How to Cut Telephony Costs This Year

Girl With Mobile Phone
Telephony is a significant overhead for some businesses, especially those with a large sales team. If your business needs to cut costs, telephony is one area where it’s possible to save money. In this article, we’re going to look at the many different ways you can save money and reduce overhead. This will be useful if your business is currently experiencing difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the tips are applicable at any time. Read on to see how you can cut telephony costs almost immediately.

PBX Telephone Systems

Installation costs for a PBX phone system vary, but you can expect to pay as much as $1,000 per user for a high-end on-site system. PBX telephone systems are popular with smaller businesses, as they operate as a small network. The PBX system uses standard telephone lines to connect calls from outside, which can then be routed internally. Aside from the cost of installation, you also need to pay monthly rental costs for your lines, which can add up over time. You will need to purchase telephones, headsets, and a server, among other things. In addition, equipment may need replacing eventually, which could be expensive all over again.

If PBX systems are your preferred option, the good news is that you can save money by switching to a cloud-based IP PBX. This eliminates the need for expensive hardware and annoying software problems.

VoIP

Going 100% digital is the best way to cut costs. VoIP is far less expensive to install and use. Users simply make and receive calls via the internet, so as long as you have a good broadband connection, a VoIP system is workable. No special equipment is needed, just a compatible VoIP phone or a software client.

There are many different VoIP software clients to choose from, including Aircall and RingCentral. This blog post from PieSync makes choosing between these two tools really easy if you’re not sure which one to go for. They’ve analysed the key features of both platforms and have compared the pricing for each to help you make a more informed choice. If you’re looking to cut costs, then the cheaper option (which is RingCentral) may be the one you opt for., but be sure to look into what the contract arrangements are first as you don’t want to be locked into anything if you’re just wanting to test it out.

Make Use of Free Video Conferencing Tools

Instead of paying big bucks to set up your own system or rent a teleconferencing suite in your local business center, switch to a video conferencing software solution instead. Easy-to-use tools like Skype and FaceTime cost nothing and are accessible to anyone, no matter where in the world they happen to be located. This is handy if you regularly deal with smaller clients without access to teleconferencing facilities. Zoom is another platform that’s taken the world by storm throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. You can arrange client meetings through there and integrate it with your email system to send out invitations, which provides you with a professional system that will work for all parties involved. It’s a very popular choice for remote teams too.

Monitor Your Costs

Make a point of monitoring your telephony costs over a three-month period, to see where your money is going. Install management software for your system and use this to analyze call volume. You need to know if staff are making a high volume of calls with low sales. This is especially important in a high-volume call center, where low-performing sales employees can cost the business money.

The more efficient your telephone system is, the lower your overheads will be. Remember, it’s usually better to upgrade to digital cloud-based technology, even with an up-front cost, as you’ll save money in the long-term.