Best Business VoIP Providers of August 2022

What is Business VoIP?

Business VoIP is the modern form of business phone service utilizing an internet connection instead of a PSTN landline connection. By sending your voice, video, and data communications through your internet network, your business can achieve a high-quality VoIP phone system for a fraction of traditional legacy setups. Business VoIP solutions differ from landline services as feature-rich alternatives for small to medium-sized businesses.

Packed with advanced phone system features necessary to operate small to medium businesses, such as hosted PBX capabilities, desk-to-desk calling, automated attendant systems, call routing and even music-on-hold, Business phone services powered by VoIP technology make it easy for any company to operate with the same level of professionalism customers expect from large scale enterprise systems. Business VoIP systems also include overall Unified Communication solutions to empower the mobility and flexibility needed for any size business. With inexpensive, feature filled phone solutions, your business can operate at a high level on par with large scale systems, without having to worry about the cost.

Most importantly, VoIP offers advanced phone system features traditional landlines cannot, such as multi-level IVR, voicemail transcription, call routing, and KPI monitoring.

Business VoIP unifies geographically diverse workforces, streamlining communication between remote, blended, and in-house teams.

Scalable, pay-as-you-go VoIP plans keep communications costs manageable, offering tiered pricing and add-on features so your business VoIP phone service can evolve with you.

 

How Does Business VoIP Work?

Business VoIP works by using codecs to compress and convert voice audio into digital data packets that travel to the recipient via the Internet.

Once these data packets reach their destination, they’re decompressed and converted back into normal speech audio.

For a more detailed explanation, check out our explanation of how VoIP works.

 

Small Business VoIP Essential Features

Given that there are over 100 VoIP features available, we don’t have the space to cover all of them here. 

However, the features below are the most important ones – don’t bother with a provider that doesn’t offer them.  

 

Standard Call Management Features

Quality VoIP companies should offer all of the below call management features on their most basic plan. 

• Call Hold: Agents place callers on a brief hold to accept/make another phone call or get clarification from a colleague
• Call Waiting: Notifies an agent currently taking a call of another inbound call to their number
• Call Transfer: Agents can transfer their current caller to another agent, department, or higher-up without ending the call
• Hot Desking: Enables any agent to take/make business telephone calls on any desk on an as-needed basis
• Call Parking: Agents can place active calls in a virtual parking lot, where they can be taken over by any other available agent 
• Call Forwarding: If the first phone number goes unanswered, call forwarding automatically forwards calls to additional, preset phone numbers, as shown in the image below:
• Call Blocking: Anonymously block inbound calls from suspicious, spam, or unwanted phone numbers.
• Audio Conferencing: Allows 3+ users to communicate via telephone simultaneously

 

Visual Voicemail 

Visual Voicemail converts audio voicemail messages into text form, allowing users to read voice message contents directly in the calling interface instead of having to listen to them (the message audio is still available.)

 

 

Voicemail-to-email sends voicemail message text and audio files to a preferred email address. 

Voicemail messages are displayed in the order they were received. Users can enable push notifications to alert them to a new message, or choose from a variety of preset text message responses like, “Call you in ten minutes” or “In a Meeting.” 

Previous messages are also stored within the visual voicemail interface. 

This feature makes it easy to prioritize which calls to return first, review messages from VIP clients during meetings, and saves time. 

  

Call Routing 

Call routing is a call management strategy where inbound calls are distributed to specific agents or departments based on pre-set call paths, agent availability, and the caller’s answers to IVR prompts.

There are numerous call routing options, but we’ve outlined the most popular in the image below:   

Call routing ensures that customers connect to the agent that’s most likely to be able to help them with their unique issue, increasing first call resolution rates and decreasing hold time as a result. 

 

Call Monitoring and Call Recording 

Call recording is a business VoIP feature that records telephone calls between agents and customers automatically or on-demand. 

In most cases, callers must be notified of the recording, but check your state’s call recording laws to be sure. 

Once the recording is complete, it’s automatically stored in a searchable cloud-based database where users can review and categorize them. Agent and customer names, call duration, contact information, and if the call was inbound or outbound are also included in the recording details.

 

 

Look for providers that let users pause and resume call recording, which helps to protect sensitive information. 

