The most common small business phone systems in America are from these manufacturers:
- Avaya phone systems – Partner ACS, Avaya IP Office
- Nortel phone systems – Norstar CICS, Norstar MICS, Nortel BCM
- Others include Toshiba CTX/CIX, Panasonic, Samsung, NEC, and Mitel.
This post isn’t really meant to help you choose which manufacturer’s phone system is the best for you. That choice is usually made with great consideration of costs versus features. After reading this post, you should understand the basic parts of a phone system that result in it’s configuration.
3 Simple Parts – Lines, Stations, and Voice mail
Let’s say it again, “Lines, stations, and voicemail.” This is the basis for all business phone system purchases. If your salesperson is thorough, he will discuss each of these elements with you.
- How many incoming telephone lines will your business need?
- How many telephone stations will there be at the business?
- Do you need voice mail?
How many telephone lines do I need?
Let’s take one step back before we answer this question. First of all what is a telephone line? A telephone line allows your business to make and receive telephone calls. Each telephone line has an assigned phone number(s) (e.g. 555-555-5555) that allows other people to call your business. Telephone lines are provided by your service provider and are connected directly to a telephone or business telephone system at your place of business. Types of telephone lines that you will encounter include analog, digital, and VoIP (see blog post “What kinds of lines can I add to a phone system?).
The number of lines you need at your business is based on call volume. Most small business start at 2 or 3 lines. If customers start complaining that your lines are always busy, then it might be time to add another. Avaya and Norstar phone systems start with configurations of 3 or 4 phone lines for every 8 phone stations, so you can also make your decision based on this common ratio. Regardless of the decision, rest assured that you can add or subtract lines easily.
How many telephone stations do I need?
A telephone station is a physical telephone that is connected to a business phone system. Telephone stations typically have assigned extension numbers. This allows you to call other people in the office by dialing their extension number. This is called in ‘intercom’ call. For instance if Bob’s telephone station had an extension number of 10, then I could dial 10 on my telephone station and Bob’s phone would ring.
Determining how many telephone stations you will need at your business is easy. All you need to know is how many people in the office will need consistent access to a physical telephone. Office or cubicle workers usually need a phone right on their desk, but common areas like break rooms or lobbies may only need one phone for common use. Other types of phone stations can include a conference speakerphone in a conference room, a credit card machine that has a modem, or a fax machine.
Do I need voice mail integrated with my business phone system?
Your telephone line service provider may offer voice mail service on each telephone line, but this means that everyone has to share a mailbox. For instance, if you have 3 telephone lines, then you only receive 3 voice mailboxes, one for each line. This isn’t the best scenario if you have 8 people in the office each with their own messages. Each person would have to listen to all of the messages to figure out which one is his. Not only would this be time consuming, but it’s also not very private. If you integrate a voice mail system with your phone system, then each person can have a mailbox assigned to their extension. They can record personal greetings and receive individualized messages.
Now, let’s get back to the original question. Do I need voice mail integrated with my business phone system. The answer to question is ‘Yes’ if everyone needs their own mailbox, and the answer is ‘No’ if the entire business can share a mailbox. The ‘No’ situation would be similar to using an answering machine.
Which business phone system should I choose?
This is question that I won’t answer in this post. Although I am partial to Avaya and Nortel phone systems because they are the two major players in the US, there are many businesses that use phone systems from other manufacturers that fulfill their communication needs. Salespeople for any system can configure and adequately describe the features and benefits of the system they sell. If you don’t completely trust your salesperson, then you can find tons of information online about any manufacturer’s system. Then again, if you don’t trust your salesperson, it might be time for a new salesperson.
