Small Business Starter Tips - Part 3

Aside from payroll, the next easiest thing to cut is communication costs. Just think about how much you spend each month on your phone, fax, long distance, etc. It can cost $200 or more a month to keep all these services. So here's how to cut it down to less than half the cost.

Let's start with the phone service. We use Vonage as our phone service. If you're not familiar with this, Vonage is an internet phone service. You are given an actual local phone number. (or toll free for an extra fee) Vonage uses your existing internet connection to make and receive calls. The cost is just $24.99 per month for unlimited calls. (in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and about 60 other countries)

If you need a fax line, I recommend eFax rather than any bundled package. (with Vonage or any other carrier) If you were to bundle with Vonage it would cost $49.99 for phone and fax. That means the fax line is costing you as much as the phone line. ($25) eFax offers the same service for just $16.95 a month. (or $14.13 a month if you pay annually) With their service you get a toll free fax line plus saved digital copies of each fax.

One other thing I'd like to add that we use is eVoice Receptionist. It gives you an answering system with a professionally recorded voice, directory lookup, hold music, and multiple extensions. You can set it up to ring any phone when the extension is dialed, even if it is different phone number. So if you're on the go a lot, customers can call the toll free number, dial your extension, and eVoice will ring your cell phone. It's perfect for your expanding small business. The cost here is just $29.95.

One last thing to note is none of this requires the purchase any equipment. Vonage requires a phone adapter, but it's free with a new account. Both efax and eVoice work without any equipment. Plus, beyond the cost savings, what makes these services great is the cost is fixed. As your business grows, your costs do not!