For small business owners, one of the most important pieces of equipment or software is your virtual phone system. You’re probably going to be using it every day, and if you choose the right one, it can give you a big competitive advantage.

After all, every business needs, well, business communications. Being accessible to clients, suppliers, and employees is a must-have—and it’s something that small businesses can do just as well, if not better, than large enterprises.

If you’re using the right phone solutions, that is. So, how do you choose the right one? What advantages do different telephone systems and service providers offer?

In this post, we’ll break down what to look for in a hosted phone system (while keeping budget considerations in mind), where you might be able to compromise, and what features you probably shouldn’t skimp on when picking a small business phone service.

Keep reading to learn more:

What small business phone systems are (and the two main types)
9 features to look for (or at least be aware of) as a small business
The 10 best small business phone systems out there
What is a small business phone system, exactly?
First, let’s look at what a small business phone system is.

And no, it’s not just your cell phone.

Technically, a small business phone system is a telephony solution that allows your company to make and receive outbound and inbound business calls (at a very basic level). But beyond that, you’ll also probably need something that lets you transfer and forward calls to, say, your personal cell phone.

Types of business phone line options available to you
If you’re like most small businesses, you’ll probably choose between two main types: a business VoIP (voice over internet protocol) service that uses softphones or IP phones, or a PBX system (private branch exchange) that uses traditional phone lines.

VoIP phone system: The more advanced—and hands-of—option. It uses your internet connection for phone calls, you can pay as you go without much (or any) upfront investment, and it’s easy to set up. These usually come with “softphone” apps that you can use on Android or iOS mobile phones (and even other mobile devices like iPads).

You might also come across phone systems that describe themselves as “unified communications” platforms. This is a newer term, and usually these types of phone systems come with other communications channels too, like SMS and instant messaging.

PBX systems: The more investment-heavy option. Typically you need to buy more hardware up front and you’d need to pay an IT person to come in and help you with changes like adding users or updating voicemail settings. (Some PBX systems have evolved and are better about this, but generally a PBX system will require more work.)

👉 Dialpad tip: If you have a distributed or remote team, or you need to make lots of international calls because your customer base is in different countries, then a VoIP solution is probably your best choice.

It’s important to keep in mind that business phone systems are about more than just the ways you place calls, or the devices you use to do so. They’re all about connecting your business with clients or customers, as well as partners, remote employees, and anyone who happens to be abroad for the month.

In other words, they’re the very foundation that a modern communications-based business is built on.

9 features that a small business should think about when shopping for a phone system
Phone systems are becoming more sophisticated all the time. It’s a good idea to be aware of the kinds of features and bonus functionalities that you could be taking advantage of before you start the search for your new business phone provider.

These are nine of the most important and helpful features that will improve the way your small business runs.

1. Call forwarding to your mobile phone
If you’re not always at your desk and usually taking calls from your cell phone, this is one of the top features you’ll need.

In Dialpad, you can add your cell phone number really easily in your Settings in two clicks. Now you can make sure that your calls are automatically forwarded to your cell:

adding a call forwarding number in dialpad
This is a useful feature for a number of reasons. Firstly, anytime you’ve got technical problems with a phone or other device, you can route all calls away from that device instantly.

Secondly, it’s a great way to ensure that calls that would otherwise go to employees that aren’t present, still get taken. Let’s say that your employee is sick for the week, but was meant to be taking important calls. All you’d need to do is adjust the routing settings, and those calls would be sent directly to someone who’s available.

2. Easy call transfer (and call routing)
Again, if you run a small business, you’re probably busy and stretched way too thin. Which means you can’t possibly answer every single call you get.

But what if it’s an important client or prospect? You don’t want to miss those calls. This is where a call transfer or call forwarding option would come in handy, and you can set up your calls to go straight to your office manager, or secretary, or even sales team if you don’t pick up.

With Dialpad, you can choose for calls to be forwarded to up to five numbers (landline phones or mobile)—even if they’re not Dialpad numbers!

Whether it’s your colleague’s cellphone or desk phone, a good phone system can make sure that your small business pretty much never misses a call again.

3. The ability to keep your existing business phone number
Unless you’re starting a brand new business from scratch, you’ll need the ability to port over your existing business number. Why? Because the last thing you want is to make your customers and suppliers update your phone number that they already have saved in their contact list.

Who Is In–Telecom? In-Telecom is a U.S.-based company, founded in 2009 as a consulting and business telephone system solution provider. Since then, we have evolved into a full service technology company providing customized solutions for cloud telephone, voice over IP,  managed IT services, video conferencing, cyber security & data backup, physical security, internet services, and more. We attribute much of our success to the ability to supply the highest level of customer service and technical expertise, thus becoming the singular solution provider for our customers. Telecom can help steer your company toward efficiency and success. All our solutions are customized and scaled to your specific workflow needs and your budget.