other factors such as the number of the phone units, the kind of features you need from the phones, and of course, the price of the system will all depend on your preference. The best ones are usually more expensive and have the best features that you can expect from any phone system. But if you are just starting out with your business or you do not have a big demand for ultra modern phones, perhpas the entry level phone systems would work out just fine for you and your business.

Does the latest office phone system features should be the deciding factors for you to choose a specific system? It really depends on the phone requirements of your office. If you are running a small business, you certainly do not need the expensive units that most big corporations are using today. Just assess first what you need in a system and start your selection process from there.

Because that is one of the problems of many office managers. They think too big from the start, forgetting to zero in on the communication problems that small business phone systems should be solving in the first place. You should not get caught up with the latest features, the advance technologies that phone manufacturers are putting in their new phone systems. After all, it will be you and your staff who will be using the phone units day in and day out. What you really need is a system that is reliable and can do the job perfectly.

Having said that, there are still some basic features that you should look for in any office phone system. If you need anything more from your phone system, talk to the salesperson or the merchant if he or she can recommend a specific unit for you.

1. Conferencing capabilities

All businesses, whether big or small, will certainly hold meetings. Even if you are a small office, it is still a good idea to have your own conference room where you could place a phone system with built-in conferencing capabilities. This is an essential especially if you have some staff members who might not be able to come in and they would just have to call and be connected to your conference call. This way, even with the physical absence of your staff, you can still continue with your meetings and go on with your usual business processes.

2. Call forwarding

This is a feature that even most regular phones have and still proves its worth in any business environment. Just to have the power to forward any incoming calls to another phone, whether within your office premises or to you mobile phone will always be a good thing for your business.

3. Automated directory

This lets the caller to find out the extension of any of your staff so they can call them directly and not have to go through the receptionist.

4. Voice mail or built-in answering machine

It can be possible that one of your staff members or the whole office might not be present at one point. That is why having a back up to answer and save the messages from your callers is a great feature to have for any small business phone system.

5. Music on hold

While you might laugh at this last basic feature, it is always a nice thing to provide such a phone feature for your customers or clients who might have to be put on hold for more than a minute. That will keep them in a good mood while they are waiting for the other person to pick up the phone and start talking to them.

There are many great phone systems designed for small to medium sized offices and businesses. You just need to know how to search for them the right way. While large corporations certainly have their own needs and requirements for a phone system, resulting to a plethora of features and benefits, the newer phones for small business however, do not lag far behind. These also boast of great features that make business communication a lot smoother and easier.

And also without the big price tag that usually comes with the fully featured business phones that corporations often procure. If you are running a small business, you definitely do not need all the bells and whistles of such phone systems. If all you need is a decent phone with features like call forwarding, call conferencing, voice mailbox or built-in answering machines, then you can find many such systems that are much more affordable. After all, your office communications system should not burn a big hole in your pocket.

Since you only have a small office, chances are you do not have a phone expert, a technician or an engineer in your employment. Because of this, when you are considering some small business phone systems, look for a system that you can easily configure on your own. One that does not require the expertise of a phone technician. Choose a phone system that has a clear set of instructions on how to set it up in your own office.

Likewise, consider a phone system that can be installed using the existing phone lines or Internet connection or the infrastructure of your office. Some systems, because of their over the top features, would require some major changes in your office just to have it installed. Unless the benefits and the features truly justify such renovations, then go ahead with it. However, with such changes, you will certainly incur further operational costs. And this is before you can even use the phone system itself.

And talking about the operational cost, it is a good thing to consider it when you are shopping around for small business phone systems. Because to some business owners, their definition of the best phone systems are those that can be bought, installed, and used at the least expense as possible. In this case, why not consider getting a VOIP phone system since it only requires a reliable broadband Internet connection for it to function well.

Are you still confused with what system to choose? Then head over to the next office in your building, preferably managed by someone you know and take a look at their own phone system. See if it is the right kind of system that you are looking for your own small office and start asking questions on the quality of the phones, its various features and how much was the overall cost of installation and operation. If you are satisfied with it then why not choose the same system for your office. It will make your life so much easier.

There are many options that you can choose from when you are looking for small business phone systems. While you can just go ahead and visit any communications system shop and buy a set right off the store, this is not a wise move especially if you are a businessman. You have to take into consideration your office’s specific needs for a phone system and try to find the right one that satisfies your requirements.

