Best VoIP for small business owners

Intermedia Unite is typically a reseller for VoIP services, so it’s not quite as initially user-friendly as its competitors. Delve past the jargon though, and it’s an excellent service for the majority of small businesses and comes at a sharp price point. At its simplest, it offers unlimited calls within the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico, with unlimited texting bundled in too. The cheapest package provides video conferencing for up to four people, which is perfect for small businesses that require occasional virtual meet-ups between workers. That ramps up to 30 attendees with the premium package. 
Whichever plan you go with, there’s cloud storage for file sharing purposes as well as backups with 2GB per user for the lower plan and 100GB for the premium choice. 
If you’re keen to dip your toe into software integration, there’s also integration with everything from GSuite to Slack, Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Zoho, and other CRM software. The premium plan also includes Salesforce support. And when it comes to communicating with potential clients? There’s automatic call recording, spam protection, and the choice to keep your existing phone number. It’s a reassuring bunch of features. 

If your business is spread across multiple locations or involves many employees who work from home, it’s useful to have a VoIP that creates a virtual office feeling. That’s what RingCentral provides. At its simplest, there’s standard unlimited calls within the US and Canada, along with texting. There’s also team messaging and document sharing. Where things get better is with the higher end packages. You can enjoy unlimited audio conferencing and video calls with up to 100 participants. There’s also quality of service reports, unlimited faxing, and extensive software integration. 
That level of integration includes Office 365, GSuite, and Slack with the option to upgrade even further to include Zendesk, Salesforce, and even more industry-specific integrations like Canvas or Smarsh. 
Bundling in automatic call recording, hot desking support, along with advanced call handling, makes it all the sweeter a package. It means that your employees can stay in touch easily while ensuring calls are followed up with clients, and you always know precisely where sales or tickets are in the system. It’s an excellent service for scaling to your business needs. 
 

If your business deals with many clients around the world, you don’t want to be constrained by the false economy that comes from a US-only VoIP. 8×8 offers unlimited calling within 14 countries on one of its cheaper packages before ramping things up to calling across 47 countries on higher-end plans. It’s the perfect way to save money if you need to make many calls internationally or if you have workers spread around the world.
As well as that, there’s extensive call handling features like caller ID, call forwarding, call queues, and ring groups, so you can keep on top of your calls while also seeming professional to your clients. An auto attendant also means that no one feels left hanging around for an answer. 
For your staff, there’s GSuite and Office 365 integration along with cross-platform team messaging and call quality reporting (on higher plans), so you can work through your business plan together appropriately. 

Many cloud-based VoIP services are intimidatingly vast, but Vonage Business keeps it simple. It has a web-based interface for administrators that’s mostly pretty easy to understand and get to grips with. It doesn’t require hours of mastering to be able to get stuff done. Similarly, the mobile app is straight forward too, so employees will be able to figure it out even if they’re not technically minded. 
With a well priced basic package, Vonage Business seems eminently appealing, but the basics only cover unlimited calls, SMS messaging, and team messaging. After that, you’re likely to need to pay for add-ons for everything from video conferencing to an auto-attendant or CRM integration. Even features that come as standard elsewhere, like call recording or visual voicemail, can incur a fee here. However, that does mean that you can streamline Vonage Business so that you only ever pay for exactly what you need and nothing else. That flexibility can be useful for businesses that want to keep an eye on their spending.

Squarely focused at small businesses that need to take multiple calls, Ooma Office may lack some collaborative features, but it’s great if your business is predominantly focused on call handling. For a low price on par with many other VoIP’s basic packages, you get access to a virtual receptionist, the ability to park calls, arrange hold and transfer music, as well as provide extensions, and numerous other features. 
Ooma Office isn’t perfect for every scenario, though. It strongly encourages the use of its own phones to get every feature, although there is a dedicated app. That means short term outlay for long term gains. There’s also limited CRM and other office package integration, so this isn’t a great option for those looking for extensive collaboration features. For calls, though, you can’t go wrong.

Lifesize is unlike other VoIP services for many reasons. One of those is that it offers a free service with an unlimited meeting duration. For six months, you can check out Lifesize with the option to host up to 25 participants and enjoy up to 1080p resolution footage. Upgrade, and you can have from 100 participants to 300 with 4K footage.
It’s great for regular video calls between employees, but this isn’t a service for dealing with clients who may wish to submit tickets or sales inquiries. That’s because integration is limited with only Slack, Microsoft Teams, and email and calendar integration. Don’t expect CRM assistance here. Still, if you simply want to keep in touch with your workers and have meetings regularly and remotely, then Lifesize is a great choice. It’s well priced for what it offers and even allows for up to 24 hour-long meetings.