When you need to get in touch with customers who don’t answer your calls, there must be a better way to reach them. Likewise, you may need a backup plan to get in front of prospects or notify employees who don’t or can’t pick up the phone. 

In these situations, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) texting comes into its own. You can send a text message via your business VoIP service, get messages to the right people, and stay in compliance at the same time.

Read on to learn about texting from your VoIP number, how it works, and exactly how you can use it.

What Is VoIP Texting?

VoIP texting is a method of sending and receiving SMS messages via your phone number provided by a VoIP provider. This might be a landline or a toll-free number. You can use your existing (or new) VoIP service to send and receive text messages on the same system as your business phone calls. 

There’s no need to pick up a mobile device or have a dedicated business cell phone. You just need SMS and MMS features enabled by your business VoIP service.

How VoIP texting works

VoIP texting works using a virtual phone number. You can assign this number to a user or group of users and enable text messaging over an internet connection, such as Wi-Fi.

When users need to send a text message, they simply open their team chat app and add a phone number or choose an existing contact. When someone replies, the same user or group of users is notified.

Behind the scenes, your VoIP system uses the same technology it would use to make a phone call or send an instant message. Packets of information (text messages, images, videos, etc.) are routed from your cloud system to a recipient’s mobile phone number.

Want to learn more about the tech behind VoIP texting? 

Related: What Is VoIP? The Newbie’s Guide to Voice over IP

SMS and MMS differences

📝 Short Message Service (SMS): Text messaging function that has been around since 1992 for plain-text messages up to 160 characters long delivered to mobile phone users. When most people most commonly refer to text messages, they’re referring to SMS-based messaging.

🖼️ Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS): MMS was introduced in 2002, building upon SMS capabilities by enabling mobile phone users to send images, audio clips, videos, and larger character limits in their messages. MMS supports small files up to 300KB on virtually all smartphones today.

Ways To Use VoIP & Texting Together

There are many ways you can use VoIP texting, and there are no hard and fast rules about when you can’t use this service. We’ve highlighted common scenarios where you can benefit from VoIP texting functionality.

1. Customer support

When you need customers to provide photos or extra information for support cases, asking them to take a photo, send it to their email, download it, and upload it to a support link is a time-consuming process. The customer who called for help is now doing all the heavy lifting and becoming frustrated. Instead, you could text them a link so they can upload the photo directly.

This VoIP texting facility uses the same technology as the call you’re connected on, ensuring a smooth experience for your customers.

There’s also the major advantage of being able to send photos via MMS messaging. When field engineers, for example, are on-site with a customer, they can send photos directly to technical engineers to diagnose problems, removing the need to bring a piece of equipment back to the office and shortening the overall repair time.

2. Prospect follow up

The average response rate for SMS marketing is as much as 45%. That’s significant compared to the response rate for email marketing of 6% and cold calling conversion of 2%.

After you’ve spoken with a prospect or when a web visitor has downloaded an asset, send them a text message instead of picking up the phone or adding them to your next email campaign. When you hang up after a phone call, select the contact from your address book and start typing your customized text message. No special software is needed — just your VoIP app.

Not only will this result in a higher open rate (we read all our texts, after all), but you also give the recipient the option to click a link to learn more about your offer or service.

3. Appointment reminders

If you had the power to decrease the number of missed appointments, you’d welcome it with open arms, right?

It’s one thing for customers or patients to book appointments, but it’s another for them to show up. You can use VoIP texting for automation or to send manual reminders a week, day, or hour before an appointment, decreasing the probability of a no-show. 

When you’re on a live call with a patient and book the next appointment, decrease the likelihood of them noting down the wrong time or date by sending an SMS while on the call.

Likewise, you can simplify the steps for booking repeat appointments. When a patient needs to book a new appointment on a regular basis, you can send them a link via SMS so they can choose their appointment time. You save time on making calls that don’t connect, and patients can schedule appointments in their own time.

4. Text back after missed calls

How many times have you received notifications of a missed call only to call back and have nobody answer? Phone tag or voicemail tennis — whatever you call it — is unproductive.

It may also be that you don’t know who the missed call is from. So, you return the call, nobody answers, and you’re none the wiser.

Instead, you can send a text acknowledging that you missed the call and inviting the caller to call back at suggested times. You might have a gap between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., or you may only be contactable during the night shift.

Or, if you’re tied up on another call, send an SMS to say you’re currently engaged and will call them back as soon as you get the chance. You can even set up auto-replies so that when you miss a call, the caller automatically receives a text message.

Limitations of Using SMS Messaging With VoIP Numbers

Like all technologies, there are some limitations you must be aware of.

Here are six things to consider when deciding whether VoIP texting is right for your small business or enterprise:

• Texting rate limits: You can’t send an unlimited number of text messages.
• SMS functionality: Not all VoIP service providers support SMS functionality. 
• Large file sizes: Large images or videos greater than 1 MB aren’t supported.
• Character limits: Messages over 160 characters get split into multiple messages.
• SMS shortcodes: SMS shortcodes may not always be supported.
• Recipient consent: Businesses must maintain records of consent for sending text messages for commercial purposes, such as marketing campaigns.

Benefits of VoIP Texting

While there may be some limitations to using SMS messaging with VoIP numbers, the benefits outweigh them.

The key advantages include providing a better, more personalized customer experience and introducing a multichannel approach to your sales and support processes. At the same time, you’re making productivity gains by achieving the same or better outcomes in fewer calls and clicks.

• Higher customer satisfaction: Follow up and streamline support, sales, and appointment processes by introducing a written format alongside a verbal communication channel.
• Simplified group texts to staff: Send one-to-many messages instead of informing colleagues about issues or offers one at a time.
• Personalized customer care: Integrate with CRMs, ticketing systems, or any software with open APIs to customize offers and use information such as customer names, company names, and existing products in messages.
• Improved sales engagement: Start outbound prospecting with a high engagement rate.
• Lower communication costs: Send messages en masse to achieve the same outcome as multiple calls made to individuals.

How To Set Up VoIP Texting

Follow these four steps to begin sending texts from your business phone number:

Step 1. Choose a VoIP provider.

First, you need to choose a VoIP phone service provider. Make sure they have experience with customers using VoIP phone systems and SMS facilities. If you already have a VoIP provider, inquire whether they have example customers who are also using the SMS option.

If you don’t have a VoIP provider and are currently considering moving from a traditional phone system to the cloud, this is the perfect time to make sure you transition to a single provider for both your calling and texting requirements.

Step 2. Get a new number, or keep your existing one.

Once you’ve chosen a provider, it’s time to think about phone numbers. You have two choices here:

1. Use a new virtual number: Receive a new phone line for your outbound campaigns.
2. Port your existing phone number: Keep your current number by moving it between networks (this may take a few weeks to set up).

Number porting involves asking your old provider to release the number from their infrastructure and your new provider to migrate it into theirs. Depending on the history of your phone number and where it currently resides, this might speed up or delay the process. Make sure you speak to your new provider when preparing to keep an existing number.

Step 3. Complete 10DLC registration.

The next step is to complete 10DLC registration. This is a 10-digit long code that refers to a personalized 10-digit phone number designated for business communication and text messaging applications.

Using such a number, however, comes with compliance regulations. Businesses must gain approval from The Campaign Registry before they can send messages. The 10DLC registration process has two parts:

• Brand registration: Businesses must identify themselves to the carrier networks.
• Campaign registration: Businesses must give examples of the messages they’re sending and show proof that consumers opted in to receive their text messages.

When you’re set up with 10DLC, you can begin texting from your VoIP line. 

Step 4. Start sending texts from your VoIP system.

In the Nextiva app, navigate to Messages and follow the following instructions:

• Tap SMS, then +.
• Select the contact(s) from the contact list or enter the phone number(s) in the To field.
• Add multiple recipients to create a group SMS message. 
• Press the paper clip 📎 icon to the left of the text field to send an image (JPG, PNG, BMP, or GIF less than 1 MB) or audio file (.mp3, .wav, or .mp4).
• Enter your message and press Send.

Experience the Best VoIP Provider For Businesses

Whether you want to improve customer service or lower your missed appointment rate, VoIP texting is the perfect solution for small businesses and enterprises alike.

When looking for a VoIP texting provider, you need someone who has been there and done that. Nextiva has relationships with all the major phone service providers, so text messages are delivered reliably and from a simple interface. 

When you choose Nextiva for business SMS as well as VoIP, you benefit from:

• Voicemail transcriptions: Get an email or SMS message with an accurate voicemail transcript.
• Business text messaging: Exchange SMS text messages with customers and team members from your desktop or mobile app.
• App integrations: Sync your business communications with popular CRM, customer support, and team collaboration tools.

This way, the entire workforce can get text-enabled phone numbers and exchange texts using the NextivaONE mobile, web, and desktop apps.

Related: Best Business Text Messaging Tools for 2024 [Free & Paid]

FAQs

Google Voice marked a milestone in business phone service when it launched over a decade ago. But times have changed.

While Google Voice still offers flexible VoIP service for small businesses, its development and features have stagnated recently.

At first, Google Voice checks all the boxes: it lets you make free calls, works with Gmail, and gives you one number for calling and texting. However, its features and capabilities can start to feel limited if you’re using it as a business phone system.

For businesses seeking alternatives, a host of new and improved cloud-based phone systems have sprung up.

These VoIP phone services give you more advanced call routing, better call quality, more integrations, and other features that Google Voice just doesn’t offer.

In this article, we’ll discuss some top Google Voice alternatives and what sets them apart to help you find the right fit.

Why Businesses Use Google Voice?

Google Voice is a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service that provides users with a dedicated Google Voice number for local and international voice calls, texts, and voicemails.

Though Google Voice has limited capabilities compared to other VoIP solutions, its features are straightforward and useful. This includes voicemail transcription, call blocking, and call screening.

