How to set up a VoIP phone system for your small business
Step 1: Know how many licenses and phone lines you’ll need
As you’re setting up any UCaaS solution or business phone service, you need to take into account the number of users you’ll have. This directly affects your pricing and which plans you might consider—and note that the number of users may not directly correlate to the number of actual people in your business! (Maybe not everyone will need access to your business phone system.)
Step 2: Make sure you have a fast and stable Internet connection
It may seem obvious, but this is crucial if you have employees in the office, since you’ll be making phone calls and doing video conferencing over Wi-Fi. If you’re going to be out and about, then you’ll need a good data plan so that you can have an Internet connection while you’re away from the office.
Dialpad and T-Mobile actually have a package that gives you access to T-Mobile’s lightning-fast 5G network and Dialpad’s unified communications platform, at a small-business-friendly price.
Step 3: Set your budget
Pricing structures are pretty much the same for most VoIP service providers and UCaaS solutions. You’ll generally have the choice of paying by month or paying annually (the prices are usually cheaper for annual plans). Think of these like phone plans, except they cover a bunch of other business communications features too.
Another tip when it comes to pricing: Pay attention to the fine print. Do they include customer support? Or is that an add-on with a separate fee? What about calling minutes? Some providers like Dialpad include unlimited calling for a set price, but others may charge by the minute. How much are toll-free numbers? Those are just a few things to look for, beyond the initial price tag.
Step 4: Determine the functionality you need
When it comes down to it, the main things to look for will be the specific functionality that your industry or small business needs.
If your needs are very basic (e.g. you just need a voice calling feature and desk phone support), you may find that a cheaper, more basic VoIP service provider has all the features you need.
For growing small businesses though, they may also need to communicate with teammates, clients, and prospects in other ways like screen sharing, video calling, and SMS messaging: