Digital Faxes
by Matt Gerchow
Digital fax or Internet fax is a great way to send and receive documents electronically.
What's great about it is you don't need a normal fax machine. Instead, you take advantage of the Internet and more specifically, email to help users move important documents back and forth between one another.
Digital faxing is just as reliable as sending from a machine, minus the costs that normally come with it.
When many people think of traditional faxing, they do not consider the cost associated with maintaining the ability to send and receive faxes. First, a traditional fax machine requires a dedicated telephone line so that the sending and receiving of faxes does not interfere with traditional business.
Maintaining a second phone line is a major cost in itself, but many small businesses cannot afford to own their own fax machine. In lieu of owning their own machine, they rent from a company which charges a fee every month for the upkeep of the machine, including toner and repairs.
This puts the cost of traditional faxing methods much higher than internet faxing, which is why many people are making the switch. Digital fax does not require a dedicated phone line, nor does it require a fax machine in order to work.
Instead, fax services send all of your faxes to an email address that works just like traditional email. The faxes are sent as attachments, so they can be printed on regular printing paper by your standard printer.
Services that offer electronic faxing work by assigning each employee their own toll free number that is linked specifically to their email address. Instead of paying for a dedicated line and a fax machine, you pay per person you have in your business who will need to receive individual faxes, as well as the number of faxes received and sent.
Most eFax type services offer packages that will cover a specific amount of faxes sent or received in a month, but you will still need to pay per person who receives a fax. This method may seem a bit nickel and dime-ish, but for small businesses it is often the best route to go.
Instead of having to maintain your own service with one particular number, you can have several numbers with a fax plan so everyone in your business is happy. Of course, the size of the package you get and the number of email addresses linked to phone numbers depends on the fax servicing company you choose.
Overall, choosing to use a digital faxing service over maintaining your own traditional service is a sound decision, since everything is handled for you when you make the switch. However, choosing which company you should use for your faxing needs can be a difficult decision, so you should definitely shop around before making any snap decisions.
Test drive RingCentral and fax free for 30 days
What's great about it is you don't need a normal fax machine. Instead, you take advantage of the Internet and more specifically, email to help users move important documents back and forth between one another.
Digital faxing is just as reliable as sending from a machine, minus the costs that normally come with it.
When many people think of traditional faxing, they do not consider the cost associated with maintaining the ability to send and receive faxes. First, a traditional fax machine requires a dedicated telephone line so that the sending and receiving of faxes does not interfere with traditional business.
Maintaining a second phone line is a major cost in itself, but many small businesses cannot afford to own their own fax machine. In lieu of owning their own machine, they rent from a company which charges a fee every month for the upkeep of the machine, including toner and repairs.
This puts the cost of traditional faxing methods much higher than internet faxing, which is why many people are making the switch. Digital fax does not require a dedicated phone line, nor does it require a fax machine in order to work.
Instead, fax services send all of your faxes to an email address that works just like traditional email. The faxes are sent as attachments, so they can be printed on regular printing paper by your standard printer.
Services that offer electronic faxing work by assigning each employee their own toll free number that is linked specifically to their email address. Instead of paying for a dedicated line and a fax machine, you pay per person you have in your business who will need to receive individual faxes, as well as the number of faxes received and sent.
Most eFax type services offer packages that will cover a specific amount of faxes sent or received in a month, but you will still need to pay per person who receives a fax. This method may seem a bit nickel and dime-ish, but for small businesses it is often the best route to go.
Instead of having to maintain your own service with one particular number, you can have several numbers with a fax plan so everyone in your business is happy. Of course, the size of the package you get and the number of email addresses linked to phone numbers depends on the fax servicing company you choose.
Overall, choosing to use a digital faxing service over maintaining your own traditional service is a sound decision, since everything is handled for you when you make the switch. However, choosing which company you should use for your faxing needs can be a difficult decision, so you should definitely shop around before making any snap decisions.
Test drive RingCentral and fax free for 30 days