How to Design a Business Phone System
- 1). Determine the budget for the telephone system. A digital or hybrid system with basic features will cost between $3,000 to $5,000, said Swain. A system with advanced features will range from $5,000 to $6,000.
- 2). Select the type of system to be used by the company. Telephone systems come in digital, hybrid or VoIP (Voice Over IP). Hybrid systems combine analog lines for faxes and digital lines for telephones and are cheaper than digital or VoIP systems. Digital systems provide digital lines for faxes and telephones. VoIP systems work off of computer lines and are best for companies working out of multiple offices since the offices can be linked into one system. VoIP systems will cut down on the number of lines needed for the system.
- 3). Count the number of employees who need a telephone set. Double that number to plan for company growth.
- 4). Establish the number of telephone lines needed for the business. The type of business, number of employees and type of telephone system will determine the number of lines needed for the business. A business consisting of 10 employees will need from 2 to 10 lines since not all employees are expected to be on the telephone at the same time. A telemarketing company or call center will require a line for each employee. A company using a VoIP system will use a computer rather than a phone line to connect to the telephone sets. Always confer with the technician setting up the system to determine the correct number of lines needed.
- 5). Use a blueprint or sketch a drawing of each floor of the building, complete with offices and rooms. Indicate on the sketch by consecutive numbers where phones will be placed.
- 6). Set up a star configuration of the telephone system. Two elements are needed in a star configuration: the location of each phone that will be used in the building and the location of the data room, where the equipment for running the system is located. The configuration is completed when data lines are run between the phone locations and the equipment in the data room. All lines will go to a data rack, which in turn feed into the PBX. According to Swain, the PBX is the brains of the telephone system. The PBX manages all inbound and outbound calls. It gives callers outbound available lines and routs inbound calls to the proper telephone.
- 7). Select features for the phones. According to a Panasonic business telephone brochure, features include blue-tooth module, self-labeling buttons, headset jacks, and flexible keys that allow the user to program speed dialing and personal numbers.
- 8). Assign extensions to employees, using the blueprint or sketch.
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