Signal range, messaging features, security features and many others, these are just some of the features that you might find very useful in any office phone system. It is the practicality of the system that you should be interested more and not on the aesthetics. What use is a beautiful office phone if it does not effectively help you with your daily business communication?

Here are some of the small office phone features that you should look for.

1. Range of the signal

This is important especially if you are looking to buy a wireless phone system. Of course you cannot expect it to have the range of a regular mobile phone, but it should allow you to communicate while moving around your office. And since it is expected to work within a small office, it should provide clear voice signals when moved from one square meter of the office to the next.

2. Conference call features

In this day and age, more business meetings are done over the phone. That is why it is a necessity for your small business phone systems to have call conferencing capabilities. This will help speed up your business functions, particularly with your business meetings. Now your staff do not have to be all in the same room just to update you on important office matters. Of course, you should look for a phone system that has speaker functions so that you do not have to hold the phone’s receiver for the duration of the meeting. Or you can get a compatible headset. This allows for a more private call while giving your hands the freedom to do other work.

3. Messaging features

This is a very useful feature if you sometimes there is no one in your office that is left to attend to the phones. That is why it is ideal for small office set ups. Look for a phone system that offers multiple voice mailboxes. These will let your customers or whoever wants to contact you to leave a message that you can retrieved anywhere you may be, even if you are not in the office. One good system will send a notification to your mobile phone if there are any new messages or call recordings. Lower priced phone systems will have a built-in answering machine instead of a voice mailbox.

Every office, whether large or small, has its own requirements for a phone system. To help you get started with your search, list down all of the phone features that you think would be a necessity or the things that you expect a phone system can do for you. Then show that list to an expert in office telecommunications who can provide you with the best advice on which system you should buy.

You may be planning on setting up your own small office or that you already have an office, but you think it is about time that you upgrade your phone system. There are many small business phone systems that you can consider. The problem with most people is that they worry too much with the features without first taking into consideration where they are actually going to put the phone units.

While that may sound like a very inconceivable mistake, however the fact remains that many small business owners would buy a phone system just for the features that it has or even because they are getting a big discount if they purchase from a certain store or when they buy a specific system. But he location of the phones should be one of the initial priorities whenever you will be shopping for a new phone system.

Let us first discuss some of the likely places where you would normally place a phone system.

1. The receptionist area

This is a no brainer. Your receptionist will be receiving calls from customers and fellow staff members. She is usually at the front line of any customer service and that is why she should be equipped with the best phone system that you can buy for her. In short, make her life easier with the right tools for her job.

2. The conference room

For all conference meetings that may require some of your staff to phone in if they are located somewhere else, there are many small business phone systems that would be ideal for this set up. Of course you will need a phone unit that is capable of making conference calls and has a good speaker and receiver system so that all parties can speak clearly and be understood clearly as well.

3. The offices of staff members who need outside communications.

You can put your sales people under this category and any other staff who are working on sales and marketing. Because these are the people that are directly concerned with connecting with your customers, and also, in bringing in the profits. Buy a phone system for them that would make it very easy to contact customers and keep track with their important communications.

4. Any public area

For quick calls and as a service to your office visitors or customers as well, having a phone in any public area where they can easily access is a good thing for your business. The most important places for this would be the lounge area and the common rooms, or any place where you would normally entertain guests. With the lounge area, if it is directly connected to the reception desk, then just the phone for the receptionist would be enough.

5. Your office

The big boss definitely needs a phone system to contact his staff and clients. Especially if you are the type of businessman or executive who is always on his toes and calling people left and right, making sure that everything is running smoothly, you need the best phone system that will ensure you are within an arm’s reach of contacting your key people.

You have the office, You have the staff. You have all the computers, the desks, the chairs, and other office equipment that you can think of, and the only thing that you need to complete it all is a phone system for your small office. Now where do you go about shopping for an office phone system? Let us look at some traditional and web based solutions.

Do you want as old school and traditional as you can get? Pick up a copy of the Yellow Pages and let your fingers do the searching for you. While you might laugh at this old technique searching and  buying stuff, it still works fine today.

So you do not like your fingers to do the walking for you? How about using your feet to actually walk into a store and browse at the various small business phone systems that they are offering. There is probably a phone store near your location that caters to small office phone solutions. The great thing about this is that you can see the actual phones, pick up the receivers, dial some fictional numbers, check out the features yourself, and just have a general feel of how these phone systems would play right in your fingers.

