All about business phone numbers for small businesses
Business phone numbers allow customers to contact small businesses in the most traditional ways possible: call them up to find out about the products and services, the rates, or any other related information. Today, business phone numbers can easily be toll-free so that one doesn’t need to worry about call costs either. Customers can simply call businesses for free, regardless of their own location, by simply using the business’ local area code.

So, choosing business phone numbers is as important as choosing the location and the office for your small business, as it could make or break your business and your position with customers. So, before you do anything else, it’s very important to set up a business phone number to launch your new small business.

How can you choose local or toll-free numbers for your small business?

• Your business phone number depends upon the kinds and types of calls you receive and want to handle for your small business, whether local or long-distance calls.
• Suppose you wish to call your customers outside the state, you can use toll-free numbers that pay for these calls.
• In order to make calls using toll-free numbers, you can simply start with 1-800 or 1-866, which are commonly used numbers. This will let you make long distance calls without billing.
• If your small business works mostly in your local area itself, you can simply use local business phone numbers instead of toll-free numbers.

How can you select where the calls should be forwarded?
You can decide where the calls should go by following the below-mentioned points:

• If you have gotten a new business phone number, you need not take a new phone for your small business.
• Using applications such as Skype and Google Voice, you can simply reserve a phone number, which can later be forwarded to your existing number, like your small business or home phone.
• The other option is to get a completely new line, such as a telephone landline or a mobile phone SIM in the area where you are running your business, which can be shared among partners as well.

Do you need a vanity number for your business?

• Do check out whether you require any vanity number. Vanity numbers consist of numbers as well as words in the phone number, which make it more memorable for the clients.
• You can either use traditional or vanity numbers. However, use them very carefully, as it is mandatory to change your business numbers once you start advertising.
• Usually, traditional telecommunication companies use landlines that permit users or their customers to ask about vanity numbers. Google Voice offers limited vanity numbers, through which you can search by word or even cross-reference with an area code if you wish.

How can you choose a business phone plan?

• Now that you know all about the advantages of VoIP, and now it’s the time to choose the best business phone plans, which are packages put together by landline providers.
• Call plans can traditionally include the following – line rental, “n” number of free minutes to mobile phone numbers or to certain landline numbers, and free calls to local numbers at off-peak times. Hence, it is important to know the types of calls the business will be making on a regular basis.
• If your business has international clients, an “international saver” landline plan will be perfect for you. This kind of a plan will get you significant discounts for the business’s international call charges. On the other hand, if you have a local business flourishing, an “unlimited free local calls” plan will work better for your business.

Which are the best companies that offer toll-free numbers?
Here are some of the best companies that offer toll-free numbers:

• Grasshopper
• CloudNumber from FreedomVoice
• Vonage
• RingCentral

What are the features of the plans of Vonage?

• Vonage has been a well-known company in the business of phone services as well as virtual number services. They aren’t known so much for their toll-free numbers, though.
• Although their website is worth checking out, it will not tell you anything about the pricing and the available plans.
• The users need to leave enquiries, after which the company will get back to them and ask them the details of their business, such as the size, area of operation, etc. It then directs them to call to receive a quote.