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James L Johnson

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Okay, I will try to keep this short. My wife and I are in the process of opening a small office. Right now, it's just the two of us, she handles front desk things, I handle the rest. We are going to be adding more people to the office in the coming months, but for now, it's just the two of us. I don't have the money to install a large phone system, also, our lease at this location is a short-term one and we hope to move in the spring so I don't want to spend money on installing any large systems. We DO have fiber optic internet though, so I was thinking some kind of VOIP system would be perfect.

I made a Reddit post stating that I was looking for advice on finding a Softphone or VOIP phone that we could use with our computers. I would like to not have my personal cell phone as the main business line as the line between business and personal life can get blurred REALLY fast. 3CX was the only response my post received, so I hopped over and decided to give the free trial a go.

And now I feel like a damn idiot. Maybe it's because I'm also in the middle of studying for my exams to sell securities and all of the regulations that go with that. Maybe it's because I'm not as young as I used to be and technology keeps advancing. Maybe it's because I actually am an idiot, but I'm lost.

What I'm looking for:
  • A way to place calls on our computers

  • A real phone number that people can call us back
    • Voicemail is a MUST for this
  • Multiple users (It's just my wife and me right now, but we are expanding)
What I would like but don't have to have:
  • Text messaging (Would be REALLY REALLY nice though)

  • A single bill so I'm not paying for VoIP and a phone

  • Integration with a CRM or ATS (I'm kind of meh about this, but if it does it, then yay)

  • The ability to transfer calls (my wife answers, she can transfer it to me, etc)
So I signed up, and now it's asking about SIP trunks? I think that means I need a separate VoIP provider? If that's the case, why did I have to sign up for a cloud server? How do I connect our computers to, well, anything, and how do I dial?

I've seen a couple of places say that 3CX is one of the most user-friendly, and I'm not trying to knock it, but if this is the most, then boy am I glad I haven't tried anyone else because I would probably be in the fetal position crying right now.

Sorry, this was longer than I planned. Sorry that I'm also seemingly an idiot, but I have absolutely ZERO experience with this kind of technology.
Thank you.
 
I'd like to start off by saying that 3CX IS the most user-friendly PBX out there but it does have a learning curve especially if you are coming from a non technical sector. Even with no technical background however you can still setup your system with the help of the admin manual and the community forums which are very helpful.

Having said that, you are correct, you do need a SIP trunk. That is of course true with every single PBX system out there. In order for you to be using a telephone number, someone has to supply it. A SIP Trunk provider does that. Your Phone System (in this case 3CX) will be using that Sip Trunk provider to route calls from/to your PBX.

A way to place calls on our computers
- 3CX has softphones which you can use on Windows or Mac.

A real phone number that people can call us back
- That's what you need a SIP Trunk for

Voicemail is a MUST for this
- 3CX has voicemail

Multiple users (It's just my wife and me right now, but we are expanding)
- 3CX can support unlimited users.

Text messaging (Would be REALLY REALLY nice though)
- If you are referring to SMS, that is not supported. It does have a chat system though included in the PBX. You can use the softphone client or the webclient to chat.

A single bill so I'm not paying for VoIP and a phone
- You'll need to pay for the SIP Trunk and the Internet connection of course!

Integration with a CRM or ATS (I'm kind of meh about this, but if it does it, then yay)
- 3CX has a number of supported CRM integrations out of the box and if you know programming you can integrate any other system. You need a PRO licence for this though.

The ability to transfer calls (my wife answers, she can transfer it to me, etc)
- 3CX gives you the ability to transfer calls.
 
@James L Johnson

In layman's terms, the underlying technology for a PBX has changed but how it performs is still the same. So 20 years ago you had a Nortel or Avaya box on the wall that was your PBX. This has now been replaced with 3CX which is a piece of software. Like any other software (Office, Adobe, etc) it needs a PC or PC type environment to run. So this would either be a computer in your office, or a cloud instance like what PBX Express sets up. But just like that Nortel or Avaya box you still need to bring dial tone into the PBX. Where this would have been a PRI or POTS lines before, it's now SIP trunks.

