Business Phone Systems in Manchester Right Now
No matter if your business is a new tech startup in the Northern Quarter or a long-established one in Spinningfields, it’s important to pick the right phone system. The answers to the most common questions are here. They will help you make the right choice.
1. What are the most important things I need to think about when I get a new phone system for my business?
Most businesses today have to choose between two types of systems:
- VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) hosted in the cloud: The newest and most popular choice. You make calls over the internet, and a business “in the cloud” takes care of everything about your phone system. It’s cheap, flexible, and can grow with your needs.
- VoIP in the building: Your office has the PBX server, which is the most important piece of hardware. This system lets you make calls over the internet. This gives you direct control, but it costs more up front and you need to have IT management in-house.
- ISDN or PSTN for landlines: These are the old copper phone lines. You should know that BT plans to shut down this whole network by 2025. Don’t spend your money on this old technology.
2. I hear a lot about VoIP. What are the real advantages of doing business in Manchester?
VoIP is the standard in business for a good reason. The most important benefits are:
- A lot of savings: You won’t have to pay for expensive line rentals every month, which will save you a lot of money. VoIP call packages are a lot cheaper, especially when you call other countries.
- The most room to grow: Allow your employees to work from any location. They can use their laptop, phone app, or home phone to call and answer calls from your main business number. This is great for people who work at home and in an office.
- Simple to grow: It’s easy to add a new employee when you change your subscription. It’s easy to change the size of your system to meet the needs of your business.
- Things That Are Good: You can now get features that used to be only for big businesses, like auto-attendants (“Press 1 for Sales…”), call recording, music-on-hold, and voicemail-to-email.
3. Can I keep my Manchester phone number, 0161?
Of course, yes. You can easily switch your 0161 number to a new VoIP provider, even if it’s one you know from the past. This is a normal, controlled process that keeps your business open and lets you keep your local identity.
4. The internet at work doesn’t always work. What will happen if it doesn’t work?
This is a real worry, but VoIP systems today are very strong and can do a lot. If your main internet connection goes down, you can set up calls to go through right away:
- You can send it to one phone or a group of phones.
- You can either send it to another office or listen to a message that has already been recorded.
- Employees can keep using a mobile app that works with 4G or 5G without stopping.
5. What is the average cost of a cloud phone system?
A lot of cloud phone systems charge each user a set amount each month. If you run a business in Manchester, you should expect to pay between £10 and £25 a month for each user. This plan usually includes a certain number of call minutes, all the usual features, and tech support that is always available.
6. Are there any benefits to choosing a provider in Manchester?
You can work with a national provider, but there are also benefits to working with a local one.
- On-Site Support: An engineer from your area can come to your site to help with installation, train you in person, or fix problems that need to be fixed right away.
- Knowing the Area: A provider in Manchester will know more about the city’s internet infrastructure and how to connect to it.
- Community Investment: You will be helping a business in the Greater Manchester area.
7. What are the most important things that a small or medium-sized business needs?
These are some things to think about when you look at different providers:
- Auto-Attendant: To answer the phone professionally and direct callers.
- Apps for phones and computers: that let you work from home.
- Voicemail-to-Email: sends your voicemails to your email as audio files.
- Call Queues: To handle a lot of calls at once when things are busy.
- CRM Integration: This links your phone system to customer data so you can better serve them.