Home Office Phones: Home And Business Products
Home Office Phones
When you are looking for home office phones you want to make sure you make the right decisions. You want to avoid paying any extra unnecessary charges or fees.
Each business is unique and home office phones that someone from a big business recommends may not particularly suit you and your office needs. That's why we've created this special page within the site to advise on the types of phones that will suit your requirements.
Whatever type home office phones you choose, it needs to be well suited for your particular business. You may want something simple or you might want something more sophisticated for multiple staff members or employees.
What are looking for shopping for home office phones?
Many home business people may opt for the least expensive option when it comes to selecting a phone system for their office in the home. Some people don't just select a phone based on what they need right now but they also think about what they will need in the future should the business expand.
Some people buy the smallest home office telephone system, then to find out a few months later that they need a bigger phone system because the cheap phone system is not scalable.
Reliability Considerations
Many people say that you get what you pay for. However, if you choose the cheapest, bare minimum option, you may not just get what you pay for but you may also find many other phone related problems when trying to run a business.
What type of services and features do you want?
Generally speaking, home office phones that come with lots of modifications and features tend to be more expensive. You will have to make a decision on what types of features you want when you are looking for home office phones. Some phone services and features include voicemail, hold features, conference calls and auto attendance.
You may find it helpful to view all the phone features you require for you home office. Then you can compare the different telephone systems and get better value for your money. Make a quick list or jot down features you like when viewing the various types of home office phones.
Choosing your phone system
When you are deciding on what type of phone you need for your home office you need to be aware of the various types of system available. Here are some type of phone systems:
VOIP
You may familiar with or have used a VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) system on the computer for talking to your family and acquaintances using a messenger program or a microphone. However, with a VOIP system you are able to call anyone from any location around the globe and customers or prospective customers may call you on the number when they sign up. All of this requires that you have access to the internet. VOIP system can range from basic types to more advanced and very technical, state of the art types.
PBX
PBX (private branch exchanges) systems are generally geared or suited for large organizations. With this system there are lots of lines. People using this system typically have to first dial an outside line so that they can get an external phone line.
KTS
Many small businesses use this type of phone system. This type of system can be suitable for a small office or even for home office phones. These are generally simple enough to install. However, if your company grows in the future, you may have to upgrade to a new system as this can have its limitations.
Automated Attendant phone system involves an automated series of messages where the people calling in are directed through a series of menu prompts by this automated attendant. Many voicemail systems come equipped with the basic types of automated attendant systems.
ACD (Automated Call Distributer) phone system allow for incoming calls from customers to be dealt with by routing them among many sets of extensions and handles them in a more efficient fashion. These are typically not used for home office phones and are generally used in call centers and enquiry departments where they can handle multiple incoming callers at the same time.
CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) systems have many applications. They are typically used for connecting a phone system to the computer.
A KSU (Key system Unit) has features and services which include voice mail options, forwarding and extension dialling.
Some people may just opt for the single number line and they find that it can work fine for them. Identify what type of system you need and do you research. Home office phones can sometimes be costly depending on how advanced and technical the features are. When you are browsing for home office phones, you should be mindful of your budgets and the needs of your business.
Traditional home office phones for your office VS VOIP
If you are unsure of what is the better for you between a traditional phone and a VOIP system, consider some of these advantages and disadvantages.
As stated earlier, a VOIP is a phone system which connects to the internet. In other words, if you have a high speed internet connection, you can make cheap calls over the internet. VOIP is similar to the voice chatting feature that you can find on all the leading instant messengers like Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, etc.
VOIP applications like Skype allows you a person to do voice chat both nationally and internationally at a very inexpensive cost. If you want to use VOIP, you will have to install the application or system on your computer. You will also need to make sure that any virtual employees have a high speed internet connection as well as a VOIP application.
The advantages of using this system are that it is cheap and easy to use. There is not much difference in quality and it can come with many features. The disadvantages are that you need to be connected to the internet so it will work and if there are any lags on the internet it will affect phone calls. If you are using this option, you will sometimes need special type of phone.
The advantages of traditional home office phones are that you are always connected, the quality is more guaranteed to be good, all of the time. You can choose from a larger range of home office phones and it should work fine. With the traditional phone option there are no concerns about being disconnected.
The main disadvantages of a traditional home office phones are that they can be more expensive and companies can alter prices quite frequently without you really being aware. You will also require phone jacks located at different points throughout your home and office.
Obviously there are many more considerations which you will have to take into account when looking for home office phones. You may need many more features than normal. You may want multiple phones for your office. You will also have to think of the amount of headsets you will require if you have employees.
As said earlier on the page, you need to be aware of all the features you will require for the proper running of your office. Some people may be self employed with no staff and others may have a team that are regularly on phones prospecting for new customers. Do you expect to be taking incoming calls regularly or on a daily basis? These are all the consideration you will have to take into account when buying home office phones.
A small business which regularly processes offline sales is not complete without home office phones. If you are selling physical goods and you do not have an effective method for communicating with customers and having customers get in touch about your goods or services, the business will be lacking to some extent.
Some people may want web conferencing capabilities which they can run from home and communicate with their team. Some people may decide that a cell phone will meet their requirements.
Before deciding on choosing from the vast array of home office phones, you should first take the time to consider what you will require.
How will it be run?
You will need to determine how you will run the system and you can select one of the options which have already being discussed on this page. Then you will need to establish beforehand the amount of lines you will require.
The way to determine the amount of lines you will need is if you expect your phones to be ringing off the hook. If they are ringing of the hook you will probably want to have more lines. By having more lines you can flip through many different phone calls.
The next step in identifying the types of home office phones you need is by knowing what kind of features you want. The features that are standard to many home offices are caller ID, speakerphone, call waiting, number directories and more.
In this day and age technology is advancing to new heights and there are so many new features being added. However, having more features may mean spending more money.
If you want a cordless phone you should be aware not to purchase a cordless phone if you have a wireless home network as it may interfere with other connections in the home. Interference can come in the form of disturbances, loss of connection while the landline rings or in mid-call.
Do your homework and know what you will require for yourself or your business. List everything you need and then look for the best deal you can find.
Read people's reviews and compare the various price options. You don't have to overly look for state of the art home office phones, just get the features you need.