Are you comfortable with the phones? To many people comfort means everything and they might purchase a whole phone system just for this merit. But comfort is not everything and you have to look at the various features of each and every phone system that you encounter in that store. This is research as real as you can make it.

However, not everyone has the time to go around the town looking at the various small business phone systems. If you are the office manager or the owner himself, when you buy office phones it is usually not just the one thing that you will have to do for the day. So if you are a very busy person, turn on your computer, connect to the Internet, and start searching for the various phone systems designed to be used in a small office set up. Of course, make sure that you are searching with your location clearly defined in your searches so that when you have finally zeroed in on one phone merchant, your location will not pose as a problem for that merchant to contact you and to deliver the phone systems right to your office.

So when you are looking to buy small business phone systems, consider searching through a website of a phone merchant who has the array of phone systems that can solve various telephony requirements of any office, of any size both in square meters and in the number of staff.

Do you make a lot of overseas phone calls as compared to regular phone calls just within your area? Does your business need to be able to communicate properly with staff and customers over long distances? If you answer yes then you will greatly benefit from VOIP small business phone systems.

VOIP or voice over Internet protocol is the growing standard in telephony today especially for offices and other businesses, both big and small. It has some benefits that every business owner would definitely prefer:

In terms of its operational cost, VOIP small business phones permit the routing outing of phone calls over existing data networks. This is great because it helps to avoid the need for separate voice and data networks. You get great savings for this especially if you are just starting your own office.

Other savings that you get from these small business phone systems is that features such as call forwarding, caller ID, call forwarding and others that are normally separate charges billed by your telephone company are now free with the VOIP phone system.

In terms of practicality and usefulness, a VOIP phone gives you the power to do a variety of tasks you could not otherwise perform with a regular phone system. For instance, with just one broadband Internet connection, you can now transmit more than one telephone call over the line, allowing a number of your staff to use the same system. There is no congestion and no more waiting for another person to finish a call just so you can make one yourself.

It is also generally more secured compared to regular phones. Securing a phone connection through digital transmission and digitizing are now standards with the VOIP phone systems. This makes it one of the best small business phone systems if security is your priority.

You can also do more with your VOIP phones. For example, depending on the phone system that you have, video conversation is possible. If you prefer to see the person you are talking to, this is a great feature that you should look into. You can also easily set up a conference call with people who are also using VOIP systems, you can send data files to one another, and you can also manage address books. All of these using your VOIP small business phone system.

Is your location a huge factor in getting a traditional phone line? Not with the VOIP small business phones. What you only need to set it up is a considerably fast Internet connection and you are all ready to make your calls. Since everything is done and transmitted over the Internet, the clarity and quality of your calls do not rely on your office’s physical location, but more on the quality of your Internet connection. So if you want to always have great calls, just make sure your Internet connection is up for it.

Start looking at some VOIP small business phone systems and see the various benefits that your office can gain from it. It is the future of office telephony that allows better quality communication between your staff and also with people who do business with you.

For most companies or businesses, one of the important piece of equipment that every office should have is a phone system. But nowadays, not just any phone system would do. We might look for some specific features that we need from a phone and not just the capability of making voice calls. With the advancements in phone technology, the telephone can do so much more today.

But if you do not know anything about small business phone systems, then you must do a little research on your part. That is if there is no telephony expert within your organization who can take over the procurement of the phone system. So if it is all up to you and your phone technology knowledge is nil, it is time to get off your seat and contact some people.

Here are some tips on where you can search for the best telephone systems for your business.

1. Try the Yellow Pages.

It maybe old technology, but by running our fingers over the pages of the directory listings you can come up with a number of contacts of the stores that specifically cater to small businesses. Big stores usually have bigger ads, but that does not necessarily mean they are the best places to go. After narrowing down your choices to probably three stores, you will then have to pay them a visit and see for yourself the various office phone systems that they have in stock.

2. Telecommunication trade shows.

You can also go to office equipment and technology trade shows where they would certainly have some phone system merchants displaying their latest products. This is a neat thing to do because it will help you save time and effort. After all, most of the small business phone systems manufacturers will be there and you can just visit each of their booths to inquire about their products. You can move from one vendor to the next, with each time your knowledge about phone systems getting bigger with each person that you talk to. Definitely, by the time you leave the trade show, you will have a clearer understanding on which system you should consider for you office.