Most providers also offer call recording transcription which, like visual voicemail, transcribes and displays recorded calls in text form for faster review.

Call monitoring allows managers to “listen in” on live calls between agents and customers. Call whisper lets managers coach agents in real-time, during an active sales call (without the customer being able to hear them, of course.) Call barge means managers can instantly take over the agent’s call if it becomes clear their assistance is needed.  

Both call monitoring and call recording help managers identify common customer issues, gaps in employee training, support quality, and sales pitch effectiveness. 

 

Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

IVR (Interactive Voice Response) is an automated call menu made of pre-recorded voice prompts that customers enter or speak their responses into to direct their calls. 

A common IVR prompt is something like, “To speak to the billing department press 2, for sales press 3, to track an order press 4, to repeat these options press 5.” The IVR system then uses Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) to send callers to the correct agent. 

To understand spoken responses, IVR uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) to pick up on trigger words and phrases and respond accordingly. 

IVR is commonly used for things like making payments, checking account balances, figuring out who to speak to, entering in survey responses, or scheduling appointments. 

Its goal is to increase customer self-service and leave agents free to assist higher-level callers. 

 

Additional Communication Channels

Most VoIP companies today offer native communication channels in addition to just voice calling (or integrate with third-party tools that do.) 

These communication channels can include: 

• SMS Texting
• Video Conferencing with team collaboration tools (whiteboarding, file sharing/co-editing, screen share, etc.) 
• Virtual Faxing
• Internal team chat messaging 

 

Omnichannel communication means these channels are all synced in real-time, so users can seamlessly switch from one channel to another during the same conversation (and so customers avoid repeating themselves.) 

  

Live and Historical Analytics

Business VoIP providers offer basic to advanced real-time and historical analytics that give insight into agent activity and productivity, call volume, call trends, and more. 

Reports can be run and exported at automatic intervals or on an ad-hoc basis, with pre-made or customizable reporting templates. Individual agents, specific departments, or your entire small business can be monitored with ease.

 

 

Common VoIP KPIs include:

• Number of daily, weekly, monthly calls 
• Inbound:Outbound call ratio 
• Average number of missed/unanswered calls
• Average agent talk time
• First Call Resolution rates (FCR)
• Cost per Call
• Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) 
• Average speed of Answer (ASA)
• Average call handling time

 

Key Benefits of using Business VoIP Phone Service

Aside from the innumerable benefits of the above features, there are plenty of other ways VoIP phone systems give your small business a leg up. 

Let’s look at the 5 best business VoIP benefits now. 

 

1. Cost Savings

Business VoIP is 30-50% cheaper than traditional landline phone service – a number that’s hard to resist. 

In addition to the affordability of bundled monthly plans, VoIP uses softphones and mobile apps to work with existing hardware like desktop and laptop computers, tablets, and smartphones. Though VoIP-enabled desk phones are also available, most small businesses use the hardware they already have.

Better still, VoIP drastically reduces the expense of long-distance calling, as VoIP manages calls over the Internet. 

Cloud-based VoIP also lowers monthly maintenance and upgrade costs, as the provider, not the end user, is responsible for hosting and monitoring the server.  This also means a simpler – and cheaper – installation and setup process. 

 

2. Flexibility and Mobility

Today’s workforce expects to be able to work from anywhere, on their own schedule – which means customers also expect to be able to connect to your business when they need to. 

The flexibility and mobility of a virtual phone makes this possible, thanks to features like automatic call forwarding and Find Me, Follow Me.

If the agent doesn’t answer their primary business phone number, the call is forwarded to their smartphone, home phone, voicemail, or even to another agent. Customers don’t have to hang up the phone and redial, as call forwarding is automatic. 

This increases first call resolution rates, prevents agents from being tied to their desks all day, lets teams work on the go, and even cuts down on the costs of business travel. 

 

3. Automation and Self Service

Customers today want fast answers and a resolution the first time they reach out to your business. 

However, given that small businesses likely have a limited number of available agents – let alone enough to offer 24/7 customer support – this can be a challenge. 

The solution? 

