Don’t Get Nickeled-and-Dimed By Your Online Fax Service
There are a lot of people who have been sorely misinformed about online faxing services, either believing all the negative PR from fax machine trade groups or buying into the equally inaccurate too-good-to-be-true Internet tales about lifetime free accounts. As usual, the truth lies somewhere between these extremes. However, there is also a lot of disinformation being circulated, which consists of distortions, half-truths and even outright falsehoods that are meant to persuade you one way or the other about online faxing. A little more light and bit less heat and you might just get an accurate picture of what online faxing services really offer. When you understand the actual pros and cons, you will not get nickeled-and-dimed by your online fax service.
The first thing you need, of course, is a crash course on online faxing. Briefly, online faxing is something your business needs if you want to stay connected with other businesses that still rely on their fax machines as a channel of communication. You do not need a fax machine yourself, as you will get a phone number with your online fax account that will receive faxes and forward them to your inbox as attachments to regular e-mails. Among the major reasons to have this capability is to stay in touch, both directions, with firms and individuals that do not have other communications technology. This may seem rare now in the U.S., Europe and the Pacific Rim, but there millions and millions of fax machines in the outer reaches of Asia, as well as throughout the continent of Africa, that represent the only connection to world commerce for their owners.
How much does free cost?
Online faxing has other advantages, of course, but the main one really is connectivity. Even between U.S. firms that are using computers, smart phones, Wi-Fi-enabled laptops and other state-of-the-art telecommunications technology, the fax is still part of the corporate toolkit. With the spread of the Internet, many thought the fax machine (and the underlying technology) would go the way of the dodo bird, but that did not happen. However, the growth of the Web did result in the development of online faxing, making that all-important connection to a staggering number of fax machines still used as a primary information channel.
As you scout around online and search on the phrase online fax services, you will find all kinds of approaches. You will even land on a few sites that allow you to send a fax for free, no cost, no fee, no obligation, no trial offer, nothing – just plain old free. Of course, just because something is free does not mean it is the best deal for you. The free services are extremely limited. Some limit you to one fax per day, as well as limiting the number of pages you can send (often it is a single page). You can only send faxes, not receive them, with these browser-based, site-located services. Many are merely loss leaders and come-ons from businesses that want to sell you an online fax account package. Others are little more than novelties.
Counting the cost
There are other services that tout their low cost of entry, that is, that do not charge a monthly fee at all but let you pay as you go. No matter how enticing this sounds, this is about the worst way to go for a business that does a lot of faxing. So you save the $12 or $15 on the monthly plan cost, but you pay a nickel or a dime per page and are sometimes even required to use a cover page. Then, after a certain number of pages (in individual faxes and/or in terms of monthly usage) you will get hit with an overage charge, which could be three cents per page all the way to a dime. Oh, you want an incoming number, too? That just might be extra.
A reputable, leading online fax service is going to charge you a reasonable monthly fee, in that $12-15 range, for which you will get up to 1000 total pages of incoming and outgoing faxes. You will most likely not see a fax template that requires cover pages by default, so you probably will not be dinged there. You will also not see any other kinds of extra charges until and unless you go over your page total. If you check two or three months’ worth of fax logs, you will know how many pages you need per month before you shop around for your new online faxing account.
Bottom line
Always allow a little wiggle room, of course, but if you are doing 20 or 30 faxes a day (both in and out), then a 1000-page plan would be ideal, and will ensure that you don’t get nickeled-and-dimed by your online fax service. It will be a welcome and all-too-rare surprise when you discover that, at the end of the month, your $15-a-month online fax service actually cost you (ready for this?) $15. As it should be!
Metro Hi Speed is a leader in email fax solutions for any sized business. Less expensive and more reliable than traditional fax services – you’ll enjoy the convenience and well as the cost. Visit us today for more information on our small business and corporate fax solutions.