After a small business has made the decision that a hosted phone system is right for them, the difficult part begins, which is to compare the various providers. While each provider’s website claims reliability, flexibility, and excellent support, you can’t always tell from the marketing copy that this is the case.

This article outlines a realistic approach to testing hosted VoIP phone systems for use in a small business environment, and focuses on the questions that can be used to determine whether a provider will be successful once you become a customer.

Get Clear on Your Actual Requirements First

It’s important to take half an hour to understand what your business really requires, as opposed to comparing feature lists in the abstract, before contacting any provider. What are the number of staff requiring a phone extension? How many calls do you process at one time? Are compliance needs the reason for call recording or integration into software you already use?

This is important since there are many different packages available for hosted VoIP phone systems for small business and it’s much easier to compare packages like for like when there is a list of requirements.

Questions to Ask All Providers

How Call Quality is Actually Delivered?

Inquire about the provider’s call quality control measures, including their network infrastructure and their third-party carrier arrangements, and how this works during peak periods. If they give only a vague answer it should be treated with a certain degree of suspicion – if they’re confident in their infrastructure they should be able to explain this.

At Each Level of Price, What’s the Real Value?

Providers of a hosted phone system in the UK must be careful to make sure that the headline price is accurate if certain features such as call recording, advanced reporting or extra numbers are only available on the higher tier. Request an in-depth explanation of what is being offered at the quoted price, rather than a list of features from the web page.

What is Support like in the real world?

Looking before you buy is hard to do in the case of support, but it can be done with a few good questions: Is the support team based in the UK or elsewhere, what are standard response times for both standard queries and emergency outages, and does the business have a named contact for support or is it a general queue.

What if the Internet Connection goes Down?

A hosted phone system relies on Internet connectivity, so ask the provider about handling Internet outages: can calls be rerouted to mobile phone numbers automatically, and does this have to be set up in advance or is it a default feature?
To compare the Technical and Practical Fit

The software is compatible with existing hardware

If your business is currently using desk phones you want to continue using, make sure to check if they can be used with the new phone system before you assume you can – some hosted VoIP services will accept a variety of existing desk phones, others will need to be replaced or use their own branded phones.

Ease of day-to-day management

Don’t sign up without seeing the actual admin portal. The fact that you can add a user or modify a call routing rule without having to call in outside IT support is a lot more significant in reality than when you’re chatting with the salesperson.

To find out if a new number is available, and to explore the options for Number Porting

If you need to retain your current business number, ensure the provider offers number porting as a regular service and avoids giving you a best case scenario time. If you need new numbers for a particular UK area code, check first.

Contract Terms and Flexibility

Be mindful of contract lengths – the providers of hosted phone systems UK may have monthly contracts, but may have 12-month or 24-month contracts at a lower cost. Think about the level of assurance you need in the choice, and the flexibility your business will require during that time.

Looking Beyond the Sales Conversation

If you are looking for authentic customer feedback from companies that are not very different in size to yours, you are likely to find more meaningful than generic testimonials, especially reviews that make specific concrete “results” claims instead of “gorgeous” ones.

You should also ask the provider you have shortlisted right from the start what percentage of their clients are small businesses compared to bigger organisations because this can influence their support processes and account management in reality. If you’re looking for a provider that can be comfortable serving your needs as your business grows, some options, such as Wavetel Business, can serve both small business hosted phone system needs as well as larger accounts.

Testing Before Committing Fully

If you can, request a trial or a small pilot implementation before making the entire business a move to the cloud.If you can, request a trial or a small pilot implementation (just a few users, rather than the entire business) before making the entire business a move to the cloud. This can show real call quality, the actual responsiveness of the support team when something needs to be done, and the actual admin experience when compared to what was promised during the sales cycle; while, if it isn’t quite right, then there is limited risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Typical length of time for the installation of a hosted system? 

Depending on the provider, the initial configuration can be done in a couple of days, however if you’re having to port your numbers from an existing provider, then this process may take a week or so to complete.

When moving to a hosted phone system, can I keep my current desk phones?

Yes, in most cases, subject to make and model, but please check compatibility with the provider first, before assuming!

What makes the rolling monthly contract better than a longer-term contract? 

This depends on the priorities, as rolling contracts allow greater flexibility, while long-term contracts may have a lower monthly price for committing to the service.

If my business doesn’t have in-house IT support, what do I need to focus on? 

The ability to be easily managed on a day-to-day basis, and to have responsive customer support that is based in the UK is more important than a long list of features, as you are likely to need the provider’s help more often with set up and troubleshooting.

Final Thoughts

It’s important to remember that the right hosted VoIP provider for your business is the one that has the real-life features that are relevant to your company’s needs, not necessarily the list of the longest features. Use specific, probing questions, ask for a trial, if available and consider any vague or evasive answers as one to pay attention to. This will save a lot of trouble when you’re looking to hire a provider down the road.