Many businesses choose Google Voice because of the following key benefits:

💰Cost-effectiveness

Google Voice offers a free plan for personal use and affordable business plans starting at just $10 per month. This makes it one of the most budget-friendly solutions on the market, cheaper than traditional landlines.

For US and Canada-based businesses, Google Voice also provides unlimited domestic calls, significantly reducing long-distance charges.

🤝 Convenience and flexibility

Google Voice gives each user a single phone number accessible across devices, using a web browser on your computer or laptop or a mobile app on your iOS or Android phone. This streamlines communication and ensures employees can be reached anytime, anywhere.

With Google Voice, teams are no longer tied to their desks and can conveniently take calls remotely over WiFi. This flexibility is invaluable for remote employees and distributed teams.

✅ Seamless integration with Google Workspace

Many businesses already use Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Meet, and other Google apps.

Google Voice integrates seamlessly into Google Workspace, unifying communication and collaboration under one platform. This enhances efficiency, eases use, and simplifies the tech stack.

However, for businesses needing more advanced VoIP phone service, Google Voice has its limitations.

Let’s explore why Google Voice falls short for some use cases.

Reasons to Look for a Google Voice Alternative

Growing businesses often outgrow Google Voice’s capabilities and require a more robust VoIP phone service provider. Here are some of the key limitations:

Feature limitations

Google Voice provides only basic features that can feel restrictive as a business scales. For example, it has limited international calling support, which can be problematic for global companies.

It’s also only available in select countries outside the US and Canada, lacking the geographical coverage needed for worldwide teams.

Other missing features include toll-free numbers, vanity numbers, call analytics, and more.

You can’t port existing toll-free numbers into Google Voice.

Limited customer support

According to some G2 reviews, Google Voice offers very minimal customer service for free personal plans. Even documentation is often outdated, making issues difficult to resolve. This lack of support can leave businesses frustrated.

Not ideal for high call volumes

Google Voice struggles with high call volumes, with even individual users reporting disabled accounts due to excessive usage. For busy enterprises, Google Voice may simply not be robust enough.

No integrations with other platforms

Google Voice only seamlessly integrates with Google Workspace itself. It doesn’t integrate with third-party software tools or platforms.

While competing VoIP solutions focus on custom integrations, Google Voice does not.

For businesses needing more advanced features, strong customer support, high call capacity, and integration with existing systems, Google Voice alternatives are worth considering instead.

6 Best Google Voice Alternatives

Top Google Voice alternatives compared:

Solution	Key Features	Pricing (Starting)	Best For
Nextiva	HD calling, conference calls, video meetings, IVR	$30/month	Enterprises needing reliability, customization
Grasshopper	Vanity numbers, extensions, auto attendant	$14/month	Essential features at low cost
Ooma	Ring groups, virtual receptionist, call recording	$19.95/month	Easy to use with competitive pricing
Zoom	Video meetings, webinars, messaging, file sharing	$149.90/year	Video communications and real-time collaboration
Skype	Video/audio calls, file sharing, instant messaging	$2.99/month	Affordable global communication
Sideline	WiFi calling, unlimited text, custom numbers, auto-replies	$14.49/month	Reliable call quality without constant internet availability

1. Nextiva

Nextiva is a leading cloud communications platform that outperforms Google Voice with more advanced capabilities for businesses. It provides excellent reliability, scalability, security, and support.

Key reasons to choose Nextiva over Google Voice:

1. Richer Features: Nextiva offers a robust suite of phone, video, collaboration, and CRM tools in one solution. This includes voicemail transcription, automated workflows, call monitoring and recording, integrations, and more missing from Google Voice.
2. Scalability: It easily accommodates both growing small businesses and large enterprises. Teams can start small and add users and features as needed.
3. Reliability & Security: Nextiva delivers 99.999% uptime using carrier-grade infrastructure and security.
4. Top-Tier Support: Offers 24/7 amazing service and customer support via phone, email, and chat.

Nextiva pricing:

Plans start at $20 per user/month. Tiers are available for small to large teams, with advanced functionality like unlimited video conferences, call recording, and compliance features added in higher tiers.

Bottom Line: Nextiva excels for any sized business needing a secure, scalable communications system with enterprise-level capabilities and support.

2. Grasshopper

Grasshopper is a VoIP provider that offers essential business phone features like extensions for incoming calls, supervised call transfers, call routing, voicemail transcriptions, customizable voicemail greetings, text messaging, and fax capabilities.

It stands out for its ease of use, quick setup, and budget-friendly VoIP calling tailored to small teams.

Why is Grasshopper better than Google Voice?

Compared to Google Voice, Grasshopper is more optimized for professional use cases with additional capabilities like vanity, local numbers, toll-free numbers, call management features, auto attendants, and more robust administrative controls.

While Google Voice offers the basics, Grasshopper better supports customized business phone solutions.

Pricing: Starts at $14 per user per month based on number of extensions needed.

Best for: Startups, solopreneurs, and teams that want an affordable, feature-rich virtual phone system that’s simple to manage.

3. Ooma

Ooma Office is a VoIP business phone service with over 50 business communication features for call routing, voicemail, analytics, integrations, and more.

It stands out for competitive pricing while delivering enterprise-grade capabilities that enhance productivity for growing teams.

Why is Ooma better than Google Voice?

Ooma provides significantly more robust options for advanced call flows, real-time monitoring, and integrations with top business apps. Ooma also offers more personalized onboarding and US-based customer support not provided by Google.

Pricing: Plans start at $19.95 per user monthly with tiered features and support based on business size and complexity needs.

Best for: Solopreneurs to mid-market companies that want productivity-enhancing phone tools without high costs or complexity.

Related: Ooma Business Pricing: Is it Worth it?

4. Zoom Phone

Zoom catapulted in popularity as the video conferencing platform of choice during the pandemic. But it also offers fully integrated voice, chat, and webinar capabilities for convenient collaboration.

Related: Zoom Phone Pricing: Is It Worth the Cost? 

Why is Zoom Phone better than Google Voice?

Unlike Google Voice, Zoom Phone provides enterprise-grade reliability, security, and support options tailored for business use cases where real-time interaction at scale is critical. Zoom phone also enables video and content sharing for more impactful virtual meetings.

Pricing: Plans start at $149 annually for comprehensive video capabilities, management controls, transcription tools, and more.

Best for: Organizations conducting regular video conferences, training, and events.

5. Skype

Skype is a globally recognized platform for free voice and video calls along with group messaging and file sharing. It offers basic unified communications tailored to casual users and small teams.

Skype can be easily installed on cell phones, computers, laptops, and tablets.

Why is Skype better than Google Voice?

Skype enables group video conferences for up to 100 people simultaneously. Skype also makes it easy to connect with contacts overseas on a freemium model, while Google Voice lacks free international calling options.

Pricing: While Skype has free personal use options, paid plans start at $2.99 per month for voice-over-IP calling and other premium business features.

Best for: Solopreneurs, small teams, and international collaborators who appreciate low-cost video meetings.

6. Sideline

Sideline augments existing mobile plans by providing additional phone numbers to segment professional and personal calls. This “second line” also enables productivity features like auto-replies when on another call.

Why is Sideline better than Google Voice?

Unlike Google Voice’s web-based system, Sideline uses carrier networks like Verizon and AT&T to deliver reliability. This means connectivity even in areas with no wireless internet access.

Sideline also enables WiFi calling, conference lines, shared inboxes, and SMS alerts that Google Voice lacks.

Pricing: Plans with unlimited domestic talk and text start at $14.49 per additional number per month.

Best for: Field teams, remote workers, and entrepreneurs needing an extra business line with robust call control.

How To Choose a Google Voice Alternative

Here are some tips for choosing the best Google Voice alternative:

• Consider your usage needs. Do you need just basic calling and texting? Voicemail transcription? Video calling? Identify the VoIP features that are most important to you so you can narrow down services.
• Look at pricing and fees. Many services have free basic plans and then charge for more advanced features. Calculate total costs based on your anticipated usage. Services like Skype and Sideline tend to offer competitive pricing.
• Check carrier and device compatibility. You’ll want to pick a service that works seamlessly with both your mobile carrier and the devices you plan to use it on. This usually includes compatibility information on the service provider’s website.
• Assess call quality and reliability. Check reviews and tests of the voice call quality for services you’re considering. Also, research the uptime and reliability. You want a provider like Nextiva whose network can deliver consistently good call connectivity.
• Consider number choices and porting. If you want to keep your existing number, check if the service allows number porting from your carrier. Also, see what new number choices they offer in your area code if signing up for a new number.
• Check out customer support options. Do they offer 24/7 customer service or online support via chat or email tickets only? Make sure they provide multiple contact methods that work for your needs.

Make the Switch From Google Voice to Nextiva

While Google Voice works for basic calling and texting needs, its features come up short for many business users. If you find yourself needing more advanced telephony solutions, it may be time to upgrade to Nextiva.

Key communication features like auto attendants, call queues, IVR, call recording, voicemail transcription, online faxing, SMS, MMS, and video conferencing make it a top choice for enterprise functionality.

In addition to enterprise-grade call quality, reliability, and features, Nextiva also appeals to small business owners through solutions intentionally designed for that segment. These include budget-friendly pricing plans, streamlined feature sets, and self-service management portals.

Some key things you’ll like about Nextiva:

• Dedicated account management and 24/7 exceptional customer support. Nextiva’s technical and customer service teams truly understand the needs of growing businesses.
• Tighter integration options with popular CRM, helpdesk, collaboration, and productivity tools. Nextiva plays well with solutions you may already use like Salesforce, Zendesk, and Microsoft Office 365.
• Easy number porting. Nextiva also makes it easy to port your existing phone number and get set up on its VoIP platform. The intuitive interface means less training time to get users up to speed.

