Can Online Fax Really Save Me Money?
Aug 30
2010
Can Online Fax Really Save Me Money?
Online fax, also known as Internet fax, is simply using your email system and the web to send and receive your faxes. The major reason this new technology has become so popular probably has to do with the fact that you can discard the old fax machine and replace it with mobile devices such as PDAs, laptops, cell phones… making all your faxing entirely portable and mobile.
Obviously, once you have switched over all your faxing chores to these web/computer based devices, you don’t need an actual fax machine and all the hassles associated with running such a device. Mainly, no more messy inks, no more paper jams, no more fax machine maintenance and no need for an extra fax phone line. Plus, you will have none of the costs associated with these items which means major savings for you.
Let’s face it, these traditional fax costs do add up, especially if you or your company relies heavily on faxing as a vital component of your business operations. Just the cost of paper, inks and toners alone, can be expensive. Therefore, going with an online fax service can save you significant money over the long haul, as well as saving you money on start-up costs if you’re just creating your business.
Now, if you’re thinking of switching over to Internet faxing, you will have to sign-up to an online fax service provider which will supply you with your own Toll-Free or local fax number. Then your faxes are sent via the web through your email system as attachments, usually in TIFF or PDF format. Because online fax is web based, you can access your faxes anytime, anywhere – as long as you have Internet access and these days that’s just about anywhere in the world.
With your fax service, you’re also given an online site (account) where you can logon and do all your faxing chores. Your faxes are even stored online so you can easily check your faxes, from yesterday or from last month.
Since the different fax providers have slightly different rates and faxing plans, it pays to do your homework and shop around before you sign up to any one service. Keep in mind, you can save money by picking the service that perfectly matches your faxing requirements. If you do minimum faxing, then you can choose a lite faxing plan that charges around a year, but remember most fax plans usually run from to a month. Again, there are cheaper quality services out there, so shop around.
Recently, many businesses both small and big, are saving on their phone/fax costs by going with a virtual PBX (private branch exchange) system that handles all their office phone requirements which includes online faxing services. This can be a great money-saver and many companies are switching over to this new method of handling all their business communications. For a small business, it is ideal because you can project a “BIG” company image at minimum cost or expense. What more can you ask for?
Another way to save money has to do with fax broadcasting, if you send large volumes of faxes out to clients, then online fax is definitely the way to go since you can send countless numbers of faxes simultaneously. In addition, most online fax services are completely scalable for business, which means you can quickly increase or decrease your number of fax lines to match the business climate. You can quickly adjust your faxing requirements to meet your needs.
In all these ways, online faxing can save any company money directly, but it can also save you revenue indirectly if your company depends upon faxing to bring in new sales and clients. In this very competitive business world, any advantage over your competition can mean more revenue for your company and Internet fax gives you that advantage. Plus, it also puts your company on par with other companies using this service.
Remember, online fax is the wave of the future, it connects all your faxing to the Internet and your computer. It brings your faxing into the modern computer age, just look at how email has changed the way we communicate and do business; online faxing will have the same effect. So can you really afford not to have Internet fax?
For more information on Internet Fax Services use this handy online Comparison Guide to get your own: online fax Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing try here: internet fax services. Titus Hoskins Copyright © 2009. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
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Internet Fax Buying Guide (what you Need to Know Before Buying Any Online Fax Service?)
Copyright (c) 2008 Titus Hoskins
Before acquiring any Internet Fax service you must ask some pertinent questions before you sign on the dotted line. Remember, getting a fax number and service for your business or company should have your full attention because this is a long-term service and doing your homework now can save you significant money over the long haul.
Besides, picking the RIGHT fax service provider will help you avoid serious problems/headaches down the road. More importantly, like any business service you must make doubly sure you get a high quality reliable service that will enhance your business and not hinder it.
So with these concerns in mind, here are some basic questions you should ask before buying any Internet fax service.
* Questions About The Company
Who owns the company? How long have they been operating? How many customers/clients do they have? How good is their support? Basically, you want to do some research on the Internet fax company you’re thinking about using. Check out the company’s history by doing a BBB search to see if there are any major complaints about the company or service.
Check to see if there’s a trial period and if there is a 30-day money-back guarantee if things don’t work out. Most legitimate fax companies provide this feature.
Find out how long they have been operating and find out what their support is like? Check out the online fax forums to see how the different companies are rated? What problems are discussed? Check these forums to see what the support is like for a company and/or if there are any problems with using a particular fax company.
Keep in mind, many fax service providers have their own forums… check these to see how well questions are answered and how quickly problems are solved. You can even monitor these forums for a few days just to see how quickly problems are dealt with?
Remember to ask around to see if you can find actual users of a particular fax service, there is nothing as good as first-hand experience and advice when choosing a service. MicroSoft’s Office Marketplace is a good place to start.
* Questions About Your New Fax Number:
First, you will want to check to see what type of fax number is supplied by the fax provider – local number with your same area code or a Toll-free number? Can you get inbound numbers in a different country in case you want to create a virtual presence there?
Check to see if a fax provider recycles old fax numbers? On rare occasions this could present a problem with you receiving someone else’s faxes. Keep this in mind if you discontinue your fax number, especially if you were receiving sensitive faxes through your number.
* Questions About The Transmission of Faxes:
How do I send faxes? You want to know the exact procedure for your chosen fax provider? Is there a desktop or email application I can use to send and receive faxes? Does it work with Windows Applications?
Is there an online interface or site where I can send and receive my faxes? (Most fax services have this.) Can I store my faxes online? If so, how much disc space is provided and how long before my faxes are deleted? Can I track the process of my faxes online? Can I track how much each fax costs?
