Joy Davis

How to Choose an Internet Fax Service

Get the right internet fax service for your business.

Not all internet fax services are created equally. Some are robust organizations that been around for several years, while others are small internet operations that could fold at any moment. In addition to the stability of the company, you should compare the costs, available numbers, and options offered by the competitors before making your choice.

Five Key Internet Fax Considerations

When comparing two or more internet fax services, consider these five factors before making a decision.

Available Fax Numbers

Your internet fax service should offer regular fax numbers instead of fax email addresses. If you pay for the service, you should receive a local fax number. That will prevent faxes from being misdirected if a customer confuses the area code of your phone number with the area code of your fax number.

Simple Fax Software

Most internet fax services send faxes to your email inbox. You should be able to open them easily in the free software provided by the fax service, your word processing program, or your email program. If you opt for a pay service, you should also have the option of sending faxes directly from your word processing program or email program instead of using a dial-up connection through your modem.

Convenient Customer Service

When you have a problem with a fax, you should be able to reach your fax service’s customer service department anytime via email and a toll-free phone number.

Cost and Savings

In addition to being more convenient, an internet fax service should also save you money. When deciding which service and package to choose, review your phone bills for the last year to calculate the cost of sending faxes. You should also consider the costs of toner or ink cartridges, paper, and fax machine maintenance or replacement. If you frequently travel, include the cost of sending a fax from a business center or copy center in your estimate. That cost will be eliminated once you sign up for an online fax account.

The right internet fax service will not only offer more convenience, but it should provide a savings over your current faxing method.

Online Storage

Finally, you should consider fax storage. When you used a paper fax, you probably filed faxes with client documents. A reduction in paper costs is one of the advantages of an internet fax service, so you should avoid printing those faxes. Unfortunately, they can be lost if your email program crashes. Your internet fax program should offer the protection of online fax storage for at least a year. If you need a vital document after a year, save it to your hard drive and include it with your electronic backup files.

When you search for an internet fax service, hundreds of services will appear. Look for a company like eFax, which has been providing professional, affordable, online faxing since 1999.

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