VirtualPBX.com is often viewed as a pioneer in the virtual and VoIP PBX space, especially for small businesses. The service has found a nice spot for companies, both large and small, who don’t use a lot of minutes. You’ll get a cost-effective solution, but you need to want just the bare bones. There are a lot of concerns when looking at VirtualPBX.com for advanced features and its support team.

VirtualPBX has stayed a leader for small businesses and even some medium organizations, though larger companies may be able to get better bulk pricing by shopping around.

PBX Focus

VirtualPBX.com offers one of the longest laundry lists of services and features available. You’ll get just about everything you want out of a PBX system, but these come in as a mix of included and added-cost packages. Thankfully, anything you want can come in as a new feature.

VirtualPBX.com offers two different types of plans to help you if you’re based in a core office or if your business operates from mobile locations. The company promises that its VoIP and PBX systems are among the most powerful available.

Those who opt for its Office plans will get a slightly stronger plan because VirtualPBX.com also operates as a VoIP provider, so you’ve got an integrated solution and will have less issue knowing who to call if there’s any problem. The Anywhere offering feels like a stronger service for companies with existing phones and systems but who want support as they move through their sales areas.

It makes a name for itself with the seamless transition from standard phone lines to your PBX platform. You’re getting hold music, call waiting, menus, extensions, and other tools to make your business sound professional, without needing any new equipment. The company handles and routes your calls all entirely in the Web, so you can be hands off and focus on running your business.

Essentially, it’s a gateway that a call passes through before reaching your work phone or even your cell phone.

Office Plans

VirtualPBX.com’s office plans are a complete VoIP package for your business phone lines with unlimited minutes across any and all lines or extensions that you use. It’s a good setup for companies with standard business traffic who need more than just inbound routing and want to avoid limited-minute plans.

The systems come with a virtual assistance and receptionist to automate your call routing and you can use custom greetings at any point in your menu. Everyone gets a voicemail and can use different call forward, recording, following, and many more systems.

With each of these plans you’ll be getting the company’s suite of standard options. Pricing plans on the Office level include:

These plans also come with a few services that aren’t available to many small-business PBX systems. Typically they’re offered for free, you just need to set them up on the Web, and they include:

• Real-time monitoring
• Voicemail interruptions
• Call blocking
• Multistage dialing
• Overflow queue optimizations
• Data security backups

While the company offers phones for both free and paid services, you don’t need to get any extra hardware for these systems. Everything can be routed through existing phones and PCs, with standard PBX equipment and office equipment supporting almost every feature under the sun.

The main benefit of the Office platform is that it provides your extensions with a dial tone, which is not an option on the Anywhere plan. Office is an outgoing and incoming service so you’re getting everything that a normal phone platform provides.

If you need this tone and the ability to make outgoing calls from the PBX system itself, that can seal the deal for choosing the Office platform over the Anywhere options. The functions specific to Office are best suited for large companies or those with a customer service department that fields a lot of calls, but Anywhere will be a smart option if you don’t have a large call volume.

Anywhere Plans

If you’re a small business with light phone traffic and you simply want to route your inbound calls to an existing phone line, the Anywhere plans are your best bet from VirtualPBX. They offer a relatively low monthly cost and per-minute cost, so this won’t mount quickly. You can forward your calls to any line; so many customers have them forwarded to a smartphone.

You’ll get the same core and unique features as the standard business plans, but the pricing structure is a good bit different. The Anywhere plans come in three different flavors:

Put simply, the Anywhere product is a call forwarding option that works with just about any device that you’ve got. It’s a perfect tool to grow with you when turning a boot-strapping start-up into a full-fledged business.

Additional Services

All of the company’s PBX plans include:

• Free 1-800 number with 300 minutes of calling
• Free Internet fax
• Support for business calls from smartphones
• Individual phone numbers and voicemails for all users
• Options for unlimited calling plans
• Quick access to call-routing rules and plans with an adjustable auto receptionist
• Call recordings saved to Dropbox
• Internet connection required but no new hardware
• Free, U.S.-based technical support

Beyond that, you can add a lot of different services and features, but they’ll slowly raise your monthly price and your initial costs. These extra options include:

Is It Right for You?

If you’re a small business, this service is right up your alley. You get access to a broad feature-set and have access to online tutorials and training to help you and your team members learn how to use the system.

This is especially strong for companies who need a low volume of calls and want to set everything up purely online. You’re getting a smart Web-based VoIP and PBX platform. VirtualPBX has a lot of experience with auxiliary services, so you can scale up some of your other business needs if you like how it handles your PBX platform.

You get access to toll-free and local numbers plus great options for your auto-answering and incoming call handling at any time of the day. The Follow Me/Find Me option is a great addition because it can help you never miss a call. This simply means that someone calling your phone number and it sends that call out to all of your phones in a defined sequence. That means it’ll find you when you’re out of the office and on your cell.

There are a lot of frills but just a little maintenance you need to do, so give it a try for your small business.

Pros

• Lots of free services and features
• Most plans offer a free trial option
• Customer service is very willing to troubleshoot problems
• Good customization options
• Great pricing for low-volume calling
• Services and features work well for most users
• Most users experience no down time

Cons

• Billing issues persist with some users
• Some customers have had trouble contacting its service department
• Service isn’t as reliable for some users who have poor Internet connections – this may not always be the fault of VirtualPBX
• When porting a number, not all clients report getting a notification of when numbers change
• Not  the easiest to use,  but customers seem to learn it well over time

Final Say

VirtualPBX is one of the grandfathers of the virtual PBX and VoIP system offering for small businesses. After a strong run since 1997, the service is now a middle-of-the-pack offering that has a lot of top-notch features but a mixed record on quality of service and customer support. The company runs a full package and you can get everything you’re after. This makes it great for small businesses that want a feature-rich PBX platform but don’t have large call volumes. If you’re a PBX veteran, you’ll find a great service. If you’re a PBX novice, then this may be more of a headache than what you are after.

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