Can I sign up for a residential VOIP plan for my business?
MooCowMan asked:
Tags: Business Equipment, Business Phone, Business PlanI own a couple of auto shops. We only need 1 line per shop and our usage is very low (5-10 short calls per day). I’m thinking about switching to VOIP, but a business plan will cost almost as much as my regular business phone plan. Will VOIP companies allow me to sign up for a residential plan for my business. Will they even know if it’s for business or residential? Can the equipment be moved form one place to another?
If you don’t know enough about the subject to give an answer, don’t answer. “You’re going to get in trouble” is of no use to me.
you would be advised not to as if they found out it was for business use you will be in trouble
The answer is yes you can and it would be simple to do. But Here are some things to consider: 1) If your internet goes down, so do your phones 2) If you are thinking about using the same phone number you currently have for your business, it may take a while to port it over-it’s not instant- a lot of businesses say 3 days, but I’ve never seen it. Most will give you a month or two of free service plus equipment for free. Then once the promotion is over, about $20/ Month and then you add a tiny amount for 911 service. Equipment can be used from one place to another. I use mine in my hotel rooms so I don’t have to pay my Hotel Telephone bills. I never had a problem yet. You are not suppose to have a residential plan for your business. I believe by checking the phone number the VOIP providers will know if your number is for a business or residence.
Skype.com – Skype has announced unlimited calling to about 34 countries for $9.95/month. This includes most of Europe and some of Asia and the South Pacific.
Hi,
First, it doesn’t matter if you have a residential or business plan for business use. The “only” reason providers have “business” plans are for the features/benefits/pricing of them. There’s no “you’ll get in trouble”. It’s like, you don’t need “business” pens, “business internet” and “business phone”. I own and operate my business and none of my services are “business”. And, for the same reasons as you – I don’t have the normal “business” usages that a different, large company would have. Therefor, residential plans fit me perfectly.
Can the equipment be moved from one place to another? Yes. You can even order extra modems if you need to. My modem is about the size of a deck of cards.
Get Phone Power – it’s ‘s top rated provider. I get unlimited nationwide calling (To and from) for $9 per month. If you got with annual prepay – you get 6 months free as well. Service rocks, and so does customer support. I payed with my American Express “business” plum card – lol
And for porting numbers – it takes less than 3 days. Not a month – I guarantee it.
Good luck!
I would imagine it would depend on if you are going with a brand new number or porting your old numbers. usually the difference are business call features like auto attendant etc. Our Voip company is a hosted company and we are getting ready to launch our business and residential plans. For our business plans we have two plans, a 500 min plan and a 1500 min plan, so for the lower plan you would be better off.
So short answer is unless you need all of the features, you should be able to get away with a voip plan for each office. Beware of high porting fees and big contract terms !