The daily routines of employees have evolved. More people than ever are working remotely — call center agents included. It’s estimated that 38% of companies regularly employ remote workers, and that number is rising. They’re relying on home offices and co-working spaces to walk customers through a problem, in addition to the dedicated office builder.

What does that mean for your call and contact center? In a nutshell, you need communication software to support remote agents, one that has the features and flexibility your agents need to communicate with customers from anywhere in the world.

Get a cloud call center software from Nextiva.

IVR, call recording, VoIP numbers, call routing, advanced reporting–integrated in ONE cloud platform.

Get started

Top 12 Call Center Tools

Here are the must-have tools and features to consider when searching for new call center software.

1. Help desk software
2. CRM software
3. Desktop softphone and mobile app
4. Interactive Voice Response
5. Automatic Call Distribution
6. Call scripting
7. Call recording
8. Call queue
9. Dashboards & call analytics
10. Wallboards
11. Customer satisfaction surveys
12. Predictive dialer

1. Help desk software

Not every customer wants to pick up the phone to speak to a call center agent. In fact, an increasing number of people prefer a self-service approach to getting their customer support questions answered. Research from Zendesk found that 63% of consumers rely on email, 43% use live chat, 25% use social media, and 22% use SMS for support answers.
Help desk software helps call centers provide this type of omnichannel customer support. Customers use the communication method they use, putting less strain on your agents—especially if you’re providing FAQs through web chatbots.
With help desk software, customer support teams streamline their incoming messages. They don’t need separate software to handle emails, phone calls, and live chat messaging. All interactions are handled in a single space.

2. CRM software

With more sales and customer support teams working closely together, it makes sense to have your call center software integrate with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform.
Check whether your call center solution has CRM integrations with popular tools like Salesforce or HubSpot. In an ideal world, your contact center software will be able to sync data to and from each tool to get a more holistic view of your customer conversations.
Some call center tools even have a built-in CRM tool with features like Screen Pop, which uses an incoming caller’s phone number and checks for a match in your CRM. If there is data to pull, you’ll see the callers:

• Name
• Company
• Survey response
• Account value
• Customer experience score

It’s frustrating for customers to have to explain their issues to several different people in your department just to receive adequate support. A call center tool with CRM mitigates that issue.

Related: The Buyer’s Guide to Outbound Call Center Software

3. Desktop softphone and mobile app

With more call center agents working remotely, your call center software needs to have features that allow agents to take calls wherever.
Going with a cloud-hosted call center solution instead of on-premise gives your team flexibility and the ability to take business calls using the devices they’re already using. Better yet, your agents will have virtual business numbers instead of having to use their personal lines to field support calls.
All your agents need is an internet-connected device—like a laptop, smartphone, or tablet—to take business calls. Download your call center provider’s mobile app, assign licenses, and you’re ready to get started. Just remember to check if the app is compatible with the operating system your devices run on (such as iOS and Android) before committing to a VoIP provider.

4. Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

Call centers saw a 300% increase in call volume at the beginning of the pandemic. For businesses short on staff, an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system can handle increasing call volumes without putting too much workload on your call center agents.
This automated system collects information about an inbound caller’s inquiry and then routes that caller to the right resource or a human agent if necessary. Check out our explainer video below for more information on how IVR systems work:

Call routing through an IVR system improves the entire customer experience. Your inbound callers don’t have to wait in long queues just to get their support questions answered. Incoming calls are quickly and efficiently routed to the agent best equipped to handle the issue.

Related: What Is Outbound IVR? Use Cases and Examples

5. Automatic Call Distribution (ACD)

If you’re handling a large team of agents, you’ll likely have teams best suited to handle each type of inquiry. Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) is a feature that identifies callers, puts them in a queue, and routes them to the proper team automatically. Instead of asking inbound callers to click a number that best suits their query, the contact center software uses the information it already has about the caller to divert it to each department.

Let’s put that into practice and say you have one main business phone number. Everyone calls the same number, regardless of whether they’re new, existing, or potential customers. An ACD recognizes that an incoming call is from a number registered to an existing customer. So, before the call is connected to the main desk, it’s diverted to your customer service department. This is another feature geared toward mitigating high call volumes.

6. Call scripting

A call script guides the flow of the call and ensures agents hit on important talking points. Sometimes, they can be verbatim word-for-word or, more commonly, outcome-oriented.

It ensures consistent support is provided to all calls, regardless of the agent, with correct word usage. This helps in controlling your call structure and quicker resolution. AI technology in the contact center helps steer the call based on conversational patterns between agents and customers.

Customer service scripts can be instrumental in helping the agent focus on the customer making the call and interacting with them naturally instead of worrying about finding related information or appearing impersonal. It also comes in handy while training new agents. 

Branching call scripts combined with your IVR systems not only help improve call quality but also substantially shorten the resolution time required. 

7. Call recording

Quality assurance is a huge deal for call centers. It’s crucial that everyone interacting with your customer service team has the same positive experience. A basic feature like call recording is a great way to analyze call scripts, outcomes, and quality of service.
Call center software like Nextiva records and stores all your inbound business calls for up to six months. These recordings are easily accessible from the admin portal. Simply replay them to confirm that each agent is meeting your customer service standards.

Call recording also helps call center agents respond to customer complaints. You’ll have a clear and accurate record of each conversation you’ve had with your customers—even if the agent dealing with the issue isn’t the same one who previously handled their complaint.

Related: How to Record Customer Service Calls & Why You Should

8. Call queue

While it’s not always possible to provide immediate support to every inbound caller, having a call queue will make the waiting process much more tolerable.
Call queuing is straightforward. It places incoming calls into a line waiting to answered instead of sending them straight to voicemail.

An automated greeting informs the customer that they’re in the queue. It gives an estimated wait time so they can decide whether to hold the line or call back later.
Configure your call flow so customers can listen to music, learn about your business, or divert them to a web page for your next event. It fills the gap between making the call and speaking with an agent—making call queues feel shorter than they are.

Related: Customer Service Call Centers: Top Features & Best Practices

9. Dashboards and call analytics

Providing the highest quality of customer service with speed is the main priority for call centers, but without reporting and call analytics, how do you know where these metrics stand? How can you improve them?
The only way to know whether you’re achieving your call center goals is through reporting. So, check whether your cloud contact center software offers real-time reporting and analytics. Ideally, it should show call center metrics like:

• Type of inquiry: Are most of your support tickets billing, cancellation, or product-related? Use those insights to see whether you can create self-service documentation to lower call volumes.
• Call volume: How many live calls (both inbound and outbound) are you juggling at any given time? Do you have enough agents to handle that demand?
• Average call time: How long are you spending on each customer service call? If it’s higher than you’d anticipated and causing long queues, educate your agents on how to reduce call times.
• Customer sentiment: How does someone feel about the call they’ve just had with your agent? Check whether they’re doing a good job by analyzing sentiment.

 
It’s worth checking whether your call center phone system can break those metrics down by agent. That way, you’re able to dive deeper into agent performance and spot your most (and least) productive team members.

10. Wallboards

Similar to the analytics and dashboard tools above, you want to distill the specific metrics that your team needs to track. This is how you instill daily execution and level up call center productivity.

Be it a revenue target, number of outbound calls, talk time, or fully resolved customer issues — you should select one to three metrics from your CRM tool that are most important to track and report publicly.

There’s an innate human desire to win and compete. Wallboards help you tap into that part of the brain and keep the team driven. It’s probably in part why sales teams celebrate new deals with music or hitting a gong — it amps everyone up.

11. Customer satisfaction surveys

Speaking of reporting, one of the best ways to get data is through qualitative and quantitative feedback from your customers.
Look for a contact center solution with built-in customer satisfaction surveys. It’s an automated message that is sent after every customer support call. Callers will be asked to score the agent on important factors like communication, friendliness, and product knowledge.
A reported 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience. Satisfaction surveys are a great way to understand whether you’re delivering on customer experience or dropping the ball. It’ll also identify key areas to improve your support experience.

12. Predictive dialer

An increasingly popular call center feature is the predictive dialer. This feature uses artificial intelligence to predict the next phone number to dial. Instead of an agent having to type a customer’s phone number correctly, it’ll populate the rest of their number to connect a call within seconds.
Predictive dialing is just one type of automation you should look for when upgrading your call center. Search for a product that can automatically send surveys after every customer interaction, remind your agents of overdue tasks, and use workflows to escalate cases with negative feedback.

Ensure You Meet Your Agent’s Needs

At the end of the day, agents need the right contact center tools to help them carry out their job. When evaluating these features, focus on the desired outcomes:

• Reduce after-call work – Limit the manual tasks needed after a call while maintaining proper documentation of the interaction.
• Allow for more personal connection – Develop a sense of familiarity with customers’ needs and past conversations.
• Increase customer understanding – Give agents a broader context for the conversation and the customer experience.
• Reduce indecision – Reduce the sense of uncertainty when making recommendations to current and future customers.

We suggest surveying your team regularly as well as observing the workflow in how they assist customers. You’d be surprised by the burden of your existing infrastructure that your team has to work around.

Choose a Call Center With the Tools and Features You Need

When looking for a cloud call center provider, reference this list of top call center tools and features. Think about your business’s unique requirements when it comes to fielding support calls.

For example, if your agents are experiencing increased call volume, it may be worth looking into an IVR. If your call center manager wants deeper insight into individual agent performance, they may want a product with reporting and analytics.

Nextiva’s call center solution has the tools and features your agents need to be more productive and more successful in their roles. Meanwhile, your customers will be at peace knowing their questions will be answered quickly and efficiently, regardless of how many calls are coming in. If call center performance slips, you’ll have reporting and analytics by your side to see where the bottlenecks in your call center are.

A call center solution with this level of flexibility and functionality leads to more satisfied employees and customers.

Related: 20+ Call Center Features You Should Look For

Nonprofit organization leaders often worry about how to grow relationships with donors and volunteers, fulfill their mission, and keep costs in check. 

