Business VoIP - Top 10 Questions To Ask Before
Signing A Contract
By Ara Rubyan
Before you sign a contract with a business VoIP service provider, get some
straight answers to these 10 questions:
"What happens if and when I want to end this contract? Are there any
early-termination penalties?"
No matter how good everything else is about a particular business VoIP provider, if
you're locked into a two- or three-year contract (or longer) that's pretty bad. And
you're going to find many business VoIP providers do this -- and it's just the way it
is. If you don't like it, you can try to negotiate around it; but the bottom line is that
you should be prepared to walk away and find another provider.
"Is your low price going to get me a system that doesn't meet my needs? Are there
additional (hidden) start-up costs? Will I have to buy additional handsets? Will I
have to purchase additional add-ons (like interface cards or even servers) to meet
my capacity needs?"
If the package price looks too good to be true, it probably is. Find out what it
includes -- and what is extra. You might be surprised. But you'll be glad you asked.
And another thing: if your final decision is based on two competing quotes, go
through each quote line by line. Make sure you are comparing apples and apples
-- not apples and oranges.
"Is there anything that I'm going to use every day that I might be get charged extra
for? What day-to-day costs are NOT going to be covered by your business VoIP
quote? For example, I make a lot of international calls during certain times of the
year. Will I be charged extra for that?"
Again, I can't stress enough the importance of writing down everything you think
you'll need as part of your business VoIP plan. Then talk to your vendor and
make sure these aren't going to be considered "add-ons" or "extras." For example,
if you want conference calling, make sure you aren't going to be nickle-and-dimed
to death for using it.
Make a spreadsheet that details all of your actual communications usage and ask
about all the items on the list so you can predict your costs.
"Can I 'plug and play' my fax machine or not? Can my business VoIP system
accommodate in-bound faxes as easily as outbound ones?"
Look out for faxing on business VoIP systems. A lot of older systems can't deal
with it very well without add-on components. Just because you have a phone line
doesn't mean you can fax anything. Better to ask upfront what is included in your
business VoIP plan that makes faxing possible.
"What if I miscalculate my initial design? What are the additional costs for
upgrading?"
On one hand you can't expect your business VoIP vendor to eat the cost of your
mistakes. But you can lessen the pain somewhat by choosing a provider that is
willing to work with you to provide good service.
"Will my business VoIP system be able to handle employees working from home?
How about employees who go from location to location? Will either of them be able
to plug into our system and get all the features they could get in our main
location?"
Although you might not have remote or mobile employees now, who knows what'll
happen down the road?
Plan ahead by asking your vendor now whether you business VoIP system will be
able to accommodate these sorts of workers in the future. And don't be afraid of
thinking outside the box -- sometimes a solution is easier than you think. For
example, one solution is to get a single line for someone working from home and
then (using your business VoIP call-forwarding) transfer calls to that remote
location.
"I have a bunch of older phones. What do I need to do in order to use them on my
new business VoIP system?"
Your business VoIP provider should be able to integrate them into your system
without too much problem. And a good thing too -- depending on how many
phones you have, it can wind up saving you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
"Can you guarantee a certain level of Quality of Service? How good is your tech
support if I have any issues? Will I be left holding the bag if there are problems
between my network equipment supplier, my high-speed Internet provider my
business VoIP provider? Is everyone going to point a finger at someone else, or
will you take charge to solve the problem and make me happy?"
Be blunt up-front. Ask your vendor directly. If their answer sounds fishy, run and
find another provider. Life's too short to spend hours on the phone tracking down
solutions.
"If I dial 911 from my business VoIP phone, will dispatchers know my location
automatically? How about remote or mobile employees?"
This is a kind of touchy subject with business VoIP providers. Many of them will talk
about E911 being available soon. But don't settle for service in some far-distant
calendar quarter. If they cannot provide you with E911 service now, they should be
able to give you a firm estimate for when it will come online.
"How do I know you are going to be around for the entire term of my contract with
you?"
With the collapse of SunRocket and the near-death experience that is Vonage,
you have a right to know if your business VoIP provider is in it for the long haul.
You also want to know if they will be bought out by a bigger company. Make sure
your contract is binding regardless of whose name is on it in the near future.
Ara Rubyan is not a part of the VoIP industry, nor does he sell VoIP services, nor
does he pretend to be a guru of any kind. Instead, he is like you: a consumer, a
business owner, and someone who has been researching the industry so that he
could make an informed decision about the best VoIP service for his needs. Now,
he's put all his research (so far) in one convenient location and he's sharing it with
you, no strings attached.
For more info on Business VoIP, visit Ara Rubyan's VoIP Solution.
