On an old phone system, most of the things below were paid extras. Some needed an engineer to come out and switch them on. On ours they are all just on, on both plans, from day one.
Here is what each one actually does, in normal language, because the names on their own mean nothing if you have never run a phone system.
The "press 1 for sales" menu
A caller rings your main number and hears "thanks for calling, press 1 for sales, 2 for accounts, or hold for reception". Nobody has to answer every single call, and a two-person business sounds properly organised. On an old system this was usually a paid extra that needed an engineer to program.
Rules that send calls where they need to go
Ring the office between nine and five, then send everything to the owner’s mobile after that. Or route calls differently depending on which number was dialled. It happens automatically, with nobody having to remember to redirect anything.
Ring the whole team, or hold callers in order
Three people take enquiries? Ring all three phones at once, or one after another, until somebody picks up. If everyone is busy, callers wait in an orderly queue with hold music and a "you are second in line" message rather than getting a dead tone.
Every call, kept and playable
Record every call, or just certain lines, and play them back later. Useful for training somebody new, settling an argument about what was agreed, or meeting compliance rules. On an old system this usually meant another box and another bill.
Put a call down here, pick it up over there
Rather than one hold button, you get numbered parking slots. Answer a call, park it on slot two, shout up the stairs that there is someone on park two, and your colleague picks it up from any phone in the building. Several calls can be parked at once without getting mixed up.
Your extension on your phone or laptop
Install the app, log in, and your phone or laptop behaves exactly like your desk extension. Same number, same ability to transfer and park. At home, on the train, or in the van.
Messages land in your inbox
A missed call leaves a voicemail and within a minute or two the recording arrives in your inbox as an audio file, ready to play. No walking back to a desk to check a flashing light.
Desk, laptop and mobile all at once
A call to the office number rings the desk phone, the laptop app and the mobile at the same time. If you are out on a job, you still get the call meant for you.
See who is free before you transfer
Little lights beside each colleague’s name. Green means free, red means they are on a call. Whoever answers reception can transfer with confidence instead of guessing.
Changes. Adding a starter, moving an extension to a different desk, changing your opening hours, rewriting the auto attendant menu, adjusting who rings when. All done by our team, remotely, usually the same day, at no charge.
This is the bit that proves the rest of it. Plenty of providers include features and then charge you every time you want one adjusted. We do not, and it is worth asking anyone else you are quoting whether they do.
Tell us how many people answer the phone and we will tell you the monthly figure. No survey, no sales visit, no obligation. Most quotes take about five minutes on the phone.
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