One of the most impactful decisions you can make is your phone system.

Unfortunately, traditional phone services aren’t designed with nonprofits in mind.

Between clunky equipment, inflexible call routing, and limited capabilities, traditional landline systems often create more headaches than benefits for organizations relying on tight budgets and volunteer support.

If you’ve been considering a phone system upgrade but are unsure where to start, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) may be the ideal solution. Calls are connected through the cloud rather than via physical phone lines to make and receive phone calls. All you need is an internet connection.

Read on and discover why so many nonprofits are transitioning from old-school phones to VoIP systems.

Why Are Nonprofits Ditching Their Traditional Phone Systems?

Outdated phone systems have numerous limitations that hinder nonprofit productivity and client relations. Here are some of the top reasons for organizations to upgrade to VoIP.

1. High operating costs

The initial investment in an on-premises PBX system, plus ongoing maintenance and updates, makes traditional phone systems far more expensive than VoIP alternatives. 

Paying monthly fees for each landline also racks up expenses quickly. Because most nonprofits operate on extremely tight budgets, these ongoing costs unnecessarily divert funds from actual efforts and to operational costs. 

2. Lack of flexibility & scalability

Since traditional phone systems rely on physical phone lines and hardware, as your nonprofit evolves, adding or removing extensions is difficult. 

For instance, if you open a new office or need to quickly set up phones for a temporary fundraising drive, the costs of rewiring and equipment purchases add up quickly, limiting scalability.

3. Limited call handling capacity

Most legacy phone systems depend on a predetermined number of physical phone lines. If all these lines are occupied with current calls, any additional incoming calls sit in long queues, are blocked, are sent to voicemail, or are disconnected. 

This presents a major problem for small businesses and NGOs, as it often means missed donations and disappointed supporters for critical initiatives during high-traffic periods.

4. Poor integration with CRMs

Since legacy communication systems operate in isolation from other systems, call data doesn’t automatically populate your CRM or other systems. 

Without built-in integration, your team must manually track and log all call interactions — an inefficient process prone to human error. Valuable data inevitably slips through the cracks, leading to disjointed experiences for supporters.

5. Security concerns

With legacy telephone services, all hardware and infrastructure sit in your offices, making it potentially difficult to protect. Intruders or accidents could compromise servers, and failing to update infrastructure can leave your customer’s sensitive data at risk.

VoIP solutions offer call encryption to prevent unwanted eavesdropping on your communications. This is especially important for cause-driven organizations. 

6. Limited reporting & analytics

Most old-school phone systems provide little to no call data, just basic logs of inbound/outbound calls and durations. 

Without detailed insights — such as peak calling times, unanswered calls, and call origin — it’s nearly impossible to identify areas you need to improve on or to make data-backed decisions to enhance fundraising and outreach.

A cloud-based phone service is a better option for fiscally responsible nonprofits. It offers a lot of capabilities with limitless scalability, enhanced call handling, and powerful integrations. 

VoIP Benefits for Nonprofit Organizations

By switching to a VoIP phone system for nonprofit organizations, your organization can overcome these challenges while unlocking the following game-changing advantages.

💸 Affordable communication

VoIP phone systems typically have lower setup and ongoing costs than traditional phone lines, making them ideal for nonprofits with tight budgets.

With no need for physical hardware or extensive wiring, nonprofits can save on maintenance and infrastructure costs.

You can avoid expensive PBX investments and per-line fees, and since VoIP uses an internet connection, your existing network is all that’s required. This significant reduction in costs provides the budget relief that nonprofits desperately need.

💡 Pro tip: If your organization is tax-exempt, you can qualify for even more savings. Ask about how you can skip paying sales or excise taxes associated with your VoIP service. 

📱Remote-ready phones

VoIP service providers support a remote workforce, allowing team members to stay connected even when they’re out in the field or working from home. 

This frees users from physical office phones. And with advanced features such as call forwarding, softphones, and mobile apps, your team can contact one another as and when needed.

🤝 Improved donor engagement

Organizations can use VoIP systems for outreach and follow-up calls, keeping donors informed and engaged with their causes. With instant access to caller profiles during calls, your team can better foster meaningful connections with your supporters. 

Toll-free numbers have been shown to increase consumer trust, and these numbers allow large donors to speak with your team about where to send their funds. 

Follow-ups are streamlined by logging interactions directly into your CRM, a level of personalization that helps drive donor loyalty and security.

📩 Added SMS messaging capabilities

Younger demographics prefer texting over calling, making SMS messaging an effective tool for engaging new and potential donors. 

Integrated SMS messaging bridges communication gaps for supporters who favor text messages over calls and emails. Quick mass texts can notify thousands of supporters instantly to spur immediate action, which is useful for last-minute fundraising drives or event updates.

✅ Enhanced team collaboration

Features such as group chats, video conferencing, and file sharing improve team collaboration, leading to more efficient project management.

By consolidating voice, video, and text communications into one platform, long-distance teams can work together cohesively and flexibly. Unified systems unite employees and volunteers, streamlining teamwork.

Here’s how Social Vocational Services of California, supporting adults with developmental or intellectual disabilities, uses a business phone system to reliably and consistently connect staff and coordinate programming with families and caregivers across its 80 locations.

Also Read: How Nextiva Helps United Way Raise $2.6M in Virtual Telethons

Top 10 Essential VoIP Features for Nonprofits

To truly transform your nonprofit’s communications, look for a VoIP system that includes the following key features.

1. Auto-attendant

An automatic virtual receptionist greets incoming callers, offers menu choices, such as “Press 1 for Donations,” and routes calls correctly. An auto-attendant provides 24/7 coverage with minimal labor costs, ensuring you never miss a call, even after hours or during staff shortages. 

Your call flows don’t have to be complicated. Your team can adapt them to your hours of availability or special fundraising events. 

2. Call routing

Intelligent call routing defines where calls should go based on your preferences and needs. 

You can send certain calls to voicemail, direct top donors to account representatives, or forward urgent messages to cell phones. When call volume spikes, you can adapt call directing on the fly or prepare routing rules for special events.

3. Conference calls & video meetings

Choose a cloud-based phone system that enables audio or video conferencing, screen sharing, and other options to connect in real time, allowing your team to collaborate from anywhere without logistical headaches or travel costs.

With a hosted VoIP platform such as Nextiva, you don’t need to pay for extra meeting software or conference call services — these are included. 

4. Mobile & desktop softphones

Softphones allow staff and volunteers to use their mobile devices as extensions of the VoIP system, ensuring they stay connected wherever they are. Employees can be productive regardless of where they are — in the office, at home, or in the field.

5. Voicemail to email

Voicemail transcriptions eliminate the need to dial in and check messages manually. Email alerts notify staff of new voicemails, while speech-to-text conversions provide the contents in writing right in your inbox for quick reviewing. 

This helps your team respond faster and ensures no messages slip through the cracks.

6. SMS communications

Integrated SMS makes connecting with supporters smoother across their preferred communication channels – phone, email, or text. 

Reach a wider audience by texting event reminders, donation confirmations, or other notifications directly from your business phone system.

7. Interactive voice response (IVR)

One of the major features of a VoIP phone system is the ability to interact with callers via voice commands or keypad inputs, providing a self-service option for accessing information or completing certain tasks.

Customize your IVR menus to simplify tasks, such as:

• Requesting a callback
• Getting directions or support details
• Learning how to become a volunteer
• Getting payment information

Furthermore, IVR provides self-serve options 24/7 without tying up employees. Gathering basic information upfront helps route callers to a representative more efficiently, streamlining your customer experience.

8. Call analytics and reporting

Robust call analytics provides at-a-glance visibility into call volumes, wait times, abandoned calls, busy signals, and more. 

Trend reports uncover usage patterns to inform better resource planning — know which call sources provide the best ROI and proactively identify issues before they impact KPIs.

9. CRM integration

Linking your CRM and phone system enables automatic call logging and screen pops for caller information, giving staff instant access to caller profiles during calls. 

The CRM automatically logs interactions, keeping records organized in a single solution.

10. Call recording and transcription

Recording calls creates valuable opportunities, such as resolving disputes, onboarding new hires faster with sample calls, reducing liability risks, and keeping permanent records of special announcements or interviews. 

Transcriptions make the content searchable, while AI can analyze interactions to enhance team performance.

Top-Rated VoIP Providers for Nonprofits

When evaluating VoIP solutions, be sure to consider providers designed with nonprofits in mind, such as:

1. Nextiva

Renowned for its reliability and comprehensive communications solutions, Nextiva is a complete suite of tools that includes voice, video, text, instant messaging, and CRM integration.

Nextiva stands out as a top provider that is purpose-built to empower nonprofit productivity and community relations. Its industry-leading platform conquers previous communication limitations through powerful VoIP features, easy CRM integrations, unlimited scalability, and top-notch reliability.

As a cloud-based platform, Nextiva also eliminates the security risks and maintenance costs that plague outdated systems. True scalability means effortlessly adapting to campaigns or growth spurts without service disruption or surprise costs.

⭐ G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5 (2,896 customer reviews)

2. KrispCall

Known for its user-friendly interface and affordable pricing, KrispCall provides a unified platform for calls, SMS, and CRM integration, making it a versatile choice for nonprofits with varied communication needs.

⭐ G2 rating: 4.4 out of 5 (21 customer reviews)

3. Telzio

Telzio offers straightforward, scalable VoIP solutions with an emphasis on simplicity and transparency in pricing, providing a full-featured phone system with unlimited users and extensions.

⭐ G2 rating: 4.2 out of 5 (3 customer reviews)

Related: 7 Best Telzio Alternatives & Competitors To Check Out

4. Vonage

Vonage Business combines UCaaS solutions with contact center features, aiming to enhance connections between organizations and their customers. Nonprofits can choose a service level based on the number of users, the calling features needed, and their integration requirements.

