Small business VOIP phone service options.

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Scott3

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#259782 22-Oct-2019 11:02

I am scoping out VOIP options for a small business.

Currently we are with a niche full service provider (I think they are re-selling 2 talk, based on where received faxes come from - A service we no longer require). They are pretty good, but I would rather self manage a greater portion of the system, rather than logging support tickets for basic changes.

Currently we have a number of managed VOIP phones, but require more flexibility. We are looking to upgrade to a cloud PBX. Our current provider cost structure is per user, with a monthly soft-phone licencing charge on top.

Given the phone system is lightly used, and we are happy with less trunks than users. Given this, the pricing structure of our current provider is looking steep.

Key features we are after are: Voicemail to email, accessible log of missed calls for active follow up, smartphone apps, extension transfer

Regarding providers like 2talk & Cloud edge. Am I correct that the user picks a plan based on number of trunks, and is able to assign unlimited hardware phones and soft-phones to the account? Setting up hardware SIP phones is a simple matter of logging into the phone through the web interface, and populating the required SIP details?

Regarding 2Talk, is the bad feedback for their android app something to be concerned about?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.twotalkconnect&hl=en&showAllReviews=true

Any thing else I need to be cautious of here?

speed

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#2341710 22-Oct-2019 11:07

> Am I correct that the user picks a plan based on number of trunks,

> and is able to assign unlimited hardware phones and soft-phones to the account?

I think with 2talk there is a limit (unless you run your own local PBX). Maybe 10 subscriptions per number from memory? Someone else will hopefully correct me with a more accurate answer.

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2341713 22-Oct-2019 11:37

The maximum number of logins against one number is six. You can add additional 028 numbers (free) and forward calls to those. I believe the limit is 20 numbers per account for retail customers.

You may want to consider a registered SIP trunk and connecting your phones to a local PBX. Much easier to setup, assuming they are all on a single site.

EDIT: Another possibility, particularly if you only have a handful of users, is to buy a DECT phone setup with multiple handset support. That can make a single line (and as many channels as you pay for) available to every handset.

backwards

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#2341938 22-Oct-2019 17:53

Cloud Edge only charges for the trunks. You can have as many extensions etc as you like.
There is also a full cloud portal where you can create these any time you like.

chevrolux

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#2341979 22-Oct-2019 18:05

Standard SIP softphone apps are a bad option. SIP doesnt deal with the mobile networks very well, and they need to be registered all the time to actually receive calls - actually hard to manage with all the battery saving stuff that goes on in mobiles now.

You want an app that uses push notifications to get calls coming to it.... like 3CX!

Get someone to host a 3CX instance for you and provide the trunks. A confident provider would be happy to give you access to do general management like add users, edit call flows, menus etc. 3CX does waaay more than you need, but pricing is great and you wont pay per user anymore.

Shameless plug for us... www.nztcl.co.nz