Phone System Small Business

PBX Phone Systems for Small Businesses

Small businesses depend on stability and growth, two things that are difficult to maintain at once. This challenge – keeping things running smoothly while increasing customers and profits is what small business owners try to solve every day. Presenting a consistent, professional image can go a long way in helping you maintain this tricky balance.

That is where an AccessDirect PBX virtual phone system can help. A small business PBX system is a feature-rich and budget-friendly way to manage your calls and time. By utilizing extensions for individuals or departments, you can make your business look bigger and help your callers get assistance quickly. It ensures that callers can always reach you, even if your call volume is high, you are out of the office, or your employees are on other calls.

AccessDirect is a small business dedicated to helping other small businesses with their phone needs. Read on to find out more about how we can help or contact us today. Try our service at no charge for a week with our free trial, and start experiencing the difference our small business phone systems can make.

FREE TRIAL OFFER

COMPARE PLANS

ORDER NOW

Case Studies: How Two Small Businesses Benefitted From A PBX Phone System

AccessDirect has helped small and medium organizations across many industries with virtual PBX services that grow alongside their businesses. Here’s how our solutions have helped manage the phone calls of two growing companies.

An Insurance Company with High Call Volume

diverse business staff working in small shared office

The ten employees of a small Northeast insurance firm were struggling with high call volumes of nearly 100 calls per day. Personal attention is an extremely important selling point for insurance brokerages, but the company’s small staff was increasingly stretched thin. AccessDirect set up a customized virtual PBX for this small business that included our Direct Receptionist service.

Once the system was active, incoming calls were sent to the correct location and were prioritized accordingly, using an automated answering system. Customers calling in to pay a bill or make simple policy changes were connected with the appropriate staff member, while new clients and higher-priority calls were sent immediately to a sales agent.

By better managing the flow of incoming calls, customers received faster service, and the insurance firm was able to be more productive without hiring additional team members.

A Small Law Firm Needing Accessibility

A Southern attorney contacted AccessDirect after leaving a larger law firm. The attorney was setting up an independent practice and needed a small business PBX phone system. The new law firm had the potential to grow, but for now there were budgetary considerations, and the practice really only involved the attorney and his wife.

Alongside the financial considerations, another issue was accessibility. Clients often need to contact attorneys after an accident, which can occur at any time. The new law firm could not hire someone to stay by the phones 24/7 but still needed a reliable way to quickly answer calls at any time.

AccessDirect set up a virtual number and auto attendant service which offered one point of contact. Potential clients could call the law firm’s main number, and if they needed immediate assistance, select an extension that forwards to the attorney’s cell phone. Now the attorney could take calls and grow his practice around the clock without needing to hire additional staff or give out his personal phone number.

lawyer talking on cell phone while at laptop in office

Why Choose AccessDirect?

AccessDirect understands there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to small businesses and their phones. Our PBX solutions are built from the ground up according to your exact requirements and specifications. Your system can be upgraded or downgraded at any time, allowing you to choose the best plan for your immediate needs.

Our small business PBX phone systems are designed to help make your business run more smoothly. Our professional auto attendant will greet all incoming callers, ensuring your they never hear a busy signal. Whether you have one employee or one hundred, our systems can accommodate you.

Our plans require no long-term commitments. That means no need to invest in equipment, no lengthy contracts to sign, and the ability to use our services only as needed. All our plans are on easy month-to-month terms and can be cancelled at any time. We believe in our product, and in being an asset to your business – not a burden.

AccessDirect has over 20+ years of experience providing PBX small business telephone systems to entrepreneurs. We are dedicated to helping you choose the best system for your business, maintaining that system for you in the cloud, and making whatever changes you need to best serve your company’s needs. We understand that you need not only a professional image for your business, but a professional company to partner with to create that image and nurture it.