3. Go online.

There are online merchants offering various office phone systems. This is a good alternative if there is no upcoming trade show within your area. When searching for an online phone store, choose one that specifically says they are servicing your area. This way they can easily communicate with you regarding your phone requirements. And also, they might be more knowledgeable about the phone systems that are frequently purchased within your location. This is as a comparison to other small businesses out there.

These are the three best places where you can search for an office phone system. Of course you can always turn to someone who has previously bought a phone system for his office. This way you have someone who can guide you in selecting the appropriate units and where are the best places that you can get them cheaper.

If you think that only the large corporations can make good use of office phone systems, then you are wrong. There are now a variety of phones designed for small to medium sized businesses. So if you have your own office with only a handful of people, you can still take advantage of what the latest small business phone systems have to offer.

For the past five years or so, phone system technology has improved exponentially. A lot of the parts have been miniaturized, the phone design streamlined, the phone quality have improved, and the phone features have multiplied. And now the VoIP (Voice Over IP Telephony) has become an office fixture around the globe. This system alone was able to cut the phone bills and operation costs by thousands of dollars since all calls can now be made over the Internet.

The prices of these small business phone systems have gone down as well, allowing for more offices to purchase and install their own systems. Now the phone systems that were previously being enjoyed only by the bigger corporations can now be used by small businesses as well. The barrier for a better communication, at all levels, have been broken down.

Of course you still cannot expect all the great features of the more expensive phone systems, the ones used by bigger companies, to be found in the small businesses version of these phone systems. Definitely for the phone manufacturers to be able to cut costs, they also need to limit the features that they would put in the least expensive models. But this does not mean that small business phone systems are far less in quality. It only means there will be less features to make some of your calls and office communication tasks easier.

But should this worry you too much? Especially since you are running a small sized office with only a handful of employees at any given day, the basic phone systems would often be more than enough for your office’s operation requirements. There is usually no need to upgrade to the more convenient or even luxurious features of the more expensive phone systems if the cheaper ones can still do the job right for you.

The problem is that some of the phone systems that were created for small businesses are still carrying a very high price tag to the point that only a few small businesses can afford to purchase them. After all, if your office only has 20 or less employees, in most cases a regular phone system would be more than enough for your daily needs. All the more expensive features of the more expensive phone units can still be worked around using a regular phone system.

Perhaps it is about time that telcos should start looking into making the more advanced phone systems more affordable by small business owners. After all, the majority of the businesses across the country are categorized as small businesses. Therefore there will always be a huge market for this kind of telecommunication product.

Just because you are operating as a small business that does not mean you do not need to have a dedicated phone system that is almost similar to what the bigger companies are currently using. After all, a new office phone system will help make it easier for you and your staff to communicate with one another and also with your customers.

It is not really the size of the business that determines the need for a phone system. There are now small business phone systems which are designed for small offices and operations. There are certain features of any phone unit that can greatly assist in the smooth running of any business.

Let us further discuss why small businesses need to upgrade to a better and newer office phone system.

1. Small business do not have the number of employees to handle all calls.

Did you ever experience a very busy day wherein the phones just would not stop ringing and all your staff members are neck deep with their office work that no one would even bother to pick up the nearest phone? Now what if that call was from a very important client and you just missed getting his business? Small businesses actually need the latest phone systems more than the large corporations mainly because they do not have the manpower to answer all calls.

2. All the basic phone features and more advanced features to make life easier.

Think of call forwarding, conference call capabilities, address book management, and even music on hold features. These are phone features that will surely bring a new look into how you use your office phone system. While you might say that traditional phones may carry some of these features, the newer phone systems, however, do it better. With easier to user interface, sleekier design, and better product support, the new office phone systems certainly has the advantage when it comes to technology, quality and features.

3. A phone system that can expand its capabilities as your business itself expands.

Your small business may not be small in the next year or two. That is why you need small business phone systems that can grow as your business grows as well. With phone features that can match those found in large corporations, your own new phone system will always be ready should your business require more from it.

One other thing, each year the price of these small business phone systems are getting more affordable than ever, allowing more small offices to acquire their own systems. Of course it will still cost more than the traditional phone systems but the features that you get, including the lower operational costs of running the system is certainly worth the price tag.

Therefore, if you are really serious in running your small business as smooth as you can possibly make it, and if you intend to make it grow within a few years’ time, then you need the right phone system to help you with your goals. Think of efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and the ease of use that a small business phone system can provide your office.