PBX Plus – Real Talk for Small Businesses

Local businesses today simply don’t operate in the same way they did 20 or 30 years ago. Small companies have upgraded their invoicing systems, their advertising goals, and their client communication platforms. And yet, many are still stuck paying for outdated telephone systems that offer limited capabilities and cost far more than they’re worth. Enter PBX+.

As a small business owner who uses PBX+, you get access to telephone tools that were simply unimaginable a decade ago. The system itself relies on Skype, Google Talk, mobile phones and landlines to create a comprehensive virtual telephone network that any company can use. Sign-up for an account in just 60 seconds, and you’re on your way to receiving calls through the virtual system. Incoming calls to your place of business can be automatically forwarded to Skype or Google Talk, and you can create an unlimited number of extensions to ensure that calls are being forwarded to the appropriate departments. An employee can view any customer’s history within seconds of a call coming in, including the customer’s name, address, current location and any previous complaints he or she has had in the past. Calls can be transferred to other employees or directed to voicemail with the click of a button, while a number of plugins can be used to link PBX+ with existing Zoho, Salesforce, and Sugar CRM accounts.

Using PBX+ can help any company sound more professional. The system offers customized greetings that change based on the time of day, along with hold music and simultaneous calling capabilities. Companies can create an unlimited number of voicemail boxes, and employees can get immediate email notifications whenever a new voicemail message has been left. PBX+ is a system that delivers far more than anyone could reasonably expect for the bargain basement price.

Practical Uses:

• Create separate voicemail boxes for each employee at your company
• Screen calls and let burdensome clients go straight to voicemail
• Forward calls to your Skype or Google Talk numbers
• Record all the calls that come in for employee training purposes

Insider Tips:

• Set up email notifications that let employees know when they have new messages
• Change the greeting depending on whether a client calls during working or non-working hours
• Call reporting features show graphs of all the calls that came in on a given day
• Choose which music should play when a caller is placed on hold

What we liked:

• PBX+ helps businesses sound more professional to people who call in
• Companies can easily get callers through to remote workers who aren’t in the office
• Employees don’t need extensive training to use PBX+
• PBX+ integrates with a number of CRM applications for seamless customer management

What we didn’t like:

• Nothing

Alternatives:

• 3jam – http://www.phonebooth.com
• Grasshopper – http://grasshopper.com
• Phonebooth – http://www.phonebooth.com

Company Info:

• Launched: 2010
• Privately Held
• Headquarters: Sunnyvale, California
• Web site: http://www.pbxplus.com

Costs:

• 30-day free trial
• Free plan for shared numbers
• 500 Mins plan for $24.99/month
• 1,000 Mins plan for $44.99/month
• 3,000 Mins plan for $129.99/month