⭐ G2 rating: 4.3 out of 5 (437 customer reviews)

5. 8×8

8×8 prioritizes keeping communications secure, compliant, and available within integrated UCaaS and CCaaS systems. Nonprofits can centralize engagement channels while leveraging advanced analytics to maximize team performance. However, 8×8 lacks the number of features offered by Nextiva. 

⭐ G2 rating: 4.1 out of 5 (656 customer reviews)

Your Nonprofit Deserves a Better Phone System

Outdated phone systems are a problem, particularly for cash-strapped nonprofits and NGOs. They can lead to missed opportunities for growth and engagement, hindering the environmental and humanitarian impact a nonprofit organization can have.

However, by upgrading to a feature-rich unified communications VoIP provider, organizations achieve cost savings, flexibility, mobility, and robust call-handling capabilities.

By moving to Nextiva, nonprofits can modernize communications and operate more efficiently — and the move is easy. 

Nextiva’s reliable service ensures no dropped calls or fuzzy call quality — a must for fundraising and outreach initiatives. Nextiva supports these operational needs with enterprise-grade VoIP, budget-friendly pricing, and hands-on implementation support.

Nonprofits turn to Nextiva to strengthen meaningful relationships. Unlimited nationwide calling and texting keep everyone connected in one place.

Intuitive call handling routes each interaction intelligently to match the needs of customers, volunteers, and partners. After you move your communications to the cloud, you’ll be able to spend your finite resources on advancing your mission.

Get robust features, intuitive operation, and stellar reliability at an affordable rate. Let go of old phone system headaches by embracing the future with Nextiva’s VoIP solution, which is purpose-built for nonprofits.

The bottom line is that Nextiva helps today’s nonprofits grow and sustain themselves. Your organization, volunteers, and community will thank you.

How often are you interrupted by robocalls?

It gets tricky to ignore them, especially when they come from legitimate-looking numbers. Some of these calls are genuine, but most are not. Scams that target unsuspecting victims are on the rise.

With Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), phone number authentication is a big deal — and it’s only going to get tougher. 

Reputable VoIP service providers, cell phone networks, and the government have teamed up to provide a system for authenticating telephone numbers before someone’s phone rings. 

Authenticating phone calls assures the identity of the originating caller. This technology is known as STIR/SHAKEN. We’ll explain how this protocol works to combat caller ID spoofing and robocalls and how it affects your business communications. 

What Is STIR/SHAKEN? 

STIR/SHAKEN is a combination of two acronyms: 

STIR: Secure Telephone Identity Revisited 

SHAKEN: Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using ToKENs 

STIR/SHAKEN is a framework of protocols used by telephone service providers to authenticate an originating caller’s identity. STIR/SHAKEN solutions are intended to prevent malicious phone calls from being made by unauthorized parties. 

Both originating service providers and terminating service providers verify caller IDs to authenticate callers and avoid fraudulent robocalls. It helps call recipients protect against caller ID spoofing and maintains their trust in the phone service. 

The STIR/SHAKEN framework authenticates VoIP calls using the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) header to transmit the authentication certificate. 

For legitimate call centers, these standards aren’t hard to meet. But for illegal robocallers, STIR/SHAKEN makes it more difficult to use fake caller ID information. 

Let’s take a deep dive to understand how it works. 

How Does STIR/SHAKEN Work?

The telephone service provider obtains a digital certificate from a certificate authority. These digital certificates work with public key cryptography techniques and are recognized by other service providers. They help in authenticating calls. 

As part of the SIP protocol, STIR uses the telephone service provider’s digital signature to authenticate the caller ID. The calling party sends a SIP invite to their service provider when initiating a call. The service provider verifies the source and calling number to determine the attestation level. 

There are three levels of attestation: 

1. Full attestation: The service provider successfully verifies the customer and their phone number. This is also called A-level attestation.
2. Partial attestation: The service provider verifies the end user but not the phone number’s source. It’s also known as B-level attestation.
3. Gateway attestation: The service provider can’t identify the call’s source even when it originates on a network. It’s also known as C-level attestation and is a typical case with international numbers. International call originators using the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) should give tools and information to domestic gateway providers to verify their calling identity.

Did you know? More than one-third of robocalls receive Gateway attestation levels.

Then, the service provider creates an encrypted SIP identity header and sends it to the terminating provider with the SIP invite. The information is taken up by a verification service that authenticates based on multiple factors, including the certificate’s public key, its chain of trust, and various others. 

The terminating provider decides whether to allow or block a call based on attestation levels and other factors per their analytics. 

Types of Scam Calls STIR/SHAKEN Can Mitigate

In essence, STIR is a technology, and SHAKEN is a policy. They work together to authenticate caller IDs and protect against multiple scams, including: 

1. Phishing

Threat actors pose as genuine sources such as banks, credit card companies, or government agencies to trick victims into revealing personal information. They can try to get victims to reveal one-time passwords and other details that can compromise their identity. 

STIR/SHAKEN prevents malicious attempts to spoof caller IDs, safeguarding you against phishing attempts. 

2. Vishing

It’s short for “voice phishing.” Attackers trick targets into giving out sensitive information by impersonating a legitimate professional. They try to retrieve personal information or receive financial payments. 

STIR/SHAKEN allows the phone company to verify if an incoming number is the same as the one on the caller ID. It prevents vishing attempts with digital validation of phone call handoff through complex networks.

3. Tech support scams

Many threat actors impersonate a company’s tech support staff to convince victims of malware in their system. They encourage targets to update the software. While updating, the victim innocently gives away remote access to their computer. 

Attackers leverage this to get the victim’s personal information. Sometimes, they may install malware or ransomware on the victim’s computer. STIR/SHAKEN prevents such incidents by verifying numbers with their caller IDs. 

4. Robocalls

Robocalls are pre-recorded messages that may be legal or malicious. They’re genuine when the calls are about payment reminders, alerts, or incoming calls from legitimate telemarketers.

However, some of these unwanted robocalls are generated by scammers who maliciously engage victims with fake notices such as, “You have violated a traffic law, pay $X in fines to avoid full-scale legal inquiry.” 

Robocalls usually promote scams or sell unwanted products. When attackers spoof the caller ID, it becomes tricky for victims to identify and block such calls. STIR/SHAKEN attests such calls and marks them spam. 

Teams have more space and bandwidth to attend legitimate calls when they can easily recognize spam.

Benefits of STIR/SHAKEN

STIR/SHAKEN differentiates between genuine and spoofed calls to prevent risky telephony experiences. Here are some of its notable benefits:

• Reduces spam and robocalls: STIR/SHAKEN identifies and blocks such calls, making the business phone system more secure and reliable. The voice service provider monitors traffic patterns, identifies illegal robocalling, and helps you take appropriate actions. 
• Makes caller IDs trustworthy: Subscribers are aware of legitimate calls and can prioritize them over spam, giving them more time to answer genuine callers.
• Protects against fraud: Fraud can lead to financial losses. STIR/SHAKEN helps safeguard businesses against call fraud, reducing unnecessary expenses. 
• Legitimate business calls are successful: Since these call authentication standards were introduced in 2020, more service providers have signed on to allow authenticated callers through their phone networks reliably.

Why You Should Use Authenticated Numbers for Outbound Dialing

Authenticated business phone numbers help you establish the credibility of your company and deliver the initial trust needed for customers to answer calls. It offers several good things for an organization, such as: 

📈 Increased call answer rates

When you register your caller ID name with the service provider and implement STIR/SHAKEN, it helps customers see that a call is genuine and comes from a legitimate source. Your calls reach customers’ ears instead of going to their voicemail. 

When your caller ID is positive, customers don’t block you permanently. It prevents low attestation ratings and can lead to better sales opportunities and long-term established connections with customers. 

➕ Enhanced brand reputation

You can show your commitment to customers’ security and integrity with authenticated numbers. It helps you make good first impressions as customers believe you’re a trustworthy source and not a scammer trying to impersonate you. 

With your positive brand reputation, customers feel more confident answering their phones without hesitation. Conversely, if your caller ID is inaccurate, consumers may feel you are taking part in shady practices, eroding their trust in your brand. 

✅ Compliance with regulations

Many countries and regulatory bodies are mandating STIR/SHAKEN for outbound calls. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules require most providers to implement STIR/SHAKEN on their network IP. 

They require providers to certify in the Robocall Mitigation Database that they have implemented STIR/SHAKEN, as part of the TRACED Act, which stands for Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence.

The law defines the risks and penalties for fraudulent telephone communications.

How STIR/SHAKEN and 10DLC Relate

10-digit Long Codes (10DLC) are local long code numbers approved by local mobile number operators for application-to-person (A2P) messaging. Since they’re pre-approved by phone network operators, businesses avoid any penalties due to non-compliance with messaging regulations. 

A2P 10DLC focuses on SMS authentication, while STIR/SHAKEN concentrates on caller ID authentication. Together, they improve business communications’ security and integrity. 

They complement each other. 10DLC compliance requires businesses to register their brand and campaigns, reducing the possibility of unauthorized communications. STIR/SHAKEN prevents caller ID spoofing, creating a more secure environment for voice communication. 

Is STIR/SHAKEN Mandatory?

Yes, it’s mandatory in the U.S. to implement the protocol from June 30, 2021, for large carriers and June 30, 2022, for smaller and rural carriers. The TRACED Act mandates the implementation of STIR/SHAKEN. 

U.S. consumers alone received over 60 billion robocalls in 2023. With the upward trend of robocalls and call frauds, regulatory bodies in different countries encourage businesses to adopt robust authentication measures within implementation deadlines. 

Recently, the FCC adopted new rules to strengthen its consumer protections, allowing carriers to more aggressively block malicious calls and text messages from noncompliant telephone networks. 

