If you are a small business owner, the idea of spending $10,000-$20,000 on a new phone system probably isn’t how you’d like to spend your Wednesday. But don’t worry, we have good news. You can rent your phones… say what? Yes, you can rent your phones. Most people think you have to have a capital expenditure to buy a phone system, but you can’t believe everything you hear on the internet. Or from a sales person. When people are not aware of their options, they will probably make a call to their local internet provider and get pitched a CAPEX model. That’s short for capital expenditure of course.
What if we told you there was a better way? It’s an innovation we call managed services.
Choosing a Managed Services Option For Your Next Phone System
At Unified, we offer Managed Services as an alternative to buying a phone system. We recommend our Managed Services program for 3 major reasons:
1. Save Money: Leasing significantly lowers your start up and installation costs, and the ongoing maintenance is far less expensive too. On average, our Managed Services plan can save you 16%-20%. We just added our 40th managed services customer since November of 2015. One of our 40 clients was quoted $15,000 for phones and equipment from one of our competitors, and that wasn’t even including installation. For a system with 16 phones, their monthly bill on our Managed Services platform was around $500. They partnered with us on a Managed Services plan with 1 ShoreTel 655 conference phone and 15 ShoreTel phones for around $400 a month with an additional expense of $100 a month to their internet provider. The total installation cost was less than $2,000. That’s a pretty good alternative vs securing the funds for a $20,000 outlay, and still having ongoing maintenance costs.
2. IT Support: Another major advantage is that you won’t have to hire IT support internally. New employees require salary and benefits that can put a major dent into your monthly cashflow. Unified provides on staff support that will help you through any technological problems that may arise. With Managed Services, we provide you with a low monthly fee and a whole team that’s here to help when you need us.
3. Scalability: For a growing business, it’s important to be able to add new phone lines when new employees are hired. With the traditional phone system, you’ll run into extra equipment, installation, and line costs with each new phone. Managed Services can add equipment and phone lines as your business grows. We can even add phones all on the same platform with very small incremental increases to your monthly fees.
As a small business, you can take a deep breath because you don’t have to pay $20,000 for a new phone system. A small up front cost and a manageable monthly payment is far more realistic for small- or micro-sized businesses. If you’d still like some more information about our Managed Services plan, you can download our Managed Services infographic or have a conversation with one of our Technology Specialists.
