How to Choose the Best VoIP for Small Businesses and the Benefits of Cloud-Based Services

Could your small business benefit from a cost-effective call management solution? If so, a cloud-based VoIP service may be right for you. Aircall unifies business communications and integrates with other software for business applications to offer unprecedented versatility and flexibility.

Take the next step toward digitally transforming your small business and consider opting for a VoIP phone system. Aircall offers tiered package options that are accessible, affordable, scalable, and best of all—simple to use.

From streamlining how sales teams interact with customers to optimizing customer support experiences, there’s a lot that VoIP can do for your small business. Read on to learn how to choose the best VoIP phone system for small businesses and more.

How does VoIP work for small businesses?

A small business VoIP service works by unifying communications: calls, texts, email, or chat over the internet. It replaces traditional phone systems that rely on physical switches to route calls with a reliable ethernet connection. While most modern phone systems (VoIP-PBX) use VoIP technology to facilitate on-premise calls, they lack most of the capabilities of full-scale VoIP phone systems.

VoIP phone systems integrate with other software small businesses are already using for business applications and offer unprecedented versatility and flexibility. Here are five major benefits:

• Lower communications costs. Running a business VoIP phone service is less expensive than using a landline phone system. You can still have your own business phone number, call rates are lower via unlimited call bundles, and international minutes are heavily discounted in VoIP subscriptions.

• Increased flexibility. VoIP technology allows you to make and receive calls from multiple devices. Through softphone apps, your smartphone, laptop, or tablet can just as easily place and answer VoIP calls. VoIP works from anywhere in the world where there’s a stable internet connection.

• Improved scalability. VoIP phone system providers offer easy scaling options that allow businesses to increase or decrease the number of users and phone features at any time.

• More call features. Business VoIP phone services allow users to multitask communications using various tools simultaneously thanks to a host of automation and advanced features like interactive voice response, call recording, and more.

• Superior quality. VoIP connection and reception quality are superior to traditional phone technologies. While landline systems often result in muffled voices and distorted dial tones, VoIP preserves voice and video quality.

What is the best VoIP service for small businesses?

Choosing the best VoIP for small businesses can seem daunting. At Aircall, we’re confident that we offer the best VoIP service for small businesses because we’ve built a stable foundation you can trust to carry your conversations. We offer:

• Market-leading enterprise infrastructure. Aircall works with best-in-class global voice carriers and additional local providers in select markets to ensure excellent call quality. The Opus codec allows us to deliver optimal quality with no dropped calls, even when network strength fluctuates. Aircall phone apps for desktop and mobile are native to each platform with strong back-end connections to our voice carriers.

• Consistent 99.95% uptime via distributed data centers (seven worldwide). We invest in redundancy on every level to eliminate single points of failure. Aircall works with multiple carriers, allowing for dynamic switch capability to avoid disruptions and provide consistent call quality.

• Clear in-app notifications to alert users and admins to network, headset, and infrastructure issues in real-time. Users can easily view their type of internet connection and the quality of the network, as well as their device settings. Alerts allow users to troubleshoot straight from the app.

• Dedicated onboarding managers to help teams to ensure quality of service with network setup, IP prioritization, and port setup. Support managers have real-time dashboards to monitor network performance for each customer—as well as carrier performance and Aircall app performance—so they can diagnose and resolve issues.

Is VoIP worth it for small businesses?

The best VoIP for small businesses offers robust, unified communication solutions at affordable rates, thanks to tiered service packages. VoIP slashes phone-related costs for the average business by 40% to 80%. These are cost savings that can be used to grow your business, rather than pay for outdated technology.

Small business–hosted VoIP phone services also help organizations integrate existing digital resources such as CRM systems, cloud, helpdesk and call centers, and e-commerce platforms with VoIP services. VoIP solutions are also a crucial part of the necessary digital transformation small businesses are undertaking to improve the customer experience. Small business VoIP offer five key advantages:

• Improved efficiency. Software solutions are designed to streamline the processes for customer support and sales, allowing you to shorten turnaround times and move leads through the sales funnel faster.

• Professionalism. Excellent customer service enhances your branding and increases sales. A call center can make your business appear established and reputable.

• Global reach. Broaden your customer base as your business grows.

• No missed calls. Missed calls mean lost business. A call center can handle large volumes of calls so you never miss a call.

• Automated workflows. Save time wasted on manual processes like transferring calls and updating systems with the same information and utilize features like the auto attendant.

How do I set up a VoIP phone system for a small business?

Setting up a VoIP phone system for a small business is simple with Aircall. Our detailed Onboarding Portal has step-by-step instructions on how to get started. We’ve created essential resources that will help you get the most out of Aircall.

Learn at your own pace with our visual and dynamic tools. Download and browse our guides currently available in English, French, Spanish, and German (more to come!).

After you’ve learned about** setting up admins and users,** we’ll take you through some practical steps. If you’re looking to use your existing numbers with Aircall, we’re here to guide you through the porting process. Then, we’ll conduct a technical check to make sure your hardware and network setup are optimized for use with Aircall. We’ll provide personalized recommendations to ensure the best call quality.

Finally, we’ll help you integrate your CRM or Helpdesk to Aircall so you can sync call details and streamline your workflow. See the 80-plus integrations Aircall offers, as well as a breakdown of which integrations work best for sales and support teams.

How do I get VoIP phone service as a small business?

Getting VoIP phone service as a small business is easy. Aircall offers tiered pricing options starting at as low as 30€/user per month to suit every budget. Our Onboarding Portal provides everything you need to get started with Aircall in one place.

What are the benefits of VoIP for small businesses?

VoIP for small businesses has many benefits. The best VoIP phone systems for small businesses offer robust, cost-effective communication solutions at affordable rates. Many small businesses don't have the time or money to invest in a landline infrastructure. Compared to a landline, a small business VoIP phone service offers small businesses a lot of advantages:

• Accessibility. Your teams can talk anywhere with an internet connection. With more businesses boasting remote workers and/or work-from-home policies, the flexibility of VoIP has become vital to teams around the globe.

• Affordability. VoIP slashes phone-related costs for the average business by 40% to 80%. These are cost savings that can be used to grow your business, rather than pay for outdated technology.

• Scalability. VoIP lets you capitalize on your opportunities to grow, rather than waiting on new phone purchases and landline installations.

• Simplicity. The ease of use that comes with a VoIP system stems from modern software and user-friendly interfaces. Managers can focus on growing their teams rather than fielding troubleshooting questions from confused employees.