Other countries are making some developments in call authentication while preventing caller ID spoofing. An estimated 25% of all incoming calls on Canadian phone numbers were robocalls in 2021. To combat this,  the U.S. FCC pledged cooperation with Canada in its enforcement efforts. 

Stay Vigilant With Nextiva

After enforcing regulations to mitigate robocalls, there have been some decreases in complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission. However, they’re still a problem. 

Stay ahead of the STIR/SHAKEN requirements with a fully compliant business VoIP platform from Nextiva. It’s easy to set up, and your team will love its functionality. Plus, you’ll also uphold customer trust in your brand so you can scale your company faster. 

Your office phone can make or break communication for your small business, so you need to carefully evaluate the available options to make the right choice. 

Below, you’ll find a straightforward comparison of some of the most popular VoIP phones for your team members to guide your decision. 

Best VoIP Office Phones for 2024

The best VoIP office phones for small businesses are easy to set up, have crystal-clear audio quality, and work reliably with cloud-based phone service providers. 

Here are the best office phones we’ve ranked, with details about them below.

1. Nextiva X-885
2. Poly Edge 550
3. Yealink T57W
4. Yealink T46U
5. Nextiva X-835
6. Poly Edge E220
7. Cisco 8861

1. Nextiva X-885

The Nextiva X-885 is one of the best office phone systems on the market, especially for business executives and front-desk officers. It is highly customizable, with a range of programmable buttons plus built-in Power over Ethernet (PoE) support.

It has a 4.3-inch screen, a large color display, and an overall sleek design that makes it easy to use. In addition, the phone features a variety of advanced call-handling options, such as call forwarding, call transfer, and three-way calling — to cater to a wide range of communication needs. 

One thing that really stands out is its exceptional sound quality. The Nextiva X-885 VoIP phone uses wideband audio technology to deliver crystal-clear calls. It also has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. 

Although the X-885 doesn’t have an HD screen display, its colored LCD screen serves the purpose well and delivers great visual quality. 

Top features

• Comes with an A210 Wi-Fi USB dongle
• Works with Bluetooth (native)
• Supports PoE
• Includes Gigabit Ethernet and USB-A ports
• Has RJ9, USB-A, and BT headset inputs
• Boasts a 4.3 inches color display
• Includes 12 programmable line keys
• Has an expansion module with up to three E6 Exp

Best for: business executives and receptionists 

Price: $190.00 or $8.40/month

2. Poly Edge E550

The Poly Edge E550 is a multi-purpose VoIP phone that can be used both at your home office and on your business premises.

Unlike many of the phones in this article, this one has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for communication convenience. It also pairs with wired and hands-free headsets using one of three inputs: RJ-9, USB-C, and Bluetooth. 

One feature that really stands out for users is the ability to fast pair your compatible Poly headset. Just enable pairing mode on your headset, tap it on the Edge E screen, and select Connect — it’s that easy! 

You can also pair your compatible smartphone with the Edge E550 to make your call history and contacts available on your desk phone.

Top features

• Native Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity
• Five-inch color display
• 12 physical line keys
• 48 total lines across four pages
• RJ9, USB-C, and Bluetooth headset inputs
• PoE ready
• 2-gigabit Ethernet and two USB-C ports
• Expansion module with up to two Edge E Exp

Best for: hybrid staff working in modern offices

Price: $300.00 or $11.00 per month

3. Yealink T57W

Perfect for business executives looking for an office phone with a large screen, the Yealink T57W IP phone boasts a seven-inch color touchscreen display. 

The T57W initially shows 11 line keys, but you can press the More key button on the screen to display a total of 29 line keys.

If you don’t want to cover the rich color screen with line keys, add up to three EXP50 expansion modules to view your additional lines.

Aside from its display abilities, this VoIP phone comes with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. And you can connect your wired headsets using the RJ-9, EHS, or USB-A input.

If you’d rather use a wireless headset, no problem — the T57W also offers Bluetooth connectivity. 

An outstanding feature of this device is that you can pair up to four supported Yealink cordless DECT handsets, such as the W56H handset, by connecting the separate DD10K DECT adapter accessory. This lets you control all your calls from one central device. 

Top features

• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
• Seven-inch color touchscreen display
• 11 physical line keys
• 29-line capacity
• RJ9, USB-A, and Bluetooth headset connections
• PoE compatible
• 2-gigabit ethernet and two USB-A ports
• Expansion module with up to three EXP50

Best for: busy executives and professionals who need a large screen

Price: $310.00 or $12.00 per month

4. Yealink T46U

If you’re looking for a midrange desk phone with great audio quality, the Yealink T46U VoIP desk phone should be on your radar. 

It comes with Yealink Optima HD audio quality that delivers clear, natural sound through a built-in full-duplex speakerphone and includes hearing aid-compatible headsets.

Another great feature of the Yealink T46U is its high level of security. It offers enterprise-grade protection with HTTPS, SRTP, and TLS encryption protocols.

Like the X-885 VoIP phone, Yealink’s T46U has a 4.3-inch full-color display screen. It doesn’t have built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but you can connect these using external cables.

Top features

• Wi-Fi support via WF40/WF50 dongles
• Bluetooth support via BT40/BT41 dongles
• 4.3-inch color display screen
• 10 line keys and four soft keys
• Expansion module connectivity of up to three EXP43
• Two USB Type A inputs
• RJ-9 and EHS headset ports 

Best for: busy professionals who handle a high volume of calls

Price: $200.00 or $7.60 per month

5. Nextiva X-835

The Nextiva X-835 is an excellent choice for businesses looking for a reliable and feature-packed VoIP office phone that won’t break the bank. 

This phone doesn’t support Bluetooth connectivity, but you can connect to your Wi-Fi via a USB dongle. If you want wire-free Wi-Fi connectivity, you’re better off with a VoIP phone like the Yealink T57W. 

The X-835 also has an RJ-9 headset input for wired audio connections. In addition, it comes with 12 programmable keys. These keys can be programmed to speed dial frequently called numbers and access features such as call forwarding and voicemail. 

Top features 

• Wi-Fi connectivity via a USB dongle
• 12 programmable keys
• 2.8-inch color LCD
• PoE compatible 
• Gigabit Ethernet ports
• Speed-dialing support
• RJ-9 headset input
• One USB input
• Expansion module connectivity with up to 3 connections

Best for: customer support leads and supervisors

Price: $160.00 or $6.00 per month

6. Poly Edge E220

Looking for an affordable VoIP desk phone that simply gets the job done?

Look no further than the Poly Edge E220. With only four line keys and a 2.8-inch screen, you may think you aren’t getting a whole lot with this phone. But you would be surprised to learn how feature-rich this phone actually is! 

The Poly Edge E220 has four pages of lines, so you can have up to 16 lines. It also offers custom speed dialing and monitors other lines using Busy Lamp Field. The Edge E220 has a color screen, built-in Bluetooth 5.0, NFC support, and a built-in wall mount on the back. 

As with all Poly Edge E model desk phones, the Edge E220 comes with text-to-speech to let you know which buttons you are pushing, what phone number you are calling, and what options are available in the settings menus.

Along with text-to-speech, it has screen color adjustments for color blindness and the ability to increase the font size or change it to bold lettering.

With all these amazing features, how could you not want a Poly Edge E220 for your workspace?

Top features

• Bluetooth connectivity
• 2.8-inch color LCD screen
• PoE ready
• USB Type C input
• RJ-9/EHS, USB-C, and Bluetooth headset inputs 

Best for: small businesses looking for a budget-friendly and easy-to-use VoIP phone

Price: $160.00 or $5.10 per month

7. Cisco 8861

The Cisco 8861 IP phone is built for businesses with a small office area or limited network access ports. It comes with native Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, an RJ-9 headset input, and a speed dialing function. 

Users love its voice feedback feature, which helps anyone who has trouble seeing their phone screen.

When enabled, a voice prompt helps you navigate your phone buttons and reads incoming caller IDs, displayed screens and settings, and button functions. 

The voice is clear and easy to understand, and you can change the speed at which the voice prompts play. It’s particularly useful for people with visual impairments.  

Top features

• Native Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
• Five-inch color display screen
• 10 physical line keys
• RJ9, USB-A, and Bluetooth headset inputs
• PoE compatible
• 2-gigabit ethernet and one USB-A port
• Expansion module with up to three A KEM

Best for: Executives or within a medium-sized conference room

Price: $330.00 or $13.30 per month

Benefits of VoIP Desk Phones

A VoIP desk phone offers many advantages that softphones simply can’t replace. Here’s why you should consider upgrading from a traditional landline to a VoIP desk phone. 

✅ Dedicated, reliable calling experience

Switching to a VoIP telephone system means you will no longer struggle with frequent call disruptions and network downtime. 

Unlike a traditional PBX phone system, VoIP desk phones make and receive calls via the Internet, providing much more stable connectivity than physical phone lines. 

Internet connectivity isn’t restricted to a physical location, meaning you can make, receive, and manage calls from anywhere. 

🤝 Seamless integration with softphones

VoIP phones typically come with built-in softphone applications for more flexible communication. 

A softphone provides a virtual phone number that can be used to make and receive calls via any Internet-enabled device. It comes with features such as call forwarding, call transfer, call waiting, and voicemail, just like a regular office phone. 

With a softphone, you don’t have to bother about moving your VoIP phone from one place to another; you can communicate with team members and clients from any smart device, including your laptop and iPad. 

This is extremely valuable for field workers who need to join conference calls on the go and hybrid teams looking to coordinate activities between in-person and remote staff seamlessly. 

📱Easy, instant calling & flexibility

Most VoIP services provide additional hardware and accessories to improve your overall communication experience. 

If you’re using a desk phone such as the Nextiva X-835 that lacks built-in Bluetooth connectivity, you can connect your VoIP phone to Bluetooth devices using a USB dongle. 

