How to set up your cloud phone system for small business in minutes

If you’re thinking about upgrading your landline phones to a cloud based business phone system solution, it couldn’t be any easier.

Depending on how complex your phone setup is, you can be up and running with a complete cloud based business phone system in your office within minutes – not days. 

What do I need for a cloud based phone system?

With a cloud based phone system for small business, you don’t need any clunky hardware. All you need is a computer for each user and a reliable internet connection speed.

Before you do anything, it’s important to check your connection speed to ensure your VoIP system will work properly. The last thing you want is to be providing a poor customer experience because your call quality isn’t up to par. So make sure VoIP will work with your current connection, or alternatively consider if an internet upgrade is possible.

Get the right cloud based phone system for small business

Once you have your internet connection sorted, you can start looking at choosing your phone system[MOU1]  and provider.

Ensuring you choose the right provider, will make your transition to a cloud based phone system seamless. At Business Telecom, we can help you find the right solution for your business needs to ensure you get the most out of your new VoIP phone system.

Choose your phone features

There are many different features available for cloud based phone systems[MOU2] , such as

auto attendant, auto ring back, instant messaging, conference calling, mobile apps and more.

Consider your unique business needs and the specific features that will benefit your business. How many users will you have and are your staff on the road a lot? Thinking about where and how you answer calls will help determine the key features you’ll need as part of your initial set up. The great thing about cloud phone systems is that you can easily add functionality and scale as you go.

How to set up a cloud based phone system for small business

With all the important decisions out of the way it’s time to configure your system and get it up and running.

If you’re using a hosted cloud phone system solution with softphones, your set up may be as simple as a few drag and drop options. With physical phones, the setup is likely to take a little longer. Depending on the complexity of this, you may need some technical assistance from your provider to help program and install your system to your network, to ensure everything runs smoothly from the get-go.

Below are a few basic steps to give you an idea of how easy it is to get your cloud based business phone system up and running.

Step 1: Choose a business phone number or port your existing number

If you’re upgrading from a landline and have existing phone numbers already, you can transfer your phone numbers across. This is known as number porting and your service provider can help you with this. The porting process usually takes about a week, so keep this in mind when planning to set up your cloud phone system.

If you need a new number, check whether a local phone number is included with the VoIP plan you choose. Otherwise, you can select a local number that’s available or choose a toll-free number.

The different types of phone numbers include:

• Local phone numbers – this is ideal for small businesses that only market locally.
• Toll-free phone numbers – this is an 1800 number untied to location and can seem more professional and trustworthy to your customers. The bonus for customers is they won’t have to pay when calling you.
• Vanity numbers – these are typically toll free numbers that spell out specific words to make your number recognisable and easy to remember with customers.

Step 2: Configure your VoIP system

Depending on your setup you may be able to connect to your new phone system yourself. In most cases you’ll need to just plug your phone into the network and configuring the settings to your phone. If you have a firewall in place, you may have to check with your provider to ensure everything is working properly. Alternatively, your phone service provider can walk you through the entire installation process or setup your phone system for you.

Step 3: Add your users

Next, you’ll want to set up individual extensions (users) for all of your staff. You can also add department extensions if you have multiple departments in your office.

Users can then log into the cloud phone system portal to manage their phone calls, messages, voicemail greeting, hold music and other settings. You can give users different permission levels, allowing them to access only certain functions of the phone system.

One of the great benefits about a cloud based business phone system, is there are no limits to the number of simultaneous calls that you can have on a single phone number. If all users are on the phone and another call comes in, it won’t reach a busy signal.

Step 4: Record a greeting

It’s best to get this out of the way so that your customers start receiving a professional welcome message from you when they call. Choose a team member with a polite and happy tone and follow the prompts to set your recording.

Step 5: Test your lines

Now all that’s left is to test your new phone system to make sure there are clear lines of communication and everything is working properly. Make sure you test incoming and outgoing calls and all the functionality features that are part of your cloud setup.

Making business easy

More and more businesses are making the switch to cloud based phone systems. With cheaper monthly bills and endless advanced features that are making work life easier and more productive, why wouldn’t you?

Cloud based phone systems Australia

Ready to switch to a cloud based phone system for your small business? Speak to the business cloud phone experts at Business Telecom to get started and we’ll help you with your phone system installation process.