6 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a 3CX VoIP Provider

Did you know that VoIP solutions can save businesses 90% of international call and start-up costs? As well as 40% of local phone call costs?

Savings like these are one of the reasons VoIP is becoming a go-to business communications solution. However, before you jump to sign up with a VoIP provider, it’s essential that you ask the right questions.

If you are looking for a reliable 3CX VoIP provider, there are literally hundreds of options out there. However, not all of these companies provide the same quality of service.

As the VoIP industry is growing at a rapid rate, a lot of new companies are popping up. However, whether they can serve their clients well and stand the test of time is not always a given.

If you want to vet out a highly reliable VoIP provider that will provide you with the right VoIP system for your needs, keep reading. Here at Velecor, we understand what it takes to provide a seamless VoIP experience, and we’re committed to helping you find the best solution.

1. What Is the Call Quality Like?

One of the first questions you need to ask is around call quality. If you will be using your VoIP phone system to communicate with clients, it’s essential that your lines are clear. Voice delays, and lag and latency issues do not look good (or shall we say sound good) from a customer’s perspective.

What’s more, a bad connection can lead to break downs in communication between your staff and customers.

Because of this, it’s often worth paying a little more for better call quality. Cutting corners on VoIP expenses—which are reasonable as it is—just to lose brand trust is not worth it.

If you are planning to use a VoIP phone service for staff communication only, you could compromise slightly on call quality to offset costs. However, you still need to make sure that call quality is reasonable.

2. What Is the Service Disruption Rate?

Another question to ask a potential 3CX VoIP provider is their rate of service disruption. When service disruption happens, you either won’t be able to use your VoIP phone system, or the quality will plummet.

To guard against this happening, ask any potential VoIP providers for a history of their network alerts. This will reveal how often their service is disrupted.

Besides this, you should also ask them how you will be notified if there is a disruption, and where you can find information on it.

3. How Long Have They Been in Business?

Another key question to ask a potential 3CX VoIP provider is how long they have been in business.

According to reports, the VoIP sector is expected to expand to take over 40% of the telecommunications market by 2025. This massive expansion means that a lot of new companies will be, and are, opening up.

Vey new companies do not have a proven track record and often experience teething problems during their initial growth phases. Newer companies are also more likely to close down unexpectedly.

Therefore, in most cases, it is best to go with a 3CX VoIP provider that has been in business for a few years and has proven their worth.

4. What Is Their Customer Support Like?

With solutions like managed services and VoIP, customer support is key. If your system goes down for some inexplicable reason, you need to be able to get in contact with your provider asap so the problem can be rectified.

If a provider is difficult to reach or does not have a round-the-clock support function, this could result in you being stranded with your VoIP phone service out of order.

Therefore, when choosing between VoIP providers, make customer support a priority. You can start by asking the providers themselves about their support level. From there, it’s also a good idea to go and look at any online reviews they might have to see if their support is as good as they say.

5. What Are the Costs?

When looking to switch to a VoIP phone system, costs are always an important area to look into.

As we said above, the cheapest options are not always the ones you want to choose. However, you also don’t want to get ripped off or pay for capacities that you don’t need.

Therefore, ask all potential providers for an itemized quote so that you understand the way they levy costs. When doing so, you’ll want to ask things like:

• What does it cost to add a phone?
• Can one user have more than one phone?
• What is not included in this quote?

This last question is particularly important given that a lot of providers will quote you on the bare basics. Then once you get up and running, you find that your business will need extra lines, bandwidth, etc, and the costs start to rise far above the original quote.

6. Is There a Contract?

Finally, you should always ask any potential 3CX VoIP provider whether you will need to sign a contract with them. Typically the contract is for services to host the 3CX services and provide support for the devices

Typically the contracts are annual recurring contracts that allow you to end services with a 30 day notice. These contracts help to ensure the quality of the service and overall up time.

Are You Looking for a Rock Solid 3CX VoIP Provider?

Finding the right 3CX VoIP provider isn’t hard once you know what questions to ask. Are you ready to start vetting potential VoIP providers?

If so, do your business a favor and start with us.

We are an advanced, certified 3CX engineer and provider, who also specializes in managed services. We know that when it comes to IT, one-size-fits-all solutions don’t work. This is why we focus on providing tailored solutions to meet your business’s needs.

Additionally, we also know that most business owners want to keep their focus where it’s needed most, on core operations. Therefore, we work tirelessly to ensure all applications are 100% integrated right from the start. Thanks to this, your business has a minimum of teething issues and downtime when you work with us.

Want to ask us some of those key questions listed above? If yes, give us a call.