4 Ways To Lower Business Phone System Installation Costs

There are plenty of reasons that even small businesses would want to invest in a modern VoIP small business phone systems telephone system, but many are held back by budgetary constraints. Major architectural upgrades sound like a big budget item, especially to the financial officer, making them a hard sell no matter what benefits they'd bring.

Fortunately, advanced small business phone systems like Meraki Communications are more easily afforded than many firms realize. There are plenty of ways to lower the up-front costs for your new VoIP telephones, as well as ensuring a faster and smoother installation process.

So, here are a few tips for saving money on your phone system installs, both short and long-term!

4 Tips For Saving Money on Small Business Phone Systems

Have A Plan Going In

The backbone of a successful VoIP telephone system upgrade is a clear plan. The initial installation of a VoIP system is crucial because it's the foundation for any future telephony upgrades. Mistakes made early on will lead to higher ongoing costs and increased downtime, so it's crucial to ensure a proper initial installation.

Look ahead to the future as well. Your installation plan should leave plenty of room to grow, so think about where you'll want your firm's communications to be in five years. Upgrades ahead should be part of the planning process today, for the lowest installation costs going forward.

Brand Standardization Speeds Future Installs

As growing firms move towards VoIP solutions for their telephone systems, it's easy for them to slip back into buying from WalMart whenever they need to add phones. While that will work for basic functions, a phone system based around a single brand and a single operating system will ultimately add numerous features while quickly reducing equipment installation costs.

If you're moving into IP-based telephony, it's important to remember that your “telephone system” is now basically an extension of your unified network. So, standardized software pays off for your telephones, too.

You'd be able to rapidly deploy all future telephone upgrades, with unified security policies and local settings pushed directly to every phone as it's added to the network.

Expert Consultants Ease Your Transition

The process of changing your telephone systems over to VoIP is more complex than sending someone around the office with a cart full of phones. It's easy to forget the architectural shift going on as part of a move to IP-based telephony: your “telephone system” is now just one more part of your unified network.

So, changeover to a VoIP telephone system poses significant new challenges, including: Phone Systems

Removal of old hardware and physical installation of the new phone systems
Installation of new software
License verification
Security standardization
OS and services deployment
Local network integration

And it needs to be done with minimum loss of productivity

Expert help cuts money out of your ongoing project expenses, with a deployment that's both faster and done right the first time, minimizing workforce disruptions. A VoIP implementation specialist can get you running quickly and smoothly, and is especially recommended for those whose on-site talent lacks previous VoIP implementation experience.

Asset Recovery Adds Speed And Value To The Process

When you're putting together your purchase, find out if your telephony dealer purchases used equipment. Many independent VoIP hardware services deal in both new and Cisco Refresh equipment, meaning you may be able to trade in your old telephone system for added discounts on the order.

Then the asset recovery process takes over the logistics for you, including: extraction, product inventory, assessment and trade-in pricing, as well as shipping. Selling back relieves you of any disposal costs, trimming a bit more off the overall project budget.

If you'd like to start the telephony upgrade process and see it done right, just tell us where you want to take your communications systems, and we'll be happy to show you how small and medium sized businesses can enjoy the benefits of a modern VoIP phone system, with prices that still fit SMB budgets.