We all know how frustrating it is to wait on hold for assistance, or to be passed from department to department to get the support you need. That is why we provide you with a single, direct point of contact for the life of your account, giving you a representative that knows all the ins and outs of your phone system. Our Lenexa, KS based support team is committed to providing you with the same stellar service experience you seek to provide your own customers.

Most importantly, AccessDirect knows how to serve small businesses because we are a small business ourselves. Our success depends on your success, and our focus is providing the best features and service possible to make that a reality. To get started with a small business PBX phone system for your company, contact one of our representatives today by phone, chat, or email. We look forward to assisting you!

Benefit Spotlight: How A Virtual PBX Phone System Saves Money

Virtual PBX phone systems are a great choice for small businesses, especially those just starting out, because of their unique cost saving opportunities. Because they require no equipment that must be purchased or rented, there are no installation or set-up fees involved with virtual PBX systems. There is also no need to pay a separate company maintenance, hosting, or IT service fees as an ongoing monthly cost.

A virtual phone number, either local or toll-free, is typically included as part of a virtual PBX system. This virtual number can be used as your business line, or you can choose to port an existing business number to the system. This way you can eliminate paying a phone company a separate (and often expensive) extra fee for hosting a phone number that connects to your virtual system.

Virtual PBX providers are also able to offer many more features to business customers than traditional phone companies can. Because they utilize cloud servers and are not tied to older and more expensive infrastructure, they can provide more to their customers at a lower price point. For example, a traditional business landline service, including a single phone number and voicemail, starts at around $40 per month. A virtual provider can offer a single virtual phone number, call routing, voicemail, and additional features for half that price. AccessDirect offers these features with our phone systems for small businesses starting at only $19.95 per month.

white piggy bank sitting on bills on desk with white keyboard, glasses, and pen

PBX Phone System FAQ

PBX is short for “Private Branch eXchange,” which is a technical way of saying a private internal phone system. That’s not an especially intuitive acronym, so we wanted to answer some commonly asked questions regarding PBX systems and how they can help your business.

What is a PBX phone system?

A PBX phone system is designed to manage phone calls at a business. In the past they were hosted on expensive hardware platforms that resided inside of the business they were used in and could fill an entire closet or storage room. Modern PBX systems are software based and are usually hosted on servers in the cloud.

How Do PBX Phone Systems Work?

PBX phone systems work much like a switchboard, routing incoming phone calls in either a fixed manner (e.g. sending calls immediately to voicemail or another phone number) or a flexible one (e.g. allowing the caller to choose the individual or department they wish to speak to).

What Are The Types of PBX Phone Systems?

While there is no such thing as a “standard” PBX phone system, there are three common types of systems in use today: Traditional PBX, IP PBX, and Hosted or Virtual PBX. Here’s the rundown on each type of system and how they differ from one another:

Traditional PBX System
Traditional PBX systems use landlines to connect callers to various extensions or departments. Because these systems depend on physical hardware and phone lines, businesses often need to pay additional monthly costs to their phone company (like long-distance fees) for them to function properly. They typically are restricted in the number of phone lines they can accommodate due to the physical limitations of the system itself. They also require specialized engineers to repair, maintain, or alter them, making it difficult to change how they work quickly and efficiently.
IP PBX System
An IP PBX system uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) instead of landlines, meaning calls are made using a business’s existing internet connection. While an IP PBX system requires physical hardware and ethernet ports to work, it is usually more affordable than a traditional PBX system due to lower phone company fees (such as long distance calling), but it can increase monthly internet fees because of the data needed. They are also able to be configured more easily than a traditional PBX system, though the hardware still needs to be serviced by professionals.
Hosted or Virtual PBX System
A hosted or virtual PBX system is hosted in the cloud, requires no physical phone lines or equipment, and is serviced off-site by a third-party provider. They are easily set up or changed, typically through a website, and do not require professional installation. Providers typically require a monthly fee, and often do not charge start-up or other fees – though this varies from provider to provider.

