TheBestTollFree.com Blog

Found your web site as I was scouring the web for information about setting up a new phone system.  We have had 7 lines on a pbx system…but have been downsizing and only need three lines…and have been looking at ring central (we just signed up for their web fax service) office.  This might be a silly questions, but is their office package just for VOIP phones or can you use all of the features that it provides on land lines.  I am not sure if I am totally sold on Internet phone service for quality and reliability.  I know it will go that way eventually but think I’d feel better (phones are critical to our business) sticking with what I know and trust….but I do want to have all of the great features that ring central seems to provide.

If you use a virtual pbx system like ring central….you pay for the minutes ( or get them in your plan) plus you pay for your long distance with your phone company too right.

As you can see I need help.  Thanks for taking a moment to help out.

Ric

Hi Ric,

Great questions!

The great thing about virtual pbx phone systems is that they integrate directly with your landlines and/or you cell phones.  While some offer VOIP service, they all are meant to be used in conjunction with the phones you already have.  For example:

I have a cell phone, office phone and home phone.  All three are provided service by a major carrier and I pay my monthly fees for service to those companies (AT&T, Verizon, etc).  They each have separate phone numbers.  When I make a regular call on them or receive a regular call on them the PBX service is not involved – everything works as normal.

ENTER THE VIRTUAL PBX

At the most basic level, a virtual PBX system is a toll-free number that routes calls to an existing phone number.  RingCentral is a robust virtual PBX system that will allow you to configure calls to ring to as many numbers as you choose.  In my case I have configured my toll-free number to ring my office phone AND if I don’t answer it within 5 seconds it will then ring my cell phone.  Once I accept the call I am talking to the other party directly and not through my computer or any other gizmo. When you purchase a virtual PBX system you will need to configure it to work with your existing phone numbers.

PHONE CHARGES

With RingCentral I use the minutes provided with my monthly plan.  If I go over those minutes I will end up paying a per-minute rate for each additional minute.  I also pay my regular phone bill for phone service.  HOWEVER, on my landlines, I could choose to have the most basic local service and not long distance.  RingCentral allows me to receive AND place long distance calls with their service without requiring me to have long distance service with my regular carrier.  How can they do this?  With RingCentral you can initiate a long distance call from your computer OR by dialing into your toll-free account.  Over the computer I can designate which number I would like to call and which phone I would like to use.  Then my phone will ring, I answer it and an automated voice says, “To place this call, press 1.”  I press 1 and the phone of the receiving party starts to ring – they pick up and we talk as normal.  If they have caller id, my toll free number shows up on the id NOT my regular phone number.  The process is very similar by calling into your toll-free account and initiating a call from there except you are able to connect the call directly to the party you’re calling since you’re already on the phone.

I hope I haven’t made that more confusing for you!

Good Luck,
Fred