A fancy company phone system used to be very expensive regarding equipment and specialized hardware. Most firms use private branch exchange (PBX) systems to handle numerous lines, play automatically, hold music, and route calls. The VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone technology used by all of the small business phone systems in this ranking enables you to use an internet connection for your whole business phone system.
VoIP phone systems don’t require specialized hardware or employees to manage them. You only need to download a mobile or desktop program to have a fully functional phone system. Company phone systems can now incorporate unified communications services like video conferencing, team chat, and voicemail-to-email thanks to VoIP providers, who have significantly improved business phone systems. This guide ranks the top small business phone systems for 2022 and discusses their features.
Intermedia
In addition to being named the Best Business Phone System of 2022, Intermedia also tops our lists of the Best Small Business Phone Systems and Best VoIP Business Phone Systems of 2022. There are two simple pricing options for unified communications plans from Intermedia. Unite Enterprise costs $32.99 monthly, while the Unite Pro plan option costs $27.99 monthly.
Unlimited calling, CRM interfaces, auto-attendant, call recording, supervisor analytics, meeting transcripts, and team messaging are just a few of the many services included in both plan tiers. In addition to an Exchange mailbox, HD video conferencing for up to 200 people, Salesforce connections, and supervisory features like monitoring, whispering, and barging, the higher-tier Unite Enterprise subscription also includes an Exchange mailbox.
Nextiva
Because of its strong privacy and security settings and integrated CRM software, NextivaOne’s cloud-based business phone system is a perfect tool for multisite retail and healthcare enterprises. The fact that Nextiva uses data and process visualizations to make it simpler to create and edit complex call flows and auto attendants is one of the reasons it is so user-friendly. Additionally, NextivaOne makes it simple to keep track of every discussion you have with clients and colleagues. Users may access all communications with each individual in one place thanks to its threaded conversation feature, regardless of whether they took place through voicemail, email, text message, or Slack conversation.
Thanks to this capability, employees gain from not having to switch back and forth between different programs.NextivaOne’s three business communication options for smaller enterprises, Essential, Professional, and Enterprise, vary from $23.95 to $37.95 per user per month. Larger businesses can save up to 25% per-user costs by purchasing more user accounts. Nextiva offers a large range of IP phones, conference phones, and analog adapters that you can use to upgrade outdated desk phones or fax machines. Every package includes unlimited domestic and international calling, an auto attendant, call groups, round-the-clock customer service, email integrations, mobile apps, and more. Nextiva provides contracts up to 36 months that can qualify for additional discounts.
Ooma Office
Small companies with limited resources dipping their toes into VoIP for the first time will find Ooma Office an excellent solution. Ooma’s straightforward yet effective system enables you to smoothly transition from your current PBX setup without any hassles and at a reasonable price. It may lack some of the bells and whistles offered by some of the other providers on this list. Ooma Office deserves praise for not being a wholly hardware-based system. It provides top-notch cloud-based services via its useful and user-friendly app, which transforms any desktop or mobile device into a “softphone.”
Although it isn’t normally advised, this enables you to switch to Ooma’s environment without spending money on any of its hardware. After all, this provider’s main selling point is its hardware. Every user of Ooma pays a set monthly fee per user. The more expensive subscription includes additional capabilities like video conferencing, call recording, and desktop software. Hardware expenditures are not included in this, though. You must acquire Desk phones and other tangible items separately for a reasonable one-time cost. Free unlimited calling, a virtual receptionist, low-cost international calling, and a toll-free number are all included in each monthly membership package.
RingCentral
An all-in-one cloud platform for calls, audio conferencing, online fax, and SMS is called RingCentral MVP. It’s a robust but adaptable system that works well with a variety of existing PBX phone hardware and lets you use almost any mobile device to run as a softphone. As might be expected, a wide range of services is offered as standards, such as call logging, monitoring, recording, and online faxing (opens in new tab). Besides providing team collaboration through screen sharing and HD video for tasks and video conferencing, it also provides HD voice and audioconferencing through mobile devices.
The central contact center provides omnichannel routing, CRM software connectors, agent management tools, and actionable analytics (opens in a new tab). Integrations are also offered for various applications, including SalesForce, Microsoft 365, Zoho, Zendesk, Oracle, and others. The best prices are offered when there are more than two users, depending on the number of users and features needed. The developer network provides access to APIs, another option for creating a customized phone system.
Conclusion
Even though many excellent VoIP companies exist, Intermedia and Nextiva are our top picks. Of course, it is up to you to decide if they are the best option for your small business. However, we think they provide reasonable packages, contemporary unified communications capabilities, and are more adaptable and simple to use in and out of the workplace – all things to think about if you own a small business.
Photo credit: The feature image has been done by Julie Francoeur.