VoIP automation features like auto-attendants, pre-recorded IVR call menus, Natural Language Processing (NLP), call routing/forwarding, sentiment analysis, customer callbacks, and automated reminder notifications. 

This automation provides robust customer self-service options while keeping live agents free to make sales calls or deal with more complicated, urgent issues.

 

4. Multiple Business Phone Numbers 

Having a VoIP phone number lets business owners and team members keep their personal telephone numbers private – but that’s far from the only benefit. VoIP companies offer 4 main types of virtual phone numbers: local, toll-free, toll-free vanity numbers, and international. 

Local numbers let businesses purchase numbers from any area code – even if the business isn’t actually located within that region. These numbers help small or new businesses to establish a local presence, winning consumer trust and increasing the likelihood that the recipient will answer the call.

Toll-free numbers add further legitimacy to your business and ensure consumers can contact you without incurring any call costs themselves. Common toll-free number prefixes include 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, etc.

Toll-free vanity numbers begin with one of the above toll-free number prefixes, but spell out relevant words or phrases like 1-800-TOWMYCAR or 888-FLOWERSNOW. Vanity numbers are easy to remember, strengthen branding, and are still free to the caller. 

International phone numbers give businesses a local presence abroad, making it easier to expand to foreign markets. 

 

5. Scalability

The scalability of VoIP business phone systems means you won’t be forced to pay for features you don’t yet need – but that you can easily add them when you do. 

Bundled plans offer tier-based, month-to-month pricing with unlimited calling in the United States and Canada. 

Business VoIP providers also integrate with existing third-party business communication, CRM platforms, and collaboration tools, eliminating the need to purchase add-ons or upgrades. 

In addition to bundled plans, a la carte plans and completely customizable VoIP solutions for small business are available. 

With VoIP, adding more users, extensions, or phone numbers is simple – just purchase them directly on the provider website. 

 

What To Look For In VoIP For Small Business

Though we’ll discuss how to choose the VoIP platform that’s best for your small business later in this post, there are a few things that every quality business VoIP provider should offer. 

Let’s review them below. 

 

Guaranteed Uptime of At Least 99.9%

“Uptime” is the amount of time per year that your VoIP software is fully functioning, online, and offering all the services promised by the provider. 

Though 99.9% is the minimum, 99.999% uptime is the gold standard. For context, a 99.9% uptime equals about 44 minutes of annual downtime, while a 99.999% uptime equals just over 5 minutes of downtime a year. 

 

Strong Security Measures

Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to VoIP and cybersecurity threats, and while VoIP phones are more secure than landlines, you still need to know how to protect your business phone system. 

First, ensure the provider conducts third-party security audits – meaning that a body outside of the company itself evaluates the platform’s security standards. Common security certifications include SOC 2 Type 2 Compliance, HITRUST, or ISO/IEC. 

Other certifications like PCI, HIPAA, FINRA, and GDPR compliance may be required by your industry’s regulatory bodies.

Also look for two-factor authentication (2FA), Single Sign-On (SSO), and end-to-end encryption (E2EE.) 

Finally, be sure that the provider offers additional security settings, like call blocking, spam protection, network monitoring and redundancy, password protection, and access control. 

Check out our guide to VoIP security for more information. 

 

Reasonable Costs and Fees

In addition to the cost of your monthly service plans, business VoIP providers are legally allowed to charge certain fees and taxes. 

However, unscrupulous providers will attempt to overcharge you, counting on the fact that you won’t notice or just won’t know the legality. 

Common legal fees include: 

• E911 Fees
• Universal Services Fund Fees
• Federal, State, and Local Taxes
• Number Porting Fees (most providers offer porting for free) 
• Gross Revenue Surcharge 
• Intercarrier Compensation

 

Red Flag fees to watch for include: 

• Hefty early contract termination fees
• Hidden “Add-on Feature” fees
• RCIP Fees 
• “Service,” “Support,” or “Administrative” Fees

Our guide to VoIP taxes and fees will help you to ensure you’re working with a fair, legitimate provider. 

 

Reliable Support

When you have a problem with your business VoIP system, you don’t want to have to wait to get help.

When considering providers, look for 24/7/365 support on at least one channel (though 24/7 phone support is ideal, most providers only offer 24/7 support via live web chat.) 