What attachment file formats are used by your prospective fax provider? Most use the TIFF (Tagged Image File) format but other popular ones are Acrobat PDF, JPEG/JPG and GIF. If you have or use a different format, check with the provider to see if they can handle it.
Can you change your email address to where your faxes are sent? Can you have multiple email addresses? Do you have control over your fax identifier (CSID) for outbound faxes? The CSID is used to identify the sender of the fax and is a legal requirement in many locations.
Finally, if security is a real concern, you must ask whether or not your fax provider can send encrypted/signed email? Encryption ensures only you and the receiver sees your faxes. Can your faxes be sent and received via email with PGP encryption?
* Questions About Fax Broadcasting:
Does your fax provider offer Fax Broadcasting – sending the same fax to hundreds or thousands of recipients? This is useful in a business setting for such things as Newsletters, Press Releases, Special Sales or Deals – not to be confused with Junk Faxes, which is similar to email Spam!
If you or your company does a lot of legitimate faxing, you must check to see if your fax provider is completely scalable to meet your company’s growing faxing needs? Can you easily get multiple fax numbers for different departments or agents? Can it handle high volumes on short notice?
* Questions About The Costs of Faxing:
Perhaps the most important questions you have to ask concerns the cost or price of your online faxing. Are there any set-up costs? Are there any hidden fees? Is there a trial version you can start with? Is there a money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied with the service?
Fax services are paid for by subscriptions – you must check to see if it’s a yearly or monthly subscription? Most companies give you an option and if you buy an annual subscription, you usually get a discount – check this?
Regardless of how you pay, you must check how many faxes can you send and/or receive each month with your subscription? Fax companies all have different plans and fees… so it pays to shop around… most services go for around – a month. Heavier volume faxing will be more expensive. Also check to see if there is custom pricing for companies?
What are your provider’s international fax rates? This is something you should really check out as you will have to pay more for these types of faxes. If I go over my limit, what are the costs of sending faxes? Receiving faxes?
Remember, as a general rule of thumb, page calculations are done based on fax time with the 60-second per page limit as standard. Most faxes are less than 40 seconds, but faxes with large graphics may be counted as two or more pages. Some fax providers base their fax rates on a per/minute fee… 5 cents a minute.
When considering the costs of your Internet faxing, you have to remember, with online faxing you won’t have the cost of a fax machine, or the cost of a second phone line. Plus, you won’t have to pay ink, toner and paper costs.
Overall, Internet faxing is a good viable alternative to the old fax machine. It offers some very distinct advantages because it is completely mobile, you can send your faxes anytime, anywhere. And since it is computer and Internet based, it can be much more efficient than the old fax machine.
For more information on Internet Fax Services & Pricing try this handy online Fax Comparison Guide: www.onlinefaxguide.com Or why not grab a copy of this convenient Fax Guide as it contains all the information you need on choosing an Internet Fax service: www.internetfaxguide.org Titus Hoskins 2008. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
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How to Send a Fax Online
Jul 4
2010
How to Send a Fax Online
Copyright (c) 2009 Titus Hoskins
Online faxing is becoming extremely popular with individuals and companies. Some say it will make using the old traditional fax machine obsolete in the very near future. That still remains to be seen for there’s a lag time before new technologies fully replace the old ones.
While we are pondering that question, there are still many people wondering how this new way of faxing actually works. Just how do you send a fax online?
First, you must know, online or Internet fax is simply using your computer and the web to send your faxes. You sign-up with an online fax provider where you’re given a local or Toll-Free fax number which you can use to send and receive your faxes. Your fax provider acts as an intermediary on your behalf to handle your faxes.
Faxes are sent via email attachments, usually in TIFF or PDF format, thru your computer and the internet. Remember, faxes can be sent from one online fax account to another and also from your fax account/number to a traditional fax machine and vice versa. Again, your online fax service will act as an intermediary and handle all your fax transitions, whether they’re coming from another online fax account or from a traditional fax machine.
Most online fax service providers will have an online site (interface) where you can logon and check your faxes. You can also send your faxes from this online account and you can also store your faxes there. Plus, you can send your faxes directly through your email system, so check with your particular fax service to see how this is done.
In addition, some fax services have a desktop application where you can send and receive your faxes. Again, check with your particular fax service to get the details. Other plans are directly integrated with Microsoft Office applications and works with Excel, Word and PowerPoint documents.
With online faxing, you can still have a cover letter and a multi-page fax, the same as with a fax machine, but you’re using an email attachment to hold and transmit your fax.
Why Are So Many People Switching To Online Fax?
Many individuals and companies are switching over to Internet faxing mainly because it has many advantages: it’s paperless, inkless, phoneless, totally legal, cheaper, more secure and much more convenient than traditional faxing. It is completely mobile – you can use it with your laptops, cell phones, PDAs… to receive and send your faxes. Basically, your faxes are accessible wherever you have the Internet and these days that’s just about everywhere.
Online faxing is also seen as a “green” way to fax since it is paperless and inkless. Plus, you save energy by not having a fax machine running 24/7 just to receive your faxes.
Moreover, using online fax is the wave of the future. It connects all your faxing with your computer and the Internet. It is always on and no more missed faxes because of busy signals since with Internet fax you can receive faxes simultaneously.
Online fax is one way to keep your company or business more competitive especially if faxing is very important for acquiring sales, clients and communicating with your employees. In these harsh economic times, you must stay competitive or lose out; that’s why many companies are using online fax services in addition to their old fax machines. Others are switching completely over to this new way of faxing.
You must use every advantage you can find. So getting an online fax service is just another way to make your business more competitive. Keep this in mind when you go to send your next fax.
For more information on Internet Fax Services use this handy online Comparison Guide to get your own: Fax Online Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing try here: Internet Fax Guide Titus Hoskins 2009. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
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