Most small businesses rely on a regular phone line, or for the ultra-small, it may simply be the owner’s cell phone. This can work, but there are a number of advantages provided by considering VoIP phone service. The first reason many companies consider VoIP is the chance to realize significant cost savings through low cost providers. The second is to take advantage of the many special features which VoIP allow, many that can make your small company sound like something much larger.

The savings from VoIP are made possible by the inherent qualities of the service. Rather than traveling the planet directly as an audio transmission, your voice is transformed into data, and this is sent via the Internet to the person with whom you are speaking.

It does not matter where in the world the other person is at.

If you are choosing VoIP for the potential cost savings, there are a number of services from which to choose. Companies have sprung up in the last several years dedicated solely to providing low-cost business calling services, generally relying on VoIP for transmission.

In addition to the cost savings, VoIP offers smaller companies the ability to benefit from many of the features offered to larger companies. These include:

- Automated voicemail

- Call screening

- Ability to record a call

- Call logs

- Virtual secretary

- Music for people waiting

- Extensions

- The ability to find an employee by name

In addition to the above features, there are a number of special services that may be avialable, depending on your VoIP provider. For instance, RingCentral provides a cool iPhone app, allowing you streamlined access to you VoIP service on your cell phone.

All these business-oriented additions to regular phone service allow a company to sound large, even if it’s a single office. You might not have a secretary – but it’ll sound like it when your phone is automatically picked up, and the caller is quickly connected to the person they are looking for.

Having a virtual receptionist can be very convenient. You might worry about missing an important call, but it is generally possible to have particular numbers forwarded directly through to your regular landline or even cell phone.

By turning to VoIP, businesses can realize significant cost savings while benefiting from valuable features. The busy schedules of most small business-execs has limited VoIP adoption – maybe it’s time to consider it more carefully?

If you decide to seriously consider choosing a VoIP service, please read my RingCentral review.