Hi, I found this forum from searching for some help setting up the right phone communication system for a new business I am planning to setup.

I was wondering if anyone could help me with some ideas and options to what would work best, as my knowledge is extremely limited...

I would like to provide phones to all my employees who will be working from home, so clients can ring them on that phone and so they can ring out to the client from the phone. I do not want clients having my employee's personal contact details. I would assume the best way would be VoIP?

What would be the best way to work this? Could I have the phone plugged into the computer? Or into a router?

How easy would this be to setup? Can anyone recommend a plan and provider? The number of employees will only be low to start with but aiming to grow very quickly

I really appreciate any help and advice I can get

Thanks
James

Hi James.

VOIP would be the way to go in this case IMHO. There are really a couple ways to do this.

One, you use Hosted which allows for a smaller startup cost but when it scales it will nickle and dime you to death AND the level of support varies greatly from providers and areas.

Two, an on site VOIP PBX of some flavor that will allow you deploy remote phones. Which has a higher up front cost but scales better on a per month per handset model. You also will have a LOT more control of your telephone numbers and whom you need to get service from. It will also allow you to shop for the best dial tone prices.

You should always take into consideration internet connections because every VOIP solutions quality of service (sound quality) will be directly affected by this. You also should add up all the costs over a 5 year projected model. You will generally see at about the 2.5 year mark that the on site system comes into it's own.

I cannot stress enough to make sure whatever company or solution you decide the installing company is key to making a wise decision. Good luck and I hope this helps!

Hosted is the way to now a days. They manage everything for you.

If you give me your location perhaps I can recommend some companies to talk to.

Any updates