At the end of the day, you have to decide where your time (and money) is best spent. Hosted PBX providers infrastructure is basically the same as you running 3CX but on a larger scale. So with 3CX you pay for the server infrastructure (PC or cloud instance) the software (or free license if that works for you), the phones and the dial tone (SIP trunks and TN/DIDs). With a pure hosted provider you just pay $xx per seat and they handle the rest. So if you want the level of control that running your PBX provides and you want to save a few dollars 3CX is the way to go. If you want to just plug phones in and let the rest be someone else's problem you pay for hosted.

Shameless plug, we can help with both options.
 
hi Mr. Johnson,

Welcome to the forums. Everything you're looking for is "no problem" with 3CX.

Some thoughts -

1. A way to place calls on the computer - that's good, until the computer doesn't work. Small offices on a really, really tight budget i've found can't afford down time very much. I'd recommend going with an very inexpensive telephone like the Yealinks. Cheap, and reliable. You can always *also* call on your computer, but you're better off this way, and then you can Click-to-Call from your computer.

2. You can do SMS Text Messaging with the right VoIP company (you can reach me offline about this)

3. You'll have a single monthly bill from the VoIP company. You may need to buy the 3CX software which is a one-time thing annually, (or the "perpetual" license which you actually need annual maintenance for). If you know you're going to be in business 3+ years, get the perpetual.

4. For your SIP Trunks (those are "phone lines") look me up, i can help with that. Really inexpensive.

5. For running the software, if you have a Windows 7 or better computer there, that's a great way to get started - you run it on that provided it's decent. It then serves your phones.

Let me know if you need a hand.
 
Hello @James L Johnson

From your description above i assume that you have already installed 3CX using the 1 year free hosting offer and you have access to the management console. The next step is to create 2 extensions with valid email addresses. Send a welcome email to both extensions. You will find that the welcome email contains link to download the 3CX client for all supported platforms and an attachment you can use to setup the clients automatically. Once that is done you should be able to place calls between extensions. To be able to call external numbers you will need a SIP trunk.
Use the link below to find a supported provider that meets your needs.
https://www.3cx.com/partners/sip-trunks/

You said that you are in the middle of exams but in order to be able to use the full functionality of the system you will need to do some additional reading.
https://www.3cx.com/docs/manual/
https://www.3cx.com/user-manual/
https://www.3cx.com/3cxacademy/
 
3CX looks really powerful, but I don't think it is what I really need. I don't really have the time or energy to learn how to set up any kind of system. What I really need is just a simple, turn-key VoIP system. If the business really grows in size, I may need to look into a system like this in the future, but I don't feel like this fits my needs as they are right now.

Thank you, everyone, for your assistance. I really do appreciate it.
 
@James L Johnson

If you like the promise of 3CX but don't have the time to invest in learning in being a startup and all I'd recommend perhaps locating a partner that can provide a more turnkey solution while you are starting up and then could help you migrate to 3CX as you grow. There are a number of partners here (myself included) that can offer this.

Best of luck in your business!
 
@James L Johnson

Best of luck in your new startup. If you ever decide to give 3CX another try please do not hesitate to contact us.
 
@James L Johnson - take a look at Voip.ms http://voip.ms/
https://wiki.voip.ms/article/Getting_Started - tip: create a sub account for each extension. so one for you and one for your wife.

They can do a "mini PBX" (free) and Sip all in one account (pennies per minute and a small fee for 911 and a DID). On the softphone side - Zoiper can connect - https://wiki.voip.ms/article/Zoiper_5 Zoiper also has mobile apps, so you can make a call "from the office" using your smartphone.

This should all be fairly easy to setup - Voicemail, ring groups, etc.
Screen Shot 2018-11-17 at 8.55.05 AM.png

You can get a Grandstream deskphone for about $90 - as someone above mentioned - computers do have issues sometimes - and then you wouldn't be able to answer. This link is for a device on the Voip.MS supported list.

https://www.amazon.com/Grandstream-...542467058&sr=8-1&keywords=Grandstream+GXP2200
 
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