Can I Keep My Current Phone Numbers With A PBX System?

Yes! You can use your current phone numbers with a VoIP PBX, hosted PBX, or virtual PBX. You can also choose to obtain a new virtual local or toll-free number and use it alongside or as a replacement for your current phone number.

What Are the Advantages of a PBX Phone System?

Efficiency, professionalism, and cost-savings are just a few of the benefits of a PBX system. Here’s some of the key advantages this technology can offer your small business:

Professional Greetings: A professionally recorded greeting with a crisp sound and a polished voice that is easily understood by your callers can help create a great first impression of your business. AccessDirect offers to record your greetings at no additional charge.
Consistency: Small business phone systems promptly answer every incoming call, ensuring your callers are greeted quickly and never hear a busy signal – even when your call volume is at its highest.
Improved Efficiency: A well-designed PBX system ensures no dropped or misdirected calls into your business. Callers can quickly choose the person or department they need, and those calls are automatically forwarded in the cloud.
Easily Answer Common Questions: Many companies spend a great deal of time answering the same questions on the phone repeatedly throughout the day. With a PBX phone system, you can record answers to those same questions for your callers (like your address, hours, specials, etc.), cutting down on the amount of time you need to spend on the phone.
Reduce Human Error: Even the most professional among us can make mistakes from time to time. A PBX system does not have bad days and answers every caller the same way.
Changes as Your Business Does: Whether your business is growing or scaling back, a PBX phone service can change with you. Seasonal businesses can particularly benefit, utilizing a single voicemail box when out of season and then growing to a full auto attendant system during their main system.
Cost-Effective: A PBX system can save your business money by eliminating the need for traditional phone service. A hosted or virtual PBX system can save you even more because they are hosted in the cloud, and do not require the upkeep of a physical phone system.

Who Can Benefit From A PBX Phone System?

Any company can benefit from the modern technological features and cost savings a PBX phone system can provide, but we think that small businesses can especially benefit. Here’s a few examples of who we think a small business phone system is particularly advantageous to:

Businesses With High Call Volumes: High call volumes are efficiently handled with PBX system. Incoming calls can be quickly routed to the right department without multiple transfers or confusion. Best of all callers will never experience a busy signal, as the system can answer multiple calls simultaneously.
Rapidly Growing Businesses: PBX systems are easily scalable. The lack of physical hardware makes them easy to upgrade without the need to purchase additional equipment or hire an engineer to install it. Their scalability makes it easy to add new extensions, greetings, departments, and menu options as new staff members, products, or services are added. In a dynamic business, a PBX system keeps up.
Solopreneurs and Very Small Organizations: Very small organizations may not have money or time to hire and train a dedicated administrative assistant to answer calls. The auto attendant function of a PBX system along with a professional greeting can eliminate this need, while also making a very small business sound bigger and more professional.
Small Businesses Competing With Larger Companies: Presenting callers with extensions for departments instead of individuals can make your business sound as big as your larger competitors, even with minimal staff.
Professional Practices: Professional practices need gatekeepers as well as a polished brand. A small business PBX system can ensure all phone calls are answered in a consistently professional way, offering more control over the caller’s experience. This can be especially important in the medical and legal fields, where callers may be in some distress when they call, and their needs may be time sensitive.
Businesses with Remote Employees or Multiple Office Locations: A PBX system can route calls to any team member, wherever they are, at any time. This means that whether they’re at work, in a home office, or even across the country, they’re available for your customers.

Get Started Today

Our phone systems for small businesses have been helping entrepreneurs since 1997. Are you ready to get started with a PBX phone system at your business? Still have questions about how it can help meet your company’s needs? Contact us today! We’re ready to answer any questions you may have, or to get you started with a free one week trial of the service so you can see for yourself how it can benefit your business. Call us at 877-599-6500 or chat with us to speak with a knowledgeable representative. We’re ready and eager to help your business!