In addition to phone and web chat support, ask about email support, online knowledge databases, ticket requests and support in-portal, and any other support channel you may need. 

Ask how long it takes the provider to respond to and resolve a support request.

Though most providers offer paid support plans to allow users to slip to the front of the support queue or receive other forms of priority support, that doesn’t mean that standard support users should be satisfied with subpar service. 

 

Ease of Use 

Finally, evaluate the VoIP phone system’s overall intuitiveness and ease of use. 

While it’s normal to encounter some kind of a learning curve when using any new business software, ensure that the interface is uncluttered, customizable, and makes sense. 

Examine the dashboard sidebars, icons, and whether or not call flow can be edited via a drag-and-drop tool. This is where a free trial of a business VoIP phone service platform comes in particularly handy. Have team members try it out and offer feedback as to whether or not they feel it’s something they can learn to use. 

Most providers offer some form of employee training, whether pre-recorded video tutorials, scheduled or on-demand training webinars, paid in-person training, or customized training programs.  

 

How to Choose the Best Business VoIP Provider

When shopping for a small business VoIP provider, knowing what you need ahead of time makes the transition fast, easy, and cost-effective. 

 

Step 1: Review Your Business Basics

The most important thing to evaluate when shopping for a phone system is whether or not the provider is the right fit for your specific business. 

Each business has unique needs, short and long-term goals, budget, and customer base. There is no “one-size-fits-all” VoIP platform. 

When choosing your VoIP platform, consider the below factors:

• Your business size and industry
• Your workforce type (Remote, in-house, blended, full-time, part-time)
• Your ecurity needs and regulatory requirements
• Your target market and customer base 
• Your long and short-term goals 
• Your budget 
• Your anticipated VoIP usage 

Remember: the above factors don’t just apply to your small business as it is now, but also how you want it to look in the future. 

Find a provider that can grow with you. 

 

Step 2: Check Hardware and Software Compatibility 

Most providers offer native or compatible VoIP hardware (like desk phones, headsets, and speakers) for purchase on their websites. 

But if you already have hardware or VoIP phones from reputable brands like Poly, Yealinik, and Cisco, make sure it’s compatible with the provider. 

In addition to hardware compatibility, ensure the provider can integrate with any existing third-party software you plan to continue using. Most providers offer an extensive searchable app gallery – be sure to explore it before committing. 

Even if native third-party integration isn’t available, providers should offer customizable APIs and other developer tools that allow you to integrate or add new functionalities to your business VoIP phone service.

 

Step 3: Shop By Value, Not Price  

Business VoIP has an average price range of $15.00-$25.00 per user, per month.

While it’s tempting to automatically look for providers on the more affordable end, the real metric to consider is overall value.

Often, cheaper plans lack essential features like SMS texting, call recording, or detailed analytics. These features are available – but only for a hefty add-on price. In most cases, it’s actually cheaper to upgrade to a higher tier than it is to purchase a la carte add-ons for the most affordable plan. 

Decide which features your team has to have now, which ones you can wait to scale up to in the future, and which ones you’re unlikely to ever need. Then, pick your plan accordingly. 

While there is a bigger initial investment if your business can afford to, purchase more complete plans that already include the features your team – and customers – need.  

 

Step 4: Do Your Research 

To ensure the VoIP companies on your shortlist are as great as you think they are, you’ll need to do some outside research. 

Read reviews, ask the provider if you can speak to an existing customer, and compare available features and pricing with the platform’s biggest competitors. 

Finding unbiased opinions may require some extra digging, but it’s the best way to ensure you’re choosing the best business VoIP service for your business.

 

Here are some questions to ask a potential Business VoIP Provider:

– What are the startup & recurring costs?
– Is there a money-back guarantee?
– Can you port phone numbers? Costs involved?
– Is there a contract? Are there cancelation fees? Know what the cancelation process is like.
– Are there any hidden fees?
– Which calling features are included, and which features cost extra?
– Is there international calling?
– What kind of support is available?
– Do you offer E911? Costs involved?
– Do you have a mobile app?
– What is the process to upgrade or downgrade plans?

 

Business VoIP FAQs

Below, we’ve answered some of the most common questions shoppers may have: