Small business phone systems: 6 of the best

Choosing a small business phone system is one of the most important decisions you can make as an entrepreneur. It will decide how easily you can interact with your colleagues and how efficiently customers can reach you. It will also have to suit the unique needs of small businesses, startups and freelancers.

Among small business phone systems, the one you choose should have enhanced business tools that give you a competitive advantage over others. Plus, it should be affordable, independently operable and come with dedicated customer support. To make it easy for you, here are six of the best small business phone systems in 2022.

6 best small business phone systems in 2022

Chalkboard

Do you want an affordable small business phone system that comes with advanced features to grow your business? Chalkboard is the answer. This second number for work allows you to organise your contacts and broadcast messages to whole groups in one go. Plus, with auto-reply, you can respond to missed calls with pre-written texts.

Pricing: Affordable and scaleable plans after a free trial.

Why small businesses should be interested in it: Affordable, feature-rich and comes with marketing tools.

Google Voice

If you and your team use Google Workspace, Google Voice could be the right small business phone system for you. You can effortlessly integrate it with Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Meet.

You’ll get auto-attendant, voicemail greeting and voicemail transcription with the service. What makes the app popular among regular users is its ease of use. But the reason people look for Google Voice alternatives is that it comes with limited customer support.

Pricing: Google Voice has a free version with limited features. The premium versions come for $10, $20 and $30.

Why small businesses should be interested in it: Easy to use and works well with Google apps.

Grasshopper

Those looking for small business phone systems will inevitably come across Grasshopper because the app has been around for almost 20 years. Want to stick to your current number? You can port your number and get started with the service.

You can choose from vanity, toll-free, and local numbers. Grasshopper gives you custom greetings, voicemail, call routing and SMS. Beyond those, the app doesn’t have useful business tools.

Pricing: There are no free plans. The paid plans come for $26, $44 and $80.

Why small businesses should be interested in it: Vanity numbers and the ability to direct calls.

Sideline

Like Grasshopper, Sideline lets you port your number. The app allows users to include multiple people in a conversation. Like most virtual number apps, Sideline comes with group messaging and a separate caller ID.

The app uses the mobile carrier’s plan minutes for calls, which often forces people to look for Sideline alternatives.

Pricing: The app has a free trial period. The paid plans start at $9.99 per month.

Why small businesses should be interested in it: Most of its features, such as group messaging, are suitable for individual users.

Line2

With voice recognition and IVR, Line2 is another popular option among small business phone systems. The app also allows you to record and monitor your calls. With Line2, you also get call centre and contact management.

What’s unique about Line2 is that it also comes with video conferencing. But there is no free version or a trial period.

Pricing: The plans start at $14 per month.

Why small businesses should be interested in it: Video conferencing and contact management.

SmartLine

GoDaddy’s SmartLine is a popular choice among regular users, but may not suit those looking for small business phone systems. While the app has voicemail transcription, custom voicemail and allows you to set business hours, it lacks auto-reply.

This uses your mobile plan’s minutes to make and receive calls. The app also has no group messaging.

Pricing: $9.99 for a local number and $15 per month for a toll-free number.

Why small businesses should be interested in it: The only notable function is that you can set business hours.

Small business phone systems: What you should look for

Free trial: The right small business phone system should have a free trial for you to test its features.

Pricing: It should be affordable and let you upgrade based on your needs.

Called ID: This is necessary to identify customers, clients or business associates.

Auto-reply: Your phone should allow you to set pre-written messages for calls you might miss.

Business tools: Contact organisation, group broadcast and advanced chat are some of the features you should look for in small business phone systems.

Chalkboard: Why it is the best small business phone system

Chalkboard is a small business phone system designed for how business owners use their phones now. The messaging feature lets you make the most of business messaging and build thriving relationships with your customers. You can promote your products, broadcast SMS messages and quickly manage customer queries and complaints. Auto-reply ensures that your business communication is uninterrupted.

Download Chalkboard and try it now. It’s a small business phone system built for business growth.