How to Choose a Business Phone System and VoIP Provider

The short answer

A good business phone system is more than cheap minutes. First describe how calls work in your company: who answers inbound calls, how many simultaneous lines you need, whether calls must be recorded and shown in the CRM. Then compare providers across six areas:

1. Numbers and pricing.
2. Call recording and storage.
3. IVR and queues.
4. Integrations: CRM, messengers, website.
5. Analytics.
6. Call quality and support.

Cloud PBX or your own

For most offices and sales teams, starting with a cloud PBX is sensible: it scales easily and you do not have to run a server.

Numbers and pricing

• Which numbers you need: local landline, mobile, short or toll-free numbers for customers. Ask whether your current number can be ported.
• What the subscription includes: users, lines, minutes, recording storage.
• How calls are billed: to mobiles, landlines, international; per minute or per second.
• Hidden costs: number activation, add-on modules, integrations, overage charges.

Cost depends on headcount, numbers, call volume and enabled features, so compare the total bill for your scenario rather than the price of a single option.

Features you actually need

• Call recording: all calls or selected ones, retention period, who can listen and download.
• IVR (voice menu): "press 1 for sales". Keep it short — two or three options.
• Queues and routing: round robin, to whoever is free, to the longest idle; what callers hear while waiting.
• Forwarding to a mobile when an employee is out.
• Business hours: different flows for daytime, night and weekends.
• Softphone and mobile app: call from the company number on a laptop or phone.
• Callback from the website.

Integrations

This is often the deciding factor. Check:

• CRM: does an inbound call create a lead or contact, does the customer card pop up, is the recording saved to the history?
• Click-to-call from the CRM.
• Missed calls turning into tasks.
• Messengers: can Telegram, WhatsApp and calls be handled in one window, or at least in one CRM?
• API and webhooks for custom flows: notifications, links to your accounting system.

A ready-made integration with your CRM saves weeks of custom work. If there is none, ask whether there is an open API with examples.

Analytics

The minimum set of reports:

• answered and missed calls by employee and time of day;
• queue wait time and abandoned calls;
• call duration;
• call sources, if you use call tracking for ads.

Quality and support

• Trial period: call from different carriers, at peak hours, from the office and from home.
• Supported codecs and internet link requirements.
• Failover: what happens when the provider has an outage or the office loses internet — forwarding to mobiles.
• Support: channels, hours, language, and how fast they answer a test ticket.

Questions for vendors

1. Can we port our current number, and how long does it take?
2. Is there a ready integration with our CRM, and what exactly does it sync?
3. How long are recordings kept, and can we export them?
4. How does forwarding work if the office internet goes down?
5. What does the plan include, and what costs extra?
6. Is there an API with documentation?
7. How quickly does support respond, and through which channels?

Common mistakes

• Choosing the lowest per-minute price without counting modules.
• A long IVR menu that makes customers hang up.
• Recording calls without telling customers.
• No flow for after-hours calls.