Another great example of a VoIP office phone accessory is a headset that allows you to participate in meetings and calls hands-free. Some VoIP headsets are even wireless, allowing you to make, receive, and manage calls while moving around. 

🔊Better call quality, including speakerphone

If you’re not satisfied with your VoIP phone’s audio quality, you can connect it to a speakerphone for better call quality. 

A speakerphone is a device that allows you to make and receive calls hands-free. It has a built-in loudspeaker and microphone that enable you to hear the caller’s voice and speak to them without holding the phone to your ear. 

It also has features like noise reduction, echo cancellation, and high-definition audio support or wide band — which all contribute to a quality audio experience. 

Useful Office Phone Accessories

Your office phone isn’t complete without one or more of these VoIP phone accessories and hardware.  

Headsets

VoIP headsets allow you to make and receive calls without holding the phone to your ear — in hands-free mode. 

Headsets can be wired or cordless. A wired headset connects to your VoIP office phone via a cable, such as a USB cable, while the cordless headset typically connects to your device via Bluetooth. 

Headsets come in various styles. Some headsets are placed over the ear, while others are placed in the ear. Some models have advanced audio features, such as noise reduction and echo cancellation, for improved audio quality. 

Prices of VoIP headsets vary greatly based on their features and complexity. They can start at $15 and go up to $500 or more. 

Wireless dongles

What is a wireless dongle? A wireless dongle is a small hardware device that helps you connect your VoIP phone to a Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth device. You’ll need them if your office phone lacks native Bluetooth and wireless network connectivity. 

Some VoIP phones, such as the Nextiva X-885, come with Wi-Fi dongles, but this is not the case with all VoIP phones. Often, you’ll need to buy the required dongles separately. 

The exact price depends on what you’re getting. The Nineplus wireless dongle for Wi-Fi costs about $30, while the Maxuni USB Bluetooth dongle costs about $18. 

PoE equipment

Power over Ethernet equipment delivers data connectivity and electrical power to your VoIP desk phone simultaneously. This reduces clutter caused by separate data and electrical cables in your office. 

All Nextiva’s VoIP phones are PoE compatible, but this isn’t the case with all other VoIP service providers. Before investing in PoE equipment, check with your service provider to be sure your phone supports PoE. 

Once confirmed, you can buy your PoE equipment via your service provider’s hardware and accessories store. You can also purchase this equipment on e-commerce marketplaces, such as Amazon. Some PoE devices cost as little as $16. 

The Best Office Phones Need the Best Phone Service

The last thing you want is to invest in an office phone only to struggle with subpar service quality. That’s why you need to partner with a business phone service that guarantees high-quality call delivery every time. 

Nextiva is your best option. It’s extremely easy to set up and use. Plus, our support team is always available to help you through any challenges that come up. 

👀 Check out Nextiva’s extensive business phone system, and let us know what you think! 

VoIP Office Phones FAQs

Get answers to common questions about VoIP office phones. 

The hallmark of a successful franchise is a sustainable operation with a foundation of effective communication. To achieve both, you need a powerful phone system.

But it’s not as simple as choosing just any business phone service. Partnering with the leader in customer service and industry expertise will make it a perfect fit for your franchise.

That’s where Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) comes in. It’s much more than a business phone number. VoIP is the modern alternative to traditional phone lines that cost up to 60% less.

If you’re ready to provide a first-class customer experience, the choice is easy.

Let’s walk through essential VoIP phone features that franchisors and franchisees can’t operate without.

Running a Franchise Is Hard

As a franchise owner, you’re always balancing a mix of responsibilities.

One minute, you’re brainstorming strategies to build a rock-solid brand reputation. Next, you’re diligently negotiating with vendors, arranging deliveries, and hiring. And in the afternoons? That’s when you’re adapting to the ever-changing trends of your local market. 

Your communications platform should work as hard as you do. Whether you’re directing incoming phone calls during and after business hours or managing conference calls with vendors, a hosted PBX (Private Branch Exchange) helps you be there for your team and customers.

So, when you’re considering an all-in-one business phone system, which features matter most? As the leader in business VoIP, Nextiva provides phone system features that help franchisors succeed.

Phone System Features a Franchise Operator Needs

1. Multi-location management

Managing your phone system functions across multiple franchise locations doesn’t have to be a chore. And you won’t need an IT wizard to set it up!

A cloud-hosted PBX provides a central location to manage your phone service settings and caller ID. Multi-location office phone software ensures consistency in customer service and brand standards.

2. Unlimited nationwide calling 

When it comes to talking with prospective employees, helping customers, or syncing up with partners, you don’t want to worry about counting minutes. Enjoy unlimited calls to any phone number across the U.S. and Canada.

3. Auto attendants

Interactive voice response (IVR), also known as auto attendant, enables franchise owners to answer calls automatically, present callers with an automated menu of options, and then transfer them to the right individual. It’s like having a virtual receptionist.

These call flows save you from having to hire staff dedicated to answering inbound calls (during and outside of business hours). This phone feature can also deflect several types of customer support questions, such as your location, holiday hours, and FAQs.

👀 Case Study: Aqua-Tots Chose Nextiva for Its Award-Winning Support & Scalability

4. Call forwarding

There are a few times when you do want to get a call in the middle of the night regarding your business. For those, you can forward after-hours calls to your cell phone while still maintaining your privacy.

Another popular choice for a business franchise is to forward after-hours calls to an answering service or a customer service call center.

While seemingly simple, call forwarding is an essential phone feature that’s particularly valuable to business owners who are always on the go or have different sites.

5. Business text messaging

Consumers appreciate the speed and simplicity of text messaging. Getting your business text-ready is easy with a platform such as Nextiva. This way, you can send coupons, special offers, and customer surveys and get notified when customers arrive to pick up their orders.

Be sure to complete 10DLC registration of your local numbers to ensure reliable text messaging among cellular carriers. Our guide explains everything you need to know.

6. Call recording

Franchise owners use business call recording to evaluate incoming calls and provide coaching opportunities for their staff. There are many reasons to listen to calls, including inbound call greetings, product information, and legal statements such as money-back guarantees.

Recorded calls help franchises showcase real customer concerns and exceptional customer service. This is the exact approach that franchise business coach Kieran Scott used to increase sales for Buzz Franchise Brands.

7. Softphone connectivity

Softphones allow employees to make and receive phone calls and text messaging using their mobile phone, computer, or tablet. These applications provide voice calls, text messaging, team chat, and video conferencing functionality using any internet connection.

A softphone is a cost-effective alternative to traditional phone lines and IP phones.

8. Voicemail transcription

Converting your voicemails into email or text messages saves franchise owners time. No more dialing in, memorizing PINs, or playing them back one by one.

Transcribed voicemails let managers see who’s calling and either call them back or forward them to a trusted colleague. These voicemail message transcriptions are stunningly accurate for their real-time conversion from voice to text, thanks to the power of AI.

9. Scalable administration

If you currently have one location but plan on adding more, choose a scalable phone system and make setting up your new locations a simple process. 

This way, you can use a single toll-free number across all locations and route calls to each location’s general manager — or set up a virtual number for each location in any area code.

10. CRM integration

No more hunting for an important phone number on a lost Post-It note. With your CRM software, you can point and click to call any of your contacts. 

With CTI technology, you can reach anyone on demand without any more hardware than your mobile phone or desktop.

Franchise Benefits of a VoIP Phone System

• Lower costs: VoIP systems cost less than traditional phones for both initial setup and ongoing expenses. In a small business franchise model, where cost savings can greatly affect your future expansion strategy, this is an important factor.
• Flexibility: VoIP systems adapt to your growing needs as a franchise. Whether you have speedy or more balanced expansion plans, this type of phone system is ready to grow, or shrink, when you are. Plus, VoIP gives you the option to easily route incoming calls to your team or direct them to automated messages.
• Easy location management: Franchise owners often struggle with maintaining consistent communication across various locations and the corporate office. If you find it hard to keep the lines of communication open with your franchisees, it’s often seen as a red flag. VoIP takes the pain out of multi-location management and enables you to maintain a consistent brand voice. With all the right tools, you can standardize your phone system across your network of locations and make communication easier.
• Streamlined IT costs: VoIP systems don’t require expensive IT infrastructure and support, further freeing franchise owners from the costs associated with traditional phone system networks.
• Simple onboarding: Implementing new technology can be complicated and time-consuming. It’s the reason why many tech-averse franchise owners are hesitant to make the switch. With simple onboarding, however, configuring a VoIP system is a pleasant experience. And with a partner such as Nextiva, who’s familiar with your unique challenges, you’re in good hands. 
• Open your doors faster: VoIP’s quick setup means you can open locations faster and speed up your path to profitability by facilitating rapid expansion plans.

Case Study: Nothing Bundt Cakes Franchise Named Nextiva Its Preferred Franchise Phone Vendor

The Best Phone System for a Franchise

Choosing a VoIP phone system is a smart decision for franchise owners who want to streamline operations, reduce costs, and provide world-class customer service.

If you’re a busy franchise owner who is looking to scale operations quickly, cloud-based VoIP systems deliver the kind of flexibility, scalability, and cost efficiency that’s hard to match.

Integrating advanced technology within a franchise is often a complicated task for owners, but it doesn’t have to be. Nextiva is a user-friendly option that makes adopting VoIP easy.

When you choose Nextiva, you’re gaining a partner who understands the unique needs of your franchise business and wants to see you grow.

Are you ready to take your franchise to the next level? Explore what Nextiva’s VoIP system can do for you and your team.

FAQs

Throughout the United States, it’s well-known that if you’re having an emergency, you call 911. The rise of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and widespread usage of cell phones has not changed this, but it has changed how emergency services receive and respond to mobile and VoIP calls. 

During an emergency, every minute can mean life or death. Fortunately, E911 has transformed how we send location details for emergency calls, enabling a more timely and accurate dispatch when an emergency strikes.

