How much for a business phone line?

Edwards Finance > Phones

Q. I live in Jacksonville, Florida and I'm starting a home business. 1) However, I want to know how much does it cost to have another phone line in my house that I will only use for business use. 2) How much does it cost to have the ability to provide a toll free number for my customers to call?

A. I don't know how much it costs in the US (I'm in Canada), but I would recommend you look into a service called Tagline. Think of Tagline as a "virtual" phone line. It's a toll-free phone number with voice mail and conference calling (to name two of its services) PLUS a toll-free fax number. You don't need a second business line. You can have your Tagline number "follow" you -- it'll ring at your home number or your cell number or a client's office if you're on a job site. The only disadvantage is that you don't hear a distinctive ring, so you alwasy have to answer the phone during business hours with your "business owner" hat on. We just went through a round of cost mining. The best local service (business line) provider that we found was TalkAmerica (I don't knoe if they service your area - we're not in FL). They're about $38 per line including tax and fees but before LD charges. The best we found for inbound (toll free) LD was Teligent at $2.50 / mth service charge and .04 per minute at 6 second intervals. We also found that the bundled LD that everyone pushes is more expensive than paying per minute unless you only have one line *and* spend hours on LD. What I know is that the phone company likes to charge you extra for being a business versus a personal phone line. If you don't need a phone book listing it is cheaper to simply tell the phone company that you want another personal line. This can save you up to $30.00 a month. I did this when I needed a seperate line for my fax. As far as the toll free number the charges are for usage. I no longer remember how much we used to pay for the incoming phone calls that were toll free. We did use Broadwing Communications for long distance and the toll free number. Not sure about the business phone line but I can answer your 2nd question. Costco teams up with TTI to provide telephone service and if you are an executive member you can get a 1-800 number FOR FREE (no monthly fee or activation fee), and only pays for the usage. The rate is quite good (same as your residential rate when I sign up my residential line). You can look at http://www.costco.com for detail.

Ask Edwards a Finance Question

Other Questions:

2 line phone system still wanted

Can anyone suggest a 2 line 6 extention phone system with call attendant, and external music on hold for a small office?You dont want much do you? Panasonic makes a nice 2 line phone with intercom the number excapes me right now, also GE /Tompson...

I wonder if you can deduct a cell-phone bought just for business travel as a business expense? I was once told by my accountant that if I had another phone installed (I have two now) that only one could be used as a business expense. (I though...

There are a couple of reasons why this service should allow searches by phone number: 1) When the business name is difficult or impossible to spell with the phone keypad or voice recognition. 2) When I have a phone number to a business ...

We have a one man physicians office with a 20 year old NEC 6/16 phone system which is on its last legs. We want to replace with a new system incorporating voice mail, automated attendant etc. We don't need a system that is too complicated o...

We have a one man physicians office with a 20 year old NEC 6/16 phone system which is on its last legs. We want to replace with a new system incorporating voice mail, automated attendant etc. We don't need a system that is too complicated o...

Edwards Finance Menu

Ask a Question
About Us / Me
Contact Me
Privacy Policy

Sitemap

My Favorite Sites

PFBlog
Google Finance
Yahoo Finance
Motley Fool
Nveille's Financial Blog
AllFinanceMatters
Free Money Finance
2MillionBlog
The Terror Finance blog

Q&A Subjects