2024 Guide: How to Choose VoIP Phone Service for Small Business

When choosing a VoIP service for your small business, consider some factors.

Selecting the best VoIP service provider is your first step toward standardizing business communications. But, of course, it all depends on your company’s requirements.

You can take many steps, such as looking at the features you require, comparing various providers, utilizing free trials, reading reviews and customer testimonials, choosing just one reputable service, etc.

Below, we have detailed several steps to help you choose the best VoIP phone service for small business in 2024.

Benefits of VoIP Phone Service for Small Businesses

Investing in VoIP phone service for your small business will bring long term benefits:

• Strong internal and external communication
• Improved productivity in the enterprise
• Increased scalability
• More flexibility
• Advanced reporting capability
• Saving money
• Business-range
• Security and more.

The great thing about VoIP phone services is that they offer a variety of advanced features to enhance business communication, which you won’t find on traditional landlines or cell phones.

These include

• Telephony
• Call forwarding
• Call recording
• Call hold
• Call queue
• Automated answering
• Conferencing
• Call screening
• Call monitoring
• Caller ID

If you are searching for a small business VoIP phone service, consider the following factors:

1. Consider the features you need

When choosing a VoIP phone service for your small business, the most important thing is to consider the features you need. Start by making a quick list.

Various VoIP features are an integral part of everyday business communication. For example, you may need a digital voicemail service, for a hands-free operator, or a virtual receptionist. 

Also, consider your budget and specific VoIP needs of employees compared to provider rates. The biggest thing about using a VoIP cordless phone is its flexibility for your business.

Unlike traditional landlines, VoIP phones open up entirely new communication methods in business.

If choosing a professional VoIP provider and VoIP phone service is part of a larger strategy to change business communications, consider why you put that strategy first. Doing so will help you set standards for what you want from a business VoIP service provider.

For example, if the policy is about company growth and scalability, you may need a VoIP provider that:

• Possess global or national network infrastructure that can support connectivity across all your offices.
• It comes with materials like training support or document libraries or videos that you can refer to for beginners when setting up.
• Using a fixed price structure is essential for financial planning and avoiding sudden expenses outside the business budget.
• Supports international voice calls and video conferencing.
• It can easily integrate with any significant third-party software.

Creating a list of requirements will be much easier for you to compare different services and choose the right one for your business.

Signing up for a VoIP provider and finding essential features for your business is wise.

2. Compare different service providers

It’s important to compare providers to make sure you don’t rush your decision and choose the wrong phone service for your business. Additionally, you can save money.

3. Check the security and privacy of your VoIP service provider

Since VoIP phone services for small businesses run on the Internet, there are significant security and privacy considerations when choosing a service provider.

If you choose a VoIP phone service for small businesses with a poor track record of security and privacy, your business communication data is likely compromised by cybercriminals.

When choosing an Internet-based business phone system, ensure it offers end-to-end encryption, privacy policies, secure protocols, multi-factor authentication, etc.

4. Get a free trial of VoIP

The best way to ensure that the system meets the needs of your entire business is to sign up for a free trial. You can learn how the system works, try out all its features, and ensure it’s right for your business without sacrificing your money. But, of course, not every VoIP provider will offer a free trial.

However, they may offer other options that you can try before making a purchase, such as a free trial offer or a money-back guarantee. Either way, we strongly recommend checking out the service for free.

5. Listen to what other VoIP users say

Another way to make sure you choose the VoIP phone service most suitable for your small business is to look at what others have to say about the various providers available in the market.

You can read online reviews, customer testimonials, and other online content. This idea will give you a better understanding of the pros and cons of different VoIP providers.

6. Check your VoIP provider’s customer support 

You’ll quickly get frustrated when you sign up for a VoIP provider with many great features but lack customer support.

Whether you have a billing query or need help training employees for a new system, it will be complex for you to find the correct answers if your VoIP provider fails in their customer service department.

You should read customer testimonials to determine whether the service provider provides better customer support.

It is also worth visiting the provider’s website to see if they offer a dedicated help page, live chat, customer phone line, email address, and other customer support.

7. Choose a reputable VoIP business service

Some providers charge exorbitant prices for deficient performance, are challenging to use, or endanger user privacy. We strongly advise exploring our comprehensive pricing guide to help you identify and choose a reputable and top-rated provider. By doing so, you ensure that your business benefits from reliable communication tools, enhanced security, and excellent customer support. Investing in a trustworthy VoIP phone service for small businesses will lead to smoother operations, better scalability, and increased overall satisfaction for both your employees and clients.