Signing A Contract
By Ara Rubyan
Before you sign a contract with a business VoIP service provider, get some
straight answers to these 10 questions:
"What happens if and when I want to end this contract? Are there any
early-termination penalties?"
No matter how good everything else is about a particular business VoIP provider, if
you're locked into a two- or three-year contract (or longer) that's pretty bad. And
you're going to find many business VoIP providers do this -- and it's just the way it
is. If you don't like it, you can try to negotiate around it; but the bottom line is that
you should be prepared to walk away and find another provider.
"Is your low price going to get me a system that doesn't meet my needs? Are there
additional (hidden) start-up costs? Will I have to buy additional handsets? Will I
have to purchase additional add-ons (like interface cards or even servers) to meet
my capacity needs?"
If the package price looks too good to be true, it probably is. Find out what it
includes -- and what is extra. You might be surprised. But you'll be glad you asked.
And another thing: if your final decision is based on two competing quotes, go
through each quote line by line. Make sure you are comparing apples and apples
-- not apples and oranges.
"Is there anything that I'm going to use every day that I might be get charged extra
for? What day-to-day costs are NOT going to be covered by your business VoIP
quote? For example, I make a lot of international calls during certain times of the
year. Will I be charged extra for that?"
Again, I can't stress enough the importance of writing down everything you think
you'll need as part of your business VoIP plan. Then talk to your vendor and
make sure these aren't going to be considered "add-ons" or "extras." For example,
if you want conference calling, make sure you aren't going to be nickle-and-dimed
to death for using it.
Make a spreadsheet that details all of your actual communications usage and ask
about all the items on the list so you can predict your costs.
"Can I 'plug and play' my fax machine or not? Can my business VoIP system
accommodate in-bound faxes as easily as outbound ones?"
Look out for faxing on business VoIP systems. A lot of older systems can't deal
with it very well without add-on components. Just because you have a phone line
doesn't mean you can fax anything. Better to ask upfront what is included in your
business VoIP plan that makes faxing possible.
"What if I miscalculate my initial design? What are the additional costs for
upgrading?"
On one hand you can't expect your business VoIP vendor to eat the cost of your
mistakes. But you can lessen the pain somewhat by choosing a provider that is
willing to work with you to provide good service.
"Will my business VoIP system be able to handle employees working from home?
How about employees who go from location to location? Will either of them be able
to plug into our system and get all the features they could get in our main
location?"
Although you might not have remote or mobile employees now, who knows what'll
happen down the road?
Plan ahead by asking your vendor now whether you business VoIP system will be
able to accommodate these sorts of workers in the future. And don't be afraid of
thinking outside the box -- sometimes a solution is easier than you think. For
example, one solution is to get a single line for someone working from home and
then (using your business VoIP call-forwarding) transfer calls to that remote
location.
"I have a bunch of older phones. What do I need to do in order to use them on my
new business VoIP system?"
Your business VoIP provider should be able to integrate them into your system
without too much problem. And a good thing too -- depending on how many
phones you have, it can wind up saving you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
"Can you guarantee a certain level of Quality of Service? How good is your tech
support if I have any issues? Will I be left holding the bag if there are problems
between my network equipment supplier, my high-speed Internet provider my
business VoIP provider? Is everyone going to point a finger at someone else, or
will you take charge to solve the problem and make me happy?"
Be blunt up-front. Ask your vendor directly. If their answer sounds fishy, run and
find another provider. Life's too short to spend hours on the phone tracking down
solutions.
"If I dial 911 from my business VoIP phone, will dispatchers know my location
automatically? How about remote or mobile employees?"
This is a kind of touchy subject with business VoIP providers. Many of them will talk
about E911 being available soon. But don't settle for service in some far-distant
calendar quarter. If they cannot provide you with E911 service now, they should be
able to give you a firm estimate for when it will come online.
"How do I know you are going to be around for the entire term of my contract with
you?"
With the collapse of SunRocket and the near-death experience that is Vonage,
you have a right to know if your business VoIP provider is in it for the long haul.
You also want to know if they will be bought out by a bigger company. Make sure
your contract is binding regardless of whose name is on it in the near future.
Ara Rubyan is not a part of the VoIP industry, nor does he sell VoIP services, nor
does he pretend to be a guru of any kind. Instead, he is like you: a consumer, a
business owner, and someone who has been researching the industry so that he
could make an informed decision about the best VoIP service for his needs. Now,
he's put all his research (so far) in one convenient location and he's sharing it with
you, no strings attached.
For more info on Business VoIP, visit Ara Rubyan's VoIP Solution.
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