E911 has greatly improved emergency service response times, but many business owners might wonder what E911 is and how it works. With that in mind, let’s look at E911, why it’s required, and the benefits of setting up E911 in your office phone system.

Before anything else, we need to understand what E911 is. 

What Is E911?

E911 stands for Enhanced 911 and is the part of the public telephone system that automatically ties a location to a phone call.

It’s used by carriers to automatically transmit a caller’s location to emergency personnel when they call 911. This location can be an address or specific coordinates, either of which can make sure that emergency service workers know where to go when called.

For landlines, the location is always easy enough to identify — it’s tied directly to the user’s callback number. But for mobile devices or calls made over VoIP phones with an internet connection, it can be a little more complicated. 

When someone makes a VoIP 911 call, they could be calling from anywhere in the world. Knowing the location of the caller’s office won’t be of much help if they’re working remotely from a coffee shop instead, so E911 ensures dispatchers know exactly where to send first responders.

As such, E911 is essential for making sure the caller’s location and situation are accurately reported so that emergency responders can get to them quickly.

E911 is also mandated by RAY BAUM’s Act, which requires that first responders have the information they need to pinpoint a dispatch location, regardless of the device the caller is using. This includes mobile phones and VoIP devices, so any multi-line phone system that can place phone calls must have an E911 system.

E911 Advantages

Many might be wondering, “Can’t 911 already track your calls? What’s so special about E911 that we need entire systems for it?” 

There are several benefits to an E911 system that elevate it above traditional 911 calls — and every single advantage can be lifesaving.

Faster emergency response

Consider a scenario where you’re in a burning building and need to call 911. While you could give the dispatcher your address, this can take time, and of course, there’s a good chance that the dispatcher may not be able to hear you properly over the noise of the alarms.

E911, on the other hand, automatically sends the caller’s location to dispatchers, enabling them to respond more quickly. This is especially crucial for situations where every second counts, and emergencies where the caller may be unable to communicate or the line disconnects. 

The Wall Street Journal found that E911 systems can help reduce 911 response times by nearly a minute, thus saving thousands of lives.

Improved accuracy

Traditional phone calls to 911 require verbal descriptions of their locations, such as “the corner of Park and Third Street.” 

E911, on the other hand, uses GPS or cell tower triangulation for precise location tracking, so emergency services personnel will be able to find the caller, even when they’re on the go.

In a business setting, this is critical to ensure public safety officials send resources to the correct address of callers instead of a postal address. 

Enhanced safety

Another benefit of E911 over traditional 911 is the ease and speed at which dispatchers can assess the emergency, receive the location information, and send the appropriate assistance. 

It’s not just more accurate, but faster as well, as an E911 system can immediately send vital information to the dispatcher, enabling them to make sure the right help is on the way.

Advanced features

E911 doesn’t stop at location services. E911 systems include features that traditional 911 systems often lack, such as the ability to distinguish a caller’s location based on the device, such as coordinates based on IP addresses for laptops or fixed addresses for VoIP desk phones.

These additional features can help both callers and dispatchers communicate and respond during dangerous situations, and they’re also easy to set up and manage.

How Does E911 Technology Work?

Now that we know what E911 is and what its benefits are, it’s time to understand how it works. 

What are the steps that an E911 call goes through once you call for help? This diagram by Evan Mason illustrates how E911 works.  

The entire process can be summarized in four stages:

Stage 1. The caller dials 911

As soon as the caller dials 911, the call routing connects them to the local Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) responsible for the caller’s location. A PSAP is a specialized inbound call center managed by public safety officials. 

The E911 system uses the caller’s location to make sure it reaches the caller’s local PSAP to reach the emergency services nearest to them.

At the same time, multi-line phone system operators are notified of 911 calls from their phone service. This helps ensure any callbacks from 911 get a faster response and can be used for calls coming from office buildings to alert security staff so they can initiate their emergency protocols.

Stage 2. Automatic location identification is sent

Once the call reaches the PSAP, the location is provided to them immediately. How this works will vary depending on whether the call is from a landline or mobile device.

For landline calls, the street address is automatically retrieved from a database, based on the phone number. For instance, if you’re calling from a house or office building’s telephone system, the telephone number you’re calling from is already associated with the specific location.

For mobile calls, there are two different ways that the location data gets sent. The first is to send the location data via GPS — this sends specific coordinates to the PSAP.

Alternatively, the E911 system uses cell tower triangulation to find the caller’s location and then passes that information on to the PSAP (though this is less accurate).

Telecom providers must also pass along a VoIP customer’s physical address for their calls.

This is useful for people who work from a single location, especially if they’re in a specific suite or room at their address, but not so much for those who are frequently working while on the move.

Stage 3. Dispatchers confirm the caller’s information

Once the call reaches the local PSAP, the dispatcher immediately receives all the location information, along with the caller’s phone number and any other important information about the emergency, including their company name, the floor and room they’re on, and any other identifiable information that will help emergency responders.

All this information is verified on the operator’s end through their database and other tools at their disposal. That way, they can hone in on the caller’s location as precisely as possible and pass on that information to the emergency responders.

Stage 4. Emergency response begins

Using the information received, the PSAP dispatcher sends the appropriate emergency services to the caller’s location.

Whether the emergency requires police, the fire department, or an ambulance, they’re given the exact location and nature of the emergency so they can get there quickly.

That’s all there is to it. There’s no need for the caller to give directions, as that information is automatically included.

Business Impacts of E911

Naturally, every business needs a way to contact emergency services should the worst happen.

However, the speed of response and location flexibility offered by E911 make it a must-have to enable remote workforces or to ensure employees can receive aid quickly when disaster strikes.

Businesses with physical locations

For businesses with high levels of customer traffic and patrons, such as retail stores, restaurants, and bars, a dependable E911 system that can find a customer’s physical location is invaluable.

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities also need E911, as emergencies, such as fires or other natural disasters, require swift emergency response and accurate location tracking.

Similarly, schools and universities must ensure the safety of their students and faculty members, making E911 essential. When there’s a campus emergency, the accuracy of E911’s location services and the time it saves can make the difference between life and death.

Of course, businesses with office buildings and corporate HQs also need E911 to ensure efficient emergency responses, both for employees and visitors.

Firms with remote or mobile workers

Since E911 can send precise location data to emergency response dispatchers, it’s particularly useful for anyone working remotely or while on the go.

For example, call centers have, by and large, embraced remote work. This means that call center agents require a communications platform with a solid E911 system to ensure that remote employees can access emergency services whenever they’re needed.

Although employees aren’t likely to use their business phone lines for emergencies, seconds count in the event of any emergency. And people look at a phone interface and expect it to reach public safety officials reliably. 

Companies with a hybrid workforce

E911 is an essential feature for people who switch between commuting to an office and working from home. These employees likely have a softphone app that’s continuously connected, allowing them to make and receive calls over their internet connection. 

For these employees, it’s strongly recommended that you have E911 location information properly assigned to their connected devices and where they are most likely to be found throughout the day.

For instance, you should update your emergency information to include their office and home addresses (if they work from home).

National E911 Regulations To Note

As E911 is used for emergency responses nationwide, it’s no surprise that there are some strict regulations in place. These cover requirements for inclusion, updates, and information provided, which all phone system providers and administrators must be aware of.

Kari’s Law

When someone dials 911, they need to be able to reach emergency services without any further difficulty. 

Kari’s Law is designed to mandate just that: the ability to call emergency services just by dialing 911, without the need for any additional extensions, such as dialing 1” before placing an outbound call. In short, the central tenets of Kari’s Law are:

• Every phone system must permit direct dialing of 911 from any phone extension.
• Phone systems must ensure instant connectivity to PSAP without any obstructions.

RAY BAUM’s Act

RAY BAUM’s Act is focused on providing location information to PSAPs, regardless of the telecom platform the caller uses.

This includes the address, suite or apartment number, and any other information that will help emergency services reach the caller quickly. The main requirements of RAY BAUM’s Act are:

• Notify on-site security staff that a 911 call has been made.
• Provide a valid callback number to the caller.
• Transmit detailed caller information to PSAPs.

Implementation and compliance

Proper emergency response capabilities are not optional. The Federal Communications Commission mandates that all wireless carriers provide E911 services, which means that no matter what network you use, E911 is included.

There are also two requirements for carriers when they provide location information for mobile phones, including VoIP calls:

• Phase I compliance: requires carriers to provide the PSAP with the caller’s phone number and cell tower location when they call.
• Phase II compliance: adds more precise location information so that the dispatcher can send the emergency responders to the caller’s exact location.

Continuous updates

E911 is not a “one-and-done” system and requires technology updates to ensure consistent accuracy and reliability. Carriers and service providers are therefore required to continually update their E911 capabilities.

Administrators are responsible for ensuring phone system users’ addresses and contact information are current. It’s advised to make this a required step for employee onboarding. 

State-level regulations

While the above regulations are standard throughout the country, individual states may have additional rules and requirements. It’s important to understand what the specific E911 regulations are for any state your company operates in. 

Be sure to review the requirements for your phone systems with a licensed attorney to make sure you’re in full compliance.

The Easiest Phone System for Your Entire Team

Many organizations find themselves struggling to retrofit aging telecom systems. From replacement parts to the technical experts to conduct the implementation, it’s a hassle. If this sounds familiar, worry not. Nextiva helps companies of all sizes migrate to a cloud-based phone system every day.

Reliability is a cornerstone of the Nextiva network. It spans eight redundant data centers across the U.S., so billions of phone calls are connected reliably and instantly every year. All you have to do is sign in, and Nextiva does the rest. 

In addition to superior connectivity, you also get Amazing Service, where anytime you need help, experts help you solve your communication needs. Adding a new team? No problem. Need to go fully remote, hybrid, or return to the office? We’ve got you covered. 

Over 150,000 businesses use Nextiva for their company’s communications.

E911 FAQs